The B'lore Diaries (Part 1)

It was a hot sunny afternoon... But unlike the other hot sunny afternoons which are also boring and lethargic, where the mind desperately craves for some interesting activity to engage in; this one was full of dreams and hope, inspite of travelling in a non-AC bus with the hot sun hitting your face. And the person sitting behind me wouldn’t draw the curtains! Even if I tried to, he’d open them again! Dude, did you just accidently happen to drift away from Planet Mercury?! Phew! Anyway, I was travelling with my dad, from my institute in Harihar to Bangalore, for my summer internship at RelianceRetail-Lifestyle. One major nap and a few mini-naps later, the sun was just beginning to set. We were on the outskirts of the city and I could sense this lovely classic geeli-maati-ki-khushboo! If you’ve read a certain earlier post of mine (on shopping), you’d know what a ‘deewanee’ I am, of this smell and of rain! Wow! The nostrils inhaled more air and the eyelids automatically closed, all in appreciation of this pure natural fragrance! It had rained and the endless rows of coconut-trees naturally made the air cooler and pleasant! What a welcome! I was thrilled as my mind concocted various images of how the city would look like, the roads, the infrastructure, the urban crowd, etc. After watching a beautiful sunset where the Sun looked perfectly round and reddish-orange in colour, we were just entering the city and now I began thinking of the various comparisons that are usually made between Mumbai and Bangalore. Let’s play safe and leave the argument to the debaters, though I must say that I quite like the city. :)

The day after I set foot in Bangalore, I was so excited about being on my own in a new city that I simply strolled around M. G. Road and Cunningham Road just to know more about the place and to know where I can find what. I set out to meet my friend Divs (or ‘Sheep’ as we lovingly call her, just because she’s so cute!), who lives about an hour away from Cunningham Road, in Jayanagar. We met up along with a few other friends who’d just arrived and were PG-hunting. Together, we had delicious ghar-ka-khana at Divs’ place, met her parents and also the adorable ‘Cookie’! Then, I went to a parlour nearby and got myself a new hair-cut (let’s say, to ‘suit the season’) and also visited a mall nearby and bought myself a bright, colourful bed-sheet and pillow-cover, as also a headset-mic. for my laptop.

When I joined the company for my internship, I found a new friend in Nancy, who’s a fellow-intern like me, but from an institute in Bangalore itself. We’d only just met but got along very well and it’s been just a week knowing her but she’s surely fun to be with! She took me to Commercial Street when I said I wanted to shop a little and I bought myself a stole, a clutch-purse and some other tiny things.(It's been one week into the internship and I haven't started working on the project yet, it's been only the office-work this week. I must start working on my project soon.)

I think this whole Bangalore-thing has helped me fall in love with myself again. The time spent in the campus had drained out my emotional energy. I’ve had many vulnerable moments where I’ve hated everything around me and all I’ve wanted to do is hug my mom or sister and cry. Many a time nobody cares, nobody understands, nobody cares to understand, nobody cares to try. I’ve heard this saying often, which goes, ‘I build walls around myself to see who cares enough to break them down’. And I don’t even build walls, huh. The energy of love is absent in absolute terms. The energy for every tiny thing has to come from within, for there is no other source. In such times, unless you love yourself, you can’t find the energy to take care of yourself and be contented. All this may seem gibberish to some and philosophic heights to some others, but all I know is that this is my personal experience. Self-love can bring you back from the depths of depression; help you survive the pain, the angst and substitute the absence of love around. I know the importance of loving myself. In many cases, it may not be important, but in my case, it’s what keeps me going. And my family coming down to Harihar all way from Mumbai, just to spend two days with me before I set off for my internship, infused this new wave of happiness and love inside me. I’m now relaxed, re-connected with myself and have leisure at my disposal to contemplate as well as to let go and enjoy.

I’m planning on having a nice weekend- movies and meeting a friend after quite a long time, cooking with friends and maybe a trip to Mysore as Divs said.

That’s all for now, the Bangalore experience might just prompt a few more posts...

:)

P.S. For those who are wondering why this sudden change from miss.meow to deewaneeladki: Well, I just needed a change! Let's say that the Meow-ing Miss just blossomed into Deewanee Ladki!