Out Of Time

There's a proverb which says that time and tide wait for no man. One of life's greatest truths. There have been enough and more instances of insufficient time being dramatized. Innumerable movies have done this. We have done this at some point or the other while writing a paper. We have also said the same while getting up in the morning. There's just not enough time, we say. 

Now that my stay in Calcutta has been cut shorter than was initially intended, I am acutely aware of this feeling. There are a ton of things I've done, which needed attending to. There are several I had left for later. Now, I realize that I don't have enough time to do them all. One of these was to go to a certain place. Not a different city, but for me, a wholly different world. A place I haven't been to in almost a decade. It's just as well that I didn't get to go there.

As it happens, today was a surprisingly cloudy day. Not a lot of rain, but no sunshine either. In the midst of all this, there was the realization that our exams were going to be offline. Not a pleasant thought, that, albeit inevitable. The greater loss was the fact that we weren't going to be able to use excuses like network issues anymore. Having relied heavily on these virtual devices to evade education for the past two years, it's going to be a difficult goodbye. 

I quite enjoy playing the piano; have I ever mentioned that? I don't know a lot of tunes, but I like playing the few I do know. Yes, I'm partial to Turkish March, but it's mostly force of habit. The songs always remind me of certain people. In different ways, but there is always an overlap. A few people are always there in the corner of my mind, irrespective of the tune I play. I don't know why or how, but I suppose it's good that I remember. I know most of them don't remember me, but they are pleasant memories.

You know those notebooks which had facts and motivational quotes written on the inner sides? Not just the Classmate ones; there was a whole plethora of these. I remember having one specific notebook which had a bunch of quotes inside. I've forgotten most of them, but there's one I remember even now. It went something like this: In a world where people couldn't care less, be someone who couldn't care more. 

I'm not one of these people most of the time, and I'm very much aware of that. Still, I try when I can. Anyhow, back to insufficient time. There are always things which we wanted to do, but for some reason or the other, weren't able to. It's nothing major, but significant all the same. Like wanting to say goodbye to a special place you loved in school, or a person, or maybe just a final farewell. Nothing much, just that one last moment of knowing things will never be the same again. 

It's these moments that often count. Or these regrets that often stay. Today's post is a bit long, I suppose, but it's not too long before college life actually hits me in the face. Once that happens, life will turn far more interesting. Either way, that's that. Stay safe, everyone. Adios!

P.S.: I learnt how to play half of Finneas' "Break My Heart Again" and most of "Auld Lang Syne" a while back, but hadn't finished it. You see, I planned on learning the two before I left for college. I wonder if I'll get around to learning them anytime soon.