I am not sure if everyone has this yearning of having that 'been there-done that' feeling. Possibly it requires being 'sick' for a while to get this feeling ? Anyway - for me it had been a long-felt feeling of mine (sic - congenital ?) which became a conscious one when I was bed-ridden for a few months with a broken leg. And the re-read of 'The English patient' only helped seal the yearning. In this state I realised - one can only recall and relish the memoirs, regret the cancelled adventures, wonder and be glad at the same time on the apparently foolishly risky trips made........The past is like a dream - only it is true and with yourself as a protagonist.
But come on - what does truth mean? Remember the quote from 'God of small things' wherein the younger one tells the Mom - 'Mom I got a dream that I was eating lots of icecreams....it's true Mom they tasted so good......they were really big and very tasty Mom.....I really ate them Mom'. Not the same words I am sure....but I hope you get the idea. So who is to deny this child the pleasure of retaining the memory of
'really' having eaten those wonderful icecreams.....whether the meomory is from reality or a dream........As it is said - isn't reality just another dream (was it the 'Matrix'.....or was it 'The Gita'....or is it a generic drawl) ? Possibly this is what Hypnotism is all about....making one believe of events that did not happen by etching them onto the memory-disk by repetitive strokes?
Anyway my intention was not to get into the esoteric sciences. It was only to inject the drive to go out there and 'experience' life so that they are etched onto the grey-cells which may be cherished at an apparently much low-key physically challenged life at a later stage when one can only get into reveries. Would strongly recommend this book 'The English Patient' and the movie of the same title - for better insights into this aspect of 'Been There - Done That'.
What follows is the best way of summarising such memories......and this Keats poem got distilled even through some fat heads like mine only thanks to the efforts of our wonderful English Teacher Mrs Jayawardhane who had moulded our tiny hearts (cannot remember any specifics now.....only a feeling of a strange charm and wonder) so as to appreciate the beauty of the written word:
A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing
Here are some of my most cherished memories....what are yours?
Nature:
* Being on top of really cold and windy mountains (Busteni, Romania and Auli/Joshimath on the Himalayas immediately spring to mind)
* Sunsets in the centre of a desert - mesmerizing view with you at the centre of a golden-brown disk having a huge Orange ball sinking at the horizon ('Sum' at Jaisalmer about sums up the feeling - or is it just Agoramania ?)
* Swimming with the turtles, dolphins and hundreds of shoals of fish. A good swim leaves a great feeling of well-being : quite comparable to the moment of great pleasure after a solid run, a rigorous exercise in some sport, a decent workout followed by a Sauna and a Steam-bath interspersed with a couple of lemon drinks !
* Skiing all day - on the snow-laden slopes with crisp air and a warm shining sun in the blue sky with some white clouds scudding along once in a while - all the while drinking in the beauty of nature. Hurling down scary steeps of snow-clad slopes while skiing - day or night, both are unique experiences
* Long walks among trees/gardens/wide-open-spaces/streets......it is something gives me a feeling of oneness with nature and makes me whole
Human:
* Movies: Watching action movies in dolby theatres....else even a good Sony with a DVD Player would do :-)
* Food n drinks: Hyderabadi Biryani ofcourse and many rounds of Irani Chai with chota samosa and osmania biscuits
* Deep Reading: and rereading each page....nay each line....nay each word of books like 'Thus Spake Zorathustra' and relish the taste better with each read - much like the quoted bee overladen with honey. Some other memorable reads were those of Ayn Rand, Fyodor Dostoevsky
* Fast reading: Tucking into some warm snacks under a cosy blanket during cold winters with eyes locked onto an Alistair Mcclean novel or a PG Woodhouse or a TinTin/Asterix-Obelix
* Playing marbles all day : even though losing streaks are generally the ones that I recall - though do recall a few occasions of overflowing marble-banks !
* Going places: Visiting different places.....absorbing and indulging in their sights, sounds and magic
* Space - The Final Frontier: Wondering about the Stars....the Universe....the speed of light....time.....To go where no man has gone before....and the amazing stories of scientific endeavours that unravel the marvel of the eternal romance of the mystery that shrouds us each night. Been a while since I lost the sense of wonder thanks to a 'professional lifestyle' and our 'neon-light cities' where star-gaze is neigh impossible. Had recently woken up to that wonderful feeling with the read of 'The Fabric of the Cosmos'
