Time Travel

Some pain in the ass exams were about to begin and I was under a self-imposed house arrest, in an attempt to try to study something... An effort that never really played out coz I would come up with the most imaginative and sometimes very dull and cliche ways to spend time doing anything but study. It was one of those latter method sort of days; I stood by the window and watched intently any movement in the non-exam-burdened world outside. Then, I noticed a sound, not at all unfamiliar; taken for granted - expected to sound every evening... I had just never given it much thought. And as I listened for the first time, images started bouncing around in my mind. Some were memories - scenes stolen from films - and others were similar, simpler and more believable images conjured up myself. The sound came from the routine ringing of the bell at a temple near by. The bars on my window disappeared, and I was standing in the temple vicinity. I could see people from a different world; from the bouncing images in my head, they came here every day without fail. Everything was different - the clothes, their behaviour, the language! I'm sure the temple wasn't that old, but I went to maybe a different temple a long time away. It's an otherworldly feeling, literally, and I dont think I can explain it.

Last night, after a month in the brand new Delhi, my time machine (temples) took me to a different place as well as a different time. Different place: the moment you get across the raised single step thing, you leave Delhi and walk into Kerala. They got everything right; the architecture, the smell, the crowd,the outfits, the Malayalam, the feel! And different time: I was taken eight years back to my own past. Having visited half a dozen places that were supposed to get me nostalgic (and the actual result quite disappointing), nothing brought back memories like this. I remember every single detail about the place! And for the first time after coming here, it felt like I had returned to a place I had known...

My religious veiws may not be very solid right now, but temples take me beyond all boundaries. Whether this happens only in my head or physically or even spiritually, I'm not sure. But temples take me back in time.