It is that time of the year again... the ushering of the chilly winds, the running of nature's gentle fingers of our sun parched body, the mirth and merry making on the occasion of the Redeemer's birth and the year dying with the emergence of a new one, with more resolutions and promises. A time of the year, when the world seems to rise from a deep slumber to renew itself and prepare for another deeper one. The bare branches of the trees, feebly staring at the passers. The sweet fragrance of some unknown flower pervading the the solitary lanes, covered with fallen leaves, some green, some yellow. A time of the year, when every sip of coffee brings back memories of days that are no more. Memories that are sweet, sour, bitter and of every possible taste. Memories that make you feel nostalgic, that make the banks of your eyes filled with water, memories that make you breathe deep and hide your face from those watching you. You stare out of the windows and see the rising somke of the cup, flight of a solitary bird to a distant land, a land yet unknown to the known, and you murmur... "it is that time of the year again"......