पहली झलक / the first glimpse

सुबह आठ-बीस
27 फ़रवरी 2010
खजुराहो की भूमि पर
हमारे पहले कदम

छोटा-सा, साफ़-सुथरा प्लेटफोर्म
दिखने में किसी भी और स्टेशन जैसा
बाहर निकले तो देखा
उसकी ईमारत, मंदिरों की छवि में ही बनी है

फिर, टेढ़ी-मेढ़ी सड़क पर
उलटी तरफ चलता
डगमग ऑटो
तेज़ी से पीछे ले गया, समय में मुझे

मुझे याद आया
बचपन में दादा-दादी के घर जाना
बिखरी पुरानी चीजों से,
समय से, पुराने किस्से सुनना

20 मिनट में ही
दिल्ली काफी पीछे छूट गयी थी
पूर्वजों की तरह मिले वो मंदिर मुझसे
और समय, थम गया फिर किसी पुराने किस्से में

the journey from Mahoba to Khajuraho was uneventful. most of the time went in waking up the still sleeping beauties. the closer the destination, the more excited i felt. finally, after a light breakfast, and an hour of blurred green n brown views outside the windows, we finally rumbled in to the Khajuraho railway station.

it is a tiny, charming station. if some day, you land on it, you would hardly believe that it is the main entry point for a world heritage site! the quaint, small-town atmosphere of a hinterland town filtered in through the exit arches. but in actuality the town is a bit away from the railway station. you will have to take a mini-bus or a big, three-wheeled auto to reach there. as the latter is open on three sides, and we wanted to travel within our group only, we chose it. but before that, we clicked a few mandatory photographs also :)

negotiating with the auto-wallah(s), i'd a feeling that we won't be fleeced here. believe me, it is a rare feeling for delhiites. and it turned out to be more or less true. throughout our stay, i didn't find people trying to quote exorbitant prices and being crafty in negotiations. though the tourist shop owners near the main temple complex were an exception! the auto ride was not much exciting apart from the fact that the driver kept driving on the wrong side of the road and veered only whenever he saw an approaching vehicle from the opposite side! 

then, a bumpy, 15-20 minute ride later, we approached the town and driving through the main road, i'd my first glimpse of the main temple complex.

this poem is about these moments combined into one, about reaching back in time, maybe to your earliest memories, about that sense of history and tradition which takes one even farther in time than his or her own personal history...i felt as if i've entered the home of my ancestors and a strange nostalgia crept over my soul. and around 50 days later, when i type this, i still feel some of it, somewhere in my heart.