SUNSET POINTS...

"Don't you think you are a bit more enthusiastic about sunset? That shows you are a sadist," my friend yelled after looking at one of the snaps I took recently.

"Yes, perhaps you are true."
"There's nothing like perhaps in it."

Sun sets every day in Delhi . It also sets in Guwahati. It sets everywhere, everyday (except for those elongated days in Antarctica ) But following the setting sun on lanes and streets of Delhi, I realised not all sunsets are alluring.

"How can you expect the sun setting behind the concrete jungle of a metro make you feel the same as the one setting in the bosom of Brahmaputra ?"

Yes, I have it fresh in my memory, first time I crossed the Brahmaputra on a ferry. My senses were not ready to accept that the mighty river will not gobble the ferry when it reaches mid waters.

In spite of repeated assurance from my father that there will be no problem, my eyes were glued to the whirlpools appearing and disappearing around the ferry, tracking the movements of each one of them.

I have crossed the river many times after that; at times on a motor boat that swing like anything when sudden waves strike. You have safer options to cross the river; you can take a bus that passes over the bridge of Saraighat . (Buses moving at a speed of 40km/hour takes 8 minutes to cross the river.) Even ferries that run at regular intervals are safer options. But if you enjoy the fears within you, motorboats will definitely allure you.

At the end of the day, the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra turns into a heaven.

Stand at one of the sunset points of the river; look at the fireball loosing its glare while spreading its crimson grains in the western sky, setting it on fire.

You will definitely forget to wink. You're breathing slow and your heart heavier. The oval sun sneaks into your heart through the eyes; burns all the pain piled inside and leaves silently to settle down into the darkness of the night.

When you inhale deep, you will feel the enlarged spaces within you for the fresh air from the riverside.

"Why am I felling like weeping?" I asked papa during one such evenings at a sunset point. (He was the person responsible for instilling the craze within me for such sunsets on the banks of the Luit as the river is loving named in the region)

"Listen to the sun, you will get the answer." I did not get what he meant then. But now I know.

PS: Someone said. "Irrespective of your expertise, you will never be able to describe a sunset in words. So you better not to try and kill it."

I also believe it but failed to resist the temptation.