Gone...??Or Not??

I left my childhood somewhere.Didn't I? If I had not, I would not be who I am today. And I don't know if that makes me sad or happy. I go there sometimes. Looking at those people there,the places, they somehow in some weird way tug at my heart strings,in a way nothing else can. Its different. I miss them i realize. Ever since I was born,this is what I was surrounded by. Every day, every hour,minute,involved them. They form a different story. A special one,close to my heart. I guess that's attachment.I realize that sometimes I miss all of it,especially when I am back in Bagbazar. The narrow lane leading to my former house,the people there,the hundreds of kittens and puppies growing up I have seen in that lane,the walks by the Hooghly river during sunset,the chanting of hymns by the river through that microphone,the sight of the boys jumping off the boats and the pier into the water,climbing back again only to dive back again, having peanuts sitting there on the sloping ramp by the river,watching the evening train go whistling past, the art school where every Bagbazar kid issent to I guess,'Barnali',and I don't know if it exists anymore even,the shopkeepers who knew me since i went out with my parents to buy something.

Fact is,thats where home is. Those memories,people and that place has a different charm altogether for me. Its different. Thats where I grew up,learnt the ways of the world, learnt how to play cricket in the street,cycling,video games, watched tv for the first time,tied that shoelace in that bunny rabbit ears knot for the first time. It is the place I came back to everyday after school for 12 years of my life. For me....that's a second home. Obviously with passing time,Dhakuria is now my favourite of the two places.My life my friends and everything is here now. But what I wanna put across is that memories are priceless. And worth keeping forever..