My Sanctum

“Ye lo madam, aapka tayyar hai”, sounds better than “I love you, will you marry me”, especially when what’s on the platter is scrumptious and flavorsome chicken tikka. The tangy yet spicy mint chutney, creates a romance that’s oh- so spicy, in every sense!

                There’s no space to sit. I’m standing outside the Jai Jawan outlet, exclusively at Linking Road, Bandra. There have been at least a dozen men, walking around me and trying their best to sell a bag, accessories, perfumes and what not. I am focused. None of these sales gimmicks are going to work on me. I am hypnotized by the sinful aroma rising from the tandoor.  The commotion is neglected by now. All I can imagine, see, breathe or even feel… is food.

                Beyond all the drama and the impatient waiting, my steel plate arrived. The chicken was my prize for the persistent bargaining. All my little black and green plastic bags from the shopping were stuffed into my backpack, after all… who’s got the time to hold anything in the hand when the chicken tikka on your plate is screaming out to you for eating it!

                The ambience, the presentation and all that jazz didn’t matter, for the small variety of, yet brilliantly cooked meat, just melts in the mouth, slipping you in a state of trace. 100% customer satisfaction when it comes to hygiene at that little shack. The turban clad men, always smiling make your order feel like their top most priority. Being addressed as ‘betaji’ takes you a step further into the sigree of Punjab! The pav is twisted and torn, blanketed around a juicy piece of chicken, dipped generously into the chutney… chewed and savored like there’s nothing I’ve ever eaten. I sip my thumbs up… burping with a smile that feels like I’ve attained nirvana. I kiss my fingertips, still smiling. For I believe I found my sanctum today.

They call it settling in.... I call it a new family

       Sometimes, we try. We try                                                         to make a niche for ourselves,

everywhere we go. Some places, we go alone.. at some others, we hold another hand. Sometimes, there are people who stare at us when we walk by and sometimes, we're ignored. Life can throw some specifically difficult people to deal with... yet sometimes there are people who lead you through the dark phases.
        Many a times... situations get tough. So much so that, we almost give up. We forget the reason we started it all for... and that's the time the important people walk in. The people who remind you... not of all the greatness that lies in achieving... but in the warmth and the beauty of the journey. The journey that we don't merely travel, but live each moment from the time it begins... hence making it so important to end it correctly.

         These things, I am reminded of, each day, as it passes by. When I observe, like a wallflower, all the people I meet and mingle with, I realize that this is the beginning of nourishing a new family. A family that teaches you, fights with you, argues like there's nothing beyond it, loves and nurtures you, at every point of your life,as you grow. 

         And today, I realized that its not just about getting accustomed to some people, is not about settling in, but about enjoying the company, the crazy jokes, emotional moments and the mad stories. I am actually becoming a part of one such amazing family.. with people so much to learn from.

Dedicated, to the Rotaract Club of Deonar and the lovely people associated to it. To all the people who make it so easy to become friends with. To the Rotaractors!!

Cheers!!

The Smell of School

Today, after three long years, I visited my school. So much had changed, yet so little. The statue of Swami Vivekananda, was right there, where it was several years back, yet the beloved watchman and his salt and peppery mustache, I couldn't find.

I climbed the stairs that I had been climbing for 6 long years. I walked the corridors that were once a stage to my drama, podium to my speech, an adda to all the gossip and the playground to hundreds of lunch-breaks.

For the first time, in three years, I smelled my school. I breathed the pale colours of the classrooms. I breathed through the existence of so many kids at the same place, as I was at… a couple of years back. I saw the chalk dust in the air, which brought a gist of nostalgia with it. I could hear the footsteps, the synched recitation of the pledge and the co-ordinated greetings to the teacher.

I imagined myself as the school girl once again. I could feel my oiled and neatly tied hair. I could see my brightly polished shoes. The ribbons, the badge, the crisply ironed uniform, uptight socks and so much more… that for once, I reached for my bag, to hold the straps of my satchel, only to realize that now I, am an almost grown woman, with a rather stylish handbag.