Punjab - In Retrospect : Part III

Life goes on and when that day ended I felt that I had learnt something. I felt that that trip had already been a success and that, we all, together as a unit, just clicked. The next day promised a lot more fun and a lot more excitement. It turned out to be something quite extraordinary though. The first thing we did was to visit the Golden Temple again and have langar. Although it was a lot more crowded this time round, that place still taught so much to me that I was just left overawed by its beauty.

When we left that place finally, I knew that we would not be seeing anymore of it anytime soon but I also knew that one day I would be back to visit this out of the world monument. The next place we visited was the Jallianwala Bagh. I had a lot of expectations from this place but it turned out to be the worst experience of them all, apart from a few laughs that I had, seeing General Dyer (CHA) firing bullets while her sister (Devil - 1) combed her hair.

We had absolutely nothing to do after this since the plan that (JS) had made had to be cancelled partly because of the delay and partly because of our lethargy and we were left as clueless as dorks about the future of our itinerary. We visited a temple after that which had the idols of the Gods and Goddesses from all over India and was a nice little tweak to the trip.

All this while it just seemed that the end of the sojourn was coming close and that, alongwith the dull weather lent a depressing feeling to my mind. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and get set for the ride back but not before we hogged some badly needed food and beverages. I managed to catch a little nap as well after the binging session and that helped me to carry on for the rest of the day.

The journey back to Delhi was quite uneventful except for the fact that the morning fog there was reported as one of the worst in the history of that city. Sitting in that bus, it felt almost like we were in the middle of a white ocean, trying to find the black strip on which we had to move. When I finally split up with the gang to go on my separate way I felt no emotion at all. I knew that this was quite abnormal at that time. Maybe my mind was still trying to come to terms with the fact that the trip had actually ended.

I had one more day to spend with the little dude and it seemed like he was the only one who could make me laugh after the terrifyingly tiring ordeal that I had been through. During my spare time that day when I regained my senses, I tried recounting the events that had transpired in the last week. I realized that those wonderful moments were never going to come back. I realized how much we all had achieved together as a group. I realized how fortunate I was to have been a part of a team which never let the spirits dampen. I realized how it is the company that makes an average trip into an unforgettable experience.

The soulmate, the flights, the friends, the Little Dude, the family, the roads, the places, the moments, the feelings and the memories had more than completed the collage of my life that week and it turned out to be quite a masterpiece. I most certainly felt alive that week of my life.....Punjab had done it again !!