Day 323/366

Deserted streets were roamed,

Oddly, not particularly high.

A raw feel of my new home,

Alone, yet by my side.

Will the story lie in suspense?

Will this winter's night resume?

Share an innocent tale with me.

Experience my writing too?

Fairly well I think I know you,

While my shadow I do cloak,

Discover something new,

A story remains untold. 

Day 313/366

It's one thing to be down with fever. It's another to have all the symptoms of it - a bad cough that makes you sound like a man, a running nose, that awful headache that pops up every time you feel a little better. Bangalore is a place that makes you sick. I used to hear about the pollen problem from a few people who were reluctant to move here. At the same time, there'd be scores of people raving about how good the weather is. Truth is, it sucks. It's the most erratic weather I've seen. EVER. It rains when you least expect it, followed by a cold spell, followed by too much sun and humidity for one's comfort. And for those who praise it so, try staying here instead of just visiting for that one weekend to catch a concert or because you were craving Corner House Hot Chocolate Fudge.

I'm planning on quitting you, Bangalore. I've never fallen idiotically sick every month this way. Of course, there's the monthly problem too. But this is a whole different fucked up health issue. 

Day 305/366

Though I'm not too happy admitting it, there's something oddly charming about the Bangalore rains. It comes and goes and sometimes stays on as an unwanted visitor exceeding his welcome. But it's forgivable for the beautiful pleasantness it leaves behind. The air seems still, perfect for a hot cup of chai with pakodas. It's quite a cliche image, but there's a reason for the existence of cliches. It can get annoying when if there's a sudden power cut and everything goes black. But all you can do is embrace the darkness amidst the pitter-patter on your windowpanes. Enjoy the momentary or prolonged solitude and warm up to the hundreds of thoughts that swim in the deep oceans of your mind. You'll hear the answers you're seeking for. Just tell yourself it's a dream and never wake up again. Sigh. I just killed you, didn't I? Oh well.

Day 289/366

I am as they call it, 'homeless' at the moment. I mean, I do have a roof over my head every night but as I look up at the ceiling each night, I see different colours on alternate nights. See, I live with my aunt, who is sick right now but thankfully, on recovery mode. It's scary how the body can be attacked by something known as auto-immune, which is self explanatory. (Though her condition is not as simple as I put it) Because of all her treatment, she's not been at her home too often since I moved to Bangalore. It's a little strange. I'm a guest at her place, but I've to make it a home. It's hard, you know. It's a lot of stress to make a familiar space permanently yours. And I've not really been there too often to do that. I've been hopping from house to house with a backpack. I've been crashing on the beds of my friends and colleagues to get away from the reality when I can. But it seems futile at the end. It's depressing to have a room that you know is gathering cobwebs by no fault of anybody. It's just a strange situation and feeling. Maybe this is what growing up is supposed to be like. 

Day 236/366

My shutterbug series on animal life (real & inanimate) in Bangalore:

The smartest giraffe I've ever met - he makes the plants grow so that he can eat them later.

Dog is man's best friend. After his faithful beedi, that is.

Is that a fish I see in the water? Oh crap, I'm vegetarian. 

This is Radley. Or Boo. He responds to both names and is a happy soul, contrary to the book's character.

Crocodile eyes. That's one scary possessed kitty, bro! 

Day 218/366

Spotty, the gardener's giraffe  

Bad boys, Bad boys! Watcha gonna do when they come for you?

The beedi smoker and the dog

Morning Glory

Kullad: bringing out garam chai ka swaad since clay was discovered

King of the Road

<please insert A followed by as many 'w's as you wish>

Day 182/366

The residues of my mind are being devoured by the tension. There is vomit in my system that is dying to come out. I shouldn't have eaten that extra helping of my aunt's delicious pasta at lunch. This is as uneasy as I have ever felt.

2 days ago, I wrote a copy test to enter this newspaper. It went fine, I'd thought. Seeing a 60/100 on the answer sheet today made me think otherwise.

The editor and sub-editor were sitting across me and bombarding me with questions that I didn't feel like answering under pressure - Why did I go to boarding school? Why do I want to work in Bangalore of all places? What do I think of Calcutta's newspapers viz-a-viz Bangalore's? Why am I not pursuing further education? I heaved an inaudible sigh and answered them one by one. I think my tummy ache kicked in somewhere in the middle of the interview and I started talking more than I was supposed to. I was excited and nervous and curious as to what this seemingly neverending conversation would lead to.

I'm sitting on the sofa outside the editor's office typing this. I'm praying to a God I remember rarely and hoping I get this job. I am queasy as hell and wish the feeling would go away. But the editors are having a meeting in the conference room where I would pitch story ideas every Monday morning during my internship. My head is spinning and the world in front of me is going blurry and then coming back to focus. Make it stop. Just tell me already!
........................................................................................................................................
I was finally called into the office around 4 p.m. The sub-editor handed me an application form. "You can start your job as soon as the paperwork is processed," he said with a smile. I took it and thanked him and left the office grinning from ear to ear.

Yes, I'm going to start my first job as a reporter very, very soon.

Bangalore, land of hot chocolate fudge, I can't wait to explore you.

First job: ✓

Day 181/366

A child can bring to your seemingly inconsequential life the simplest & greatest of joys...Even if they're not your own! 
There's something addictive about their naughty smiles, the things they find delight in and the way they share their little worlds with you. The best part about them: a passage to feel like a child again even though you know you're 21.

My little niece: the 4-legged pink monster

Coffee with Zizou

Jumping for the stars.

If you're happy and you know it, burst the bubble!

Me, Myself & Bubbles.

Counting the stones.

Let me know if these photographs made you do anything else but smile! :)

Day 180/366

With the ants as her sole companions,
The silence fell on her precarious life
The rocking chair that she'd fall asleep on
Deeply sunk cushions been sat on too long.

Light found its way in the strangest of rainbows,
Of art and culture the place did reek
She'd let her words soothe her soul
Though promises to herself were impossible to keep.

Amidst the smell of fresh paint
A spirit of the home loomed slow
Nowhere but somewhere she stood and watched
Wrapped in a melancholy glow.

Day 179/366

Shots from the Indo-German Urban Mela, Bangalore

Wherever the Germans go, graffiti follows.

12 bamboos art installations in the main square.

Even clowns deserve a break.

A German's one-sided conversation on *ahem* industry.

Lantern-shaped pavilions against Bangalore Palace in the background.

Day 156/366

There used to be a charm about this place. In fact, that was the case with every place I've stayed at for even the shortest period of time - something characteristic about it that I fell in love with.

In Bangalore, I can pinpoint Corner House's Hot Chocolate Fudge (HCF) that is like a food orgasm for me. Or maybe the quiet lanes & bylanes of Sadashivnagar, where I usually stay. Calcutta has a whole bunch of things - the ferry rides, the singhadas and cha at little tapris on every corner, the winter fog, the sweet sound of the peoples' language. In Rishi Valley, it was everything about the place and more so, the kind of people one could talk to on the most random topics around. Pune was a place of two extremes - it was either too chilled out (house parties/'chilling scenes' & gigs at High Spirits every Friday) or endless hours on campus, which became like a second home.

What I'm getting at is that the charm of places tend to fade with time. OR it gets reinforced very strongly if you return to a place and fall in love with it (again?). I've not had the privilege of experiencing the latter. Yet.

School isn't the same without my friends and teachers even though the hills haven't changed. I no longer have a house in Pune to go back to, making it a less familiar city in my mind. Calcutta, I've realized, can only be truly enjoyed in the winter. (Though I'm secretly hoping that the oncoming monsoons will make me change my mind on that.) Bangalore is a city I'd love to explore more though it alienates me often enough.

Despite all these ups and downs, I'm glad that I left my base and went to see the world outside my sheltered living. I've moved around enough to be in a position where I don't know which place I can really call 'home'.  But I'm quite sure I'm better off than a lot of people who have always been stuck in the same place mingling with the same people and talking about the same thing. They're caught up in the same bloody routine day in day out. I'm just glad I've broken out of that rut. And now, possibly the greatest adventure of my life awaits me. And I can't wait to get started & find my place in the world!