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Saturday, November 6, 2010

CELEBRATIONS


This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 16; the sixteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
Books, handwritten letters, photographs, records, memories and posters, his life were full of them. He woke up religiously at 6 every morning and went straight to his treasure chest, filled with things which others called old junk, but for him it was his life. It was everything he ever wanted and ever owned. He had lived a life the way he wanted. He was 85 and a widower. It had been 15 years since his wife had passed away and he missed her the most. His two sons had left him long ago and he lived in a small house that he built himself near the lake where he met his wife for the first time 55 years ago. It was the place he proposed marriage and she had said yes.


The treasure chest contained all that means the world to him. Photog
raphs of his wife, his kids, some real close friends and memories from each and every one of his trips. He loved to travel and he ensured he took his wife with him everywhere he went. Old records that he used to listen to all his favorite music from everyday on the gramophone player that adorned his desk. He would start his day with some lovely music that would fill the three rooms that he had in his house. Puki, his dog was the only other living thing that stayed with him.


Kishore’s voice echoed in the background, as he made his first cup of coffee for the day. He whistled to Puki to fetch the newspaper that was thrown near the gate by the little boy down the lake who delivered his dose of world news. He settled down on the
big easy chair overlooking the lake and began sipping his coffee. His face had a lot of wrinkles. His hair was silky but silver in color. He had aged gracefully. Looking at his face one couldn’t understand him completely. One had to look deeper and deeper, like excavating the real face that hid behind all the layers of wrinkles. It was poetry in motion if you had to analyze the man’s face. After completing the newspaper, he walked up to his treasure chest and took out an album. He had collated it himself, with photographs that spanned many decades. He had also written notes about the places where those pictures had been taken to remind him of all the things beautiful in his life. He saw a picture of his wife, this young gorgeous woman who was 26 at the time when the picture was taken. He gently ran his wrinkled, shaky fingers over the picture, caressed her face and smiled. A drop of tear trickled down from his eyes and changed its course many times before falling on the back of his hand. He scrolled through the many pictures that adorned his album and he did this everyday.


He would then take another paper bag which had all the letters that his wife had written to him when he was in the army. The letters were very brittle, almost had a shade of brownish yellow after all these years. He still loved the smell of his dead wife’s perfume on those letters. He had been in the army a year after he had gotten married and was away from his wife for four years. He still believed that it was those
four years that made him realize that she was the one he wanted to spend all his life with. These letters were worth a fortune. Every time he read those letters, he could visualize his wife reading it out to him, speaking to him. He could feel her presence. That’s why he did that everyday. The many names she would address him by, the little fights they had, things that were bothering her in his absence. It was magic.


Today as he was reading those letters, he was overcome with emotion. It was their anniversary. After he was don
e with the last letter, he closed the box and walked up to the lake. He stood there gazing at the water. He could see his reflection on the water. His eyes were moist. As he kept looking at his reflection, he could see another person next to him. There she was, smiling at him. He whispered, “Happy Anniversary, My love. What would you like to have for lunch”?


His way of
CELEBRATION began.....
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
With Love,









60 comments:

Amity said...

Oh so nostalgic and sad Shruti...will I be like him soon?

I was so touched by this old man...

A beautiful story dear! There seems to be hope, when there is none left anymore...

MuddassirShah said...

Wonderful.
Someday somewhere all of us will be a part of tat story.
Either in his role or hers.

Siddhesh Kabe said...

The story was really amazing and was written very nicely.

I just think it was elongated a little much. But overall..awesome.

Shruti said...

>>Amity
Everyone will be in this position at some point of time!

Thank u so much :)

Shruti said...

>>Md. Muddassir Shah
Hi :)
What u told is absolute truth! Thats true :)

Thanks :)

Shruti said...

>>Siddhesh 'Ravan' Kabe
Hey buddy! Thanks a bunch :)

Jaspreet said...

Awesome is the word, Shruti. It kept me engrossed till the end. The story flowed smoothly and the emotions have been conveyed beautifully using apt words.Wonderful narrative.
All the best! :)

Brijender Singh said...

Very simple,very delicate,very poignant.
Loved the way you have chosen to speak of the most commonplace of things to convey the beauty that only simplicity can possess and bestow.

Saro said...

Very touching and sadly true.. Not all celebrations are happy I guess..

Shruti said...

>>Jaspreet
Hey welcome :)
Thanks and am glad that u liked the story

Shruti said...

>>Brijender Singh
Thanks and so many thanks :)
Was smiling fully while reading ur comment!

Shruti said...

>>Saro
True!
Not all celebrations are happy!

That's me said...

Such a simple story and yet you have narrated it in a way to make it unique.Nice post :)

pRasad said...

Liked the way you have narrated..nice one..:)

Vikas Khair said...

Hey Shruti what a start to the entries wonderful work. you have set the bar so high with the first entry that now it will be difficult to pass.

All the best for BAT-16

Vikas Khair - Celebrations

MAVERICK said...

Indeed a different way for a lonely man to celebrate. Once again there are two feelings that have been generated in my mind.
One of course that of love strengthens on separation, that we all realise sooner or later in life , in one form or the other,
But the second feeling bit more contradictory to the first, what if separation is of the permanent nature, how can then a person fulfill his need of love? Something like the protagonist faces here

Yet a commendable job with simple flow of feelings and narration.
All the best.
P.S. : I have tried to explain the few hindi quotes in the comment section to my post. So if you may wish , you may pay a visit once again.
Keep Blogging :)

Vinay Leo R. said...

beautiful, nostalgic write up, Shroo! :)

all the best!

astrosunilnomy said...

the idea behind is good one , army man longing for his lady love, reminded me of a walk in the clouds.

Anonymous said...

Let the celebrations begin... in our own little ways... very nice post.



there was a grevious mistake on my part.. i did a mistake in linking my post with an erratic T in the end which redirected everybody to an old arbitrary post. correct link will be
http://foolwise.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/celebrations/

Rajlakshmi said...

very touching story... at some point of time, its the memories that keeps us going.
loved the narration...

Chetan Maheshwari said...

hey..
so beautifully writeen, and the old man.. they way you portrayed him was just too great

Harini said...

Such a beautifully written story :). Good luck!

magiceye said...

....beautiful.....

best wishes!!

Cherry Blossom said...

Excellent narrative. The smooth flow of words just triggers the reader's soul to sympathize with the protagonist. All the best.

Shruti said...

>>That's me
Hey welcome to my blog and thanks a bunch for sucha sweet comment :)

Shruti said...

>>pRasad
Hey welcome and thanks for the comment :)

Shruti said...

>>Vikas Khair
Really???! :D
Thanks :D
Am grinning widely, can u see? :D

Shruti said...

>>MAVERICK
Wowie! What a way to analyse the feelings! After reading ur comment, I felt the other perspective that my story paves way into!

And I saw ur explanations! Thanks for that!

Shruti said...

>>Leo
Thanks da Vinu :)

Shruti said...

>>astrosunilnomy
Hey thanks a ton :)

Shruti said...

>>foolwise
Saw/Read ur post before u posted the link here

Shruti said...

>>Rajlakshmi
After a long long tym, Raje! How r u??
And yeah, @ some point of time, we all will be in that position!

Shruti said...

>>Chetan
Hey :)
Thanks a ton :)

Shruti said...

>>Harini
Hey hw r u :)
Thanks :)

Shruti said...

>>magiceye
Welcome..Thanks..Best Wishes to you too :)

Shruti said...

>>Cherry Blossom
A writers success is when the readers empathize and I got the result as a writer :)
Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

A delicately woven tale that reaches out to you. I loved it. We can all relate to it some way or the other .
Best of Luck Shruti :)

Viyoma said...

How touching!!! Develop the theme a little more..and you can write a whole book out of it!!

You bet.i will be the 1st reader!!

Aashish Sood said...

Very interesting description and an even interesting story... the ending could have been made more emotional though... probably you could have made it a bit more descrptive... LIKED it though!

swayambhu said...

Hey, thats a really nice story there! Short, sweet and touching the heart...

RaNiiiiii said...

hi shruti.. very deep meaning for a word like celebration.. nicely expressed by ur post..

Yamini Meduri said...

Beautiful celebration Shruthi...short sweet and simple..!!!

Here is my celebration:
Ms. Meduri- Celebrations

Pushpz said...

celebration of life...nicely told..:))

Shruti said...

>>tikulicious
Glad that you liked my post!

Shruti said...

>>Viyoma
Am all smiles re!! Whatta comment :D
Thanks :)

Shruti said...

>>Aashish Sood
Hey, i didn't wanted 2 end each and every post on a sad note! That's why I left the story on a much practical ending :)
Thanks fr liking it though!

Shruti said...

>>swayambhu
Thanks! :)

Shruti said...

>>RaNiiiiii
Hey there, Thanks! Just thought of portraying the other meaning for CELEBRATION :)
CEEBRATING THE LIFE :)

Shruti said...

>>Ms.Meduri
Thanks re :)

Shruti said...

>>pushpee
U got the point!!

Anonymous said...

That was beautiful !! Altho , it was quite evident of what the next would be , the protryal of emotions and words chosen , really kept me hooked ! :) All the best for BAT :)

adarshs said...

filled with emotions n romance...wonderfully written...bravo..

Makk said...

your style and is changing... :)


hows that??

Someone is Special said...

Shruti.. Beautiful post.. Of course someday we can find us in those situations.. Loved you work.. Short and Sweet...

Good luck for BAT and do stop by, Someone Is Special - Celebrations

--Someone Is Special--

HotBoyzz said...

Shruti... Beautiful celebration. Do stop by, Image Funia
where u can find nice wallpapers

Dr. Pratibha Singh said...

Loved the way you narrated the story and its really sad to celebrate anniversary like this.All the best for BAT.

D2 said...

A beautiful story and very well told indeed. The celebration is so poignant, though saddening.
All the best for the BAT.

Kshitij KK Khurana said...

Okay! I came with high expectations and I am leaving more than satisfied.

I really like your posts Shruti. This one is a beautiful story.

UmaS said...

Awesome....it brought a tear to my eye too....

Some memories just stay with us and we live in them literally.

Pritz said...

I love your blog and when I had to share my Versatile Blogger Award with my favourite bloggers, I had to share it with you. So here's the link.

http://smilingpritz.blogspot.com/2011/08/guess-what-my-first-ever-blogger-award.html

Congratulations and keep blogging :)

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