Ranchi: A small town with a big heart
A letter to Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand
Dear Ranchi,
You are one of the hidden treasures that the world is yet to explore. Your hills your waterfalls never have seen it all be it hang out with friends after bunking school, the family picnics during winter holidays, the moments spent in the lap of nature has and will always stay close to my heart. This is in a way has made me appreciate all the things nature has to offer.
You might be a small town but a proud one. In a country diverse like ours you give a perfect example of communal harmony where Muslims stay beside Kali temple on a street named church street which makes me feel proud of the heritage which I have inherited from the city. Communities never matter when it comes to festivities that is what makes me fall for you every single time.
Your summers might not be as pleasant as past days but your monsoons have always been the same you transform into something even more beautiful during this time of the year. The warmth of your people makes the biting cold of the winters bearable.
But now things are not the same, I’m a biannual visitor. I might have seen places with great monuments buildings and malls but the heart still craves for the lush green hills calming falls and the bustling markets of Church Complex and Upper Bazar. We both have changed a lot in the past year but you have proved a change is good. The beauty in your metamorphosis is that not only you have embraced the change but have also not lost the charm of the past. This gives us an important lesson that beauty lies within.
The world might not categorize you as metropolitan but to me, you have always been your not-so-regular city of the North that makes you different from other cities. You groomed me as a person and taught me to embrace the cultural diversity around me. respect nature and embrace the heritage that you have passed on to each and every one of us.
I might have enjoyed exotic cuisine in multiple cities but the heart will always crave the humble yet flamboyant flavors of the city. People of the city put their heart in their food and people also enjoy the with all their heart. Other languages and dialects might sound nice but my heart still skips a beat when I hear the slang of the city nothing can make you feel at home when you are away from home. I would choose chaos of Main Road any day over quite after hours of a metropolitan. I might shift places but you will always be my home.
Leaving you for my dreams was the toughest decision in my life. Goodbyes to you are the toughest of them all. I might go to high-end restaurants, posh malls, exotic locations but they will never take your place in my heart. I love you and I miss you.