It feels like yesterday when I turned 21.( Hmmm..maybe not
really) Naïve, hard-working, dreamy-eyed perhaps like any other person at that
age. Full of ideals, idols and beans.
How life has changed since! I am still that hard-working and
dreamy-eyed girl. Although, not that naïve any longer. My one grey hair can
certainly vouch for that! The 20’s have certainly broken the rose tinted
glasses. Heartbreaks, Adversity, Anxiety, Disappointments (not just from the
boys), Depression and Letting go.
I have battled them all and I will battle them again.
Just, a little stronger this time nonetheless wiser.
There I was at 21, standing in front of the prestigious
buildings in the business districts in Mumbai with a simple wish to work there
in my lifetime. Little did I know, that I will land up a placement in that very
building within the next six months! Here I am at 29, walking across the bridge
every morning, with the giant ferris wheel in the back-drop in one of the
demanding cities in the world.
My twenties have been split into two. The first
half in Bombay and second in London.
Do I love my present? Yes. And do I sneer at my Bombay self?
No.
It wouldn’t have been possible without the other.
It is but One Decade, split into Two.
Bollywood nights and ice-cream + coffee lates,
Beer, Reds and Pimms dates.
Nerves with round rotis to dishing out fish moilees.
Boarding a crowded local to whizzing into tubes,
from Mum’s packed dabbas to sandwiches and Pret soups.
Putting on dancing heels to punching it out to kill,
playing with words and sometimes with art of quill.
Evenings by the Arabian to walks along the Thames,
thirst for the Monsoon to awaiting glimpses of sunshine.
First Day First Shows to Netflix overdose,
It is but One Decade, split into Two.
Attentive listening, making friends all over again,
winning colleagues.
Hacks to save money and ways to spend it.
Planning great trips, experiencing new customs,
and recognising that people all over the world are but the same.
Knowing immediate ways to get drunk and curing hangovers.
Being fed breakfast fruit (Dad, who else!) to forgetting to
feed your house plants (and eventually killing them)
Finding that perfect gift for someone and accepting you won’t
get any in return.
Oh yes, and exams, countless hours of preparing for them,
those horrendous nights
(Not really a night person, always studied during the day.
But the night gives an extra touch)
And after all those certificates and degrees, acknowledging
the bittersweet test called Life itself!
Farewell My twenties, Adieu!
It is but One Decade, split into Two.
(Still learning : Wearing makeup, taking a selfie and to
Swim)
