A few days at India's centre..

I haven't been able to open my 'inner pages' for a while. Then i thought that it would be unfair to haven't written about my Nagpur trip when i have a blog. To a certain age, i did not imagine of going out of Kerala or even Thrissur. But how fast the time goes and things change. I travelled to a place 1600 km away from my home and returned ! You may wonder why it is a big deal since most of you may have done it a hundred times ! But it was something for me to cherish always, especially taking the purpose of the journey into account.
I went to participate the National University Youth Festival representing Calicut University. My team, consisting of me, Davood and Amith finished at 5th. Unless you get into top 3, you will have frustration and depression naturally. I too felt it. But more than that, the journey helped me differently. The national fest was the meeting point of many different cultures. I can proudly say that India is among the few nations that boast of the cultural diversity to great extents. That is the same thing i could witness there. That too at the central point of the country ! Yes, Nagpur is the central point of India. The gathering of people from different parts of a country spanning over 32,00000 sq km. People from snowbathed Kashmir, Rajasthan's deserts, Greenish Kerala and mountaneous North East states ! Different climates, languages, cultures, lineages all are meeting.. How nice it would be ! Of course it was. Eventhough we were all competing with each other, we (not everyone, of course !) could find time to meet and chat with others. I could acquaint some of my compatriots living miles away from my home and share some moments with them. Bengalis, Telugus, Punjabis, Marathis, Tamils, Assamese and all were there to showcase their talents. The art forms from various places reflected the respective traditions and cultures. The good performances recieved applause from all hands. Those were the times it seemed not to be a competition. Since not everyone can take the prize home, some had to shed tears as well. And a great moment, i celebrated Republic Day of my country out of my state for the first time. It was an incredible scene to watch the foresaid different cultures meeting under a single flag !
Let me tell you, not everyone gets such oppurtunities. If you get it, don't let it get away at any cost. These are the moments we can't afford to lose..