Ain't No Shakespeare

 After Diwali if there is one thing that I look forward to, it is the festive month of December. In all sense, December is like the Sunday of the year – chill, relaxing with a tinge of sadness at another year gone by with probably not having achieved everything we had set out to. The month is always special to me though. There is pleasant nip in the air (we Mumbaikars are satisfied with that!), there are plans of year end breaks/travels, friends/relatives from abroad visit you after a year or few. There are functions, get-togethers, streets lined up with festive Christmassy decorations & lights. The vibe in office is chill & relaxed – there is Christmas tree & Secret Santa. It is a pleasant time. Except this time it didn’t feel that way. Yes, there was a relaxed atmosphere, the Mumbai winter set in finally, plans were made but something didn’t quite feel right. Does this happen with you? You want to feel upbeat, happy, relaxed. But your mind starts playing games wit...

If you have been following my blog posts, most of them are about travel – solo travel, living solo, enjoying exploration. My work is my ticket to that travel. I get to explore new cities, their food, their sights, ways of living, and markets as a part of my job & that is the biggest plus of my job. And in terms of that this year has been a rocking one. The year yet to finish & 2 amazing international trips already – Kuala Lampur (Malaysia) & just recently Vietnam – both new countries, new experiences. I had a group of friends from work with my during the Malaysia trip. It was quite another experience – exploring a new country with friends, without supervision from parents or seniors, doing a bit of self-exploration.   When opportunity presented itself to travel to Vietnam & no friends – just an entire sales team I had hardly ever met before I panicked. I was excited for the country – but how do I explore the city? How do I try new food? How do I capture the nume...

I generally miss my cousins most days of the year – it is hard not to, we have practically grown up together. But never more so than on Rakhi – the day that is officially meant to celebrate the bonds between a brother & a sister. I am an only child. But I never did feel the absence of a sibling. My cousins more than made up for it. Our families are very close. So our childhood was generally spent together in numerous functions, during festivals, family trips & of course all vacations. We have spent entire summers together – playing out the whole day, going for plays, being taken to parks or to shop for toys, staying awake at night gossiping, going for summer camps – around a month of chaos, madness, playing, fighting, laughing & crying. And then we grew up. Tuitions & summer schools took place of our joy of summer vacations. And as we got into college, different priorities, entrances, exams turned our lives upside down. Time together dropped. But we always did find ...

Since childhood I have travelled a lot. I come from a family who adore exploring new places. So as a part of family trips, I have visited new places at least twice a year every year. It is a fun experience – the novelty of a new place, the travel, spending time with family while forgetting all about studies, exams & tensions, learning the mesmerizing history of a place, trying different cuisines & basically living a life of “wanderlust” for a few days. But mostly it was the company – of parents, my cousins – that made the whole experience a delight! Travel alone? Why? How? So boring! So scary! This was my mental reaction whenever it was suggested. Until I was forced to for the first time during my MBA internship. I spent more than a month in Indore – in a hotel, all alone – in a city with no friends, no relatives, no one to explore the city with or eat out. How does one overcome the first new awkwardness of solo travel? In my case it was my boredom that drove me to explore the ...

Death is a deeply unsettling phenomenon. More so when it is the death of a loved one. It makes us question everything about life. It is a reminder of the transience of life. It slows down the speed of our ever fast-paced life and jolts it to a stop for those moments. Death ofcourse has been a cause of fear & panic for most. For me, it has always induced terror & panic, not just about my own life but much more about the life, health & well being of my loved ones. Each time I've lost someone close to me, I've felt an angst, anxiety & insecurity about those in my life. I've found it difficult to imagine my life without them in it. And the overthinker that I am, it has thrown my heart & mind into complete chaos & mayhem. In such times I've found myself in pursuit of normalcy to keep myself sane. With everything around in so much disarray, I've tended to desperately cling on to anything that will restore a sense of calm & order to my life ...