Lost in Time

Lost in time, is the ringing of the morning school bell…...replaced by the alarm on a machine, without which life seems impossible, to set yet another routine day at work and home, in motion.

Lost in time, is the sight of young Maradonas, running around in fields, sweating and panting in the scorching summer sun, yet full of excitement and energy to score that coveted goal......replaced by the divisions and levels, matches and online rankings on the Xbox and the PlayStation.

Lost in time, are the days of impatient waiting to check out the pictures clicked at the last outing or a social event using the oh-so-humble camera from yesteryears, to see how perfect or imperfect one looks in each capture......replaced by the trend of getting the perfect selfie clicked after multiple shots tried or an image processing app that covers up all imperfections to produce that perfect social media profile. 

Lost in time, are the curly locks of jet black hair…...replaced by the straightened strands of mellowing hair, with the occasional peek of maturity to add some hue 😊.

Lost in time, are the days filled with sounds of music and cheerful chatter along with a serving of home-made snacks in the company of family to celebrate holidays and weekends......replaced by the memories and the grief in remembrance of people whose journey of life ended somewhere in the trail of years left behind. 

Lost in time, is the childhood dream of creating a shelter which would open its doors to every animal in need......replaced by the handicap of an ocean of uncertainty in life, the dream now being lived by following the work of a number of animal welfare workers and helping them in the only way that is a possibility - financially. 

Lost in time, are the days of looking forward to even the roughest days at work, with a set of colleagues cum friends, who made life on the job fun with their constant jokes and antics......replaced by a robotic routine of ‘reach office - work - take a break - meet deadlines - go home’, all in solitude, with the memories of the days gone by tugging at the heart, ever so often. And the occasional courtesies of checking on each other through social media.

Lost in time, is the innocence, the simplicity, the laughter, the emotions and the bond that still beams gleefully in the pictures of the two lovers that lay stocked up in online albums and on hard drives......replaced by an eerie silence, and an awkwardness of a vague future in store.

Lost in time, are also the memories of cheerful bonds between people, formed as a result of the social tag of a marriage which adds a person to your circle; of fun filled outings, get-togethers and musical sessions, the memories that still remain captured in telltale pictures.....replaced now by unexpressed emotions of resentment against each other, due to broken bonds and misunderstandings, uncomfortable situations of excluding one from similar gatherings and a cold air of dislike.

And not to forget –

Lost in time, is the sense of security with which parents handed their growing bundle of joy to an institution that would shape the future of the young mind......replaced by the constant fear and insecurity of whether the little one would return home safe and sound. Would he/she be mauled by a stranger? Would he/she be a victim of carelessness or irresponsibility? The questions plaguing the worried minds are endless.

Lost in time, are the concepts of invincible and eternal love, of humanity and kindness; lost are the Heer - Ranjhas and the Mother Teresas......replaced by times where a mother kills her own daughter ( Indrani Mukherjea - Sheena Bora), a lover burns the loved one ( the countless acid attack victims ), a brother kills his sister with permission from the father ( the heard and the unheard cases of honour killings ), or be it a bunch of people who decide to play God and proclaim who deserves to live or die, by beating the life out of two innocent, hopeful and aspiring young men ( Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath ).

The list keeps growing with each passing day.....and a little bit more of humanity from the human, gets LOST IN TIME.