The Sound of Familiarity
I was sitting in the Global Reading Room in our university and working on my history assignment. sitting, there plying at my keyboard, taking down notes, underlining important points and highlighting keywords when my mind randomly starts buzzing with the tune of some long-forgotten music. At first, it is a faint hum of the tune and then it became more and more pronounced. Taaanaanna na na na na...
and then it grew louder and louder and then so loud that it is no longer in my head, it has forced itself out of the shackles of my mind and is now resonating out of my laptop. the faint, intangible hum has wriggled out of my body and is now a song. like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. and it now presents itself before me, the butterfly of the song, flashing the wings of its ostentatiously beautiful lyrics on the faded screen of my laptop.
"Akkare Maathadi Pooje Maadi Anthovne Maadevaaaa... Ughe! Ughe! Elu Male Myaleli Kunthanavva...."
What is the name of the song? ...what is it? is it elu male myaleli...? no, it doesn't seem like it. must be hange kuniro hinge kuniro? And i glance at my screen, scenes from a film keep changing in quick succession. the image of a distinctively strong man of dusky complexion, ruffled hair, and stern expressions is constant in all photos. Shivanna. and then like the apricity of the morning sun, enveloping the body in a blanket of warmth, my mind is embraced tightly with memories from a past, long lost and forgotten. they hug me. and i scramble to hug them back, it is a long, tight embrace.
"Beta zara is taraf aajao"
"en akka? - uh haan didi-"
And like a tree recoiling at the strike of lightning, i crack back into consciousness. I move aside to let the didi sweep the carpet underneath and i am pulled out of my lucid dream and yanked back into reality. I glance out of the window and I see the flagpole- the silken flag majestically fluttering away. Elu male myaleli is still resonating from the laptop as i continue to stare at the flag. for once, this feels like my flag. my flag, my country, i belong here. This place, this college, the people, the trees, the building are all mine. it is my college and this is me.