Her big, lovely eyes slowly transformed into glistening pools of molten lava. While browsing through her wardrobe, she chanced upon a dusty box of memories. Old family albums from back when hard copies of pictures were the norm. Each special moment was captured carefully. She used to do these little doodles around the pictures, and touching them she remembered how she also wrote smallish notes behind each photo. She gingerly picked out one and looked behind it at her own handwriting. Those were the days when she was bubbling with enthusiasm. When love songs played most often in her head. Those early years of her marriage – she looked at her own younger self with much appreciation and some pride too. Wow, they looked good and had a heartwarming innocence that seemed to seep through these photos. They had wooed each other with Bollywood songs, some cheesy others really emotional. There was one of her in pregnant bliss. Like soft strains of music; she could hum the memories in her mind’s eye!
And then her world changed. Diya was born!
Just like her name, Diya breezed into their lives, like a fast-paced, edgy song, wailing and kicking, brightening up every nook and cranny of their lives. From then on, it was Diya in every frame – as she wept, laughed, crawled, walked, fell, performed. She and Diya both loved music often singing together loudly off key!
“Ma, look what I got!”
“No, Diya. We cannot keep a puppy. Sorry darling!” She had cried so much. Her girl was always sensitive.
Looking at this pic of a rather morose-looking Diya, she laughed back tears! Diya had lost both her front teeth and was terribly self-conscious. She seemed to have become a drama queen spewing sad songs!
Diya in a make-shift sari made with her dupatta with badly-applied lipstick and her high heels. She promptly fell when her mother walked in on her. The pic was taken when she was prancing in front of the mirror to the tunes of a sexy Madhubala ditty!
As she sifted through time, plucking each memory out, laughing and crying with it and then keeping it back snugly and progressing on to the next, she saw her girl grow up from a teeny weeny little doll to the self-assured young lady that she was now. The songs in her mind underwent their transformation from 70s impish to the modern and upbeat 21st century.
The last picture was a recent one in which she and Rahul were posing in a filmy Ranbir Dipika pose!
She kissed the albums shut, closing the gateway to memories with a warm heart till another day when she will reach out once more and savor them just like those soulful Sufiana songs.
The nest was empty, but the satisfaction and happiness within her was immense. She had cherished each moment! Her life’s songs had played out well. It was now time to enjoy the new tunes!
Pic courtesy: Freedigitalphotos.net
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