Sunday 16 March 2014

A Little Further



'I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind 
Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry 
Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal 
And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state 
I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late'

Paranoid, by Black Sabbath, was playing out loud. The room was entirely dark, with the pungent smell of grass. Rajat was holding his freshly rolled ecstasy with one hand and his half-filled icy glass of scotch, with the other. He was half laying on the bed, softly banging his head, synchronizing with the metallic rhythm. Something quite unusual was going on with him for the last couple of weeks. He wasn’t able to concentrate on his work. Without any damn reason, he had stopped going to office. Sajid, his roommate, was not at home. He had some issues with his girlfriend and went to his native place to sort out things.  

Rajat had never behaved like that earlier. He was completely bored and frustrated with his monotonous life. He had no ambition and no meaning, either. He didn’t go to work since last 3 days and never even bothered to inform to his colleagues. He had simply switched off his mobile and had confined himself within his room. He didn’t even had a single step outside the house for the last 48 hours. He had been drinking and adoring his drags, non-stop. He didn’t have any clue what he wanted from his life and was quite pissed off, with such a vague life. 

The drags had always pleased him, both in his desperate as well as in his fun days.  He remembered Lisa, a Norwegian gypsy. He met her at a Goa beach few years ago. The couple of days he had spent with her, had a deep impact on him. He could never permanently delete her from his brain’s hard disk and her thoughts frequently occupied his mind. But since last few days, things had gone a little out of control for him. He was missing Lisa a lot. He connected with her so well, even she never had any ambition and lived a meaningless life. But she was very happy, she always felt blessed for her life and was extremely down to earth. She was little weird though, with her spooky tattoos all over her shoulder. Rajat had never met anyone like her, earlier. She was a highly spirited person and Rajat had always felt the positive energy, around her. The moments he had spent with Lisa, was the best in his life. He had shared almost a life time with her, in just a couple of days. She was genuinely honest, friendly and yes, also extremely hot. Well, Rajat had lost his virginity to her.

Lisa had traveled almost half of the world and she really enjoyed her nomadic life. Rajat constantly tried to find her over the internet for the last couple of years. But unfortunately, she didn't seem to have any online presence. One time, she said to him that no matter in which part of the world she might be, but every Christmas she would always visit her Grandma, who lived in a Norwegian village. She also said that during winter the entire village used to be covered with snow. She shared with him, her Christmas joy and how they used to play Santa Claus. Rajat was desperate to meet her. He called his friend Suresh, who was working in Germany. He asked Suresh, to help him out with the visa thing. Rajat didn’t mention anything about Lisa to him, though. 'Don’t worry, your visa will be processed within a week, but I’m really sorry that I will not be able to go to Norway with you. I’ve certain different plans that time,' Suresh said to Rajat.

Rajat applied for his visa and also had sent an email to his manager, mentioning he wasn’t well and would join office after 3 to 4 weeks. It was his first Europe trip and the moment he landed in Frankfurt, Rajat was highly impressed with the city. Located on the river Main, Frankfurt is the financial capital of continental Europe and the transportation center of Germany. The city is highly diverse and the most cosmopolitan in Germany, with the highest percentage of foreigners. Rajat had met his friend Suresh after a long time. They enjoyed some wonderful time together. In next few days, Suresh was about to fly to India, for his vacation. But before that, he took his friend for the city ride. Frankfurt got some of the tallest skyscrapers of Europe. They went to Romer square and had visited several museums. Rajat’s short stay in Germany was fun and he utterly rejoiced it. But then, city life, tall buildings and sophisticated money hungry people, never fascinated him. During his entire stay in Frankfurt, his heart seemed to be somewhere in Norway. He desperately wanted to meet Lisa. The same day when Suresh flew to India, Rajat boarded his flight to Norway.

Oslo is one of the largest capitals in the world by area. Most of this is forest, making it a city pretty close to nature. Rajat had experienced the mesmerizing snowfall and felt contented. He stayed a couple of days in the city and visited some of nearby villages. He traveled mostly by train and was fascinated to experience the winter wonderland. He felt, as if he was in a dreamland. Something positive had sparked within him. Somehow his distracted mind seemed to be back on track. He felt blessed for his life and wanted to live the fullest of it. The view outside the train window was simply out of the world. It looked completely white all around and all the forests were entirely covered under a thick blanket of snow. Rajat had no idea where he would find Lisa out there. She had told him that her Grandma used to live in a village about 40-50 KM from Oslo. He remembered that Lisa lived in Trondheim, another beautiful city, 500 KM away from Oslo.



As Christmas was approaching, all the places were getting colorful and livelier. Rajat already asked many people about Lisa, without any luck though. He shifted from his city hotel to a small motel in a village. The Christmas Eve was totally euphoric. It was freezing, but all the inhabitants were outside. Rajat felt entirely misfit in that environment, but he didn’t hesitate to greet random people and wished them, merry Christmas. Well, he also asked everyone about Lisa. Some people found him little weird, to have come all the way from India to look for a gypsy, without any address. Rajat stayed in the fairy tale land, for almost a week and it was time for him to return. He had his flight from Oslo to Frankfurt and then, from Frankfurt to Bangalore, the same day. While he was on his way to Oslo, he constantly looked outside the train window. He was disappointed not to find Lisa. But then, he never expected that to happen and just tried his luck, for a miracle. 




After returning, it took him a couple of days to come back from his dream. Rajat had captured his Norway memories through his lens and felt happy, every time he looked into those photographs. He was a completely changed man after his Norway visit. He started to value his life more and was waiting for the New Year Eve. His friends had planned for their old hostel mates reunion. Every one, including Rajat looked forward to that. Ultimately after a long gap, Rajat went to his workplace. His colleagues were delighted to see him and even his manager seemed to be happy. Rajat had brought adequate amount of Norwegian chocolates and his cubicle was jam-packed with his colleagues.

Well, sometimes we just need to go a little further to get closer and to fall in love with our own life, yet again.


Image courtesy: google images

This post is written for Indiblogger’s "Go further to get closer" contest, in association with British Airways



58 comments:

  1. A touching love story Jahid! And its true that a far away trip do bring a change in one's life.

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    1. Thanks Uma :) Glad U liked the story. Yes, far away trip do bring a changes !!

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  2. This post is as beautiful as the pictures in it... All the best :)

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    1. Thanks Nabanita :) So glad U liked the story and thanks a lot for the wishes !!

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  3. Nice story and very beautiful pics. Good luck to you!

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    1. Thanks Rachna Ji :) Glad U enjoyed the story. Thanks a lot for visiting out here and also for your good luck !!

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  4. Loved those opening words and the post indeed is beautifully written :)

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    1. Thanks Kaushik :) Glad U enjoyed the post. Thanks for dropping by dude !!

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  5. Quite a poignant story. I wish Rajat had met Lisa, though...

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    1. Hehe.. sorry for that Sangeeta. Next time will try for some happy ending :) Thanks a lot for dropping by !!

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    1. Thanks Sneh Asnani :) So glad you loved the post. Thanks for dropping by !!

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  7. Beautiful pics and a beautiful story Jahid. All the best.

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    1. Thanks Krishna, glad U liked the story. Thanks a lot for visiting out here and also for your wishes !!

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    1. Thanks Mahesh :) I only got it from google images. Thanks for visiting out here !!

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  9. Loved it! Write such stories more often :) and all the best dude!

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    1. Thanks Seeta :) Glad U loved the post. OK, would try to write such stories :) Thanks for the wishes !!

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  10. Nice story....really a trip could change one's life..I loved the twist that he failed to meet Lisa but discovered his own self instead...falling in love with Life...:-)

    All the best..

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    1. Thanks Maniparna :) Glad U enjoyed the post and also the twist at the end. Yes, such trips can really change one's life. Thanks a lot for your wishes !!

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    1. Thanks Mukhtiar Bhai :) Glad you loved the story !!

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  12. Nicely Written Post.. All the best :)

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    1. Thanks Aditya :) Glad U enjoyed the post. Thanks a lot for visiting out here and also for your best wishes !!

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  13. True....just a little further can do all the magic!
    All the best!

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    1. Yes Swarn Priya, such trips can really change one's life. Thanks for dropping by and for your best wishes !!

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  14. Lisa the gypsy, i almost fell for her man. Hope a trip to Goa is all i want. Good one !

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    1. Hehe Neo :) Plan for Goa soon :) glad U enjoyed the post !!

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  15. Ah very touching Jahid! All the best for the contest :)

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    1. Glad U enjoyed the post Bushra :) Thanks for dropping by and for your lovely wishes !!

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  16. Nice one! Best wishes for the contest!

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    1. Thanks Rahul Sir :) Glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks for your best wishes and also for visiting out here !!

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    1. Thanks Madhumita :) Glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks for visiting out here and for your best wishes !!

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  18. Nice strory, beutiful pics...keep writing boss.

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    1. Thanks Sunny :) Glad U enjoyed the story. Thanks a lot for visiting out here !!

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  19. That's a beautiful story capturing love and beauty of the place at the same time. Brilliant writing.

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    1. Thanks Rajlakshmi :) Glad you enjoyed the story and liked the writing as well. Thanks for dropping by !!

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  20. The last line captures the essence of all that life is - so beautifully. This was a beautiful read, jahid. All the best to you!

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    1. Thanks Arti :) So glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, far away trip is very essential sometimes. Thanks for dropping by and also for your best wishes :)

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  21. I was hoping the ending to be different and hurray it is not cliched. Loved this different take on the prompt. All the best :)

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    1. Thanks Afshan :) Glad you enjoyed the post and also the climax. Thanks a lot for dropping by and for your best wishes !!

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    1. Thanks Maumita :) Glad you loved the story. Thanks for dropping by !!

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    1. Thank U so much dear Sjayar :) Glad you liked it !!

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  24. Interesting Read and I was reminded of my Oslo trip..

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    1. Thanks Manjulika :) Glad you enjoyed the post and could refresh your Oslo memories. Thanks a lot for dropping by !!

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  25. So true! Honestly, I did began to hope in the middle of your post that your story doesn't end the cliched way of - met the lover and then they lived happily ever after! Loved the animated descriptions at certain spots in your post Jahid... Great going! Also, it would be great if you could drop by and help me get better at my writing style (a newbie blogger!!!) by an honest feedback/comment on my post at - http://bit.ly/1d3tGWz . Keep writing!!!

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    1. Thanks Henanksha :) So glad you enjoyed the post and also the climax. Looked at your blog and you are already a Indiblogger PAN India winner, so what I should comment? :) Anyways loved tour take on the topic and liked the poem. All the best Henanksha and thanks a lot for dropping by !!

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  26. Oh Jahid- of course I had to love this story (well, I love all your stories anyway...) - but this one... being from Norway you gave me goosebumps here!! (In a good way! ) I was really hoping he would find his gypsy Lisa though, but it seems he found something even more important!! I feel very happy and blessed that Rajat had a good time in my motherland... and was moved by your story and pictures.. Thanks for making my day:-)

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    1. Hehe.. that's so nice of you, Eli. Glad you enjoyed the post and even had goosebumps :) Nice to know you are from such a fascinating country. Thanks a lot fro dropping by !!

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    1. Thanks Shwets, glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks a lot for dropping by !!

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  28. Nice story jahid,,, you are a mature writer... i have a doubt what is the miracle that took place when he had seen through the wind.
    That caused that change ?

    I wrote some blogs myself could you go through and advise what could be done better.

    Appreciate your suggestion.

    http://www.indiblogger.in/blogger/60523/

    http://sivhearttalk.wordpress.com/

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    1. Thanks Siva, so glad you enjoyed the story. Well, nature had the ability to do such miracles. Sometimes travelling to a far away land can change your mind, I guess. You have a wonderful blog and keep writing. Thanks a lot for visiting out here, dude !!

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    2. Well-said. Thanks alot...

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