‘I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.’ – Maya Angelou.
I wish, I were a woman too; for the world is theirs; not an iota of sarcasm in here, nothing but respect and fierce regard for all of womanhood. As the world celebrates it’s womenfolk, the supreme power that conceives, nurtures and feeds all of humanity, I thought it’d be only apt if I could write a bit about the women in my life. All of them, who have played their part well in shaping me up and making me the man that I am today.
To begin with, I was shown the light of the world by a woman, who to me remains the epitome of love, at times as weird as me but deeply wired to my soul. I thank her for bearing with me, for coping up with my tantrums since the day she chose to conceive me. I thank her for being my first teacher, for not just helping me with the alphabets but also for making me understand the nitty-gritty of life. I thank her for inculcating in me the love of reading, being a voracious reader herself she knew that books would stand by her toddler even during his worst times. From Tagore to Chekhov, she had ensured her son knew and understood the literary work of the Masters from around the world. I will always be grateful to this woman of substance for being what she is to me, for being my Maa.
If Maa was my first teacher, the next in line has to be my English teacher from High School, I thank her for understanding my love for literature, despite me taking up Science. She would go onto introduce me to the works of other greats like O.Henry and Toynbee, whatever I am able to jot down is totally her doing, from correcting my punctuation to guiding me with the proper usage of the clauses, I shall always be indebted to her for making me realize that there was a joy in writing, for making me channelize my thoughts and above all else for correcting and proofreading the first article that I wrote for the school magazine. To this day, I look up to her and remember her lessons. A big thank you ma’am.
Schooling being done right, there was this adolescent phase that we all go through, crushes and heartbreaks, in walked a girl like no one else. All that it took was a smile, and smitten I was, although nothing ever happened, but that feeling of feeling something for the very first time shall always remain special. I thank her for walking past me, embarrassed I am; I was even then, a good 16 years ago; but now as I write this, I am thankful. Perhaps, if it had not been for her, I wouldn’t have realized what falling in love was.
The second innings lasted a good 8-9 years, although there remains a tinge of sour grapes; as I now look back, I realize I was blessed to have experienced the spring of love again. There remains a remorse, but I am better off, I thank her for all that she had done and then undone, for I now have myself. I thank her for making me realize that there’s no love like self-love. I thank her for the humor in my life and I’ll be eternally grateful to her for blessing me and my craft with a character (No prizes for guessing).
Being dumped can be a terrible thing to handle, morons like me suffer the worst. To cope with a heartbreak coupled with joblessness is a hard task, from depression to substance abuse; I had seen and been through it all. I wouldn’t have taken to the normal way of life and it wouldn’t have been possible for me to embrace the winds of change if I hadn’t have had the support of my sisters. My so called brother from another mother, who would lecture me on life and relationships, and my selfie obsessed cousin who would take me out on coffee dates to keep me going. From accompanying me to the counsellor to sitting beside me at my favorite pub, they did it all. I thank them for standing by me, for having my back and for being there for me when my family had lost all hope.
Sisters being sisters, there remained a space where I couldn’t venture into; perhaps opening upto my family seemed an ordeal and thus I needed friends who would share my interests, who would accompany me to my events, drink and make merry and also click pictures so that I could notice the change that was taking place. From singing to me, to making me pose, they did it all so that I could start feeling human again. From life lessons to legal advice, I now knew I had people who could bail me out. I thank them for not taking their profession too seriously and for bearing with my ill-timed sense of humor.
Here, I would also mention my senior from school who has been an absolute pillar of strength for me, from cussing the past to drinking beer over a heartbreak, she got me by my nerve. I thank her for understanding my mess, she was going through one as well; for motivating me to dream and desire for more. I’ll always be thankful Senior!!
To, the junior from college who connected after many years, from metal to sarcasm, from philosophy to head banging; I wish I had known her this well during my time in college. Thanks for making me realize all over again that there lied solace in metal and Metallica.
And, finally in walked my Santa; my muse perhaps; the light to my thoughts and my Northern Star. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with writing all over again if not for her, I thank her for shining bright when it seemed as if darkness had taken over. From inspiring me with her silence to making me aspire to better myself, she has done what no one else could. I can go on and on and on, with her running havoc in my mind; but I’ll choose not to, for these words that I have written so far are all her doing. I write, therefore I am. You are,therefore I am.Thank you Ma’am!!
P.S: Nothing much, nothing more; thanks for bearing the sore that I have been.
abhishek purkayastha 