Silence

The first time I saw her, it felt like I saw everything around me fade out. Life was suddenly moving in slow motion.

Remember the moment when you see somebody and it feels like you've always known her?

Remember the tingling sensation that flows through your body the moment her eyes meet yours?

Remember how all the sounds around you seem to faint and all the words, which were always at the tip of your tongue otherwise, seem to have found a place to hide and never be found?

Well this was not one of those moments. This was much, much worse.

Standing amidst a rush of hundreds of people, she managed to stand out. It was not about the way she looked. 

Sure, she looked divine. Like heaven had somehow managed to lose its most precious angel. But, it was more than what met the eye.

I remember being caught up in the middle of a lot of things, too busy to notice the elements around me. Right at the moment, when you think you've seen it all, life grabs you by the collar and throws something at you that you find yourself momentarily unable to handle. All you can do is take a deep breath and go with the flow. That’s what I did and walked up to her.

We talked.

I told her about my fears. She told me about her dreams.

I told her about my aspirations. She told me about her faith.

I told her about my inability to trust. She told me about the beauty of letting go.

We talked about life. We talked about love. We talked about everything and sometimes, nothing at all.

And just as I thought, we ran out of things to talk about. It was the moment that we shared something deeply intimate. There were no words exchanged as I sat there looking into her eyes.

Somehow the silence seemed to connect us in a way words never could.

The Bigger Picture

The following photo-novel was created as a part of the orientation program at the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.


A team of 13 people worked on various aspects of the production, ranging from brainstorming of the basic idea, to story development to production to editing. 


The idea was to create an experience, using photos and a story that would entertain and educate the reader about a socially relevant issue at the same time, without getting too lengthy or heavy.


P.S: I think it's significant to note here that this novel won the first prize among eleven other equally good photo-novels produced by other teams.


P.P.S: Although the story/script is original, it has partly used elements from this story. Although I'd advise you to scroll down and finish the photo novel before you check out the link. Happy reading!