An old album does not become old like other things
As it becomes old,
the meaning of the old black and white photos stuck in it keeps on changing
There is a photo in the old album in which I, aged three years, am sitting in my aunt's lap
And today after many years when my aunt is no more in this world,
when I look at that photo,
I feel a strange emptiness in it
A void has descended on the smiling faces of my aunt and me in that photo
It seems,
This picture which was silent for years,
Now can speak after her death,
Maybe she speaks,
And the picture remains silent,
After dying aunt has found this new way,
Her still smiling face can now say something,
For years it has been locked in this old album,
Never thought that it will say anything and I will look at it for a long time,
Stopping at the same place in the album again and again,
Where I and she are laughing carefree
Often the pictures in old albums become precious only after losing something.
The memory which keeps moving,
Stops after reaching somewhere,
It does not need to move any more
Pictures change their shape,
They suddenly become lifeless,
Or they have to be understood,
Afresh,
Or they start saying things,
Which I had never thought of,
I never thought,
That they could say all these things
How strange is the truth of those childhood photographs,
All of us brothers and sisters, mother and father,
Happy and contented in the same house
As if we will never leave that house,
As if we will live together like this for the rest of our lives,
And there will never be sadness and silence without reason,
As if the meaning of being brothers and sisters and parents,
Will always remain serious,
Just like they were always the same confident people in album
Thank you so much for reading. Have a great day 😊 🙏. @vikbuddy