Soumyajit Pradhan   (Soumyajit Pradhan)
903 Followers · 90 Following

Poetry | Photography | Blog | India
Joined 26 December 2016


Poetry | Photography | Blog | India
Joined 26 December 2016
23 JUL 2022 AT 1:49

For sure the novel and the museum evoke a lot of emotions. It's overwhelming. The objects, photos, videos and the audio description- when all of these come together. Maybe you'll experience it as well.

When you flip through the pages of the book, you'll see thousands of handwritten notes inside. From lovers. From friends. From readers of Orhan Pamuk. Among them all you'll also find yourself. A note in black ink on the left margin. On page 106- 6th October, your birthday. A note from me and your mother dated 19.07.2022- the day I visited there.

I don't know if it'll still be there by the time you visit, years later or decades later. But remember Ru, you have been a part of all this. A living breathing museum. Where memories thrive. And when you find it- maybe write your own note next to mine. And click a picture maybe, Ru.

2/2 (Masumiyet/ Memories)

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23 JUL 2022 AT 1:46

Ru, maybe someday you will visit Istanbul. A house. A museum. A few things left unsaid. A few things left untouched. Ordinary people. Ordinary lives. Of times gone by. Of times to come.

There would be this book on the first floor. A red hardcover with "Masumiyet Muzesi" written in gold colour font. The novel is inspired by this museum. The museum is inspired by this novel. I don't know how to describe it all.

People from all over the world visit it. They walk up and down the stairs of this tiny building. From the street, its dark red exterior is striking. It's in a corner of two narrow lanes of the Cukurcuma neighbourhood.

1/2 (Masumiyet/ Memories)

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12 JUN 2022 AT 20:07

Today it's our house that's gone. Tomorrow it'll be us that's gone. And that's fine I guess, we are ordinary people who once lived in an ordinary house. But there will be this world you will inherit the day after tomorrow. A world where you will live with your parents and children, with your friends and neighbours. And what world will it be? One of love and hope? Or one of hate and despair? Your voice, your choice.

3/3
(Ordinary)

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12 JUN 2022 AT 20:04

No they did not destroy it in front of us. The powers that be tore it apart in front of our neighbours. Many of them watched on from their windows and terraces, some with fear in their eyes and some with a revengeful happiness. The powers that be bulldozed it in front of the cameras. People watched on television and mobile screens, some with tears in their eyes, others with a loud applause. The powers that be destroyed it in front of everyone but us to whom the ordinary house belonged to. You see, the powers that be had locked us up in their tiny little dark cages, as filthy as their minds.

2/3
(Ordinary)

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12 JUN 2022 AT 20:02

Today the powers that be destroyed our house. It meant nothing to them anyway. It was made of ordinary bricks and walls. It was made of ordinary columns and beams. It was an ordinary old structure that was repainted just last year. Its walls had framed photos of my great grandparents. Its walls had posters of my favourite poems. And all that's gone now. Our house is just a heap of rubble now.

1/3
(Ordinary)

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28 MAY 2022 AT 16:52

I miss her too. But I don't know about her though. Whether she remembers us or not anymore. It's been such a long time now. The last time all three of us were together was that evening. Outside her hostel. We dropped her off after the movie. And we never saw her after that, right? It's been…what, 22-25 years? She hasn't called us even once. We were such fools. Remember we used to make these grand plans of traveling once a year, no matter what. Our pact of sisterhood, she ruined it all yaar! So much has happened in our lives, ever since. Relationships. Heartbreak. Graduation. Career. Marriage. Kids. And all this while no news of her. Sometimes I'm worried for her. Sometimes I'm angry at her. I don't know if we will ever meet her. I don't know if she will ever return. And in case she does, what will you tell her?

(Sisterhood)

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15 MAY 2022 AT 1:56

Off grid. That's her. The pictures she clicked. The videos she recorded. The words she wrote. Not shared with anyone. Just with her, saved in her smartphone.

The moments she experienced. The memories she made. The life she lived. Not seen by anyone. Just with her, stored in her mind. That's her. Off beat.

She is wild and free. Like the wind. She is out there somewhere. Your paths might cross someday. An unexpected encounter in a faraway place. And only then will you fully understand what I meant about her. Till then, carry on. Travel, explore, live. Be well, my friend.

(Wild and free)

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21 DEC 2021 AT 2:13

Exactly when do we become who we become. And how? And do we become just one constant specific being? Or are we a mish-mash of ever evolving semi-beings? And do we evolve for the better or worse? Or does it happen both ways? So who exactly are we? And where do we become who we become? And how do all those who we meet shape us in who we become?

So are we like rolling stones on the river? Seemingly restless but then somehow stuck in a wayward river bend for the longest time until someone picks us up and throws us back into the stream. Or are we giant monoliths on the mountain? Seemingly unmoving until an avalanche uproots us taking us in a downward spiral until we find level ground at the base of the mountain.

But then wind and water work their magic both on the rolling stone and the giant monolith, wherever they might be. Weathering them gently and forcibly. And leaving behind subtle and prominent markers. Somewhat like how we become who we become. Yesterday that, today this, and tomorrow who knows what. Shaped no doubt by people and circumstances but with a lot of our core being intact.

(Being / Becoming)

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16 DEC 2021 AT 21:42

In the end we don't remember much. We forget almost everything.

Calculate this. The 24 hours a day add up to 700+ hours a month. That's 8500+ hours a year and 250000+ hours in the first thirty years of your life. And that adds up to 700000+ hours if you live for eighty years.

Now close your eyes. Let's play back your life reel. From your earliest ever memories to the latest. Each and every one. And your mind wandered I guess. First when you were nine years old, on the stage in the school function. Then when you were five years old, floating paper boats. Then when you were eighteen years old, the farewell event. Then when you were twelve years old, your first brush with death of a loved one. And so on.

But how long did your memory reel last? A few minutes at best. Or maybe an hour or so if you have got a vivid memory.

After all our mind is a black hole from which most of our lived experiences cannot escape the gravity of forgetfulness.

(Mind)

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26 NOV 2021 AT 21:34

I think I stood there like a pillar for a long time. And fainted perhaps sometime later. When I woke up next I was at the bottom of a waterfall. The noontime sun was up and glaring strongly at me. I climbed up the steep rock face. And that is how I found this village. I asked everyone around here about the forest with the golden flashing lights. But then no one knew anything about it here. All these years, I have been searching for it. And that's how I have stayed on here. Maybe someday I will rediscover my magical place.

(Magic 3/3)

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