The Lost Rainbow

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A few days ago, during the Ditwa cyclone, the hospital had very few outpatients. 

The weather outside was rainy, gloomy, and dark. And inside our moods matched the sky. Then one morning, as we were preparing for rounds, a sudden brightness appeared outside my window, and our mood lifted. 

While entering the lift, my student said, “Ma'am, today we are going to see a rainbow.” Just then, one of my friends, in his usual philosophical tone, said, “Where is the rainbow now? 

The rainbows are lost behind the skyscrapers.” 

As the lift door opened and we walked out, his words stayed with me. Yes, somewhere along the way, many rainbows of our old life have faded. 

The old days have quietly slipped away from our lives. 
The skyscrapers have hidden the rainbows… 
Newspapers have been replaced by phones… 
Bookshops have been replaced by quick online orders... 
Knitting and embroidery have been replaced by tapping on screens… 
Handwritten letters and postcards have been replaced by short emoji messages… 
Photo albums have turned into endless digital pictures, which we rarely see… 
Picnics have been replaced by the " let’s catch up sometime phrase… 
Evening chats on the terrace have turned into silent scrolling… 
Childhood street games have been replaced by video games… 
The hours we used to spend in the Library have been replaced by hurried searches… 
Visits to friends and the neighbourhood have been replaced by forwarded messages… 
Lazy morning tea has been replaced by alarms and deadlines… 

I halted and looked back, and told my team. “Let’s go up to the terrace.” 
We rushed there. 

We saw the beautiful rainbow as in olden times. 

Rainbows aren’t lost. We have just stopped looking up. 

All the things we think have disappeared, newspapers, albums, postcards, bookshops, knitting circles, libraries, they are still here. 

We simply stopped looking. Just like the rainbow.

Comments

  1. Mahesh TellapatiDecember 13, 2025 at 10:49 AM

    Mam, the blog beautifully reminds us that happiness hasn’t disappeared from our lives we just need to slow down and look for it again.

    ReplyDelete

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