Six winters in Shillong

Feels like it was just yesterday

and then again I feel

I have lost it

back a long way. 

The sweet surprise of a sudden drizzle,

The omnipresence of clouds,

The aroma of pine trees,

Cold air, the mystic hills,

The clean streets...

Six seasons of spring,
Six winters

Of my days in Shillong

Days of the spirited heart,
Of big dreams and being different,
Of promises, of spontaneity,

Days of being naive, of “growing up”

Those memorable trips to Dawki with friends

In our rented Maruti 800 cab.
The first glimpse of the shadow of clouds
On the way to Nohkalikai falls.

The kiss of the pleasant winter sun,
The divine vibe of choruses from a Sunday mass,
The leisurely strum of guitar chords from a neighbor,
Moments of love, of madness, that I’ll always harbor. 

Memories of those lonely evenings
Watching the sun set in Barapani,
The pain, the insecurity
Of losing the person
I once loved unconditionally...

Promises of being together forever
Were those just momentary?
Carved in the bark of that uphill pine tree
Is our love’s secret testimony.

And now, thousands of miles away
Countless winters have passed,
But deep down in this heart
There are still a hundred unhealed scars.

And in all my futile attempts
To tear away the past
I only realize,

I could never leave Shillong,
It stays with me

Forever... 

-Bidyut 

Image Credit: Anannya Deb

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