The night bird

Today being a lazy saturday,and outside temperature plunging to
more depressive levels, there was nothing much to do,except
surfing the net.Came across an amazing picture of Arizona night
sky while haunting the photosites.

On seeing the vast expanse of stars spread across the inky
black sky, I am realising that I have never seen a star
after coming over to Croydon.( Except for the very few times,
I've been to my brothers place in Birmingham).

I've always been in love with the night , and the stars.

I love mornings, with all the promises of a new day.

I can tolerate lengthy afternoons.

I admire sunset and twilight when its neither day nor night
and the sky still red and fiery from the dying Sun.

I love it , when the night falls, and the stars come out.

But the time of the day that I love the most, is when it
is late at night.

I like the quiet and the peace.Its the only time of the day
when I can here my alarm clock ticking.

Back in Chennai, my apartment happened to be near the Beasant
Nagar beach.So there was nothing like peacfull nights.
But apart from the occasional police patrol vans and bikes
without silencers,it was pretty quite.

Here in Croydon, my room overlooks our garden, and the
neighbours one on the other side.Again as the houses are
far from the main road,it is pin drop silence after 8 or 9
in the night.So I get to enjoy very peacefull nights, the
silence broken only by the sound of my fingers hitting the
keyboard, my alarm clock ticking and the ocasional hiss of
the water pipe.

Its the time of the day, when I take resolutions, ( due to
be broken the very next day), cry over my troubles,pray,
think, write, read ,listen to music, scrap old friends on
Orkut,plan for the next day -in short the time when I am
myself.

I do miss the stars though.

Back in Kerala, we used to sleep out on the terrace on hot
days.I still remember those nights, staring up at the sky
and the stars, and feeling very insignificant.
I also used to have crazy dreams about how my Prince would
drop from the starry sky...all craps, but I wish i still had
the power to believe in the magic of those dreams--If ever
they came true.

There were also countless nights under the stars, in my
grandparents place, which even now is one of the few places
on earth without proper internet.Those nights used to be fun,
listening to the dogs barking in the distance, the rustle of
the winds which made us kids think that fairies were around,
the faint strains of music from the fields,where people used
to stay awake all night to guard the crops.
We cousins used to keep talking to each other, whispering
and giggling,refusing to go to sleep-finally forcing our
grandmother to get up and give us both a sound slap

I do miss those days.

B tech days in Adoor used to be even greater fun.I can
remember all the parties,Talks, frenzied last minute
studies,on the hostel terrace under the night sky.
There are also the countless excursions and campfires
to remember.I still remember the day I got the campus
placement, lying on my back on the hostel terrace
gazing at the stars and feeling on top of the world.

Even when my Career took me from Kerala to Chennai-Mumbai
and back to Chennai I never lost my love of late nights,
and stars.
The nights spent on Beasnt Nagar beach with the ILP gang.
The late night talks on the terrace of the womens Hostel
in Adayar.

In Mumbai, hostel terrace was open only till 10:00PM,
and since all lights would be switched off by 10, there
was nothing interesting to do.So I was forced to keep
aside my nocturnal habits for some time.

Second innings back in Chennai was even better, as I moved
to stay in Beasant Nagar.All my weekend nights, for the last
2 years were spent on the vast expanse of Elliots beach.
There is a collage of good and sad memories that keeps
rushing in.
One of the vivid memories is about the day when i had the
worst personal crisis of my life.Lying down on the sand,
listening to the waves crashing on the shore,staring up at
the starry sky,hot tears blurring my vision, feeling the
raw pain gnawing at my heart.

Those late night trips in cabs, from Sholinganallur to
Beasant Nagar, with only the cab driver, 3 other sleepy
colleagues,cows on the road and radio mirchy to keep me
company.

Here in Croydon, I still stay awake at night, but there are
no more starry skies.Even if we can see the sky , it is only
through the windows coz the climate doesn't not permit
sleeping out, and there are no terraces .But I still know
that the stars are out there,and I still sleep late.

Writing this down has brought up memories of lots of
nostalgic moments.
Let me go to bed now coz its too late even for the night
bird.Even though I can't see the stars, I can still think
of the starry nights, and dream of my prince galloping away
on his white stallion in the moonlight.