What exactly is nostalgia? It wouldn’t be justice done if it were to be described just as a state of mind when people ruminate (is that the word?) about their past. At least, in my life, it has a far greater significance. For me, past has never haunted, it has always enthralled. Even the bitterest experience of my life when looked at from hindsight seemed to be a cherishing entity. In fact, there is something innate which can be inferred from this. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to state that this implies that every moment has something enjoyable even though not apparent at the very first sight. It is often advised to take lessons from the past and move on. But today, I would hit at the very root of this widely accepted belief. Firstly, there is nothing called ‘moving on’ as we are compulsorily ‘moved on’ by time itself even if we want to hold onto it tightly. Secondly, by the time we learn from our mistakes (although if we consider from a certain angle then we would find that mistake in itself is a mythical term), those moments might not recur in our life.
I have realized over a period of time that every moment is unique in its own terms and each such moment needs to be experienced if not savoured in its entirety. Nostalgia is a brilliant rejoinder to this. We always want to go back to the past. In fact, the fascination for the past always overpowers the penchant for securing a safe future. This in itself suggests that things that have already been experienced are more important than things that are yet to be experienced. My only point here is that past is not as insignificant as some people want to put it partly because of ideological bickering and partly because of the dearth of serious contemplations.
I would just conclude by saying that living in the past has a charm of its own and someone who does that does not deserve to be denigrated (A perfect case in point is ‘myself).
