To All Those Deleted Names and Contacts

To all those deleted names and contacts,

I deleted you from my phonebook, facebook or any other book

About six months ago, for no fault of yours.

Someday in the past, you had probably meant a lot

I had shared more than just a small talk with you

But slowly you were just a name in my phonebook

And that suffocated me.

"I should be in touch with everybody"

Was the principle I lived on because I thought

I might need somebody someday

And to ask for the favour suddenly is just so manner-less.

But the ethics and manners of living in a community

They all died within me in the last six months.

After a ‘hi’ and a ‘how are you?’

What do I talk to you?

We have liked the profile pictures

We have commented on the achievements

We have reacted on the status updates.

But those have become involuntary actions

That we do every second as we scroll down our newsfeeds.

Truth of the matter is we haven’t talked in years

And we won’t for the coming years

And yet I had your number in my list

Nostalgia, past, memories haunted me

They pulled me back for no apparent reason

We have nothing in common anymore

Our thoughts are way beyond the poles

So the mere presence of your name

in my virtual life choked me.

Deleting you  freed me

From the imaginary social shackles.

The baggage is off my back

And I am relieved.

But someday if I am in the same town as you

I will dig you up and drop a message

If your choice coincides with mine

Then we can sit on a broken bench in the park

And share the things that have shaped us

Over a cup of initial awkwardness.

But someday I might be far away

I might need you for a very specific reason

I hope you can still be able to help

Without grudging against the absence of all these years

Because I hope you understand

You are busy and so am I.

Never were we close enough to prioritise each other

I freed myself from the norms of staying in touch

I freed you too, for I hold no complaints

I hope one day you will realise it too

That small talks kill the personal bonds as much as they make the social ones.