A Time Machine: 5 Photographs, Many Incredible Memories

They say that a picture speaks a thousand words. 

It does, and it does more than that. 

It captures so many memories. From the moment it was taken, to the people in it, surrounded by the scenic backdrop, there's a lot it can convey. 

It can take you back in time and let you relieve the moment again. More than anything, it can give you a fresher perspective on the ever-metamorphosing recollections trapped in the recesses of your mind. 

This is why, I always found photographs to be fascinating. The fact that a simple picture can evoke such profound emotion is nothing short of incredible. 

Especially in an unsteady time like this, when all you're surrounded by is footage of an unforeseen, cataclysmic disaster. 

Which is why, I decided to go back in time (again) to look at some old photographs and remember, how simple and happy my life once was, instead of panicking. 

EINS: 

It's called a Shankupushpu, because it looks like a conch shell.

This was taken on my trip to Kerala in 2016, when my grandmother (who'd been bitten by the photography bug) told me to take a close up shot of the well-maintained greenery in front of the house we stayed. 

2016 was also the year when I saw my great-grandmother for the very last time. 

It had been nearly ten years since she was bed-ridden then. Those ten years had calmed her down and brought out a girlish side of her, that she'd left long behind. And that girlish side, was in full-force when I met her last. 

Whenever we'd sit by her and chat with her, she'd reply back equally snarkily and gleefully crack jokes about how her children (my grandmother and her three brothers) look so old. 

Even when she was alone, she'd be singing anti-Chinese slogans in Malayalam or hum tunes that none of us knew of. Or, if some random young guy would arrive in the living room, she would comment about his visit (when she had only heard his voice!) and tell me how her formidable father would have killed this guy for 'checking her out'. 

Two years later, she passed away, rather peacefully in her sleep. 

And nothing - from the well-maintained greenery to the quaint happiness of my family - was the same again. 

The greenery grew wilder. The shankupushpu got hidden within the untamed greenery, and everyone over there was hit with a nostalgia of the past that would never come back.

ZWEI

My college 

I clicked this picture on the last day of my final year undergrad board exams in 2018.

2018 was the year when new doors opened for me. It was also the year when I had to shut some old doors too, namely my life as an undergraduate student. 

Due to the system of junior college (instead of 11th and 12th) here, I ended up spending five exhilarating years of my life here. 

From meeting people from all walks of life to getting exposed to a completely new academic discipline altogether, there was so much I learned in this building. I made friends for life, pushed myself out of my comfort zone and got a chance to finally battle my insecurities head on. 

When I clicked this picture, I hadn't cried. 

But a year later, on my convocation, as I walked down the steps, I was hit by a sudden wave of emotion and a feeling that... this part of my life was over. 

DREI

I took this picture on my first trip to Benaras, on an early morning.  

It was October 2018. I had turned 21 a month ago and I was completely on my own, struggling to understand how hard  it was, to take care of yourself for the first time, while you're away from your family. 

And Benaras was the first place I went to, on my own with five of my friends, without any 'adult' overseeing my antics. 

The experience? 

It was liberating. 

Even though Benaras was said to be this highly unsafe place, filled with dhongi babas and predators, I don't think I ever felt as liberated as I did there. 

Over the course of those three days, I'd dress up a lot better than I normally did, go to different historic places, be a part of the public aartis and just get lost in the ancient beauty of the place. 

Every where I'd turn, I felt as if the place was bespoke with history. Every where I'd turn, I'd feel a sense of inner peace that I'd never felt before. I felt as there was a powerful, spiritual aura trying to connect with me. 

It was as if we'd entered a different realm altogether, completely different from the metropolitan cacophony that we're so accustomed to. 

VIER

This picture was taken in 2018, when my teammates and I had taken a break from our field visits to check out historical places in Delhi.

It's strange how, every time I visited Delhi, I ended up visiting Humayun's Tomb. 

I don't know why it is so underrated. The architecture is magnificent and so intricately done. Even though it's a tomb, the vibe is so positive! 

It was this optimistic energy that truly helped us unwind from the stress that was our field visit period. The fact that we had been rushing from places to places, frantically trying to get shit done, seemed to ebb away. 

All that mattered was that the four of us were now free to check out a place brimming with history and know each other a lot better. 

And that really was worth it. Way more than the mindlessly dumb tourists who were disrespectfully sitting on a tombstone to get that perfect model snapshot. 

FUENF

This was taken from my hostel room's window. 

It was 2019. It had been more than 6 months I'd spent away from my home at the fellowship. I was transitioning from a coddled kid to a not-so-coddled adult. 

And my fellowship was demanding. 

If not for the courses, we'd have to work my butt off on our internships with our teammates. If not for that, we'd have to juggle our extracurriculars and try to squeeze in some time for ourselves. 

You had to learn how to make time for yourself. 

I took this picture one night, when I was completely swamped from my workload and I still had a lot to do. I was bone-tired, yet I had to pull through somehow.  

Which was why, I took a break from my work and took this picture of the quiet night in the middle of the desolate Delhi NCR region. It was a quiet, starless light, with only streetlights twinkling. 

And then I stared at the space, just to calm my frenzied nerves. 

***

I hope you're safe and sound, dear reader. 

Take care, 

Much love,

Archie <3