Its been in the making for many months. We have known for the past 3 months atleast that it is only a question of a few weeks before the die is cast sealing our move back to Mumbai. It is not entirely a surprise. We came to Hyderabad 5 years ago to make this city our home, but always knew that we would go back. But now when it is happening, there is a strange sadness, an emptiness, a void. Its as if i am going to leave a part of myself behind. If delhi was the land of my birth, the land of mom’s birth, hyderabad will be mom’s land where she lived her last years, a full and happy life. But the emptiness does not come from this feeling. The emptiness comes from knowing that we shall leave a part of ourselves behind. In life, we meet many new people, make new friends, but rarely does one forge bonds that are as thick as the ones we formed with 3 other families here. Some of our best memories are in the wine glasses and late night chai shared with these friends.

After another lovely evening with the pals, i felt bad. Not because we were going. I have a philosophical, maybe even stoic way of looking at these things. Que sera sera. I felt bad because I dont think anyone was prepared for what we shared. We tried to lighten the atmosphere by shrouding it in a game, but that did not take away from the full import of what we told them. Like us, they rationalised it. Like us, they felt an emptiness. Like us, they felt mixed emotions. There was sadness, but some congratulations going around.

With time, we will all settle back into our routine. We will be caught up in our own lives. We will feel let down sometimes, feel angry sometimes, but also happy for the happiness of the other. It is like death. We know it has to come. Yet we are afraid. Yet we mourn. Yet we cry.

But maybe we don’t cry for the dead. We cry for the life that has been lived. We cry for the friendships that were forged.

We just simply cry….but life must go on.