Today, on the eve of Holi, 24th March, I embarked on a journey to Champahati with my mother, boarding a train from Dumdum Junction to Canning local. As the train pulled away from the next station, Sir Gurudas Banerjee, I stood by the door, a gentle breeze playing with my hair. Beside me stood a girl with her parents, her presence like a whisper of spring.
For the next five minutes, I found myself captivated, my eyes tracing the delicate lines of her face, perhaps a touch disheartened that she didn't acknowledge my silent admiration. She disembarked at the station, and as the train began to move again, I turned for one last glance. To my surprise, her gaze met mine, and in that fleeting moment, she smiled—a smile that seemed to hold the essence of the universe.
Her gentle smile enveloped me, drawing me into an abyss of unspoken emotions, and leaving my heart adrift in a sea of inexplicable longing. As the train resumed its journey, I realized that my unconscious mind had been silently weaving a tapestry of dreams, intertwining our brief encounter with the magic of Holi, painting my soul with hues of nostalgic romance.
---BY RAJDIP MISTRI
