Dear Reader,
I have a request for you before you read the following piece. It is a time-traveler request. Imagine yourself transported to Christmas 2017. Do you remember how all the malls, hotels and restaurants were adorned by giant Christmas trees? Can you recall the warmth of fresh waffles and mulled wine against the harsh winter? You can? Then we're all set:
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I’m a Delhi girl.
Why do I begin with this?
Because I’ve never seen a December that isn’t cold.
Christmas has always been a time to sip hot coffee through chattering teeth.
But this Christmas is different. I’m in Mumbai.
Why am I here, you ask? Well, this is the City of Dreams.
Isn’t it? I came here looking to make a name for myself in that most glamorous
of industries. True, I haven’t made much headway yet. But I did manage to
meditatively gawk at all of my favorite celebrities’ homes, trying to bribe the
guards to let me sneak a peek at what lies beyond those massive doors.
Wait. I hope you didn’t buy that! Because I am none of that.
I’m just a regular girl, whose job, like thousands others,
has brought her to the city. I work for a company that proclaims itself to be
the entertainment provider for our country. And that’s about as close as I can
ever get to Bollywood. No, I didn’t want to be here. No, I didn’t ask to be
here. No, I don’t yet hate or love the city. But yes, I am here nonetheless.
Coming back to Christmas. It is the Twenty Fourth day of
December, the last month in the Two Thousand and Seventeenth year after Christ
(24.12.2017). Christmas evening. And I’m sitting here, with the fan speed
turned to maximum, with no plans of going out anywhere, turning all my
attention to this white sheet of paper that I can’t even touch.
Seems like the perfect time to go into a flashback, right?
Don’t worry, it’s only about three weeks. After all, I just arrived!
Caution: It might get a little too depressing for some, but
remember, it gets worse before it gets better… the night is darkest before dawn…
or some such wise words.
Week 1:
I came with a heavy heart and even heavier suitcases. I’ve
never been unhappier about landing in a city. The one-way ticket from Delhi
felt like I was going away on a cruise, but didn’t know how long it will be
before I see land again. To make matters worse, sea-sickness is a close friend.
That first evening here, my friends made sure I had no time
to be homesick. The terrors of house-hunting were still a dim possibility. The
possibility of not finding a decent place to stay non-existent. Yet from the
way I’m trying to build this up, I’m sure you’ve guessed what’s going to happen
yet.
Cut to the next evening, and we’re stranded in the rain. Cyclone
Ockhi welcomed us with its arms wide open. Walking in the rain, trying and
failing to hail a cab even as I felt the rain slowly drenching me through…the
panic I felt rising in my throat…the helplessness and frustration at having
spoiled my best office shoes right on day 1… the anger at the entire Ola/ Uber
infrastructure just collapsing… I think I’ll remember that evening for a long
time to come.
In bed later that night, I couldn’t help but wonder about
what has life come to. I questioned myself as to why I was even doing this.
What good could this job possibly do if it kept me away from my family? True,
in hindsight it sounds a little extreme. But those few hours alone were enough
to turn my world upside down and shake it all over.
That week I was staying on the 19th floor of a
building that touched the sky. That’s about sixteen floors higher than any
floor I’ve ever stayed on. While this effectively laid out the city below my
feet (barring a few proud buildings, who just wouldn’t bend no matter how much
I willed them to), it also isolated me (lonely at the top?). I could see the
rain fall, but not hear it pitter-patter. I could see the cars crawling around
in the streets below, but only hear the loudest of horns. I could see the
people, tiny and insignificant as ants. By the way, have you ever seen ants?
They are always so busy. Working so hard. But to what end? You don’t know.
Neither do you care. That is what I felt for those people. I felt nothing. Now
as I write this, I’m left wondering if our politicians see us the same way.
Ants?
**Zoom out cinema style; from the girl typing on her laptop, to a view of her from the window, to a shot of the neighborhood she stays in, to a picture of the city all lit up at night, and further...**
(To be continued)
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