Sanctuary
1. A consecrated place where sacred objects are kept
2. Area around the altar of a church for the clergy and choir; often enclosed by a lattice or railing
3. A shelter from danger or hardship
A shelter from danger or hardship. The third meaning is what instinctively comes to me whenever I think of the word. Besides I had no idea about the second one. And me being someone who claims to like biology as a subject and who had also liked geography when he had it as a subject in his schooldays (I think the last sentence is kind of wrong. Using third person reference to myself. Is it grammatically correct? Anyway it was pleasurable. So I am going to let it be without referring to Wren and Martin) the first words I associate with the word “sanctuary” are “bird”, “tiger”, “lion”, {*.animalclass. }
The first time I actually got interested in the word was after watching the movie “Lemony Snicket’s A series of unfortunate events”. Brilliant film. Brilliant cast. Brilliant Jim carrey. Brilliant theme. May be the story as such and the screenplay had elements of fantasy in it, but the essence of the characters were tangible enough for the concept of the movie to get through our ..ahem...my thick skull. The movie was about how we can build our own sanctuaries, wherever we want, whenever we want, where we can be safe and warm.
That was a long time ago. A lot of movies ago.
Then it struck me one day. In the most unexpected place. I will get to it. So after that it kept coming to me now and then. Of course all out of context but somehow it was related, out of context or not. It happens you know, like sometimes something unrelated comes to our mind when thinking about something. But I suppose it is not always off tangent though it might seem so. There is always some link, some obscure thread joining them which by itself would make a lot of sense. Like a metaphor. I suppose it sounds weird but yes what I am saying is that sometimes the metaphor would be tangible while how it builds the meaning of the target concept may not be so. (In terms of Tamizh grammar I am saying that the “uvamai” may make sense but how it relates to the “uvameyam” may be clouded.) But the real ingenuity of our mind is exhibited in the fact that this seemingly unrelated comparison is actually conjured up by itself which is undeniable proof that within its (that is, the mind’s) context it should be making sense somewhere, linked by something in its collective memories, opinions and logic.
Getting up suddenly in the middle of the night for some reason and recognising my home’s bedroom
Some random stranger telling me, while I am driving, that my bike’s stand is up
A professor telling me exasperatedly that it’s high time I realised the importance of aesthetics.
A friend, telling me, when I unintentionally put everyone in an silly situation and apologised for it, that it’s not needed because they know that I don’t mean harm
Getting wished on my birthday.
The unexpected, sudden dawn of appreciation for the lyrics of a familiar song
Somebody feeling exactly the same way I do about something
Somebody feeling exactly the opposite about the same thing but agreeing to my point for my sake
Crying for a scene in “I am Sam”, “Forrest Gump”, “The bucket list” and so on (there...there...I caught myself)
Happening to see a deaf and dumb couple, happy, smiling and talking affectionately to each other in sign language, while I am walking back home on a cloudy day.
Close ones imitating me
Missing somebody
I don’t know whether the list made any sense. It doesn’t, completely, to me. But these are just random things that I associate with the word.
It came to me on a train journey. I am travelling alone with home as the destination. I am having this side berth with a curtain. Long journey. Afternoon. Everybody in the compartment seems asleep. I close the curtain. I am sitting, my head propped up on the pillow. Book in my hand. Music in my ears. The A/C compartment’s tainted glass is coloring the sun light yellow. I am having no meaningful thought in my head, but in a moment, I felt my mood soaring, a feeling of contentment that comes from smug satisfaction infusing through my semi asleep consciousness, a feeling of safety that everything is fine with this life and the world. I am going home and everything else merely details.
Sanctuaries are all around us in the form of friends and family and good hearted people and beautiful things.
