Of Distant Lands and Closer Souls

 Being in a relationship from the first year of college life, P and me have been the proverbial campus lovebirds from the onset , and stayed together through thick & thin for years. We've gone on raucous excursions together with loads of batch mates, attended movies in huge groups, and went out to dine , with large table bookings being the norm. They've been fun, gifting us precious memories to savour, as our friends' circle has been filled with a myriad of human personalities who make crazy antics a part of their daily activities. 

  But despite not grumbling or complaining, as the college life drew to a close, I often felt , that me & P were left with very few hours that we had spent together, just the two of us, away from public scrutiny . We still go for the odd movie, or dinner , managing time out from our work, but those moments seem to fly away ever so quickly, compared to the hours that we labour at work. I wonder, whether there's a sabbatical somewhere , where our walks holding hands & having her rest her head on my shoulders , would not get over in a jiffy ?? Where we get to know each other better?? Perhaps, delve into each other's souls, to catch a closer glimpse at the people whom we actually fell for?? Perhaps not act according to how the society wants us to, and just be ourselves ??

In a busy city like Kolkata, that seems a distant possibility, since our friends' & relatives' numbers are enormous, and the spots of tourist interest around the city are likely to cause us to bump into one or more known faces.....thereby seriously jeopardising the quest to get closer! 

But what if we truly were love'Birds' ?? We could affectionately feed each other, cuddle a little, or tease playfully, without prying eyes & scornful words disrupting the genuinely lovely moments. 

What if we could fly away to the land of dreams where our souls wanted to go??

We could escape the urban melee for some days, and simply feed off each others' goodwill , like the migratory birds that fly thousands of miles during seasonal changes?? Wait, they escape the harsh winters in their homeland. But we would be happy to fly to a snow covered nation in winter, above the Arctic circle.....to Greenland perhaps. Life as an Eskimo couple would be at a languid pace, unlike the turbocharged lives in our metro! We'd build an igloo, and sit through months of winter nights , with no sun to look forward to but only ourselves to generate and share the warmth . There would be no multiplexes for movies, but the dark sky would turn out to be a gigantic plex screen , with the Northern Lights   (Aurora Borealis) playing periodically, being our source of entertainment . Eskimos do live , don't they?? They love too , don't they?? So, there's my counter argument to any family member trying to state that life is impossible at the polar region during winter.

Did we try to isolate ourselves from the world?? Are we not too social?? I'm afraid, we can mingle with the multitude of crowds and bond together as well. Me & P cherish dreams of visiting the spectacular Rio Carnival in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro someday . There would be no formal dress code of our professional lives, and we'd be the happy-go-lucky couple , dressed in colourful attires , basking in the fun, frolic and fanfare, with nobody complaining at the "outrageousness" of the psychedelic attire of two doctors . We'd just be ourselves, dancing on the streets , thousands of miles away from our own country , without a care in the world, or without a family member to explain our actions too! We'd attend beach parties, spend a holiday on the beach , and capture loads of photos of us letting our hair down . But of course, we'd love to put our smartphones on "offline" mode most of the time as well! 

Closer home , there is this very famous place in India, which is one of the spectacular landmarks of the world, but we'd approach it in a different way to spend some very private time. Yes, I'm talking about the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love , that draws millions of tourists every year. But me & P would row up the river Yamuna, on the reverse side of the Taj , on a full moon night . We would sit together, gazing at the glistening edifice in the pristine moonlight , while the Yamuna's waters , gently swaying the boat , would churn our inner feelings for each other. Words would be meaningless at such an hour, as our souls would be engaged in a tight embrace , wanting to hold on to every second that passes. A night to remember , it would seem.....farther away from the city life , and closer to nature.

All these are genuine wishes, and I'm ready to take the plunge with P to turn these dreams into exhilarating reality . Then , we could proudly proclaim, that we indeed went far, to get closer .....and closer .....and some more closer to each other! 

written as part of the "Go further to get closer" contest by British Airways. You can see their new heart warming ad here, and find out more about them here.