Moving
into a new place brings with it a lot of new things. For one, the entire house
looks unfamiliar. From north Delhi, I moved to south. From paying a rent of Rs.
2500, I know pay Rs. 25,000 (it's no magic or Chawl, it was rent control). From
having a choice between two metro
stations at a walking distance, I hop into an auto. From having the local “doodh
wala” as my neighbor, I now have a spate of people around me, some of them with
bad music tastes. From living in a 4 BHK, I now live in a 2 BHK. The list goes
on and so can I, but for your benefit I will stop.
I settled
in the new place quite comfortably because I was psyched to live with the love
of my life. This place became home way too quickly and I wasn't guilty to let
go of the place I had been living all my life (well almost). We had also brought some of the white goods
from my old place. Buying new things for two people did not make much sense
back then. But today we purchased a new refrigerator and a washing machine. As I
sat down, staring at the two refrigerators, I began to feel bereaved. I wasn't unhappy
about the new one, but I was sad about letting the old one go. When certain
things have been in your life for as long as you can remember, they somehow
become a part of all the moments that
you have spent around them. At that moment, on my couch, I could only think of
the good ones. The refrigerator is so old, the model is obsolete. The washing
machine was an inconvenience and sounds like a drill machine. Yes, they are
mere machines, but they have been a part of my life for so long, they ceased to
be just machines. They were like a page in my book of life, one that I didn't feel
like tearing off.
Why do
we keep old birthday cards? Why do we smile looking at photographs from our
childhood? An old letter perhaps? I have seen my mom save things that I have labeled
as junk, only to realize now that they are invaluable, some of them to even
others. They are invaluable because they remind us of the glory of the past and
not many things can trigger that. There are moments in my past that I would want
to let go, so it becomes easier to let go of the things that remind me of the
same. But not my leaking refrigerator and the drill machine. You have been sold
my friends, but you were there with me, in my good times and for the bad ones..
