Spice of life: Adieu mate, memories made at Sukhna Lake last a lifetime

While in school, I opted for NCC naval wing and was introduced to rowing, which I enjoyed and so I enrolled myself as a member of Sukhna Lake Club in Chandigarh, to pursue this activity.
The lake in those times wore quite a different look with boats parked on the sandy bank of the club. Being a regular with boat trips, I’ve witnessed the club’s metamorphosis into a modern structure with the passage of time.
Recently, when I went to take a boat to row, I found one lying forgotten in a corner. Seeing the condition and sensing an end to my rowing outing, since she was the solitary boat available, I sat down pensively on the parapet and mused over my long association.
“It was 1971, when you trained, wasn’t it?” said the boat, joining me in my thoughts. “Yes,” I nodded. “Remember how pleasurable it was when you, with the oars gently parting the placid waters, took me out in the deep? We saw nature from quarters rarely seen. The thickets with mountains in the backdrop and the blooming lotus and water lillies towards the end of the lake…what a mesmerising sight! Kingfishers diving gracefully to catch fish; the kites hovering above, gliding magnificently, and abruptly swooping down upon their prey; the migratory birds with their resplendent colours visiting each year were a sight to behold. Occasionally, we were treated to a sight of a family of sambhars. Though many people came, but you were the most regular. Every trip was a meditative experience. The sound of waves, lapping against me, the sunrise and sunsets to the accompaniment of the myriad sounds of nature, as you went berserk clicking photos,” she recalled, seemingly with a chuckle.
She continued, “Remember your rendezvous with friends? When you took me out, on a moonlit night, and we spent hours in the middle, soaking in the beauty of shimmering waters and fish jumping in the air, but I kept your secrets and didn’t sneak up on you. Ah! You make me so nostalgic.”
“Yes, I am nostalgic too,” I replied.
I looked at her wistfully and caressed her rough, scarred worn out and splintered body. Suddenly, deep emotions stirred within me, bringing a lump to my throat.
Sensing my sadness, she said, “Life has moved on, so grieve not my plight, nor do I yours for you are weather-beaten, too. We had fun together and to recall a poet’s lament ‘laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone’. Leave me to perish alone, hereon. Adieu mate.”
“You’re right mate, I too am weather-worn, and soon I shall also dock alone. So adieu it is,” I whispered to myself, as I walked away with leaden feet.
(The writer is a retired judge of Punjab and Haryana high court)