The city was new to Ribhav. He had come here after a transfer by his company. The city carried this distinct feeling of the past with many old architectures still being maintained and used. There were many trees around, with sounds of different birds. It felt calm by what could be observed in brief.
In the first few months Ribhav kept his reach limited to his work and his home. He did not venture out much other than for necessities. He missed his family, his friends and a relationship that was still holding strong over the distance. He was also making new friends at work and he was also getting along with his neighbours who helped him out with a thing or two. Things had a feeling of mellowness. Maybe it was the right time at the right age, who knows.
After a while things were starting to feel a bit monotonous, and Ribhav started looking for places to visit around. He came across this restaurant; it was themed after the movies of a famous national level film director lost to time. It wasn’t that far off from where Ribhav lived.
On Saturday afternoon, with sunlight that gave a pastel yellow shine, Ribhav was on his way on his scooter that he had rented. The air felt pleasant, the view was quite different from what Ribhav was normally used to in his everyday life. This was his first time in this part of the city.
He especially loved the view from the flyover. The sky was more visible without many high-rise buildings to block the view. The charm of the city had started to form an imagination of a future that could be waiting for Ribhav.
The restaurant was moderately filled. Ribhav sat on one of the tables near the glass front of the restaurant. This could be a recent addition to the restaurant which had remnants from over forty years of its operation. The walls had been painted to match the framed posters of different movies.
The restaurant was very famous once but things began to go down after the demise of the original owner, that is until the film director passing by took a liking to it and decided to make it his own. The film director had left the world as well, but the restaurant was still looked after by his production house.
The city was full of such places and stories and Ribhav, as he looked out at the sunlight on the ground, he thought just maybe if not forever, he would certainly like to spend some years of his life here. He would of course give this feeling more time, a lot to be honest before being sure.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 