[ For those unaware of the term 'Norning' : http://www.lunarbaboon.com/comics/norning.html ]
It dates back to the time of those glorious summer vacations from school, when the 'holidays home work' was completed as soon as we could - perhaps within a week so that we could spend the rest of the vacation at our Nani's place. This used to be the most awaited part of the whole year.
And thanks to the long power cuts (no, seriously!) - when the necessity of electricity escaped us, we could revel in the luxury of sleeping on the terrace, under a clear-bright-starlit sky. I remember being the last one to fall asleep, every night, too busy tracing constellations and recalling their names from my science textbook. Too busy marvelling at the beauty of it all.
It was during these vacations that I experienced the word 'norning', way before I actually came across it.
I open my eyes to a pale blue sky. The sun was nowhere near the horizon, but the birds were up and chirping, so I knew morning was approaching. It was misty and there was a certain kind of stillness all around - the good kind! I could hear Gurbaani from the nearby Gurudwara and bhajans from the nearby police training camp. These hymns floated in the air, distinctly, one never overshadowing the other. It seemed that apart from these voices, the whole world was still under the covers of slumber.
I was experiencing this - the norning and it wasn't long before I fell asleep again. Only to finally wake up 4-5 hours later when the sun shone brightly, having moved quite far from the horizon and people were taking turns to wake me up!
They say I'm not a morning person!
Well, of course I'm not! I'm a norning person!
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It was for the first time that I could make sense of what it was to get 'transferred' - the whole 'take all your stuff with you and leave behind the place you've known for a while and bid adieu to your friends and head to a new place where you'll have to repeat this cycle' process.
Okay, back then it was just the 'leaving this place' part that I realised was happening.
How many times in your life do you get a chance to 'travel' in a goods carrier truck? Well, this transfer gave me the chance! And I made the most of it!
I sat in the co-driver seat with my dad and as a responsible co-driver, I didn't sleep a wink! (Oh, forgot to mention, this journey happened during night). The roads looked different, the usual traffic had given way to the freight carrying jumbo trucks (we were in a smaller specimen of this category). It was dark and all I could sense was the cool wind, the sound of vehicles passing by and the songs that they played! I swear I even remember one of those being played in the truck right in front of us! In all my wide eyed appreciation of this incomparable experience, the journey didn't seem very long.
The darkness was dissipating. We were not very far from our (intermediate) destination when we took a halt, the driver stopped by a Gurudwara and paid a visit - for a spiritual refill!
There it was, though with similar elements as before - the Gurbaani, the cold misty air - a brand new norning!
I think words don't do justice to this particular norning, but the peace I felt was unprecedented and it remains indelible in my mind, to this day.
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It's around 1 A.M. and I'm homeward bound in an auto rickshaw (with my family, to meet more of the family :P ). It's not a norning, but I do feel the wind against my face and in my hair, it's refreshing and makes me totally forget about the exhausting journey we had undertook that day. And I have this teeny-weeny epiphany.
I was then reading this book 'The Tao of Pooh' by Benjamin Hoff and it said that happiness lies more in the sweet anticipation of reaching your destination than in actually being there. It lies more in the moment just before you're about to taste success.
And these moments are no different from nornings - you know the dark of night has passed and you're sure of what is coming. You know morning will follow, the morning you've waited for all this while. But still, it's the quiet of the norning, the pleasant stillness, the lightness of guilt free inactivity is what you'll cherish the most.
Because nornings are nice. In fact, they are the nicest :)
Well, of course I'm not! I'm a norning person!
