rootless nostalgia

i was to go to Srinagar on work. OK confession time... i was a little apprehensive about the security scenario there but then work is work.. plus added advantage of visiting my home town. Excuse me??? did i just say home town??? sorry about that.. i have visited the town (the catch word being visited) 5-6 times; the last such occasion being a little before i celebrated my 9th birthday...

it's then that it struck me.. people like me do not have a place to call home town in the real sense of it.. we are the classical case of rootless people. so let me just say i was to go to my ancestor's city.

after the tired journey when i reached the place... it was a disappointing to say the least. Srinagar was like any other city.. i might as well have been back HOME in Chandigarh.. same old dust and grime...

but i felt a strange sense of belonging there.. some peace as if i was a part of that area... though i speak stuttering Kashmiri at the best of times.i felt energised to be there.. i dragged my co-traveller to go visit the Dal.. and next morning was up @ 6 to visit the Shakeracharya temple..

it felt so nice to hear the language of my ancestors (Kashmiri) be used as lingua franca there.

i was pining to go visit my ancestral home place where my dad and before him even my grand dad had played and lived.. but then i was warned by the army ppl that i was visiting that Rainawari (thtz where i wanted to go) was not the safest place to visit in the city... that and the lack of time sealed the fate of my rainawari visit...

but some time... some time later...

I WILL BE BACK (sorry fr the cheap rip off from terminator)...