Friday 11 January 2019

Day 11: Bittersweet: Home Sweet Home


As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together



^^^^Song for this post. Suggest listening along.

After having slept around 3 am, waking up at 7 wasn't easy. But this had become the story of our lives. Taking complete advantage of the geyser and our own sweet time, Niti and I got ready well in time to go have lassi. I messaged Jay and Vinchhi but neither of them was awake yet.

We went down to have breakfast. I think I ate a lot. Soon it was 8:30 am and we managed to reach them to leave for lassi. Ahuja's lassi was the initial plan. The people at the reception told us to go to Gyani-di-lassi though. 

Apparently Ahuja has marketed a lot, but Gyani-di-lassi is even better. 

Adesh, Vinchhi, Parthvi, Prapti, Niti, and I finally left for the lassi around 9:45 am. The bus drivers were not cooperative as usual. So our walk till the shop was spent calling up our friends to wake up and get ready by 10:15. For what it is worth, the lassi was pretty amazing. I had to leave a tiny bit though, because I was the last one to finish and we got an auto quickly :(

On reaching the hotel, I realised that I had missed buying sweets for the family. Asked Niti and Saumya if they would join me, but Niti declined because it was last minute and Saumya didn't feel like it. When I saw Purav though, he immediately agreed and we ran/took an auto to Goenka sweets to buy Pinni. I wish I had a video because the streets the auto took us through were so narrow, that if we were in Mumbai, even a scooter would think before passing through them. On our way back, a horse cart ahead of us lost control and banged into us slightly. We paid the auto driver before a fight began and ran the last 80 meters till the hotel. Were we late? No. ^_^

Goenka sweets is recommended by locals (3 of them did to me). Pinni is their speciality but it tastes like mag ki daal ka sheera. There was another sweet from P. A few of my friends also got khazoor. And no, those are not dried dates. It is something else.

The drive to the airport was mellow. I don't think anyone was talking much, and you could hear music in the background. To avoid a 300 rupee parking, we tried to empty the bus and make the driver leave in 5 minutes, but I guess we weren't quick enough. The five-minute rule is quite stupid in my opinion. Of course we aren't going to park - we want to be dropped off. But it was okay.

After checking in, figuring out how to make the luggage 15+7kg, and clubbing in heavier luggage with lighter ones, we reached the waiting area. The waiting area was SO TINY. It was only as big as a wedding hall, with two overpriced restaurants. There was no Cafe Coffee Day and that is EVERYWHERE. Can you believe it? After trying to get the shops to make maggi, which they disagreed to because there were cameras, we settled to finish the snacks everyone still had. A few games of spyfall and transfer of images between Parro's Pixel and my DSLR, we saw people lining up to take the bus for the flight. 

In the flight, Purav exchanged seats with a guy in the window seat where Niti and I were sitting. It was all of our people only around us, which makes sense since we were 20-25 of us. We played two player reactor and hand cricket. Deep conversations, a cuppa of chai, and Purav losing to Niti later, we landed safely. 

Airplane tip: Carry tea packets like Hriti did in your handbag so you can call for hot water and sip tea for free. ;)

The differences between Mumbai's Domestic airport and Amritsar's domestic airport are unbelievable. Big shops - not just for food, but shopping too. Beautiful resting areas. Chargers. Glass partitions. Plants. So much light. So much warmth. So much, again, food. The smell of yummy food and warmth greeting us got us all excited.

We were finally home.

After grabbing our luggage, everyone dispersed one by one. The bittersweetness didn't hit us until we reached home - at least it didn't hit me.

I came on the trip very anxious about certain things. Things like alcohol, things like if my best friend isn't coming will I still have as much fun, things like what will I do for ten days especially because I am not that connected to my college friends compared to other people in my life. But it was all worth it. I got more connected, figured out how to have fun my own way, and the alcohol worried me only one night. I had an amazing time and would have missed being a part of the trip otherwise. So thank you every single person. And special thanks to Adesh, Mit, and Nikesh who handled our frustrating trip organiser every single day.

With our trip coming to an end, everything feels more real. Leaving feels more real. It being the last semester feels more real. The #OneLastTime is finally real.

To an incredible semester ahead. :D

(If I have missed anything COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT!)

Lots of love ❤
Kanksha

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