I guess it would've been evident by now that i am incapable of writing an article from a neutral perspective. I write purely on what I've learned from my own silly life and from the others that surround me. Please don't take the examples seriously its purely been put in there to explain my case a little more.
When Philomina ma'am said that we wouldn't remember and love her the way we do now after some 10-12 years little did we realize that in those words lay one of life's biggest,darkest secrets. Of priority and moving on.
Why she said that to a bunch of 1st graders is a completely different thing though. Either she was terribly disappointed with what was happening with her former students or she just wanted to instill the very essence of life (be it very early). Life moved on. Second standard and Philomina ma'am was still more important than the principal. New teachers came in. Maths became 'complex'. Science divided itself into chemistry,physics and biology. Soon 'Gulmohar' became an extinct species. And gradually Philomina ma'am became 'just another teacher' at school. Don't get me wrong though. There is still huge respect for the teacher. Infact I distinctly remember the first lesson she taught me[ and that takes some remembering], "Mr amd Mrs Sharma". It is just that more important teachers have walked into my life after that.
To forget is not a crime. But to 'deliberately' do so, at times, can hurt. I know putting 'deliberately' and 'forget' together does seem like trying to mix oil and water. But its different from 'avoid' though. You can avoid talking to that stranger you added someday on facebook. You can 'avoid' meeting up with your best friend after a fight. Its part of life. To 'Deliberately forget' is when your old schoolmate texts you a 'howdy' and you don't reply. Not because you have any genuine reason for not wanting to. You simply don't . Slowly the relationship dies. And life moves on they say. The surprising thing is that, its the very you, who would wait for an eternity to get that one reply from the newly met lady friend, that does this.
"I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." Some quotes never seem to die!
Priority changes. If it didn't, it wouldn't be priority. Likes and dislikes keeps varying with time, the environment, the people around and the popular culture. Its what defines the present day life. You always keep your laptop away before a football match . Everyone of us has formulated a priority chart to be followed. And our mind is well capable of putting any task into the list at any time. Priority is so much intertwined with human lives that programmers have even developed priority based data structures to accommodate the human desires.And at some point they govern one's likes and dislikes. Last day I happened to read a couple of 'love letters' [ if you can call them so :)] I had written to my ex-girlfriend. The language used in it was, to put it in a mild way, pathetic. I was addressing the girl like I wud a guy, I was using 'Chwweet' instead of 'sweet'. And I was even listening to Westlife! One could probably attribute the 'addressing' part to the trend in the cinemas those days, starting from a very hit movie 'Niram', the 'Chweet' part to the 'sound cute' ideology and so on. The fact of the matter is I can't stand any of these today and considering the fact that its been just some 5 years, this is a huge transition. And then I found my old Slam Book [ the autograph book with questions in it]. For someone in a premiere engineering college to have written his aim in life as " to go to the moon and make love " is not only incredibly funny but also showcases the true changes that comes to a man with age [ Though he still is determined to get one part of his aim right! err must be the going to the moon thing :D ].
A lot of change infact comes with time. The fact that there was a 'boot cut' era some 4 years ago is a striking example to the cause. But when it comes to dying relationships its always people that plays a role. I know you , you know me and we are the only people left in the world. I don't think i'd be 'moving on' then. Its when one new meets new people that life changes. For instance I used to think Westlife and Savage Garden were cool. And everyone around me agreed. Then I met new people. And one day, a former school captain asked me to hear Pink Floyd. What started out as an act to impress him, soon turn to be an obsession.And thats how life is. Infact I even googled 'top ten beatles songs' just to make sure that my 'cool' status is preserved.
We are all steadily changing and sometimes its difficult to keep track with the past. You might not find time to text your old schoolmate everyday. We would think a facebook or an orkut[which in itself is the best example for people and their moving on to better things] would be the solution to this problem. But the truth is, we very seldom use this medium to get to our 'old pals'. We log in, we see the people we like, we talk. We make separate groups and be 'invisible' to all other 'unwanted friends'.
At no point have I ever believed 'Moving on' is a bad thing. I was so much in love with a girl but she moved on for a man whom she thinks is better. Now I can either sit and sulk about it or choose to carry on. What do a 20 year old know of the world anyway? Its a big fat world and there are a lot of people to be met. Its all about striking the right balance between the two.To find the right pace to be moving on. And the key to it is to prioritize right! 'Right prioritizing'' can be different things for different people. A scientist and a bartender can have different YET right priorities. Ultimately life should always be a constant march forward. It might be tough. It might even lead to some broken hearts. But its what the world is today!
As is the case with most of these articles, I really don't want to draw a conclusion. Like you, I'm still learning about the world and the people that live in it. I only hope to remind you a little of the bygone years and perhaps regain some of that lost love!