Boys and Girls

I am sipping a cup of tea in my home’s balcony. Beyond the rain-induced moistness in the air lie the mountainous terrains. Buildings abound and then there lie, at the bottom, the criss-crossing roads and streets, and the ever plying and dodging traffic on them. Beautiful rendition of nature and that is what people and poets alike call the bliss! But I see bliss floating in the eyes and ears of those young kids which are sauntering on the front street right now. Oblivious to the world and unmindful of the life, they are all immersed in the post-school jaunt – some calling others names, some coaxing others to go to the kiosk, some actually snogging Hey, sorry these are not kids, these are adolescent teenagers, if the italicized emphasis of words hit the meaning. They are carefree and careless …..

And so was I, about 10 years back. Diving into the first waves of insouciant manhood from the headland of innocent childhood. It was all expansive as universe, all too imperfect unlike the orderliness of my earlier military school. Yes, a new school happened right at the time when I was feeling a new ‘me’ inside my veins. I could run 10 miles a day, I could solve the Kashmir issue, I could be the Casanova ala Shahrukh, I could actually do everything …. That is how I thought. It was the sudden power of flush of adulthood. I could actually see love happening vis-à-vis the girls. I could savour the beauty of their lips and their body. I could read what love – the everywhere word- had to say. No wonders, I fell in love with every girl I met.

I also questioned why world is so snobbish and selfish. Why religions fight and why do nations war? Why people give bribes to get work done? Why can’t we all be pure …. Questions, questions, questions …. all emanating from the new beauty and reason that I could see radiating everywhere. Why can’t boys and girls mix without inhibition, even if the rightness of it is shown in our movies every time? Why is everything about sex so bad even if the impulses are so pleasing? Why are things forbidden, for God’s sake???

The answers had to be earned though. And it took me a decade to know why things are as they are. The energy is sobered and the mind acclimatized now. But also there is a submitted self to the whims of the world.

I look at those boys and girls again. I look at their effervescent smile and their nonchalant gait. Everyone feeling the warmth of the company, and everyone beaming the same incredulous queries and beliefs about the world. How blissful is that? I suddenly feel envious as I slurp the last drops of my tea.