In a place like Mumbai

In a place like Mumbai, where finding a spacious two bedroom hall kitchen flat is difficult, a person across my street has a one floor flat along with a balcony. His entire balcony overflows with bonsai. I like to think of it as a bonsai garden.
I have these thoughts about how it would feel to descend the staircase and feel the tips of the trees, graze by me as I walk inside. I like to imagine being covered by the minuscule canopy as I lay on the concrete ground, staring at the stars, the leaves absorbing the traffic noise from down below.
But that is a figment of my imagination.

In a place like Mumbai, where every building does not have enough parking for a single car per flat, and where even I need to go in the lanes behind my house to park the car, the Ambanis had the entire web of lanes evacuated for VIP parking. Where should all the regular cars go? No idea. Now that is unfair and probably not okay. But let us get real. Who decides what is okay and what is not? *cough* powerplay *cough*
The road was full of noise. The lanes behind were full of lights and emptiness. A line of horses trotted on the street. Fancy ones that too. My grandmother shouted at me to see them. I tried to take a video but my crappy phone camera couldn’t capture it.
It is funny to think of the groom entering on short horses with fat feet and long hair. But this will remain a figment of my imagination.

In a place like Mumbai, where there are trees with purple bell flowers, yellow leave shedding trees, and coconut ones swaying in the wind showing off their disco moves (also looking unstable and making me want to stay coconut-tree-feet away), my friend might get a Christmas tree. What is amusing is not her having a Christmas tree, but that her sister might get one from the United States of America in her luggage? Is this even allowed?
Picture this: A twenty-something girl, carrying three bags at the airport. There are people ahead of her, trying to bargain with the authorities to let them carry some extra weight. And in she strolls elegantly, with one of her bags containing a Christmas tree.
I wish I could see that happen. I wish I could see the reaction of the people scanning her bag. But it will remain a figment of my imagination.

In a place like Mumbai, where there are so many stores to shop from, Brand Factory situated at walking distance from home has many sales. And every time they have a sale, they message everyone who has ever shopped from there. This is the very time I will not dare to step into the mall. There are people in a line to get in. There are people paying to get in. There are just so many people, where do they come from???
On the other hand, I see myself lined up outside Only which is about eight stations away from my house, when they were having a big sale. My aunt is along with me and it is probably 6am - if you don’t arrive early enough, you’ll never get in! I learn that people still buy from Salman Khan’s being human store next door. I learn from a fashionista in the line that Forever 21 was initially an imitation brand. And I also learn that I am an idiot to stand in the line for three hours (or was it five? Because it felt like ten!) especially since I was inside for five minutes and all I wanted to do was get out.
Unfortunately, this is not a figment of my imagination.

Thanks for reading ^_^
Kanksha

On Making the Boundaries Fuzzier

(Recommended to listen as you read for the full effect.)

You could be stressed with university applications but the thought of a final year trip with your friends sweetens your mind. You could be sad because of a life-changing unpredictable scenario that you are going through, but undertaking a creative project, like buying a colouring book and penciling through mandalas could make you scrunch your eyes in delight. Joining a community that runs every Saturday full of positive vibes and support for each other is exciting, even if that means kicking yourself out of bed at 5:30 am on a weekend. And no matter what you do, finally actively working towards publishing a book you have written, or beginning a YouTube channel, is going to make your stomach get entangled like spaghetti.

My relationship with writing is a pretty hot and cold one, only depending on how I feel about it. It is the least of my priorities and currently, at least, that is how I feel it should be. Which is why I am publishing a blog post after so long. But the big break that I took also geared me up again. There are so many new ideas I want to explore. The creative part of me is screaming to take up new projects and I just hope they actually materialise and leave me with being productive and happy. But this is fun, right? The fear of the unknown, coming back to something that you love after so long and feeling the energy and comfort, and all the things that you have learned or been through coming together to provide even more inspiration?

There are lots of times when you are feeling a particular feeling, and suddenly something happens which replaces it with the blossoming of another feeling. The excitement of something new beginning tends to be the replacement. I think excitement is the one thing that cannot be controlled or contained. It gets triggered irrespective of how your current state of mind is.

Along with this strong feeling at the beginning of something, there also exists one at the end. This is when you see how much you have grown and how much those experiences have taught you. It nudges you towards a period of reflection, you feel nostalgic, and overall bittersweet. It's over. I am so glad. I do not want it to be over. There is relief. There is anxiety of what will happen next. There is excitement. You see, it's always a mixture. The beginning and end of things are often fuzzy. The day ends, the night begins. The night ends and it is morning again. A tsunami destroys a city as it is known to be. Weeks later people are building it back together. You get done with lunch, it is soon time to prepare dinner. The anticipation of the next examination, next episode, or e-mail. The next trip being lowkey planned on the last night of the one that you are on - this happens with my school gang all the time. And the 365.25 days left before your next birthday. Whew!

The end of this year, however it has been for you, is also the beginning of a new one. I think I tend to do posts on the new year sometime during the last week of December sharing nuggets of wisdom I have accumulated over twenty odd years. But this one had to come out sooner. Because I want all of you to do TODAY, whatever you had thought you would do in 2019. No more waiting for an ending before you begin something new.

Drown yourself in the excitement. Feel the anticipation. Take control to feel out of control in a good way.

Right now, buddy. Make the boundaries even fuzzier.
Kanksha