The Return of Gahji - Part 2
Yes, gentle discerning readers! The news doing the rounds is that our highly esteemed and dearly beloved Gahji is back!!!
Refreshed. Renewed. Resurrected.
Of course, Gahji, being a person who cherishes his privacy, will rarely appear on this blog. He prefers to maintain his anonymity elsewhere; perhaps on a private blog, or on the yellowing pages of a well-concealed personal diary, or on loose sheafs of scrap paper, or simply within the folds of a fertile imagination. But he exists. For Gahji is, after all, inseparable from the author. So yes, somewhere and in some fashion, Gahji is very much alive and kicking. But not here.
Perhaps some of you will hear more of him someday in the distant future. Then again, chances are you won't.
As Gahji would say, such is life, amigos.
+++++
My self-imposed blog-exile was due to myriad reasons. There were responsibilities to fulfil, problems to tackle, mountains to climb. By the Grace of the Almighty, many of these responsibilities have been fulfilled, most problems have been tackled, and several mountains have been climbed. And all along the way, there have been learnings. Some bitter. Some sweet. All useful.
And as the long day draws to a close, the overwhelming feeling which lingers on is a sense of deep gratitude and lasting peace. We have fought the good fight. Some battles have been lost but the war has been won. The worthy have been identified and the unworthy have been discarded. We have made mistakes too, for we are but human. But we have fought and survived. And like the proverbial babbling brook, life hums along. Bringing with it new battles to fight, new challenges to face, new learnings to imbibe.
The journey of life is so interesting, isn't it? If I were to choose a synonym for "life", it would be "contradictions". There are ups and there are downs. One moment you feel as if you would be torn apart should event X happen; and then event X does happen, and you realize that far from being torn apart, you're more whole, more intact, than before. Episodes which hurt like crazy are forgotten, albeit slowly. Friends turn betrayers; strangers become friends. People you trusted more than your own life leave you hurt, and betrayed, and confused. Some who you were afraid would leave you, inexplicably do not; some who you were so sure would never leave you, do so without a moment's hesitation, without a backward glance.
Familiar story? Such episodes, and more, happen with so many of us. And slowly, we realize that in this whirligig we call life, all that has happened, and all that is happening, and all that will happen, has been, is, and will be, for the best.
And when this realization dawns, one also realizes that one cannot keep hiding forever. Life moves on, and drags us, willy-nilly, along. And that's how it should be. For there are miles to go before we sleep. There's a life to lead and a future to mould. And, as Time rumbles inexorably by, one slowly gets the courage to let go of the past. Let go. Start afresh. Risk playing once again the Game of Life. The subsequent feeling of relief is palpable and indescribably therapeutic.
So here's to new beginnings. To a new life. And to happier times ahead.
+++++
Several near and dear friends, many of who are themselves the proud architects of their own beautiful blogs, have been instrumental in the resurrection of this one. Thanks to them all. But one among them deserves special mention, if only for her phenomenal patience and outrageous perseverance which made her succeed where everyone else had long given up. My precious pal Neelima. She's coaxed, cajoled, bullied and emotionally blackmailed moi into returning from a peaceful and secluded retirement back to the mad world of blogging. Tomorrow (Oct 8th) is her birthday. Here's wishing you a Very Happy Birthday Neels, and I do hope you like your birthday gift! :)
And talking of birthdays, this blog celebrated its first Bloggie Birthday (doesn't "Bloggiversary" sound a trifle corny?) on August 11, 2005. That's 25 days back. Belated birthday wishes to myself :)
+++++
The Suhail Kassim of September 2005 is a different person from the Suhail Kassim of September 2004. And this difference will be apparent on this blog. Henceforth:
Refreshed. Renewed. Resurrected.
Of course, Gahji, being a person who cherishes his privacy, will rarely appear on this blog. He prefers to maintain his anonymity elsewhere; perhaps on a private blog, or on the yellowing pages of a well-concealed personal diary, or on loose sheafs of scrap paper, or simply within the folds of a fertile imagination. But he exists. For Gahji is, after all, inseparable from the author. So yes, somewhere and in some fashion, Gahji is very much alive and kicking. But not here.
Perhaps some of you will hear more of him someday in the distant future. Then again, chances are you won't.
As Gahji would say, such is life, amigos.
+++++
My self-imposed blog-exile was due to myriad reasons. There were responsibilities to fulfil, problems to tackle, mountains to climb. By the Grace of the Almighty, many of these responsibilities have been fulfilled, most problems have been tackled, and several mountains have been climbed. And all along the way, there have been learnings. Some bitter. Some sweet. All useful.
And as the long day draws to a close, the overwhelming feeling which lingers on is a sense of deep gratitude and lasting peace. We have fought the good fight. Some battles have been lost but the war has been won. The worthy have been identified and the unworthy have been discarded. We have made mistakes too, for we are but human. But we have fought and survived. And like the proverbial babbling brook, life hums along. Bringing with it new battles to fight, new challenges to face, new learnings to imbibe.
The journey of life is so interesting, isn't it? If I were to choose a synonym for "life", it would be "contradictions". There are ups and there are downs. One moment you feel as if you would be torn apart should event X happen; and then event X does happen, and you realize that far from being torn apart, you're more whole, more intact, than before. Episodes which hurt like crazy are forgotten, albeit slowly. Friends turn betrayers; strangers become friends. People you trusted more than your own life leave you hurt, and betrayed, and confused. Some who you were afraid would leave you, inexplicably do not; some who you were so sure would never leave you, do so without a moment's hesitation, without a backward glance.
Familiar story? Such episodes, and more, happen with so many of us. And slowly, we realize that in this whirligig we call life, all that has happened, and all that is happening, and all that will happen, has been, is, and will be, for the best.
And when this realization dawns, one also realizes that one cannot keep hiding forever. Life moves on, and drags us, willy-nilly, along. And that's how it should be. For there are miles to go before we sleep. There's a life to lead and a future to mould. And, as Time rumbles inexorably by, one slowly gets the courage to let go of the past. Let go. Start afresh. Risk playing once again the Game of Life. The subsequent feeling of relief is palpable and indescribably therapeutic.
So here's to new beginnings. To a new life. And to happier times ahead.
+++++
Several near and dear friends, many of who are themselves the proud architects of their own beautiful blogs, have been instrumental in the resurrection of this one. Thanks to them all. But one among them deserves special mention, if only for her phenomenal patience and outrageous perseverance which made her succeed where everyone else had long given up. My precious pal Neelima. She's coaxed, cajoled, bullied and emotionally blackmailed moi into returning from a peaceful and secluded retirement back to the mad world of blogging. Tomorrow (Oct 8th) is her birthday. Here's wishing you a Very Happy Birthday Neels, and I do hope you like your birthday gift! :)
And talking of birthdays, this blog celebrated its first Bloggie Birthday (doesn't "Bloggiversary" sound a trifle corny?) on August 11, 2005. That's 25 days back. Belated birthday wishes to myself :)
+++++
The Suhail Kassim of September 2005 is a different person from the Suhail Kassim of September 2004. And this difference will be apparent on this blog. Henceforth:
- He shall write only in his spare time and when he's in the mood. This will naturally translate to substantially fewer posts than in his previous avataar.
- He shall write only what he feels like writing. Which, as of today, implies fewer stories and less light-hearted humour, and more socio-political analysis and psychological dissections. Yes, he's decided to jump onto the journalistic-cum-psychoanalytical blogging bandwagon! (Of course, there'll be the occasional autobiographical rant too. After all, a blog without autobiography and rant ain't a blog!)
At the back of the author's mind is the thought that, one fine day, he may suddenly feel like changing the URL to this blog. Should that happen, don't panic! Instead, check your email - if you're a friend, rest assured you'll be informed of the new URL. And if he's somehow overlooked you, email or message him, and unless you're an anonymous stalker / an unpleasant memory / wanted by the FBI for drug peddling, he'll ping you back.
Speaking of which, the author is amused to note that, although he had stopped blogging on this site for so many months, he has in the interim had as many as six blogs! (Anyone from The Guinness Book around?) Of these, two were private blogs which are now redundant. Two others are newbies. And the last two - this blog and the MAD Club - are in dire need of oxygen. Which shall duly be provided.
Ok folks, signing off for the nonce. Keep the spirits up. Sayonara!
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