Of goodbyes and farewells...

Being a literature graduate, Eliot has always been a personal favorite but the real meaning of the lines read years ago became clearer when I decided to write this one. In his "Little Gidding", Eliot rightly said -

                         "What we call the beginning is often the end
                          And to make an end is to make a beginning.
                          The end is where we start from."
                                 
After ten months of training at Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in Jammu, its now time to come back to Delhi- the place which gave innumerable memories and uncontrollable laughter. But this time it is not about coming back to a place to wake up for 8:40s ,studying in literature classes or drinking endless coffees and ice-teas at LP in college. This time its about a more serious life, full of competition and deadlines, work pressures and expectations . Undoubtedly, the transition is anticipated to be big and challenging. So much so that it gave a week of sleepless nights ..thanks to the IIMC back to back examinations and no holidays or break in between the joining of job and completion of the course!
Meeting a whole new set of people,writing and working with them sounded exciting but at the same time parting with friends who were there 24*7 together in Jammu was heart-breaking. Home-coming is always awaited anxiously but the thought that there wouldn't be any going back to hostel this time was disappointing . This is not the first time I was going through this kind of parting and farewell. In fact, this had become a way of life.. packing and unpacking , changing hostels, making friends and moving on!
 But somehow this I found was the most difficult parting ever! Maybe it was because of the relationships build over time here or because of the excessive outings and time spent on exploring the city. Be it the simple Nescafe guy who was teary eyed when I said its probably the 'last coffee' here or the message from a Jammu University friend who was sad because of less time spent together due to the busy schedule at IIMC, it was difficult to accept it altogether. There were so many such people and incidents which made life happier just by their mere presence. They were like a support system which made the entire stay easier and enjoyable. The short discussions with them , their hospitality, their kindness .. the list never ends!
I guess that I found the 'connect with the city' which one of our professors talked about in the initial classes in college!
This message goes to each one of them ( if only they could read this; though I tried to convey the same in the last meet before coming)

           Goodbyes may seem forever, farewell is like the end
          But in my heart is a memory, and there you'll always be!

As time was passing and everybody around was leaving the very thought that Delhi would be another beginning of a yet new unexplored world was sinking in! The heart wanted to capture each and everything in the form of photographs, videos and what not. It was like telling oneself that no matter its going to be over , new memories would be formed very soon, after all a farewell is necessary so as to meet again!