THE ROAD YET TAKEN

As a student pursuing my graduation in Shillong during the late Nineties, I routinely pass through some parts of Assam on several moonlit nights. Since the Night Super (Bus) starts from Shillong a little before or after sunset, it was almost always dark by the time we reach Jorabat and descend to the plains of Assam. Being hard hit by weakness of the bowel around the time, I use to sleep or pretend to do so all through the way home till Churachandpur, to avoid throwing up or lessen the chance of one. Therefore, on account of the darkness and state of sedation, I hardly saw or experience sight of the places we were passing through. The only place which I cannot fail to remember was the mandatory stop at Jakhlabanda for food and a short break. Jakhlabanda, with its blazing sounds and well-lighted environs was a buzz of activity and commotion as several passenger buses stop by almost the same time in the middle of the night. On recall, I also remember the old Bollywood songs played all along the way which slowly change to Manipuri Leela on entering Manipur. However, one poignant theme cease to disappear from the mind’s eye even after many long years. It is the sight of dimly lit homes in the far distance. The lights from the distant dwellings appear faint and lonely from afar. I use to imagine about the wearied and humble souls that must be resting beneath the roofs after the day’s toil. The sight evoked nostalgia and brought the feeling of home from a distance.

During those days, it never occurred to me that one day I would be travelling through the same road again on completing my degree course. But that is what I have been doing exactly for the last couple of years or so, though in a slightly different circumstance, and which is still continuing. Having got my initial posting in Dibrugarh, the journey to and fro Guwahati has become a routine affair on one official pretext or another. The remarkable difference, though, is that the present travels are completed during the daytime and not at night. Unlike in public transport system, one can also schedule the time of departure and arrival according to convenience. Another difference can be that, those days, the journey involves travelling along two different stretches of National Highways, namely, NH-37 (Jorabat to Numaligarh) and NH-39 (Numaligarh to Imphal). Presently, the journey is restricted to only NH-37 stretch from Dibrugarh to Guwahati and vice-versa . Yet, another important difference is that now I can manage to view the sights and scenes along the roadside and the distance too, as far as the eye can see. I can also afford better and closer view of the lust green tea gardens. It is also clear now that the entire stretch of Highway is lined with human habitations, of villages and towns…a far cry from the imagined wilderness. The silence and quiet of the long night is gone. The entire 9 or 10 hr drive to Guwahati and back is a non-stop cross-cross of various public transport system modes and private vehicles. Eventually, I realize the fact that though I am travelling through the same road again, the feelings inside are not the same anymore. The romanticism of yore or the spontaneous strange feeling of one is gone.

And years later, in broad daylight, I remember those dimly-lit houses in the distance once again. A mental picture surfaces of the humble and lovely souls beneath them. About the lonely bus journey through the silence of night. Of the co-passengers who one never get to know. Who were so close yet so far. Of meeting loved ones on arrival at home. Of the sleepy emaciated teenage boy who dared to dream.