I had planned to write the evening of 31st December. That’s the only thing that helps me get over, whenever I feel homesick. But, Bangalore has surprised me everytime when I least expected and it did this time too.
An evening when I was supposed to sit alone and sulk became the first ever evening of 31st December that I danced the night out. It was not at any pub or discotheque but it was 'happening' anyway. A bunch of 20 gals, dressed in their best biding adieu to 2011 with their latkas and jhataks to Bollywood numbers. J
Through this post, I want to recall all the good, bad and the ugly of the year I call- the year of many firsts for me.
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| One of the best nights at JNU |
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| India's Cricket World Winning Moments- at JNU |
It was the year; I had some of my most memorable night-outs with friends. Thanks to my gang at JNU. Be it the night we sat gazing the stars and airplanes at Narmada Hostel terrace, guitar and dreamy songs filling up for the silence of the dark night. Or be it THE night of 2nd April, 2011. Not only me, but no Indian is going to forget that in lifetime. The night India won the cricket world cup. I am one lucky soul to have watched India make history on big screens; at multiple locations in JNU, among a hooting crowd of innumerable JNUites and outsiders. To be living and celebrating the winning moments with drums, whistles, flags, gulaal and constant hooting, that too with the best people in my life was an outlandish experience. And that was not it to the night. We celebrated and paraded around every corner of JNU.Anybody familiar with JNU culture knows, no celebration is complete in JNU without a visit to PSR. As the crowd dispersed and two of my closest friends and I sat through the night, on the PSR rocks, under the stars, talking life and love. Time seemed to have stopped. That night was such when you feel you have conquered every possible thing you can. Such was the contentedness. Had it been possible, I would have etched myself there and stopped the world from moving.
Time passed by. Moments changed. A month after that, I graduated with a Masters degree as a university topper from JNU. Grabbed my first job another month after that, as an Instructional Designer with Accenture, Bangalore. With this came, my first chance to experience a new city. Life was waiting for me, I thought to myself, as I looked out of the airplane window while on my first ever air journey. My heart was a bagful of mixed feelings. I composed myself by reminding myself what I have always believed- every cloud has a silver lining. Though, it was true I was leaving my people behind in Delhi- a city I have always loved; still I was all set to embrace a new life.
But, has life ever been the way we foresee it? The next thing I knew, I was here in a PG with 4 other people in the room. The place I had to call home for the next God knows how many months. Suddenly, everything started looking so alien. The food, the people, the place. A city that was supposed to give me life was slowly sucking it away from me. After a month of meeting acquaintances on weekends, there was nothing left for me to do here. Where could have I hoped to venture out in the lack company?
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| The surprise birthday celebration at Manchester United |
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| Another surprise waiting in place |
The next month was my birthday month. From the time I joined college, I had been having the pleasure of celebrating my birthdays marvelously. Thanks to some amazing friends I met during college. This time I was prepared to spend a lonely and quiet birthday evening at the PG. But, as luck had it, in came a mail for a team outing to one of the most happening pubs in Bangalore- Manchester United. This is one place; I had always wanted to visit whenever I passed it by in Kormangala. One thing was decided then, the evening wouldn’t be as blank as I had imagined. There was something to look forward to. The place had great ambience with EPL matches playing all around on life-size screens. It was the first time I actually got to see the bartenders perform stunts. After that spectacular sight, as we returned to our tables, I saw everybody around me standing up from their chairs. Not realizing what is it, I stood up too, and as I blinked, I saw a beautiful chocolate cake in front me. The pub echoed with the sound ‘Happy Birthday Ragini’ when they played it on the DJ especially for me. God! These were moments to die for. I have never felt more special in life. People whom I hardly knew for a month made my day special. Then there were more surprises in kitty. My friend from Mumbai, working in Coimbatore had come for an official trip to Bangalore. We had planned to spend my birthday night together. I knocked at her door and a beautifully candle lit cake welcomed me there too . I got to know later, the cake was from another friend. He couldn’t be there for my birthday, but he wanted to make sure he could do his bit for my birthday-the first time we could have celebrated it together, and not on doodle. A day which was supposed to be sad and solitary had thus become one of the most memorable birthdays of my life.
The days that followed afterwards, here in Bangalore, were again the same old depressing story. Monotony and homesickness took over. I had spent Raksha Bandhan and Dusshera getting madly homesick. There was nothing here. No celebration, decorations or the usual commotion of festival season. I would get lumpy throated while on calls back home. I would not know when I would get watery eyed chatting with my brother; when he tried to reason, how life would be now on and how I would have to accept it. This was the time, I realized that yes, the times you badly miss home is during festivals. Thankfully, I was home for Diwali. The route from airport to my home in Delhi is neither scenic, nor very long. But let me tell you, that probably was my best cab ride back home ever. Diwali was fun, as it was meant to be. Yet, there was something amiss. I was there, yet I was not there. Probably, it was the melancholy of an extremely short holiday.
Coming back to Bangalore after the 'minute' trip back home, I got to know my Coimbatore friend, who used to visit me on weekends, had to go to Germany on an official trip for about a month. So now, I was confined to my room even on weekends. Movies and sit-coms became my only friend and confidant. I have not watched as many movies in my lifetime as I have downloaded and watched in 6 months here. From chick flicks, rom-coms to some of the most popular movies of all time, I watched them all. Fortunately, I loved every bit of this time I was spending in my own company.
Meanwhile, life got a bit better. Not that the things really improved, but I guess I became used to the way of life here. Also, the hope of getting back home sometime soon kept me going.That’s how it was building up here for me.
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| The night of 31st December, 2011- at PG |
It was festive season again. Christmas, New Year... whatever ...were to come, I had no expectations. Christmas had passed without a trace. So would new year, I thought. But, as I mentioned, this city has a way of surprising me always. As it happened, this New Year’s Eve turned out to be the only one which I didn’t spend sleeping. A friend took me out for lunch to Mainland China, one of Bangalore’s finest Chinese restaurants. And to nail it all was the New Year bash at the PG with champagne popping at midnight. J
Wish you all a very Happy New Year 2012 too! J
I read it again and wish this year to be a promising year for all of us. There is a lot to come.
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