The Annual Look-back

(1)
As I sit in my little balcony garden, sun-bathing with plants each a different shade of green, I feel happy. This has been my daily routine for the last 10 days. Mom massages me with oil, dad reads the newspaper and I play Sudoku or read Mrs. Funnybones' eponymous A-Z short stories.

This is not the first morning routine for the three of us together. The first is going for morning walk in the lake-garden some 50 meters from our society. Wearing not so woolen winter-wear with caps/scarves/hoodies while looking at the sun rise. Repeating this for evening stroll while the sun goes down. This makes me happy too.

Just like my Diwali break, these 10 days were also spent working from home. But today being Sunday, there's no reason for me to check my inbox. So my brain is flashing multiple memories from this year- the annual look-back.

(2)
The year started with a major event- my elder brother getting married. It was followed by my new work-role bringing me back to Mumbai. I got introduced to my new happy place- the Worli Seaface. The year progressed with another major event- my mother getting hospitalized. She's better now, but this really became a defining moment for this year. It showed me that my parents are super-strong. The year moved along and I turned 25. This should count as major and as an event, but this happened during my aforementioned work-from-home Diwali. So birthday was more like a much deserved break from, well, break!

(3)
I have never been a planner. I don't know how to plan, unlike my dad who is a thorough pro here. He is excellent at keeping records, filing documents, chalking out itineraries and having contingency plans too. But for this year, I planned to travel. Except one plan to visit my brother and sister-in-law in the States, other plans were actually very executable. The US plan would require my boss' nod to take some 13 working days off and even I knew all I would get is a resounding no.

Other plan was to go to Amritsar with my Delhi-wale uncle, aunt and first cousins. This was a year of long weekends and I had planned to go on one such weekend. Unfortunately my mom got sick and I obviously rushed to be by her side. But being daddy's girl, I had a Plan B- to use another long weekend coming up next month. I had booked the tickets and had already decided what clothes I will carry, which places I will visit and more importantly what food I would eat there. The Punjabi in me was already happy in anticipation.
A few days after my mom returned home, we got the news of my second-cousin getting married on the very same long weekend as that of my Plan B. The second cousin lives in the same city as my parents so everyone- my first cousins and even people from Amritsar ended up visiting my city for this wedding and I ended up canceling tickets of my trip one more time. I swear this year I have canceled more tickets than all the other years put together.
Another plan was of Rann of Kutch during Christmas extended weekend or the New Year's long weekend. That too kaput! Lesson learnt- I should stick to not planning anything.

(4)
Many friends remarked that I had lost weight, looking at my various Instagrams. Two colleagues said that my curls are beautiful- my hair have never been complimented 😊 And very recently, there was a department meeting with people from across the country in attendance. Although I made very conspicuous late entry and greeted the Exec VP with a  bold 'Hi!' instead of a sheepish 'Good Morning', the reason I was getting some stares was my never-seen-before avatar- I was wearing some chic clothes to work, with a funky neck-piece and my still wet-from-wash curls. So my vanity got many boosts this year 😉.

25

Had taken a week-long leave from work to celebrate Diwali and spend time with my parents. Every day of my leave was spent working from home, something my parents and I disapprove of. A leave is a leave, a leave from work. Working on leave from work is both oxy-moronic and moronic. Having said that, no one forced me to carry my work laptop home, nor did anyone ask me to log-on to office mail. When people mailed me, they got auto-replies of out of office. They also got replies from me, doing my job. Some asked that if I was working, why the auto-replies? Others would say sorry to bother you on your leave, but do this, and that, and also that. Most of them appreciated my prompt replies, but I absolutely loathed myself. Then I turned 25.

"How did you celebrate?", asked someone.

I did exactly what I have been doing for the past week. Woke up and went to the nearby lake-garden with my parents for a morning walk. It is the only time it's pleasant here, in my otherwise scorching hot city.

"So, what's the special today?", asked my aunt who had called to wish me.
"Learning to cook baingan ka bharta", my honest reply, met with amused laughter from all ends.

"Happy b'day madam, silver jubilee ho gaya! Itna kamaa rahi ho, what will you spend it on?", a  friend quizzed me.
"Pai pai jod ke bachaa rahi hu for my wedding :P", a dishonest reply, met with even more thunderous laughter.

"How's the party going on?", texted another friend ready to take an underwater swim with sea-turtles.
"Dad opened a little cabinet and I found mini bottles of Finlandia Vodka and Dry Gin in there. So the party's just getting started!" 😄

I instagrammed my picture wearing a kurti mommy had stitched for me, watched Shammi Kapoor's 'Teesri Manzil' with dad, visited a temple during our evening stroll, face-timed with everyone on my face-time list, gorged on home baked cake and did not touch my work laptop even for a second. I CELEBRATED! 🎉🎉

When walking to work takes you places..

I walk to work daily. It’s a blessing in Bombay to have a place a few kilometres away from office. Walking on traffic congested, fungi-infested lanes is way better than commuting in Mumbai rains or the local trains. 

What I do with all the time, money and energy I save by going on foot is simple: I cook, I read and I sleep well. Very plain and mundane it may sound, but this is exactly what I cherish- having a peace of mind, that often gets lost when you work in corporate world.

I cook two-three meals a day, and have realized that more often than not, cooking is therapeutic in nature. The colours each food item has during different stages of cooking- from raw to semi-cooked to ready-to-eat- are many more than in a rainbow. The sounds like splattering of oil, the whistling of pressure cooker or sparkling of tea are the kinds of cacophony I can live with. The fragrance of piping hot food stimulate the taste buds, or so I read in a primary school textbook years ago. There are few things that affect all my senses in this way.  What started as just a way to fill my stomach without emptying my pocket on restaurants/delivery food, is now a chore I look forward to.  From the disappointment of making uncooked/burnt/not-a-circle-shape rotis to the excitement of baking banana soufflé, I take a journey everyday through the valleys and mountains of emotions.

I read as often as I can. What stops me most of the times is binge-watching videos. Guilty. What I am reading these days seems to be interesting. The first 15 pages were loaded with Spanish and French words and phrases and references to Tainos , fuku, de Leon, JFK etc. This led to an extensive use of Google Translate and Google Search, where each search led to a new search. As an example, googling about de Leon led me to searching about a former Roman empire of the Iberian Peninsula. This introduced me to Basque- a language indigenous to regions adjacent to Spain and France (that kind of explains Spanish and French words and phrases being used in this novel). A search about Iberian Peninsula led me to check out the modern day Europe’s map, which reminded me of Prof SSB who taught us International Business Strategy. That gem of a man- he gave us assignments on India’s trade relations with countries like Paraguay and Uruguay, which I would never think about otherwise. It is partly because of his way of teaching, that now when I see my friend Instagramming about her vacation in Nuwara Eliya, I know that Nuwara Eliya means “city on the plain”- a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka.

And with all this feast of food and knowledge, I happily fall asleep every night, always thinking of what to cook the next day and which new search thread might unravel tomorrow J

Heartbreak

No, this is not about a failed romance. This is about adult life. It's about your best friend getting married and you being unable to attend her marriage because, work. It's about going from "can't-wait-for-the-big-day" to "so sorry Pappu, I cannot reschedule this 😢". It's about spending sleepless nights remembering every moment you have spent with your crazy pal, then replaying the entire conversation they had with you about them getting married and then rehearsing how you are going to tell them that this work thing has propped up which is killing you!

It is breaking my heart into small pieces and then breaking those pieces into smaller ones. Stealing a few minutes from work to watch the live-stream of her wedding, I notice how pretty Amma looks, laughing throughout the ceremony while holding a rice cake or something.

Can't help but think about how for a happy life one works and sometimes misses out on like the happiest moments ever because, work. Woke up this morning, looking for a Harry Potter portkey to touch and be transported to Hyderabad for the Reddy wedding. Tried to divert my mind saying career is important, so you gotta work work work work (Rihanna style). Got fed up with the fact that stars and muhurat decided her wedding date and it's not on a weekend. Remembered that my brother got engaged on a Monday and married on a Tuesday, but worked (from home) till the previous Friday.

While my brain plasters the broken pieces of heart with all this contemplation (=jhootha dilasa), the wedding live-stream and live commentary of my gang-mates on WhatsApp acts as the true medicine. God bless technology! And God bless Mr. Reddy- who now has a lifetime of Mounika's PJs to live with 😃.

Highlights

Last year was full of great experiences for me.

1. Got my first job in the first week of the first month of 2016.
2. Completed my education of 21 years. Out of the Student Zone :D
3. 45 days of summer in the USA. Alag hi duniya hai!
4. Worked in Sales in slums in Mumbai rains. Mentored by some really good people at work. 
5. Made my parents proud and re-lived the two greatest years with Gang at convocation at NITIE.
6. Was part of a Facebook Page and responsible for a few real hilarious (& viral) posts.
7. Met my sister-in-law-to-be. 
8. Attended my roomie/bestie/suar niece/kinda-like-my-big-sis Ipshi's wedding.
9. Developed an interest in cooking and explored(ing) food joints in Pune.
10. Continued to be inspired by dad, who now embarks on a new phase of life post retirement.

2016 certainly had many milestones. But one of the fondest memories remains when my mother spent 10 days with me in Pune ☺ 

When My Mother Came to Visit Me

Thursday
I asked her before falling asleep, "Mummy ap karogi kya kal pura din, I'll be in office and you'll be alone".
I live in Pune-a stint of 3 months. I live in this small place of one room, an unfurnished kitchen and all the neighbors are my age, working or studying. The rent is one-fifth of what there is in Mumbai and I spend half my day in the office and rest of it by sharing bed with my laptop. I have figured it all.
"Tu chinta na kar. I have my iPad :D", mom replied with a smile. Wow, she too has figured it all and better.

Friday:
"Hello mom, I'm having lunch. Apne kha liya?", I WhatsApped her from the office cafeteria. "No, I'm sleeping. Tere message ne neend tod di. Ab nahane jaungi".
This was a 180° U-turn in events. Usually mom would call me from her work and I would respond like this from my college hostel's bed, which was very uncomfortable during nights but heavenly during afternoon lectures.
After dinner, mom asked me to play her favorite movie Kabhie Kabhi on laptop. God, I love that movie too!

Saturday:
"Vinti, doodh ubaal diya hai. Mug de daal du". I handed her two beer mugs. Why do I have beer mugs? Let's just say they are Rs.29/- a piece and it wouldn't hurt to break or throw them away. Yes, let's just say that is the reason :D
In the evening, I took her to Rock-On Concert, sponsored by my company. "It is Farhan Akhtar's movie", said mother and I nodded. She loved Dil Chahta Hai, and she maintains Farhan Akhtar is a better director than he is as an actor. Anyway, it was an evening well spent.

Sunday:
After talking about a 1000 different things, including the very irritating idea of "Tu boyfriend bana le, hum teri shaadi us se kara denge happily", we talked about the concept of "Urban Poor". I told her about how the world is now mostly about showing how 'happening' one's life is on Facebook. Although she's a tech-savvy mom, better at gadgets than I am, thankfully she's not on Facebook. It's a proud achievement, given most people her age are hooked to FB. We talked hours and hours, and I couldn't help but smile. For someone who goes to bed at 9.30 pm, mommy chatted with me animatedly till 1 am.

Monday:
The background story here is that Mom has a 20 day vacation post Diwali which she spends every year with her parents in Delhi. But this year she decided to spend some 10 days with me. Meanwhile, my father's company has sent him and a few others to the company headquarters in Dehra Dun. These are the employees who are nearing retirement and it's a week long program on "Happiness After Superannuation". Basically moh-maya se dur Himalaya pe gaye hain.

Dad called and talked about how lovely his day was. He spent the day with people like him, who have spent 30-35 years working, taking care of families, worrying about bills and taxes and children's education and career and marriage and what not. They all now have to 'chillax', be healthy and happy. Yep, that's Himalayan talk. And he is really looking forward to this.

Whereas, mom and I spent our evening e-window-shopping, something neither of us are interested in. I have never shown any interest in anything girl-like and she always buys sarees from unke jan-pehchan k logo se. But this exercise turned out to be fun, as we basically laughed at every customer review. I'm stating this: Customer Review sections and YouTube comments are the best sources of comedy :P

In between watching old movies, talking about US election, being horrified by pollution in Delhi and enjoying mom's cooking, I realized how both my parents are living a great life and that just makes me happy.

My modes of transportation

It's been 20 days since I moved to Pune. From my past experience in this city, auto-rickshaws should be avoided because auto-wallas scam you. But after 2 years and 3 months in Mumbai, autos had become the mode of transportation for me.

Of course Mumbai has the local trains too but I have ridden a local like 4 times in all. Each time- against my will. No, no one forced me in a bad way, but there were situations where only local made sense. And it was always with friends. Whereas autos in Mumbai, I ride with an ease. A similar ease that I have developed for cab rides in Pune. I can take a cab alone and I can share it with total strangers. For someone, who feels like a stranger with her own first cousins (except a few of them), many of her classmates (from all the schools and both the colleges) and all her neighbours, travelling everyday to and fro across the city with total strangers (2-3 new facesa day) feels like a big achievement. To her it does.

I used to be the person who didn't even have any cab apps in her phone until a few months ago. Yes! Well I did install Uber and Ola and Lyft so that my friend and a classmate and elder brother respectively could redeem a discount on referral. But after the free rides, I never used them; in-fact uninstalled them right away. Why? Because I had my family's car or the autos to go about anywhere. My friends used to call the cabs when too many of us had plans and too less autos were around. But, I hated riding cabs then. Since I was the fat one, obviously my seat was the passenger seat, cutting me off from rest of the gang who would sometimes crack jokes that never reached the front seat. Silly reason, I know. But necessity and new city have changed the way I look at cabs. They are my lifeline now-a comfortable and affordable commute. Just like when I thought I would never travel in a bus until I had to one fateful day.

My engineering college in Surat was some 4 hours train ride away from home, Ahmedabad. It was just before Diwali holidays, when some girls in the hostel mess were discussing how they couldn't get their train tickets confirmed and would have to take a bus. They lived in other states of the country, some 12- and some 24-hours away by train (Ok I admit, I don't know distances in kms and so I use number of hours via train to judge how far the cities are). They had no choice but to take a bus trip home and I very bluntly said: "I can't imagine sitting in bus for even 1 hour!" That same evening, I went to the railway station, to catch my train to home, which got cancelled. Engine Burst. True Story. Now, I had an option of boarding general coach of another train because hello, it was only four hours journey. But, I didn't. Right opposite the railway station was the bus stand. With 3 suitcases and 2 bags (girls travel with a lot of luggage), I didn't want to enter the crammed general coach of some train which would leave some 5 hours later. Instead, I ran towards the crammed state bus which was leaving in another 5 minutes. And after standing for 6 hours straight in that bus, I knew I can ride any bus.

Also, when I went to Delhi last weekend for a family function, riding in a cycle-rickshaw was really a trip down the memory lane- memories from when I was a little girl, going to school in the open air cycle rickshaws, wondering how kids travel in suffocating matadors, vans or bus. And yes, of course when we moved to Ahmedabad, I went to school in a school bus, which turned out to be the hub for school gossips and pranks. Yep, whatever I eye-roll at today, I will end up doing it tomorrow.

So this is Me. Living in different cities and embracing their modes of travel. And since I'm an indoor person, so only when I travel or commute is when I really look at the city. I look at the roads, the graffiti on the walls along with resumes of local hakims and propaganda of local politicians, the electric polls and a hundred wires on them, the trees, the people.