Nostaligia
"Those who have poisoned your air, those who have extinguished yourlight,Can it be that you have forgiven them? Can it be that you love them?
Mr Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and welcome guests, today I am going to share a thought that came to me few days back.
It was the first rainy day of the year in Bhubaneswar . After a long wait, the rain just kissed the earth. The thirsty earth was waiting for this for a long time. I was sitting in the balcony of my apartment enjoying the pleasant weather and the morning tea. The romanticism of the environment catapulted me into nostalgia. In my mind I saw a small boy running all over the courtyard to catch the restless dragonflies. After few tries, he gave up. He was tired and thirsty. He ran to the nearby spring and quenched his thirst drinking the sweet natural water. Ahhh!!!How satisfying was that!!! I can still feel that satisfaction. It filled him with renewed vigor and energy. He ran like a deer and did not stop until he reached near the village school ground. He took a deep breath and inhaled the pure morning air. It felt so nice. The air was as pure as the gods, as natural as the mother nature. The boy did not stop there, he ran and reached the bank of the river. As soon as he reached the river,the sound of the waves poured honey into his ears. It was such a melodious sound.He looked up in the eastern horizon, the morning sun was peeking over the mountains . It looked like a beautiful big golden dish. The sight was so amazing that the little boy was lost in its beauty. He slowly sat down by the river bed . He looked upstream. The sunlight shattered into multiple sparkling pieces of silver after hitting the water. The sparkling pieces came dancing downwards and followed the river to its destination. The little boy looked on the other side of the river where there was a sunflower garden.It seemed someone has splashed yellow and green all over. It was a fantastic view and he kept looking at it like one bewitched. The little boy was soon immeresed into deep thought. Where does the river come from and where does it go ? Who created this river and where does the water come from ? His mind was crowded with many questions for which he had no answers.Today I have the answers but I could not find the little boy . He is lost. He is gone.
Tring..Tring..A sudden harsh sound broke my solitary reverie. Someone was at the door. It was the water-man. We buy drinking water treated with chemicals every week. I looked for the morning sun, I could not find it behind the sky scrapers. I sighed and took a deep breadth and started sneezing soon. I am allergic to dust and smoke and the air is full of it now . I noticed that the little sunflower plant that I planted last week gave up its fight to survive. It could not get enough sunlight. Few lines of Tagore then flashed though my mind "Those who have poisoned your air, those who have extinguished yourlight,Can it be that you have forgiven them? Can it be that you love them?
--Rajib Deb
Mr Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and welcome guests, today I am going to share a thought that came to me few days back.
It was the first rainy day of the year in Bhubaneswar . After a long wait, the rain just kissed the earth. The thirsty earth was waiting for this for a long time. I was sitting in the balcony of my apartment enjoying the pleasant weather and the morning tea. The romanticism of the environment catapulted me into nostalgia. In my mind I saw a small boy running all over the courtyard to catch the restless dragonflies. After few tries, he gave up. He was tired and thirsty. He ran to the nearby spring and quenched his thirst drinking the sweet natural water. Ahhh!!!How satisfying was that!!! I can still feel that satisfaction. It filled him with renewed vigor and energy. He ran like a deer and did not stop until he reached near the village school ground. He took a deep breath and inhaled the pure morning air. It felt so nice. The air was as pure as the gods, as natural as the mother nature. The boy did not stop there, he ran and reached the bank of the river. As soon as he reached the river,the sound of the waves poured honey into his ears. It was such a melodious sound.He looked up in the eastern horizon, the morning sun was peeking over the mountains . It looked like a beautiful big golden dish. The sight was so amazing that the little boy was lost in its beauty. He slowly sat down by the river bed . He looked upstream. The sunlight shattered into multiple sparkling pieces of silver after hitting the water. The sparkling pieces came dancing downwards and followed the river to its destination. The little boy looked on the other side of the river where there was a sunflower garden.It seemed someone has splashed yellow and green all over. It was a fantastic view and he kept looking at it like one bewitched. The little boy was soon immeresed into deep thought. Where does the river come from and where does it go ? Who created this river and where does the water come from ? His mind was crowded with many questions for which he had no answers.Today I have the answers but I could not find the little boy . He is lost. He is gone.
Tring..Tring..A sudden harsh sound broke my solitary reverie. Someone was at the door. It was the water-man. We buy drinking water treated with chemicals every week. I looked for the morning sun, I could not find it behind the sky scrapers. I sighed and took a deep breadth and started sneezing soon. I am allergic to dust and smoke and the air is full of it now . I noticed that the little sunflower plant that I planted last week gave up its fight to survive. It could not get enough sunlight. Few lines of Tagore then flashed though my mind "Those who have poisoned your air, those who have extinguished yourlight,Can it be that you have forgiven them? Can it be that you love them?
--Rajib Deb
