In Search of the Unknown...

Jahnabi Gogoi | Art Work - Agniv Chakraborty

Every single day is a treasure hunt in this house ever since we have moved in.The previous owners weren't careful enough with their belongings or might be they just choose not to carry their past up their sleeves any longer .

I don't know about Alka , I was enjoying it all. My father had bought this place for me as a birthday gift. It was my decision to renovate this house from scratch that is the reason why I didn't allow anyone touch the place . After all it's a dream chore to design your own space for an architect . Alka , my best friend ,who is also an architect had step in to help me.

When Alka and I first started clearing up the space.We weren't expecting such a fascinating twist to our own little adventure.

A dozen of letters , a box full of guitar picks with thoughts inscribed on them , some journals that could be barely read - that is all we found in the basement.Why would someone leave back a part of their soul for others to find...From the letters we could make out , they were written by a guy , he had probably seen a lot of hardship in his life but his sheer determination to make the best out of every moment was commendable . How wonderfully, he had depicted about the girl he was betrothed to ,who later on left him at the altar. He had no hatred for her . His tears had wet the journal when his nana left this world . He preserved the wrinkled face of his dead nana with the warmth of his hands. These hands have grown giving burial to loved ones. First his parents at the age of 6 then Danny, his German Shepherd , when he was 21 and finally nana at 26 . Life was unfair yet he didn't stop living . He didn't stop learning , even if he wasn't musically sound he had picked his dad's guitar to honor his memory.He wore his mom's engagement ring in his chain dangling around his neck with hopes that he would profess his love one day with that gem in his hand to the girl who would accept him with his baggages . When nana,his last solace ,was suffering of cancer he dwelt in silent prayers . He blamed himself for her state and seeked forgiveness from God , if he had ever wronged Him.

How could he be so much in touch with his emotions (manliness is against showing emotions or crying in general;might be he only showed his emotions in his writings or didn't care enough about how others reacted towards him show-casing his feelings;kudos to a man like him ), is he there for real! I read his letters and journals over and over . I admired him more every time I did it. I didn't mean to but I started to feel for him.My heart lamented for his loss . I wanted to caress his hair and say, "Everything will be alright." I kissed his tear soaked letters and journal because I knew how much they meant to him . How sensitive and forgiving he was,to not question the love of his life for tarnishing his name at their altar . I felt for him so much . His each and every word were moving mountains down my heart without his knowledge . With every new find I was diving deeper and closer to knowing him.The mystery was hypnotizing me . I awaited to be drown in the waves of mystery,wondering how he looked like , what he is like , where is he now...

I started looking for him. Hoping to meet him one day and tell him,what a wonderful human being,he is.Tell him that I admired his vulnerability , it didn't make him small.Tell him that the person whose possessions were under my protection had won my heart . Tell him that I felt like he was the missing piece of my jigsaw puzzle . The longer I thought about him , deeper I fell in his love . I had to meet him for sure  for I was no longer in search of the unknown but in love with the unknown...

Outwitted

Jahnabi Gogoi | P.C. Anannya Gogoi

"Was he following you even today?" - for Shruti my life had taken an U-turn from a boring black and white movie with no subtitles to a Bollywood masala blockbuster. It's been two weeks now since when this guy have been following me. Each day it gets goofier and creepier. I have to warn him but I didn't know how to ward him off if I tell him blankly and my words might hurt his so-called ego then...

It was frustrating how I would make a plan in my mind and shrug it off anticipating the different reaction, I could get. Shruti, my roommate wasn't of much use. She did suggest to file a police complaint but it could jeopardize my whole career. I had fought with my parents to work here and if they get to know they would drag me home.I also didn't want to involve Suresh into this matter. Suresh was Shruti's friend who had a thing for me. He also happened to be my boss. If I tell him, I know he would accommodate me with a vehicle. But if I involve him, it would surely give him wrong vibes. I wasn't sure about him and me. If I seek help from Suresh, it would trap me into a pathetic situation.

I wish I had more friends here.Big, dangerous words like ACID-ATTACK, KIDNAPPING, RAPE, MURDER roamed around my mind. Investigation Discovery was taking toll on my thought process.

I save a Demi Lovato video on TV and I got an idea. "Shruti, let's go and have an ice-cream! " Shruti was taken by surprise at the sudden outburst of my enthusiasm for ice-cream in between of nowhere, I hated having ice-creams(dental problem) and Shruti loved them. Shruti - "Are you sure?""Of course" - Me. We walked out of the apartment. Baskin Robbins was two blocks away from our place. So, we decided to walk.

As expected that jerk was still there. I guess he had no other work then follow and wait for me. Life was harsh(read as boring) for this douche bag.While we were walking from the ice-cream parlour. "Shruti, is he still there?"

With her mouth stuffed with ice-cream, she nodded yes. "Is he looking at us?" She nodded yes once again.

I pulled her towards me cupped her face and smooched her. When I let her loose, I could see him running madly. Shruti stood there ice cold. I winked at her and said, "for my sake." "You... selfish..."

She chased me to our apartment. When we were exhausted with our pillow fight, we laughed. Laughed a lot.. laughed our hearts out."Mom calling" - My cellphone started to vibrate vigorously."ssh-shh!! its mom." I hushed Shruti"Hello" - Me

"Sanjana, are you lesbian?"Mom was crying, I could make out.

"What?" - Me

"Don't lie Sanjana, Rajiv told us." Mom replied.

Me - "Mom, who is this Rajiv now?"

Mom - "We had employed Rajiv to keep an eye on you, we were worried. Please tell me that you're straight..."

I did out-wit myself this time. Took me hours to make my mom understand that I was straight.

Letters To My Dorm Sisters

Jahnabi Gogoi | P.C. Anannya Gogoi

I'm in my college canteen with my notepad scribbling this and that; here and there. It seems like yesterday, do you remember ? How close - knit we were ? Knocking each others' door and shouting out at the top of our lungs in the morning to getup and get ready for classes - We had each others' back.

Walking to the bus stop. Attending morning classes and running to the canteen to satisfy our gluttony in the recess. Though the taste wasn't good at all but you all made it tastier.

Sorry, I haven't been able to catch up with you these days. Blame it on my laziness. But you all are always alive and fresh in my mind.

We don't talk much now-a-days but I promise I would try harder to cross this social media barrier and meet you in person.

Meet you soon Sisters!

A Kiss Under The Mistletoe...

Jahnabi Gogoi | P.C. Anannya Gogoi

"Susan, you're here, I've been searching you everywhere - let's turn on the Christmas lights." He found her standing still over the balcony,staring at the lit up street. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't notice him.
 

He quietly hugged her from behind and kissed the nape of her neck. He knew Susan was missing her family. This was her first Christmas away from her family in India. Edward hadn't known her much. This summer he had gone home, India, after 3 years, he had no clue that his family was looking for a bride for him. The first stop from airport was Susan's home. He was jet lagged but his parents were too adamant to start up with the bride hunt mission. He was 30 after all.

He still remembered how awkward it was when Susan and he were left alone to talk. He was trying to start up a real conservation, when he accidentally farted out loud, blame it on the samosas, he was stuffed with by Susan's family. Susan laughed her hearts out and it was love at first sight for Edward and two weeks later they were married. It all happened too fast.

Edward turned her over and kissed her forehead, there were tears in Susan's eyes. "Honey, let's turn on the Christmas lights?" He carried her in his arms to the switch board in the living room.

" Baby, do the honours." Susan obeyed his instructions.

Light turns on and she could not process for a moment what was in front of her.

Edward had decorated one whole wall of their living room with their family pieces.

"Merry Christmas, Sugar" and Edward kissed his princess, whom he would never let to cry again.

Locked From Within

Jahnabi Gogoi | P.C. Anannya Gogoi

Kneeling down,

Ailing mind with the presence of my frustration's crown,

Sensing that how far away I’m being drowned,

Watching how even happiness to smile at me frowns.

The hot desert is eating me up,

My heart urges to kill the tiredness with tea one cup.

Till the distance I see,

To give me shelter there is no tree,

I am feeling thirsty,

But there have been no showers for years now.

Birds are chirruping outside,

Someone is singing a mesmerizing song outside,

Freshness I can feel of  the waterfalls outside,

Shouts of the children I can hear playing outside.

But still I can’t go outside,

With the turmoils going on inside,

Not letting me to do so,

The egoistic person which in me resides;

What to do I can’t decide!

I’am locked from within,the guilt is killing me inside.

Psalm of an Honest Soul...

Jahnabi Gogoi

[TRUE STORY]

Like every usual day I was returning home after my classes . I have to walk almost 2 km to reach the bus-stop.While I was walking my eyes fell on this guy,who was sitting near a municipality garbage bin which was full with waste like always . Usually I would press a handkerchief against my nostrils and walk as fast as I could , that area stinked . But today I saw him and my legs won't carry me any further .I had to stop. I unzipped my bag and pulled out a 20 rupees note and handed it over to him.What I saw next disturbed me! He had somehow managed to pull out something to eat from that garbage bin. I resumed walking to the bus-stop but my soul in distress was crying out loud, wouldn't give me rest until and unless I knew he had something fit to eat as per human standards.

I went back to his spot with high hopes that he would be still there .I called him-Dada and handed him a poly bag filled with some food stuff,I bought .

I walked away. Didn't look back.I didn't want to embrass him!

When we named this blog INSIGHT ,we named it so that we could promote people to gain a deeper understanding of life and today I saw people walking past my Dada without even noticing him. Human will not be human without humanity.No, I am not a saint or a crusader.I am just a fellow human being requesting you to keep humanity alive !!!

I don't ask you to donate all your bucks in the name of charity,just do 1 good deed in a day.You wouldn't be helping others,you would be actually helping and nurturing yourself.

LET'S BE HUMAN AGAIN...

Ghungroos on Strike...

Jahnabi Gogoi |P.C. Anannya Gogoi

Life was completely different before her Jaipuri foot , Sanjay loved her then . Some years down the lane they had planed to get married.

It took Osteosarcoma to unveil the truth behind Sanjay's face. Her cancerous limb had cost her,her once prized possession, Sanjay. She doesn't blame him,who would take an amputee for a wife . She knew it would be hard . Just the audacity to fight off the sympathetic glares won't be of much use because this was meant to be a journey not outwards but inwards. To be accepted , she had to accept herself . EMBRACE THE ODDS.

When doctors told her , she could walk again . She knew she didn't want to walk , she wanted to dance.

It took her one true leg to realize her one true love,DANCE. 

Whisper of Fire

Jahnabi Gogoi |P.C. Anannya Gogoi

"Darling, do you remember the tree over the hill-top?" His voice was heavy and he looked so pale. She rose her glare from her knitting table and looked at him with sharp devouring eyes.

His reasons better be good, she thought. Carrying a baby inside your womb is no easy job and it was taking toll on her. She was living on the edge, one bad move and she would rip him apart.

"Which tree are you talking about?" - She enquired with no enthusiasm at all. John was being very patient with her. So, she obliged to entertain him any way. Things weren't like before, things had changed. The only thing that kept them together was this baby.

"The Gulmohar tree." - he sighed. THE GULMOHAR TREE. She wished she heard it wrong. She knew that something was wrong.

"What happened to the tree, John?" - with her fingers crossed, she asked.

"They would axe it down tomorrow, they want to erect a building over there!" - He was shivering now Julianna hugged him tight. This couldn't be true! Her heart raced fast, she  wished it was a dream.

Because this was no ordinary tree, this tree was the momentum of their love, the witness of their first kiss, their first hug and many more first's that 

followed. She saw it all. All over again.

They cried and cried till their hearts' content in each others' arms.

That night a miracle took place - "The flame of the forest" had breathe flame into these inseparable souls once over again.

Mind-Speak Less!!!

Jahnabi Gogoi | P.C. Anannya Gogoi

Have your mind ever weaved stories, sung in riddles on its own. Mine just did!!!. Blame it on the enchanting beauty of this place or my ever-active talkative mind. My imagination breathe life into the green bush on the left and turned it into the once Brave, Tawny, Fierce lion, on whom time has ran his fingers over. The once furious predator have grown calm and grey. He who is now calm and grey is basking in the beauty of the wide-spread blue sky, with the flirtatious flurry white cloud comforting the burning sun in its warm arms, has learnt his lessons, "IT'S OK NOT TO BE OK." Take a break. Sit back in between. BREATHE!!!