Write Right Write Left
Write Right Write Left Keep looking everywhere
Parag Chitale
Content and design by Parag Chitale, Student of Graphic Design at National Institute of Design, India. Content originally published by the author on the blog,
www.writerightwriteleft.wordpress.com Compiled and printed in April 2016 Limited prints. Only for private circulation
parag.a.chitale@gmail.com
For Pune, Ahmedabad and Mulhouse...
On y va. Let’s go. “Keep in touch! Tell me everything that happens, ok?” “Yes, Sure.”
When I said yes, I had no idea that that small promise would turn into this wonderful thing. These blog posts were simply written to keep all my people updated about my stay in France during my exchange semester to Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin, Mulhouse. Ultimately it became something that I looked forward to do every week. I’d wait for the weekend to update my blog and then I got to know that you people waited for the updates! Awww! Who knew this would happen! I was writing things and all of you were enjoying it (I hope.) Anyways, this was my first attempt at writing something and sharing it with such a huge audience. It was a big big step for me. I am happy to have shared this journey with you all. Your support has helped me in ways that can’t be put in words. Thank you. Thank you so much. Ok, enough now, Let’s read. Shall we? Oh oh, One more thing, If you know me personally, try to read it in my voice, it’s better that way! If not, then read it as yourself. That’s fun too. April,2016
Be prepared... Waiting 13 Will I? I will.
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Random thoughts that bug you but you don’t want to get rid of them ‘cause some make you feel kinda good and some are just too stupid to ignore.
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Thinking and Doing
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Immersion 33 Dots and Paint
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Connection 45 Do I need a name for this one too!? Oh God!
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Moledro 59 Coup de Foudre
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Was that a test? Maybe.
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I said Yes.
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France has...
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Little things...
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Magical Objects and where to find them
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Calling Dibs on Potatoes!
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Doing whatever.
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Everything that can happen, happened.
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Brown and White
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Sticky People
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A different kind of waiting
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The new journey starts
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I can’t remember who said it but someone told me a wonderful thing the other day, “Don’t forget to pack your toothbrush.” I cried for like half an hour.
Waiting 18 September 2015
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A graphic design student from NID, India, going for an exchange semester to HEAR, Mulhouse, France! 4 months! Very interesting it is going to be. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. I am writing something that you’ll enjoy reading. Actually, you are reading it right now and so technically this writing part is done in the past. Ohho..I need to make it right now… Let me start again, I wrote something which you are definitely enjoying. But wait, I haven’t written anything yet! How can I say that you’ll enjoy reading something that is not even written yet! Still somehow you are. Right? Crazy.
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The next few months of my life and the most of my posts are going to be THIS random, “That’s Crazy” kind of Crazy, majorly loaded with fun-filled stupidity and maybe a little bit of adventure. Anyway, I am just going to put my thoughts out there for someone, anyone, everyone to read and to make someone, anyone, everyone think a little maybe.
So..Yeah… I am still in the process of preparing myself physically and mentally for the journey and the stay. Its difficult. Not just the packing part but the unpacking of the emotions that comes with it. Everyone just starts to get really emotional and super-caring and suddenly you realize the capacity of your favorite trolley bag is just enough to keep 10 kgs in it. Everything falls apart in a moment and you know that things are going to change. You start packing all over again and when the only thing remaining on the bed is your heaviest jacket and heaviest pair of shoes (Which you are going to wear during the travel so that the weight of the luggage can be reduced enough to add two more laddoos) you feel empty. Full but empty. Everything around you starts to look like the most important thing in your life which you have to take with you
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but you can’t and that makes you feel very annoyingly emotional. You know that its not forever, its hardly 5 months or so, but this time, the numbers don’t matter. It is the feeling of “I am going to be alone thereâ€? that keeps troubling you. You know what, ça va. C’est la vie. If we don’t let us feel that feeling of longing then we might not ever get the sense of belonging. See what I did there!? **Smiles proudly** Be ready to feel every freaking emotion you have. Daunting? yes, maybe, but it’s fun that way. I am understanding this now.
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�
I can’t remember who said it but someone told me a wonderful thing the other day, “Don’t forget to pack your toothbrush.� I cried for like half an hour.
These little things matter a lot, I am beginning to understand. If you accidentally put your phone in your right pocket instead of the left like everyday, you’ll go crazy. Try doing it. I dare you. The minute you notice something different, that minute change feels like a blunder. It might just be a change, neither a negative, nor a positive, just an alternative, but yet, we become uncomfortable. Change is the only constant and blahblahblah‌ I understand, I agree, but Change is hard. What about that?
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So yeah. Exactly one week left for my departure, bags are getting ready, the items on the to-do list are getting scratched off one by one. I feel like everyone around me is doing one thing or the other to make me feel good. I am just looking around. Trying to make sense of it all. Time stops. One week. Excitement awaiting, adventure awaiting, and I, I am just waiting. Overwhelmed. ~đ??…~
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�
I am sitting at the Waiting Lounge of the Mumbai Airport with boarding pass in my hand and immigration stamp on my passport.
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Will I? I will. 26 September 2015
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I am sitting at the Waiting Lounge of the Mumbai Airport with boarding pass in my hand and immigration stamp on my passport. One more hour to go. Just one hour and then I will start my adventure or maybe it has already started! I am not sure. Let me check… Let’s see… Q. Do you want this to be an adventure? A. Are you kidding me? YIZZ! If you answered the above question with “Are you kidding me? YIZZ!” Then congratulations! It has already begun. Short and sweet realization! Now that I think about it, it really began quite a while ago. The very first day of our course last year, we got to know about the exchange program and I felt a strange tingling feeling in my tummy! Firstly, I was a little hungry but mostly, it was the thought of attending a semester in some university in some other country! Must be really cool! Will I go? I don’t know. Can I go? I don’t know. Can I try? Definitely. I can try. I know that much. Ok then. I will.
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I am sitting at the Waiting Lounge of the Mumbai Airport with boarding pass in my hand and immigration stamp on my passport. One more hour to go. Just one hour and then I will be flying away for four months. Flying away from my people, and flying towards new friendships. Leaving my friends here. No I am not leaving them or am I? I am not sure. Let me check… Let’s see… HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK LIKE THAT, I WILL KILL YOU! If there was a loud scream instead of the question then congratulations! You know the answer already! Short and not so sweet realization! Now that I think about it, it really is a stupid question. I am fortunate enough to have an un-ending list of friends and adding new people into it is only going to make it more wonderful. It’s not like a Whatsapp group with limited number of people. It’s like a kaleidoscope in which addition of a new piece makes it look even prettier than before. Whoa! Making new friends and finding new interesting people! Must be really cool! Will I do that? I don’t know. Can I do that? Definitely. I know that much. Ok then. I will.
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I am sitting at the Waiting Lounge of the Mumbai Airport with boarding pass in my hand and immigration stamp on my passport. One more hour to go. Just one hour and then I will be finding a new me. That’s what people say…”You’ll discover a new you!” Do I want a new me? I am not sure. Let me check… Let’s see… Q. Do you like the “present me”? A. No. WHAT? I am kidding. Of course I like the present me. If you answered the above question with a really sarcastic NO and afterwards you explained yourself then congratulations! You want I new “you”. Short and important realization. The “new me” is going to be my “present me” which I already like, so I already want a “new me” which I presently like. Discovering yourself is not erasing your old self and building a new one from scratch. I think it is just finding the hidden parts of your being which you did not know you had. Will I find a “new me”? Definitely. I know that much. Ok then. I will.
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“
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**Final Call for the passengers traveling on Air France Flight number AF0217** GATE 72! GO! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! Will I be able to ‌?? Stop it now.. Go. Have fun.
~đ??…~
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Yesterday I dreamt that I was having Chai with my peeps at the Chai-gate. I woke up today with a burnt tongue; the first sip always burns my mouth.
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Random thoughts that bug you but you don’t want to get rid of them ‘cause some make you feel kinda good and some are just too stupid to ignore. 04 October 2015
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So… It has been one week in Mulhouse now. Wonderful town and wonderful people. I am very happy. Excited as ever. Feeling homesick? no. Not really. Oh! Am I a bad person?
It’s like when you start staring at a tree which kind of looks like someone you know and you can’t tell who…It’s right there but you can’t figure it out…Just like people, trees don’t ever look same as the other one. They grow with accordance to the position of the sun and the direction of the blahblah… Wait, do we really grow in the direction of the kitchen then? Whoa! It’s a thinker…
I walk two kilometers through the city everyday to get to my college. It’s generally 8.30 in the morning with temperatures below 10 degree Celsius and the number of people on the roads is almost the same. Freezing breezes slipping inside the jacket through the sleeves just to see how tough you really are. Always a good time to think about our life choices. Not like “Hey you, How’s life?”, more like “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Feels good.
Eating croissant for the first time. Yeah…I know… cliché…anyways… Eating croissant for the first time. Are you bread or are you a sweet puff? What are you? It doesn’t matter actually cause you are ghoood. That’s all that matters.
Mornings are so special. They actually make you get out of the bed. (Sometimes). Afternoons are equally special. They make you get out of the bed. (Every time). Evenings are very special as after that you get to
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go to bed. Nights are the most special cause (most of the nights) you are in the bed. I guess, to summarize, simply put, Bed is special.
Yesterday I dreamt that I was having Chai with my peeps at the Chai-gate. I woke up today with a burnt tongue; the first sip always burns my mouth.
What we see is what our eyes show us. We make our eyes see what we want us to see. Who’s the master here then, huh?
Language makes all the difference. If you know it, it’s different. If you don’t, it’s different. It’s a fork. Not a spoon. You can never just slide and make everything easy. I think it applies to all the situations in our lives where there were choices. Once an option is introduced, everything changes no matter what you choose. It doesn’t remain the same. Ever. Good one Parag. I like this one.
Appreciation matters. Encouragement matters. Sarcasm exists. Be aware. hehehh‌
We are so conflicted. Everybody‌no really‌Think about it. We are always finding ways to fit in, while finding ways to stand out.
See ya. Would definitely wanna be ya. You are awesome. Whoever is reading this, thanks. ~đ??…~
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We have a Grand piano in the school here, right there in the hall, A Grand Piano, just there, waiting for someone. Everyday I look at it, think about playing it, but I’ve never even gone near it. Admired it from distance. Today I did. I went there, Sat there and I played a little and I sang a little. For me. Some students stood there and listened to me. I know I am not a pianist, I just know a little bit here and there. However it was, it felt fulfilling. I don’t know why didn’t I do it before!
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Thinking and Doing 09 October 2015
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I have a confession to make. I always considered myself more as a thinker rather than a doer. But I am considering changing sides. I know, it’s sudden, you might not be prepared for that, even I wasn’t, but there’s a reason. Something has happened that made me rethink about who I need to be. In NID we believe in the philosophy of “Learning by Doing”. We do a lot of things to learn. May it be sketching, printing, composition, management, anything, we do it, and in the process we learn. I appreciate this a lot because just thinking about things doesn’t help. We try to do the thing that we have planned in our head and suddenly the neighbor asks you to get his courier, as he won’t be home! Random things happen. Things that have nothing to do with what we had planned and that’s the best part of learning, learning to get over, get around, or go through the speed bumps. For example, Developing photographs is a process that can’t be fully understood unless you are in the darkroom. The panic attack you get when you feel like you dropped something in that fantabulous darkness is the thing to experience and not to imagine. (Been there, done that, very recently!) Using the “hot and cold” tap in the bathroom. It is very easy on paper but in actuality, it is either “Burn in Hell!” or “Y U So Cold?”. To be honest I have been able to get the perfect combination in the first go. So the point is, unless you go through the experience of doing the actual thing, you can’t exactly get the gravity of the situation. Don’t believe me just watch! (Uptown funk you up! Uptown funk you up! Say whaaat!?) (Sorry couldn’t help myself adding that.) We have a Grand piano in the school here, right there in the hall, A Grand Piano, just there, waiting for someone. Everyday I look at it, think about playing it, but I’ve never even gone near it. Admired it from distance. Today I did. I went there, Sat there and I played a little and I sang a little. For me. Some students stood there and listened to me. I know I am not a pianist, I just know a little bit here and there. However it was, it felt fulfilling. I don’t know why didn’t I do it before! Really, watch out for these things about which you just think and never
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actually do, Do them. And watch. You’ll feel different. If you succeed, you’ll learn how to do something, if not, you’ll learn how not to do something. Either way, it’s a win-win. But if you just keep thinking, it’s just … I don’t know… ummm… Not win-win?… maybe… ok I have nothing that goes well here… but you get my point. Don’t miss out on doing things. Doing something instead of just thinking about it helps. I had thought about buying grocery items the very first day I arrived. Khyati, My friend from Delhi who is also here with me in the same school, did that the very week she came here. She had a list of all the things she needed and she did it. Just like that. It took me 2 weeks to do that. So what happened, I drink milk everyday in the morning before I head out for school, (if I have bournvita, its better, if not, sugar works, thanks for asking) So when I got here, for the first few days, I had everything; milk, sugar, a mug, a spoon and a micro-wave oven. Everything was set but then last week, the most dreadful thing happened. The sugar got over. I know, Catastrophe! So what did I do? I skipped milk for a few mornings like a normal person (did I say normal? I meant lazy) and everyday on my way back, I told myself that I’ll buy sugar the day after. One fine day, after coming out of the denial, I made myself go to the supermarket. When I got into the supermarket, it was wonderful. It was a pure delight and I bought a lot of things. A whole lot of things but sugar. I was so overwhelmed by the bright lights and shining packages of the things that I didn’t need; I forgot to buy sugar. Few more days without sugar after that. Then yesterday, I made a list of things I needed, there was just one thing on it actually, only Sugar, but I went to the market, I searched where it was, found it, bought it and I came back. I did not look anywhere else. It was hard but I had to do it. Planning helps to do things in a better way. Doing a list helps sometimes. Learnt it the hard way. Today, sweet morning, it was. I had a class of printing today. It was Gravure Printing, so basically you carve the pattern on a wooden plank or metal sheet and then after applying colour to it, you print it. I had learnt the basics of it before. I have even tried something similar to that so I knew the theory part of the process.
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I met the prof and told him that this is the pattern that I want to print, he said, “Ok, ça va, tu peux faire ça avec métal, c’est meiux comme ca. tu
peux imprimer avec le blanche du bois aussi mais je pense, métal, c’est meiux.” I thought, fine, a metal plate instead of a wooden plank. It’s something that I have never done before, good. “Oui, ca marche” I said.
He told me, “Tu peux faire deux dessins sur deux planches et après on va
super-imposer. Tu dois couper les planches vingt cinq par vingt cinq et après on doit polir. Il faut nettoyer avec le solvent et après il faut polir bien, comme un miroir. Tu comprends ?”
He was very clear about what was to be done. I was not. I understood some part of it. Spoken French is quite different when a French person in a French class speaks it and you have 10 French students looking at you. So, Two designs, on two plates, super-imposition, vingt cinq is twenty fifteen… no that doesn’t make any sense… oh twenty five ok, 25 by 25, but inches or cm? and polir is to be polite I guess, but polite to whome? and mirror? Huh? Let’s go step by step. “J’ai compris un peu. Je vais couper les planches et
après vous pouvez dire comment je peux continuer. Ça va?” “Oui. Ok. Vingt cinq par vingt cinq cm, allez.” Oh Good. It’s centimetres. Yeah, inches will be too big anyway. “Oui, Je comprends.” When I say this now, I need to be sure that I really understand. Admitting that you understood something is a responsibility, you have to be sure about it. What do you think?
Anyway, I cut the plates and cleaned them with the solvent whose bottle had a cap with a safety-lock that was quite difficult to open. And when I was trying to open it, it hit me, not the bottle but common sense, it was “Polish”, “Polish it till its like a mirror”. Thank god. You got it. Do it now. I understood the task completely (finally). I spent one and half hour polishing the metal plates happily cause I was
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learning a new thing and was aware of it. The grade of sandpaper you use matters, the direction in which you polish it matters, the quantity of polish you use matters, time management matters, matter matter everywhere. It was different and better doing it in practical because a textbook doesn’t tell you that “After polishing a metal plate your hands will die but your heart will glow as you smile in the mirror you just created.â€? Learning something while being aware of it is quite enriching. You register in your mind that “Yes. I knew this before and I learnt something more by actually doing it. I understand it better now.â€? Whoa‌ I wrote a lot! Quite heavy, wasn’t it!? (“and too longâ€?, â€?a little boring too!â€?, “Who do you think you are?â€? people in the crowd shout) I am almost done. Really. So, Thinking is nice. Planning is better. Having knowledge about things to do is even better. Do all this before you do something, but do not forget to actually do that thing. Doing things taught me much more than I thought, it’d do the same for you too, I know.
Be a Thoughtful Doer.
~đ??…~
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In my class with our multimedia professor, we started with the word ‘Immersion’. We brainstormed about the concept of going all the way to feel something, the difference between standing on the seashore admiring the view and going neck-deep in the ocean to be a part of it.
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Immersion 20 October 2015
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“This is a new and different world, the challenge is to cope with it and not just cope, thrive.” a line from “The best exotic marigold hotel” that made me say, “Yes, so relatable!” It has been more than three weeks here in Mulhouse now. Three weeks! It is almost a month! Feels good. Feels cold, but feels good. You know what the funny thing is, in India, even when temperature would go just below 20 degree Celsius or something I would get cold and start coughing n all but over here, it is 2 degree Celsius today and I am fine! It still surprizes me! Why didn’t I feel extremely cold? Even when I landed in Paris airport, it was below 20 degree and I felt “nice”. Not acceptable. It just seemed too easy. I spoke to Prasad the other day and he introduced me to the word “acclimatisation”. Come on Wikipedia talk to me. “Acclimatization (UK also acclimatisation; US also acclimation) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a gradual change in its environment (such as a change in temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), allowing it to maintain performance across a range of environmental conditions.” Ignore the hard terms but it makes sense. btw I never knew this was a THING, you know. People have studied this phenomenon happening and defined it. Great. Anyway, so I got acclimatised pretty quickly, I guess. I am happy about it, ‘cause even though I am a big fan of ‘Let it go’, cold does bother me. As I started my classes at the art school, I started to get a lot of ‘déjàvu’ moments. It was almost exactly the way I felt when I started engineering, when I joined NID, even when I joined my French classes. Feeling new at a place and finding your own space in the new environment. The first goal is to fit in, and it might be a tricky task. In the very first assembly over here, after the usual welcoming speeches, the faculty members introduced the students to different departments. When it was the turn of ‘International affairs’, all of a sudden our names were called out! “These are the exchange students from India, Scotland and Romania. Parag from India, Khyati from India and so on.” WHAT!!?? “Can you please stand up so that everyone can see you?” “umm…ok” **the most random “hi” of my life with an awkward smile** Ok, now everybody knows me. EVERYBODY! Generally introduction on one to one basis
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is good ‘cause then you get to know the other person as well. Now, everybody knows me and I don’t know anybody and to be frank, that’s a little odd feeling to get. In a minute, all four of us were ‘the exchange students’ and not just ‘students’. Did I feel special? Yes I did. Did I feel good? Meh. I don’t know. So now everybody knows my name and the fact that I am from India. My intro was done. The only part remaining was getting to know everyone else. Just that. You know, this wasn’t the first time this was happening to me; for one reason or another, I was introduced like this, without my consent (?) in almost all my previous schools. Haha.. Not kidding. In my school, everyone knew me as Jui’s brother before I joined. In junior college, they knew me as Vishwas’s cousin, same story. In engineering college, I had a friend who was a senior so not a new thing there. Somehow it all worked out well all those times and I didn’t remain someone’s brother or a cousin or a friend, I mean I remained a friend but…pch, you know what I mean…I somehow figured out how to be ‘Parag’ while being all the other things. How to fit in when you know you are already on the edge of standing out? I know exactly what to do. Be you. They don’t know ‘you’ yet, do they? No. They don’t know how random you are. Give them a chance. Let them ignore you on there own. They just know the name. Right? Nope. Not here. Not even the name. What? Yes. They heard my name but didn’t understand it!! I never knew that Parag is a hard name to pronounce! Good then. I introduced myself again to a lot of people and that conversation felt like a fun beginning. The struggle, the laughter, listening to each other carefully, understanding what other person is saying, all that…for getting the name right! Hehe.. Thanks aai baba! See, It works out fine; sometimes you just need to have a tough name! In my class with our multimedia professer, we started with the word ‘Immersion’. We brainstormed about the concept of going all the way to feel something, the difference between standing on the seashore admiring the view and going neck-deep in the ocean to be a part of it. In my class of drawing we discussed the meaning of ‘Metaphors’. We have different contexts and different associations with objects and words, and the way we make sense of anything depends on that. Unless
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and until you go the distance to understand context of the counter part of the meaning, it might not make much sense. These two thoughts keep ringing in my head. Standing on the edge would not help me if I want to roam around in the meadows. I have to jump in to feel it. (I am fairly sure that I am not Bambi’s mother, so it’s safe for me to do that. I checked.) All those days watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in, all that time never even knowing, just how blind I’ve been. Now I’m here, blinking in the starlight, now I’m here and suddenly I see, standing here, it’s all so clear. I’m where I’m meant to be. And at last I see the lights, and it’s like the fog has lifted. It’s not me, it’s from Tangled. But the fog lifting part is true though. It’s time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through. No right no wrong, no rules for me, I’m freeeeee!! Arrre?? Again!!?? Stop it! Oh no, too late! LET IT GO! Let it go! Can’t hold it back anymooore! (Sorry. Really couldn’t hold it back.) (Oh, on the other note, what a fun Disney ride! Yay! You are welcome.) (And on one another note, I should stop watching Disney movies. **“but they are the best”, the crowd screams.** I know. I know they are.) Letting yourself feel the depth of an emotion moves you. If you give yourself the freedom to do that, you might find some other wonderful treasure hidden within. Window shopping is fine, if you can’t afford something or don’t need something right now, do it. (I always do that, mostly the first reason!!) But if you have the opportunity to go in and buy the one you like, pay a little price and do that. Think twice if you need to, but do that. It will be worth it.
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Immerse yourself in the moment. Feel it by being part of it not by being an outsider.
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When you get in the shower in the morning, the first few drops on your back are going to be odd and super harsh but to get a cleaner version of yourself, you have to stand there holding your breath for a while. Once you get comfortable with the water temperature, everything is going to be fine. Go crazy! Then shampoo, not using shampoo, doesn’t matter. Soap, not using soap, ok that matters. Use soap. But make sure
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that it doesn’t get into your eyes. It might hurt. I said go crazy not be crazy. Anyway, feel the rhythm and start singing. You are the best and you know it. Singer, Actor, you name it. You can win Filmfare, Grammy, everything! And the Oscar goes to‌. Not you, it is Meryl Streep, because some things don’t change. What were you thinking? Don’t get distracted, keep going. Finish your song that you never knew you could sing. You were good. Now come out of the shower and sing it to the world. If you were good in there, you are good everywhere. Take out the newly discovered shower singer in you and put him/her on a stage. Sing. You can do it. Project yourself. Felt good right? See, I was telling you. Work hard the rest of the day and sleep tight with starry dreams in your eyes. Get up in the morning and get ready for a new exciting experience. It need not be rock-climbing, it can be just as simple as going to the college by cycle at 6 degree Celsius in the morning. Seems difficult? I know. It’s fine. Feel it. Feel the cold handles making your fingers numb in a second. Your fingers look really white and they get a marble like stiffness and you start to panic. This was new right? Remember it. Find the fun part of it. Everything has some element of it. Find the bike rider in you and go along with it. Get new experiences by going the distance. Just to be clear, the above paragraph can be read as a very deep metaphor about life or just a simple random thought. You decide. Cool.  I’m done.
~đ??…~
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Right thing for the right amount of time and at the right moment. Very simple, very easy! I have no comment. Got the first role developed and I smiled with happiness. Getting it right in the first try is pure bliss; I have to confess.
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Dots and Paint 23 October 2015
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Today I woke up early and brushed my teeth real good Made myself a sandwich wearing jacket with a hood. Packed my bag and then I left for school at 8 am Stopped to get some money for my lunch at ATM It was the class with photos. It was so very dark Roles and films and chemicals, It wasn’t a stroll in park. Dark room is really dark, if you didn’t know I must say Drop something and it’s a needle in a stack of hay I think I have told you something similar long ago Now that I recall, It wasn’t so long ago The day was Friday then again, No new thing over there The story is not the same. I’m telling you. Oh, Don’t you dare! Nine minutes for ‘revelateur’ and a half for ‘bain d’arrêt’ Four minutes for ‘fixateur’ and with water it gets wet Each minute plays very very important, specific role. Just a minute here and there, and it becomes a ‘drôle’! Right thing for the right amount of time and at the right moment Very simple, very easy! I have no comment. Got the first role developed and I smiled with happiness Getting it right in the first try is pure bliss; I have to confess. Had my lunch with friends and we talked, we laughed, had fun Went and ate some biscuits with some coffee, then it was done Waiting for the printing Prof I tried to recall my last class, Yes, Polishing those plates, like it was a mirrored glass! In came the prof and we had some discussion I will start with prints today. Yes, That was my mission Dot by dot I started, to carve those circles round Thinking of the result which will be breaking ground
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Plate one was done nicely and so was the second plate Then the part with chemicals, which I can never hate Etching the plates with acid and making them pretty and clear It was exciting to know that the result was just so near Three minutes for one plate and three for plate number two Long it seems but fast it goes, when the water starts running through Out came the plates, from the water bath, so nice, so clean I didn’t want to pain them then, but that would have been mean “Clean the plates with alcohol to remove all the dust.” He said. “Oh, the dots are too fine, I hope it’s not a bust.” Someone added. Doubt there was, I knew it was, but hope was too there Nervous I was, First time it was, but the plates didn’t care I’ll make sure that it works; I have to do it somehow “Print and see. You can’t do anything else anyway now.” Prof said and went ahead to show me how to start “The ink is black now as it’s a try, don’t worry, you’ve done your part.” “Take the ink and put on the plates and spread it all over neatly.” The dots were tiny but they held the ink, “Oh, thank god.“ my thought, precisely. I went and showed my prof, Happy and proud with the ink on the plate “See, the dots held the ink.” Me, a nervous smile. He, a blank slate. “You see the ink on the plate; it has to be just enough If it’s too much or if it’s too less, it all becomes quite tough The dots held ink, they did, that’s good, I can very well see that But the ink is too much, the print will bleed; everything’s then flat” “Clean both the over-inked plates just enough such that You can see the circles you carved and nothing but just that Use the rag under the table, use the solvent if you need This work is not easy, it takes time and patience too, indeed”
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Went and started my cleaning job, and the paint came right off The plates looked clean and neat and ready; my mood was off. The ink came off from everywhere, even the dots didn’t hold it in They were too small, I guess, I know, not a perfect win Boom, burst my bubble, boom my hope gone and boom goes my smile I wanted it to work, you know, I was working on it for quite a while I carved it well, I checked the dots before and after the acid bath Where did I go wrong? I just couldn’t do the math. The print I took was not that well, it was just very faint “Tell me what all you did? From plates to acid to paint” To answer the question, to clear the doubt, I recollected the whole thing The prof suddenly smiled and looked at me, and said, “What were we thinking!?” “We put the plates in acid bath for just three minutes each you say The acid gets diluted with the use, there’s the glitch.” “Oh hey” The “Oh hey” was not a happy “hey”, but a “hey of relief ” for sure Just the timing was wrong, nothing else, everything has a cure. “We might need to start again, do you want to do this again? Cleaning, grinding, polishing the plates the whole thing, once again.” I’ll do that. I’ll start that again cause I know I’ll learn something new. The more the merrier, is the thing with mistakes.” I said. Smiled a few. Dong! Goes the bell, it’s time, It’s now. I have to leave this place “I’ll keep the things ready, I must” I said and set the table with the tool case. Tomorrow I’ll wake up early and brush my teeth real good Make myself a sandwich wearing jacket with a hood. Sandpaper in hand and hope in my eyes, tomorrow, I’d start the cleaning process “This is how he must have felt!” a realisation, a sweet success. The spider in the rhyme, I’ve heard, kept climbing again and again This itsy bitsy guy, quite afraid of spiders is definitely not afraid of a little rain.
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Keep climbing. Unless you have fear of heights, then do whatever feels best. Good luck.
~đ??…~
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** Share this post with 10 friends to receive at least 10 messages in next three days. ** It works every time. I’m telling you.
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Connection 30 October 2015
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Hey Hailloos! . How are you? Hows France? Good! It’s very nice! As you know, I have successfully completed one month here! . . Homesick? A little…sure, but who wouldn’t be! . . How is it there? The people are good, life is good, and food is good so to sum up everything is good. Oh, the work is good too.(Can’t forget that! I’m here to study!) . . Heheh…So…What’s new? . . . **Awkward silence** . . nthn. . . . cool. . . . **The end….of EVERYTHING** . .
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. Conversations like these are not new to me on social media and being very unfortunate, in real life too. No. I’m kidding. I never say “Nthn” in real life; that would be weird. I say “Nothing much.” BIG difference people. It changes everything. At least it’s grammatically correct now. Sad memories aside, I can most proudly say that when I wanted to have a conversation with someone who was interested to talk to me, I have been able to do that quite well. In real life too! Without smileys! I know! I am kinda special that way! . . . I am not much of a texter myself anyway. Oh who am I kidding!? . . ** People sitting on chairs in a circle, neck down, with their faces lit up by the screens of their cellphones. **
Hi, I am Parag and I am a textoholic. Hi Parag. (Useless efforts of looking up)
Nowadays my whole life depends on texting! Everyone is gone somewhere far. Everyone I know is a thousand kilometres or two rooms away. It’s very difficult to keep the contact without texting. I cannot stop it. I keep checking my whatsapp to see if I’ve any new messages. I do not trust the notification bar. I keep checking my whatsapp even if there is no notification symbol. That small blinking icon makes me smile every time I look at it. It fills me with joy and happiness. I keep waiting for someone to talk to me, someone to reply back. But I am trying to give some time to myself and I haven’t checked my cell for 5 minutes now.
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**Gasps from the crowd followed by a huge round of applause** . . Thank you that helps. Really. I have stopped obsessing over the likes on Facebook also. . Oh Really?
Hi I am Parag and I am a Facebooker. Hi Parag. (Liked. Shared.)
I got introduced to it when I was in my junior college. A friend of mine, whose identity will be kept hidden for safety reasons, told me about it. I opened my account when just a handful of people were there. Once a week I would check what was happening in the lives of other people. Then Orkut got scrapped. (Clever play of words Parag, one like from me.) And suddenly everyone was there on Facebook. People were there all the time. They were talking about how fun it was and how they grew a farm over there. It all seemed very enchanting. On Facebook, you could be a friend of someone, actually! How cool is that? I also wanted to be friends with people and so I started hanging out a lot there. People I knew were my friends now. I could see their photos and like them, I could like the thoughts they had in their minds. There were smileys and a lot of funny things. It was all good from a distance but then one thing lead to another and I was involved. I was involved in the game of likes and shares, like everyone. Facebook app on smartphones made it very easy. I started sharing my life with people I knew and they started liking it. When I would get notifications about the likes, a smile would appear on my face. I am still getting the likes on my posts and status updates and I don’t know what to do!
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. . At least I don’t have my Instagram account connected to Facebook. Oh, sorry. One mustn’t tell lies.
Hi I am Parag and I am an Instagrammer. Hi Parag. (Double tap. Scrolling continued.)
Aaand, it goes on… A similar situation with someone you know? I guessed so. It’s fine. No judgements here. At first, we had sounds to express ourselves. Then we developed languages. We started writing, drawing. We wrote letters and novels and poems and songs. When telephones were introduced, we talked a lot, as it was a better, faster way of communication. We couldn’t stop watching television and films. We thoroughly enjoyed the super fast performance of computers and laptops. We obsessed over cellphones and smartphones as they added a huge spectrum of functionalities with basic communication. Why did we do that? Why are we still doing it? To connect. To have some sort of contact with someone else. We are social. We generally do not like being in isolation. We all have that need to communicate with others in any way possible. We live to communicate. Something. To someone. Someway. All the time. Sometimes a double tap is enough to let the other person know that his/her efforts of communication are acknowledged and appreciated. People need that. We need that. Earlier it was a pat on our back, now it’s a double tap. The medium has changed, nothing else. People talk
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about how social media is damaging our communication and our relationships, how we are growing apart because of it and what not. Frankly, I do not agree with this. Yes, We are using it quite heavily. I accept that. But I can’t say that’s completely wrong. As long as you keep communicating, the medium of communication shouldn’t matter. I didn’t think like this a few years back but now I understand the need of it somehow. Staying connected is more important than going in the technicalities of that connection. So, I use a lot of social media? Yes. Am I almost obsessed with it? Yes. Do I regret it? No. Do I need a break sometimes? Yes. Why? Because I need time for myself, which is also quite important for me. Sharing is nice but over-sharing leads to wall-flooding and eventually results in decreased number of likes and who wants that? Seriously. Will I continue using it? Yass. Why? Because if it wasn’t for all that; you wouldn’t be reading this.
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People need people in their lives. I am people. You are people. I need you. You need me.
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”
** Share this post with 10 friends to receive at least 10 messages in next three days. ** It works every time. I’m telling you.
~đ??…~
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Just like the waves, no matter where we come from, no matter where we are, we vanish for a moment. We become the ocean.
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Do I need a name for this one too!? Oh God! 16 November 2015
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A nearly half-burnt bread “It’s my birthday! Wish me a happy birthday and I’ll try to be a little more ‘regular guy’ the next time we meet!” **”Deal”, someone from the crowd shouts** “but…” **an ”ooh” whisper from the crowd** “but…I ain’t no liar…so…to be honest I can’t be a more ‘regular person’ the next time we meet. I’ll be having a perfect proportion of a regular person and…umm…well…me. If that works…fine?” **”Deal”, the same person I guess.** “So wish me then, go ahead, you can do it. Done? Thank you. Thank you beaucoup from the bottom of my heart. Love ya.” ** The crowd goes crazy, people start leaving, wait, what? People start clapping, ok good. ** I imagine these random scenarios in my head in which I am speaking to a crowd in my head and then I think what if there is a crowd that is (almost) ready to listen! Oh that’ll be fun! Won’t it be!? I could just talk and talk and believe that people (those poor poor people) are listening. I would love that. And I guess I am doing just that. This time, it’s a gorgeous group of people, yeah it’s you, you are welcome, who are willingly going through these ‘blah moments with a little sense in them’ things popping out of my head like a nearly half-burnt bread from a toaster. heheh.
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#lategram This is about being late. About not being on time. About being normal. Not everything has to be on time. Sometimes being a little late is better. When you have to go to the school for a two hour lecture, being 10 minutes late is quite normal. When you have to go to bed, being a little late is being on time. Sometimes going to an early morning wedding just in time for the lunch is fine. Sometimes waking up a little…oh yes. Waking up a little late. I need to start a new paragraph here. What’s with parents and their ‘wake up on time’ thing!? I’ve had millions of discussions (read fights) on this topic with my parents and almost every time we end up on the ‘Do what you want to do’ note. And in the morning, I wake up to my mom or dad going, “Get up, it’s late.” WE JUST DECIDED THAT I’M GOING TO DO WHAT I WANT TO DO!! But no. I think, waking up every morning is a non-efficient thing. Many will agree. Some days we just need an afternoon breakfast. We need to feel those heavy eyelids that are too heavy to be lifted and kept that way. Some days we need to let them be down. Some days we don’t want to wake up till the evening. Some very special people, whom I respect, can do that. Unfortunately, I can’t. My latest waking up time is afternoon before 1 pm, not later than that. So I was saying, waking up on ‘my time’. If I know that I have absolutely nothing to do or everything that needs to be done is done then I get to invest my time doing better things, right? Yes. And the better thing is? Sleep. Yes. It’s that simple. A lot of us have got up on ‘right time’ a lot of time with absolutely nothing to do at all, right!? Ok I’ve made my point I guess. So you agree that being late is fine, right? Good. Now you can’t get mad at me for this super late post, can you!? (I’m a bit sneaky that way! haha)
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Waves These last few days have been quite interesting. I was in Nice the last weekend. Another new city, new landscape, new people, the same ‘new’s once again. Nice (pronounced as nees) is one of the most beautiful places in southern French region. Nice has some amazing views of the beaches and by the beaches. These pebbled sea-shores are so pretty that you just don’t want to leave. I am telling you, it’s beautiful. Sitting on those super cool (read cold) pebbles was fun because I was chilling there (literally) with my friends. But to be honest I love being alone on seashores. It gives me immense pleasure to listen to the waves crashing on the beach selflessly. Such a short-lived beauty. Building up the courage to come forward and see the world, the wave moves ahead getting stronger and stronger and then in a blink of an eye, it vanishes, making room for the next one. The nextone? The same story? Not at all. The next one has altogether different charm to it. A very different plot, having quite a different character originating from a very remote place but somehow it ends the same. No two waves are the same but they do end up alike, going back to the vast calmness, deconstructed. Beautifully sad isn’t it? This sort of feeling, the heavy sigh that just came out of nowhere, that’s what I love about being alone by the sea. It makes me acknowledge everything in a completely unfamiliar way, just like the waves. That’s the time when each and every one of us starts thinking about our lives and suddenly remembers the most favourite poem of ours, it happens, we all end up the same way, silent and in awe of the vastness of the rhythm. Just like the waves, no matter where we come from, no matter where we are, we vanish for a moment. We become the ocean.
More to come soon, really soon, I swear. Pinky swear.
~đ??…~
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The one word that made a lot of sense to me was ‘Moledro’. It is a feeling of resonant connection with an author or artist you’ll never meet, who may have lived centuries ago and thousands of miles away.
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Moledro 16 November 2015
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I came across this very famous link with 26 words that perfectly describe some of the most complex emotions we go through. Everybody has gone through that link at least once, I know. If you haven’t, google it. It’s quite nice. It is taken from ‘The dictionary of obscure sorrows’, a website you should definitely check out. I don’t know whether the meanings are correct or not, but as it’s on the internet it has to be true. (!) To be frank, while reading it, the amusement of knowing that I am not the only person who goes through such feels is what makes it a wonderful experience. Btw, it’s called ‘Sonder’. It’s the realization that each person has a life as vivid as ours! Feels nice to have a word for such feelings. The one word that made a lot of sense to me was ‘Moledro’. Moledro is a Portuguese word. It means ‘A pile of stones heaped up as a landmark’. The dictionary of obscure sorrows says, it is ‘A feeling of resonant connection with an author or artist you’ll never meet, who may have lived centuries ago and thousands of miles away but can still get inside your head and leave behind morsels of their experience, like the little piles of stones left by hikers that mark a hidden path through unfamiliar territory.’ Perfect.
I just can’t stop thinking of people to whom I know I am nobody but for me, they are a very big part of my life. People are influential and people are inspirational. People leave behind their ideas and thoughts for us as a guide. We follow those paths when we feel lost but there is no way to thank the person who put those there. Did the person wish for my gratitude? Will the person ever know that he left behind something so important to me? Was that their intention?
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Ever? Does my thankfulness matter to them at all? I might never know. And frankly, I don’t need to know because even if they are indifferent, I can’t stop being thankful for them. They were there for me, just like that. I grew up with Tintin, Asterix, Karna, Bokya Satbande, Faster Phene, Meg-Jo-Beth-Amy, Harry-Ron-Hermione, Mugdha and Bimm (who is very important for me and my family), the list is quite long actually. It was for these people, yes, they are people to me, that I found the joy of exploring expressive imagination and deep emotions. I felt connected to the characters. I felt the pain, the joy, the sorrow and the struggle they went through. I found hope and support through their adventures. I cried every time when I got to the point when I knew that Beth was sick. I laughed every time when Obelix didn’t get to drink the magic potion. I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline when Faster Phene saw something suspicious. I still cry like a child when Bimm asks about Pami Pathan. My whole life breaks apart when Karna, knowingly offers his kavachkundala to Indra when Shon is begging him not to do so. Oh god! Too much to handle…Writing such things while feeling homesick was not a good idea after all…hehe ** sniff sniff ** I need a break now…I’ll continue after 5 10 minutes…
So, I was saying... These characters and their creators have a very special place in my heart, a place that is just for them. They were there for me. They made me feel something, something new. They introduced me to the emotions and situations in life that I never knew existed. They made me prepared for the world, in a way. The time that I spent with these characters is a golden era of my life. Do they know that they have made this much of an impact in someone’s life? I don’t know. Actually, I know that they don’t know.
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Many of the musicians and singers have their very special role in our lives. We all have our happy song, sad-feeling song, party song, go-to song, don’t-talk-to-me-I-need-to-think song; there’s a lot of categories in this section. We feel the connection with the music; we find comfort in the song. All those artists are the support systems that no one can take away from us. If you are just sitting there, conflicted, looking at the sunset through your window and you hear Pandit Kumar Gandharva singing ‘ud jayega’, you know what to feel. You just know. You can not convey your thanks to him now but you feel the thankfulness overflow from your eyes. When people cry listening to a song, I feel sort of good. Those tears say thanks to the artist, without actually saying it. It’s nice. For a lot of us, it’s the only way to say thanks. I am a Youtube addict (sort-of). I follow a lot of Youtubers and they have helped me to be me. It’s nice to know that the weird silliness that I admire the most in a person is out there in the world. It’s comforting to know that people around the world go through quite similar situations as I do. We all have the need to fit in and standout, and these people are doing it quite nicely. The artists, musicians from my generation; they inspire me and they give me strength to do things. Following people on Instagram and Behnace is easy, it’s just a click, but then suddenly, one of those feeds holds your hand and takes you in a direction that you were unable to find. And the very fact that these people are actually there and not a character in a drama, gives me hope. Listening to Shankar Tucker, Listening to Tyler’s audiobook, Reading Connor’s book, Listening (read crying) to Adele’s songs, Watching Ellen make people laugh makes me want to go there and hug these people, say thank you. But I can’t. I can’t do it right now. Ah. Ca va.
All these little heaps of stones that I find quite important for me are going to help me find the perfect way. What if it’s a difficult, rocky, hard way? It doesn’t matter, cause I know that there’ll be many such hidden hints along the way, putting me on a right path in this ‘doggy-dog world’ and also I need to do SOMETHING on my own na!!? Then again,
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There’s that Moledro! What do I do about that? They don’t know me, at all, and it’s a little sad to know that I might not be able to do anything about it. I admire the connection I have with these people and I feel sort of overwhelmed that I am not able to give anything back to them, at all. After a lot of thinking, I found a way, sort of. Finding a connection is a great feeling to have, definitely, but having that ability to create that little heap of stones would be amazing. I don’t think it’s impossible for us to do that; and you know what? Let’s do that. Let’s start finding little stones in our lives that might form at least one heap. It doesn’t need to be a big one; just a little one-stone heap is quite fine. It’s perfect. And one more thing, it’s important that you make it and leave it. Don’t stand there guarding the heap; otherwise you’ll be blocking the way. Let’s just make it and move on. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be of some help to someone.
“
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Some day and someone will find a right thing left on the sidewalk; they’ll pick it up, look around and smile. You’d have done your job then. ~đ??…~
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Love at first sight.
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Coup de Foudre 21 November 2015
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November 20, 2015
So, I arrived today in Paris in the morning at 8.40 am. It was a very comfortable journey in TGV, a high-speed, non-stop train from Strasbourg to Paris East. I woke up at 5 in the morning, got ready for the journey, bid my goodbyes to Kriti and Khyati in Strasbourg. They were so sleepy; I don’t think they even remember me leaving! I got down and started walking towards the railway station. These early morning walks are quite disturbing for people sleeping in their cozy beds if the person walking has a trolley bag with noisy wheels. I was that noisy person today but I couldn’t care less. I was going to Paris! It was happening, finally. So, I walked to Aditya’s place near the metro station Poissonière. He called me and told me to come upstairs. As I got down from the train on the platform of Paris Gare de l’est in the morning, it was raining! Rain seems to follow me everywhere I go these days. Maybe I am just so cool that I make it rain wherever I go! Mulhouse a little, Starsbourg ok-fine and then here too. Anyways, It was raining, but I didn’t realise it till I got out from the Metro line 7 at the station Poissonière. The metro is exactly how you would imagine it to be, full of people and then some more. It’s like a full tummy after having Ukdiche Modak. You know you have had enough but you know one more will do. The rain hit me in the face like a cool breeze after opening the fridge-door at midnight; cold, sudden and something that makes you happy. I covered my head with the cap attached to my jacket and started walking towards la rue des messageries. So, I left to explore Paris after saying byes to the office going and hardworking Aditya and Chandni. Their sweetest apartment full of warmth and joy is just perfect. I got the basic know-hows about the new place from Aditya, including the not so but yet a little tricky lock of the main door. I practised the locking-unlocking of the main door and mastered the skill in seconds. Oh I can’t forget the Wi-Fi Password, one of the life-
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supports these days, not sure if it’s good or bad, it just is. The wooden flooring feels so nice to walk on. I really like it. Whenever a place has a wooden floor, I feel special just being there; and that too in Paris? Specialer! So, I reached Louvre, completely drenched in pure awesomeness that is Paris rains! I locked the front door and came down the stairs to see a nice drizzle on the road. Beauty. I can’t even. It had been one of my ‘to do things in life’ for a long time, walk in the Paris rain. I never thought I would be doing that this soon! My first day in Paris and it rains nicely! It was a quiet series of pretty water drops coming down to hug the pavements and make them shine. The sky was a pretty grey. Not a gloomy grey, a calm delightful grey. Odd, isn’t it? I was so overcome with the joy of witnessing the rain that I started seeing everything in a way that made me happy. Like being in love, maybe, I guess. The beige buildings turning a little darker to match their grey rooftops, the people with their umbrellas running to cross the streets, the cars waiting for the lights to turn green, the shop-owners arranging the displays, everything changing bits by bits, here and there and still remaining the same pretty somehow. So, I stood in front of the one. The beautiful one. The mesmerizing one. The ever-enchanting one. The one and only, Mona Lisa. The museum of Louvre had quite a long queue today as everyone had to go through a thorough security check. The entrance of the museum takes your breath away by putting the glass pyramid in front of you. It tells you that everything you have imagined about this place, take it and multiply it by hundred, I am that much bigger in reality. The grandeur of the pyramid is exactly proportionate to the cultural importance of the museum. It is well established, undeniable and you can’t see everything in one glance. The entry to the museum is through the pyramid. You literally go inside a place that has ability to make you travel through time, makes you experience immortality, has everything you ever dream of, everything you might ever need and even more, just the way the Egyptians believed. The three galleries are filled with epitomes of art and cultural milestones. They call them galleries but in fact, those are
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three mansions. Three wings of the grand structure guarding the artpieces with care and respect. I started with the paintings. I was awestruck when I first saw the huge paintings on the walls. I couldn’t move. Not kidding. The lady behind me had to pat me on my back to make me realize that I was getting in her photo. There were hundreds of cameras and every one of them was trying to capture the humungous efforts of those passionate artists and I couldn’t stop looking at it. My eyes were filled with joy and I kind of understood what love is. They loved doing what they did and that’s why they could do it. So, I was admiring the statue of sleeping hermaphroditus. After wiping my eyes off with my already-wet cotton hanky, I made myself move away from her, Mona Lisa. Her smile was still lingering in my head. I was still feeling the excitement in that hall; she made my day. He made her make my day. Thanks. The Sculptures in the museum are spread over such a large area that I couldn’t cover half of it today, going back there tomorrow again. Can’t miss anything. The Roman, Greek, Egyptian statues, all having their own charm to them were so pure and so real that once, not kidding, I said désolé to a bust of a crowned Roman emperor. Felt awkward when he didn’t reply. (On another note, if he had replied that would have been even weirder!) These figures are so perfect in every sense that in the smallest details like a toenail or something, there is perfection. The mattress on which the hermaphroditus is sleeping is unreal. No one is allowed to touch any of the works otherwise someone would have easily jumped on it to see how high the jump can be! The pure talent of the artist left me touched. Moved. So, I sighed and then I gasped. I almost fell down. After deciding to see the rest of the Louvre tomorrow, I started walking towards the SacréCoeur, that is basilica of sacred heart. This place was marked as an important location in Google maps and it looked interesting. Little did I know that it was going to be one of my topmost moments in Paris. The way to this basilica is quite straightforward but as Google auto-adapts the routes if you go wrong, I ended up in front of a long staircase, in the middle of the pavement, leading towards nowhere. From where I was standing, it looked like a million stairs, and if you’ve been to Louvre in
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the morning, two stairs are equivalent to at least a hundred. I gathered my courage and I hoped that this venture would result into something worthwhile. My legs were killing me and I was feeling a little hungry at the same time. Perfect time to climb up the stairs that might lead you to a completely wrong direction. I was wrong. Completely wrong. The stairs were perfect. Perfectly located to give the climber a good surprize! So, I smiled back. The view from the stairs to the basilica was breath taking. It was the skyline of Paris. The place from where you could see almost the entire city except the Eiffel tower as it was just behind the hill. The city was covered in foggy clouds as it had just stopped raining. It was so mystical. The hill of Montmartre, this beautiful place holds up this basilica high as a crown jewel. The inside of the basilica is equally rich in its beauty. The paintings on the walls and the statues around the pillars make you feel the love. I sat there for a while and made myself calm down. My heart was beating fast because of the excitement and I needed to let it cool down a bit. When I came outside, the fog was almost gone and the cityscape was quite clear. It was beautiful.I could point out some of the monumental locations in the city. You know you take a double look when someone beautiful passes by you; my neck is hurting today. The city is so pretty that I keep taking these double looks at a lot of things. Trying to save those special moments in my head, I am trying to have a chance to relive these memories again.
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Today, Paris smiled at me and I smiled back. C’Êtait un Coup de Foudre. It was love at first sight. ~đ??…~
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�
Once you admit that it’s real then you cannot just walk away form it. If the times get hard, if one of you doesn’t feel right the other one has to be there for the other. If one of you feels sad, the other has no option but to get ready to take a calmer, patient approach, cause you care. Today I got that real cold treatment from Paris.
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Was that a test? Maybe. 22 November 2015
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November 21, 2015
When you fall in love, you start obsessing over that person. You start noticing slightest change in their behaviour. You know when something is wrong. You know that sometimes you have to work on the relationship to make it work. Once you admit that it’s real then you cannot just walk away form it. If the times get hard, if one of you doesn’t feel right, the other one has to be there for the other. If one of you feels sad, the other has no option but to get ready to take a calmer, patient approach, cause you care. Today I got that real cold treatment from Paris. Ok, let me start from the morning. I got up a little late today. I admit that. Got ready really slowly. I was not being lazy but it was gloomy from the beginning. I couldn’t help it. I decided to go the Notre-Dame and Museum d’Orasy. At least that much I had to do to fit all the things in these few days. I left the house after having a nice Sabudana Khichadi prepared by Chandni. I try to cook, you know that, but I don’t know all the dishes now, do I!? It felt good to have a proper Marathi food in France. When I left it was not warm at all but at least it was not raining. I took the metro for the station nearest to Notre-Dame de Paris. And then it happened. When I got down, I was thoroughly confused. It was raining again, like crazy. This one was not a happy rain somehow. I could feel that this one was not going to stop. In Mulhouse, I always carry my water-resistant jacket even when I am wearing a winter-jacket just in case it rains. In Paris, it is ‘obligatoire’ to take the raincoat-ish jacket or an umbrella. Everyone on the road was carrying an umbrella or wearing a nice jacket. I put mine on and I became one of them. I crossed the bridge, asked for the direction for St. Michel and I started walking by the river in the rain. The fountain at the place saint michel is majestic. The beautiful sculptures and wonderful water-streams from the fountain put an instant smile on everyone’s face. Everyone forgets the worries for a while. I did too. I smiled but quickly stopped as my teeth went cold. It was that cold. If you know me, (of
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course you know me but I’ve seen people use this line so just tried doing that) I start feeling cold in a second. I am the kind of a person who wears three jackets while going just for a cinema. I was feeling cold but it was so beautiful that I made myself ignore that. I tried, was successful, kind of. I had a sandwich and some biscuits in my backpack. I started eating just to distract myself from the cold. Today I understood what exactly “stress-eating” is! I used food as a distraction. It helped. I am sorry. Anyways, I started walking towards the cathedral the Notre-Dame de Paris, completely covered in multiple layers of clothes, eating biscuits covered in chocolate, and drenched. The Seine, having a perfect shade of a dark green blue, fitting perfect in the whole landscape was flowing “comme toujours”. The rain made it better, the cold winds…not so much. The queue in front of Notre-Dame was quite long. It looked really interesting as everyone was trying to save him or herself from the rain, the wind and also to be in the line at the same time. I stood behind a French couple, who were standing behind two quite old ladies with black umbrellas. The guy in the couple had an umbrella, the girl, didn’t. So they were in the same umbrella, together. Cute. I didn’t have an umbrella but I had my jacket, now completely wet. My hands were so cold that they turned red and I couldn’t move them easily. I couldn’t even re-adjust my jacket. It was harsh. Everyone was talking about the same thing, the rain and the cold. Paris was being rude to its guests. The old ladies in front of me were literally fighting with the forces of nature using their umbrellas. One of them gave up, not the ladies, the umbrellas, it was gone with the wind in a second. And then I heard a wave of sighs, oohs and laughter from the whole queue. The same wind that took away the umbrella in front of my eyes shook every umbrella in the queue to the core. Everyone tried to be safe from the horrible wind and rain combo. Some succeeded, some didn’t, at all. People slipped and fell in the whole circus. Lots of laughs mixed with the showers of joy. A little warm feeling, somewhere deep in my heart. The old friends were now sharing the only umbrella they had. Even Cuter.
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The cathedral is huge, gives you chills. The silence in the cathedral warmed my heart. Keeping the warm feeling safe in my heart, I went straight to a crêperie nearby and had a wonderful crepe. It’s like a mix of a pan-cake and dosa but different and amazing! You can have it with something sweet or salty, I had a sweet crepe. When I got out, my stomach and my heart both were happy, full and warm. I headed towards the museum d’Orasy. There was a huge line in that mildly heavy rain. I waited in the line for more than half an hour to get in. Was worth it. This museum is located in an abandoned railway station. If you are picturing something dark, it’s the exact opposite. The museum uses the structure of the railway station including the platforms, and re-establishes them as galleries. Amazing collection of masterpieces of artists like Rodin and Vincent Van Gogh. And many more. Wonderful! When I came out the museum, the rain was gone. It was cold but now it was manageable. Sudden change. I smiled. I passed the test, I guess. Paris tried to show me its real colours early on and I didn’t turn my head away. I faced it. I enjoyed. When we were talking about the day and other random things back home, Aditya-Chandni told me that today, according to Accuweather, the real feel temperature was below zero. It’s not the exact temperature, but it’s the temperature, which you feel, with the wind and other conditions. Felt quite nice that I could withstand that. We sang and talked a lot after that, met some new people. Good times. Now I don’t even feel the cold. The same “I really like Paris now” feeling is back. It’s fine now. If I think about it, the whole day was about staying warm and being ok with the cold. I tried. I did good; I think. Paris even showed me a small glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. That was my reward for being good I guess. Hehe..
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This pretty city, this treasure of France was moody and sort of distant with me today. I was confused, I didn’t expect this to happen. But at the end of the day, do I regret standing in the cold rain? No. Do I feel that I didn’t enjoy the day? No. Do I hate the cold? That I do, yes. But Paris, Do I like it less? No not at all. Why?
Cause when you love someone, you accept them with their good and bad. awwwâ&#x20AC;Ś <3
~đ??&#x2026;~
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You know, you get these subtle hints when you know that someone has a crush on you, right? They start looking at you a lot, they try to start a conversation and it becomes awkward, if they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t handle it well, they start teasing you for no reason, then they start pretending that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care about you, and then they start treating you so good, you know, the usual things.
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I said Yes. 23 November 2015
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November 22, 2015
What a day it was! Imagine everything you think about Paris and France, it happened to me today! No, not the kissing part. (I know you thought about that, duh..) Anyway, don’t distract me from being overwhelmed! I have so much to tell you. So, It was Perfect! I got up today with a very doubtful mind. After the cold disaster from yesterday, I was a little worried that it’ll be that harsh today too. But to my surprise, it was sunny! It was a perfect shade of blue in the sky and the sun was shining with a wide smile. What a lovely start of the day, I thought. I made myself a hot mug of coffee and searched for a good combination of Metros to get to the chateaux de Versailles. This was one place that was on my list just after Louvre and Eiffel tower. Did I tell you about the super small glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from yesterday? I guess I did. I dreamt of the same last night…stupid I am. I left the house with enough confidence in Paris and me and us together. We were going to have fun today, together. The Palace of Versailles is a huugge palace. (Oh, really?) It’s as grand and royal as any place can be! Louis XIV knew how to live like a king! White and gold look great together, I knew, and today I know why! It’s so beautiful that I can’t even start to describe it. But as you know I’ve already began. We enter the area through a huge golden gate with golden embellishments. The whole place has its own aura of royalty. I admire that. I admire places that have their own sense of being. NID has its own character, my home surely does. In the whole area of the palace, there are statues everywhere, on the walls, in the corners, around the corners, on the ceiling, in the garden, everywhere! So much opportunity for the artists to express their creativity! Wonderful! The estate of Versailles has some main attractions; it’s the palace, the apartments (read humungous rooms) of the king Louis XIV and the queen Marie Antoinette (married to Louis XVI), the mirror room and the gardens to name a few. Every room is filled with wonderful artworks.
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Every ceiling is painted with such a tremendous amount of dedication and attention to details that it literally makes you feel small. It does. Each part of the palace was specially decorated with consultation of the concerned person. You can see the difference in the taste of each person. Very interesting, they were people after all. “I like red. I want my curtains and bed sheets and cushion covers and sofa in red with a little bit of golden everywhere, Mom!” The Gardens of the estate are so majestic that you can’t go through all of it in a day. It’s impossible. The amount of work done for making the ambitious vision a reality stunned me. The layout of the garden, the placements of the fountains, the statues, the perfection of the view from each point, the pathways through the trees, everything is to the point. Not an inch, here or there. When you enter the premises of the Palace and Garden, you are supposed to feel the weight of royalty and be overwhelmed. So good. I might have used quite heavy words to describe the place but believe me; it’s better, way larger than that. People who have gone there before will tell you that it’s a big deal. Feeling full after capturing the golden moments in my eyes, I left to meet Geetanjali, a friend from NID, who lives in Paris. We were going to see the Eiffel tower together. Yay! As she was working, so she told me she’d see me directly at the Eiffel tower. I called her before leaving Versailles. It takes almost an hour to get back to Paris from there. I slept nicely on my way to the tower in RER C. When I got down, it was there. Standing there, tall and handsome, sporting Blue-White-Red. My heart just melted. I walked as fast as I can to get close to it. When I reached there, I couldn’t stop staring. I didn’t care if it was rude to stare like that but I couldn’t stop looking. The Red colour till the first section, the White in the middle and the Blue till the top. I had some time to spend with this beautiful structure. The Eiffel tower, the front page of everything regarding Paris was not shining like a star today, but I understand, we all do. It’s hard for everyone to go through such a traumatic event. Though silent, this one didn’t stop doing what it does the best, inspiring people. Every Parisian, though shaken up, has started his/her work because they are not going to give in, ever. It moves me; the courage, the strong belief in hope and the love for living life to the fullest.
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When she arrived we got into the line to get our tickets and in just a few minutes we were on the top of the tower. The view from over there is literally breath taking. The city of Lights was shining before us. The lights were so pretty that the moon removed his blanket of clouds just to steal one more glimpse of this beauty. The Arc de Triomphe, ChampsElysées, The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Centre Pompidou, and The Sacré Coeur, every other monument in Paris was shining bright. The streets were glowing like flowing rivers of lights. The stars in the sky were so insecure today that they didn’t even show up! No one wanted to compete with this stupendously wonderful city. My heart was skipping beats, I felt like the tower was shaking but I realised it was just me. I was overwhelmed by the view. I never knew this would be so amazing! Yeah, it’s just the lights, so what? NO. It’s much more than that, can’t explain. Fall in love, and then you might understand what I am trying to say. When someone is just there looking super cute and then suddenly you get a feeling that “Oh, it’s for me!” Yes. The smile on your face, that’s it. That smile was there. The weather was good today. You know the typical filmy romantic ambiance, just that but a bit too cold and windy. Perfect. After spending almost two hours on the tower, we got down. We talked a lot, got to know each other better, felt nice. I so wanted to climb down the stairs but we couldn’t find the stairs! (No Surprise there) So, we got down by the elevator and started looking for a place to eat. Till now, the day was so good that frankly, I didn’t expect anything more from it. But, I was wrong. Paris had a surprise for me. You see, I had this list of ‘to do’ things in Paris / France. The French food part of it was not done at all. As we were looking for a nice restaurant that had manageable price-range, we saw this warm place, “Le Jardin du Roy” (The Garden of Roy) stating that they have traditional French food. We got in, sat down and went through the menu. I took one look and I thought “Who told them about my list!?” My order was decided in a fraction of sec. Escargots, Boeuf bourguignon, and mousse au chocolat. In English that’s Snails, Beef bourguignon and chocolate mousse. You have no idea how much I’ve obsessed over these things. I have gone through every recipe video on Youtube about making Boeuf bourguignon,
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seriously. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve imagined me eating it and loving it. I always wanted to try snails, but when you go to NID, it becomes a bit difficult. (inside joke, just ignore.) That and chocolate mousse! When the food arrived and I tried my first ever Escargot, the feeling was â&#x20AC;&#x153;whoa! Kammaal!â&#x20AC;? The very unfamiliar flavour was quite nice actually. I liked it. The boeuf bourguignon? Even better than I imagined it being! The slow-cooked creamy stew was perfection. Great! And then finishing this immensely satisfying meal with chocolate mousse! I was done. Who knew I would get everything I wanted! I have nothing more to say, Paris won. I said goodbye to Geetanjali and I headed towards home. You know, you get these subtle hints when you know that someone has a crush on you, right? They start looking at you a lot, they try to start a conversation and it becomes awkward, if they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t handle it well, they start teasing you for no reason, then they start pretending that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care about you, and then suddenly they start treating you so good, you know, the usual things. But then one day, they become serious, they gather their courage and with the sweetest possible way they tell the one thing they wanted to tell you. It becomes real.
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I was walking. It was middle of the night; the roads were not crowded. It was peaceful, like the ever-busy city was taking a pause for a sec. The moon was still smiling in the sky, but this time, a little mischievously. I was walking by the Siene with NotreDame on my left. I was looking at the shimmering reflections of the lights in the water, the steady stare of the streetlights and then I saw the Eiffel tower, looking at me, smiling. Today, after sharing some very special moments, Paris and I became much closer. A cool breeze just brushed my shoulder and I stopped. I heard it. I just stood there with a heart full of love. I smiled and said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes, I love you too.â&#x20AC;? ~đ??&#x2026;~
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France has this. France has that. France has a lot of things. A long long list of things. Just like any other country.
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France has... 30 November 2015
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France has blue sky. France has grey sky. France has orange sky. France has rains. France has snow. France has warm days. France has snowfalls. France has high tides. France has Bread and Cheese. France has Burgers. France has Kebabs. France has Red wine. France has White wine. France has RosĂŠ wine. France has Grenadine. France sleeps at 7 pm. France stays awake till 4 am. France has skyscrapers. France has old Castles. France has Trams. France has Buses. France has Trains. France has Flights. France has bicycles. France has cars. France has two-wheelers. (They look a little odd thought.) France has Shopping malls. France has Boulangeries. France has fancy handbags. France has plastic carry-bags. France has fashion-people. France has sweatpants-people. France has bathing suits. France has layers and layers of clothes. France has Christmas. France has NoĂŤl. France has melodies. France has rap and slam poetry. France has short-forms. France has very long words. France has history. France has culture. France has future of its own.
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France has strict laws. France has trust. France has faith. France has good neighbours. France has good family members. France has a separate lane for bicycles. France has a well-defined path for pedestrians. France has green lawns. France has brown Fall. France has a lot of hair-salons. France has to wear caps to keep warm. France has a sweet tooth. France loves espresso. France has dogs. France has cats. France has people walking dogs on the roads. France has cats scratching people at homes. France has pain au chocolat. France has croissant. France has baguette. France has one dustbin for recyclable garbage. France has one dustbin for non-recyclable garbage. EVERYWHERE! France has museums. France has art galleries. France has libraries. France has sports thingys…umm…stadiums…yes. Stadiums. France has people with coloured hair. France has people with almost no hair. France has French movies. France has movies dubbed in French. France has English movies. France has ATMs. France has Banks. France has beggars.
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France has extremely crowded trains and metros. France has deserted roads. France has young kids playing in the parks. France has old people walking in the parks. France has people who say bonjour. France has people who smile. France has people who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bother. France has ability to do change something in you without telling you. France has LibertĂŠ, EgalitĂŠ and FraternitĂŠ.
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France has this. France has that. France has a lot of things. A long long list of things. Just like any other country. Important part it to observe, understand and absorb. (The last part is optional (read recommended). The first two are mandatory, cause it is fun.) ~đ??&#x2026;~
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This page is left blank for artistic purposes.
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Sitting on some random bench by some road looking at the chilly December sky going from blue to pink to black within half an hour makes you want to pinch yourself. That pinch makes that special moment count.
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Little things... 14 December 2015
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It’s almost 5 in the morning and I am still up. Not working, writing this. I have a lot of work to do, I know, but sometimes not doing something that you should be doing is the only thing you want to do. You keep eating random stuff, watching random things on Youtube, and going through Facebook profiles just the day before exam because you just don’t want to do anything important, basically. By the way, I just realized that I use a lot of ‘you’ when I am writing. It never entered my mind until now that you actually might not be doing all these things, it might be just me, the weirdo, doing all that but meh…I don’t know…It feels right to use ‘you’ instead of ‘me’. Brings us a little closer, you know? (And also that way, at the end I can blame ‘you’ for everything and not ‘me’!!) This week in general was a pretty schooly week actually. Classes, assignments, projects, study tours, personal projects, blah blah… There is one thing though, I keep wondering, this is my very special time in Mulhouse, how can I make the most of it? I have to make every moment count. I have to do as much as I can to make every single second of this adventure memorable. But you know what? It’s hard. There are a lot of things happening in such a short span that some nights I can’t even remember where I was in the morning! I keep clicking photos, I keep noting things down for me to remind myself that this specific thing happened in your life, remember that. Every day is so full of events that these days, I am unable to keep my journal properly. It just has a list of words, not even full sentences, ‘cause I fear that during the time that I’m writing one event in detail, I might forget two other that happened! Crazy! See the thing is, not everything that is happening around me is very exciting and overwhelming, but as I am quite aware of what is happening, I feel that everything matters, even the most routine, banal, boring things. I’ll give you a glimpse of my troubling state of mind. Ok now I am going to try to put down my generic week-day in Mulhouse and I am going to try to be as specific and honest as I can be. So, the alarm goes off at 7 am sharp, you put it on snooze, you sleep for a while, then you sleep a little more, then much more,
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finally you wake up, panic, do the morning rituals (1,2,Brush, Bath, Instagram, FB, Gmail, you know the usual), have milk and cereals, pack your lunch, pack yourself in multiple layers of clothes, make sure your cat has enough food and water, check the lights, get your bag, lock the door, put earphones on, play some nice song, put gloves on, go down the stairs, stop, check the bag to find that you forgot the lock for the cycle, run up, gloves off, put wrong key in the door lock, find the right key, open the door, say hi to your cat, find the lock, put it in your bag, lock the door after grabbing a few biscuits from kitchen just because you saw them there, go down the stairs stuffing those biscuits in your mouth, gloves on, get your bicycle, ride that cycle at around 8.20 in the morning with temperatures in the range of -1 to 5 degree Celsius, sing as loudly as you can on your way to school cause you just don’t care, (and there aren’t many people anyway), park your bike, lock it within 2 to 3 tries, gloves off, run to the main door, open it, regret taking those gloves off before going in cause the door knob was super-freeazingly cold, run to your lab or studio or workshop while taking of a few layers and greeting people with ‘Salut’ and ‘Bonjour’, enter the lab or studio or workshop, say sorry for being a little late, go to your working place, unpack and then start working. Phew, believe me, this was just an hour. The first hour of any randomly picked day. As you might have guessed, I am NOT going to tell you about my whole day, cause it’s just not fair, there are just too many things. The things that I just told you are not so important at the end of the day but for that moment of the day, they were the most important things. And this makes everything important, Eveyrthing! I have decided to simply enjoy these simple routine special things around ‘cause that’s what counts. Sitting on some random bench by some road looking at the chilly December sky going from blue to pink to black within half an hour makes you want to pinch yourself. That pinch makes that special moment count. Keeping the studies aside, Living alone, living away from my people, living in a different environment, it has made me quite aware of myself. Aware of what is happening around me every second (Also, if you have a cat, you
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are anyway alert all the time, believe me). So, anyway, I am doing everything with my eyes wide open. I am listening more, cause I feel that if I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand something, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll lose out on something interesting. I am talking a lot more (mostly in French btw), â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cause I have interesting people with interesting stories interested to listen to my blabbering. I am cooking more cause I need to know that I can do that too. I am thinking more â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cause when you are alone, you can ignore your thoughts for just some time. I am singing more, cause I know it makes me feel at home. I am trying to let everything in. Till now, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going well. Aaaand Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m done. I have no idea where I began and how I ended up here but now somehow I am done. Next one will be better I hope. Cheers
~đ??&#x2026;~
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You know why am I suddenly writing about this? I found a magical object yesterday! I was looking for my student agreement in my bag and there it was, sitting at the bottom of the bag, in the corner, a small shiny object.
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Magical Objects and where to find them 21 December 2015
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Have you seen the latest trailer of ‘Fantastic beasts and where to find them’ yet? Looks good. Anything related to Harry Potter is supposed to be awesome so let’s see how this one turns out. Harry potter is such an important part of my childhood. Oh god! Did I just say ‘my childhood’? Damn, That means I consider myself to be a ‘grown up’ now! Well, just you wait, there are going to be surprises, for sure, just think about all the ‘so not grown up’ things you do! Oh, don’t you open that door! ‘Cause if you do; things will fall out like they have ‘Gemino’ on them, one after the other, and we don’t want that right now! Do we? Ok, back to my topic, Harry Potter. Not to brag but when I was a little younger, a lot of people told me how much I resembled Harry Potter. Hahah..Even people who didn’t know me at all told me that! I feel so happy when someone does that, you know! It’s not just about looking similar to some celebrity (which I highly believe I don’t) but it’s about being closer to the fantasy! One of the most imaginative works of our generation, at least my generation. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that world where you can have something more to life than just life? It would be awesome! As I was a little older I knew it is a fictional world of Harry, but to be honest, even today, a small part of me tries to find some similarities in my life and his. And when I do find something; Success! Smiley faces everywhere! When I turned 11, I found a letter slid in through my front door, an off white envelope addressed to one Parag Chitale, with the seal of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry! Albus Dumbledore wished me a happy birthday and invited me to join the school! The best feeling ever! Later that evening I found out that it was from Shubhankar and Pradnya, one of the best people in my life, and knowing that made the letter more special! They knew what would make my 11th Birthday special and they did it! Then of course, I stole the same idea and wished my friend Prasad with a similar letter in his letterbox. I waited for his call to thank me because I knew he would know it was from me! But nothing happened! NOTHING! NO CALL! NOTHING! I had this strange belief that people check their letterboxes everyday! Haha Apparently, people don’t do that. Before his birthday party that evening, I had to call him and tell him in a changed voice to check the letterbox,
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or I guess I asked my dad to call him or something! But yeah, I had to make it obvious that it’s me! But still, it was fun! Whenever I find that letter in my drawer, it brings a big smile on my face! I’ll tell you a secret, only after watching the first movie, I got introduced to Harry Potter, before that I had no idea who he was! As I studied everything in Marathi till 7th, there was a very little contact between English books and me. I remember being super scared and yet immensely excited during the first movie when Harry gets his wand, when McGonagall becomes a cat, when Harry catches the Snitch, when the chess-pieces come alive and Ron has to sacrifice himself, a lot such moments. (Spoilers! (As if ! Hahah)) I am coming clean this time, I understood the overall story but as the movie was in English, I didn’t understand EVERYTHING. English in a British accent? Umm..wasn’t so easy for me… so when I came out of the cinema hall what’s the first thing I did? Find the book in Marathi! There was no way I was going to be patient enough to read the whole thing in English! Fortunately I found one publication house that was working on a translation, (I won’t be using the name here for legal implications of doing so) I went there, asked when it was going to get published and waited impatiently! I wanted to know what exactly happens in the story and so I needed the book to be in Marathi. The troubling part was the fact that Jui (my elder sister) knew the story already, as she was very comfortable with English (duh). She had an upper edge and she had the power! You see, we had an arrangement, she’d read the book chapter by chapter and tell me the story before she proceeds ahead. This power game kept going on till the 5th book when we had a big big fight. When she refused to tell me the story one time, as there was some big plot twist, I was mad! We had an argument about how inconsiderate she was and how unreasonable I was and then there was banging on the bathroom door, shouting at each other, not talking for a while, complaining to Mom about the whole thing, crying (on my part), the whole thing, aaahhh the good times. I miss that. Sorry I jumped ahead a little, so, the first book was published in Marathi and then my journey began. I was in. After a few years, I read all of them in English! Can not tell you how happy I was!
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Harry Potter is one of those things you are supposed to be obsessed about. I never understood people who don’t like Harry Potter. I judge you. Yes, I said it, loud and clear. I don’t get you. For me it was an important part of growing up. Harry Potter taught me to believe in hope, taught me about friendship and family, taught me the power of imagination, the power of love, the strength of trust. Most importantly, it made me look at things differently. After Harry Potter, every single thing around me became a magical object. I know that you have been a part of a duel with your friend using sticks and twigs you found on the roadside as your wands. I know that you have tried to speak parseltongue. I know you tried to open your door using ‘Alohomora’, I know this because I did that too. It was our effort to add something extra special to our present life, something that had magic in them. You know why am I suddenly writing about this? I found a magical object yesterday! I was looking for my student agreement in my bag and there it was, sitting at the bottom of the bag, in the corner, a small shiny object. I found a Portkey! It was a Five-rupee coin. I guess I put it there when I came here. I held it in my hand and suddenly I was there! It worked! This time I believed in it and it worked! I was in Pune. I was in India. I was home. All the things that make me feel home were around me! I was having poha made by aai while talking to Baba about something interesting he found. I was waiting in the Pune traffic and singing loudly as usual. I was with my friends deciding where to eat. I was chilling at Prasad’s place and solving the crossword puzzle with his grandma. (Yeah, we do that, she’s so cool. Prasad, tell her I miss her.) I was buying groceries and seeing familiar faces. I was walking on the road and seeing people, my people. Everything came back to me in a second with a big smile and one tiny tear. It got me thinking; I have all these magical objects around me and I never paid attention! I have millions of Portkeys that make me travel to millions of places wherever I wish! I have magical portraits that let me travel though different parts of my life. I go there and come back in a second. I have my own room of requirement, where I find everything I can ever want. (People call it Kitchen.) I have my own Invisibility cloak,
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itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a cloak actually it looks like a cellphone and whenever I use it I am invisible to the world. I have some saved conversation in my inbox that haunt me and come back screaming like howlers. I play quidditch where I am the seeker going after the snitch while dodging the bludgers life is throwing at me. I have Pensive; huge collections of memories that help me go back there and relive those moments! I have my own burning scar which I hope one day will stop bothering me. I have time turners and I have the mirror of Erised! I have a lot of magical things around me and that makes my life special!
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We all have this magic around us. I am going to find these things and cherish them. Not being delusional, but these things will definitely help me when I need it the most. I know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a made up fantasy but once a wise man told me, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?â&#x20AC;?
Mischief managed.
~đ??&#x2026;~
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Was that a leap of faith? Was that a calculated jump? Was that an elevator? An escalator? What was it? How did it happen? It doesn’t happen so easily and it doesn’t happen that often, then why? Why now? Frankly, I have no idea. And instead of troubling my tiny little brain with all these questions, I’ve decided to go with one answer that satisfies all, “because you made it yours.”
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Calling Dibs on Potatoes! 27 December 2015
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It’s been three months people! Three whole months! It’s like living one fourth of a year! Wait, It is exactly one fourth of a year! Hahah… It just went like “Whhosh”! Khatam! Quite a significant amount of time, gone, with smiles and smileys of my Mulhouse! Whoa! I just said “My Mulhouse”, didn’t I? It feels right though, you know? It certainly has become a very special place for me. It has become mine now. The very first day I came here, I was completely clueless and lost. Both figuratively and literally! I’ve done almost all of the basic “new person in a new town” things. I’ve looked for the place to go on Google map and followed the directions. (PS. In spite of that, I got lost. It’s a talent and I’m proud of it.) I’ve asked random people on the road for directions after fighting with my ego for at least 5 min. I’ve tried random food places and I’ve searched “closest McDonald” when I wanted to be in a familiar environment. I’ve waited for a wrong bus going in the opposite direction for more than half an hour. I’ve gone spent hours and hours finding out the easiest way from one place to another. I’ve gone round and round the same block without realizing the stupidity of the whole scene. I’ve looked for an Indian store , found it, but never entered it, not even once. (‘Cause I’m too proud!) I’ve tried to find that one kind of biscuit / cookie that I thought I might like. (And now I am almost addicted to it.) I’ve made new friends. I’ve had quite deep conversations about India and things like that. When I was coming back from Paris, I felt like coming home. It was strange. I went through very similar situation when I NID happened. Till then my whole life was Pune and then suddenly I was supposed to live in this unfamiliar city. I found a place to stay. I got used to the life in Ahmedabad. I used Google and my social skills to find an easy way to my destination. I found some special food places to which I was almost addicted for some time. (Tripti knows the whole story, my partner in crime) I found like-minded people. I made some oh-so-amazing friends. We had very intense conversations about a lot of important things. I began to like Ahmedabad. I accepted it as my own.
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We all have some threshold for acceptance, may it be about a person, a song, a place or anything for that matter. We acknowledge the existence of it and then we test that thing with pros and cons with or without our knowledge and we decide whether we really like it or not. Once we are sure we like it, we move ahead towards acceptance. We had a very similar debate about this acknowledgement and acceptance with Suresh in our class last sem. There is a noticeable gap between acknowledgement and acceptance and that step is not an easy one to climb. (I can’t believe he won’t be there when I come back. It’s just sad.) So, I was saying, we do this with everything. We say hi to everyone but we only talk to some people. Why? Now you know. It’s a generic trait of being human I guess. We judge (sort of) and then decide. When you are buying potatoes, you do that and even when someone says, “I love you” you do that. A quick last minute list of pros and cons, all the if-thens, and then the final decision. But you know sometimes there’s that one potato which grabs your attention like no other. You forget about the list and you just put it in your basket without a second thought. You feel like on the top of the world just looking at that beautiful thing in your basket. For others it might just be a potato but for you, it’s everything. “It is yours now”, you tell yourself and you smile. For me Pune is that potato. Now that I think about it, NID was like that too(not Ahmedabad, just NID. No offense, just being honest). The moment I entered through the main gate and looked at that Brick red and Green beauty, I put it in my basket. It was mine. On the night of 27th September, when first I saw that funky Pink Grey building of HEAR, shining in the moonlight, it was mine. It just had to me mine. There was no other option. I jumped a few steps and together, we started at a new level with a whole bunch of smiles, every time. Was that a leap of faith? Was that a calculated jump? Was that an elevator? An escalator? What was it? How did it happen? It doesn’t happen so easily and it doesn’t happen that often, then why? Why now? Frankly, I have no idea. And instead of troubling my tiny little brain with all these questions, I’ve decided to go with one answer that satisfies all, “because you made it yours.” There are some things that are not supposed to be fully understood sometimes. Let’s leave it at that. Sometimes you need no reason to make something your own. You call it
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dibs and it becomes yours. Ok now, you might not actually ‘own’ it, but for you, it’s yours and that’s enough. That thing makes your life shine a tiny bit brighter and your heart beat a little bit faster. Making that one thing your own brings you an inexplicable joy. It need not be a happy thing all the time, it can be the saddest thing but still you want it to be yours. Why does everyone cry when Adele says Hello? Why do people love Maggie? Why do people (read ‘I’) have F.RI.E.N.D.S marathon? Why did I sit in front of the Cathedral in Strasbourg for half an hour without talking at all? Why did standing in front of Mona-Lisa make me want to call my dad? Why do I cry every time I listen to “Bharajari ga Pitambar”? Why do I grin when I see a muddy puddle? Why do I laugh every time someone sneezes? Why do I get sangry (sad and angry) when someone tries to be a good friend of my best friend? Because, it is supposed to be that way. These things are mine. I called dibs on these things because having them in my life them makes my life the best version of itself. When I got down at the Euro-airport at Mulhouse and I was going to my place with Jacques, I called dibs on Mulhouse. The very first glimpses of this town made me put it in my basket. I didn’t know if anyone else was running for it or not, but I made it clear that it would be mine. Today, after 3 amazing months, I am glad. I am glad that I did that. Imagine, if I hadn’t called dibs and then I would be feeling like an outsider! I would have missed a lot of things. U mad O what? I just can’t. **Sudden chills of fear**. So yup, so happy that it happened. **insert smiling face with halo emoji here **
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;
Go on. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your turn.
â&#x20AC;?
Call dibs on the things you know are meant to be yours. Call dibs on the places you want to go; call dibs on the languages you want to learn; call dibs on the books you like; call dibs on the people you love; call dibs on the experience you want to have; call dibs on your happiness. Call dibs on anything worthy of your smile. Fill your baskets with those glorious potatoes, each one bigger than the other. You know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best part? It costs nothing. Absolutely nothing! Make the most of it as this sale lasts for just one life. Make it wonderful. Have the courage to grab the most magnificent potatoes you can find. Po. Now.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;No Leela, not you, you stay there. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll bring you everything you need, cause you are the shweetest little.., Ouch!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oye!! Stop Scratching! I know its yours, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just taking it out of the canNN!! Wait!!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ok, go. Go and take it yourself then. Can you open it? No. Then? was just helping you Leelaâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? Good. Anyways, see you soon people, One more month remaining. Happy holidays!
~đ??&#x2026;~
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What to do for the New Year? In these kinds of situations I ask myself what would Parag do? And do that! Haha Kidding! I just go for the logically sound option that would reduce the workload and stress, so I decided to go for a small trip, obviously!
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Doing whatever. 03 January 2016
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What to do for the New Year? Not the resolution stuff, just 31st and 1st. Always a troubling question. I have my final exams next week so I was planning to work and finish everything but then I’ll be missing this perfect travel opportunity. Aren’t we in a pickle now? What to do? In these kinds of situations I ask myself what would Parag do? And do that! Haha Kidding! I just go for the logically sound option that would reduce the workload and stress, so I decided to go for a small trip, obviously! I finished my quilt and then after packing the essentials I left home. I had to walk to the railway station, as the trams were not circulating in the evening, especially for 31st. They are also people, in the end. Not the trams, the drivers, duh. It was nice and cool and suddenly I felt like Diwali. That typical smell of burnt fireworks lingering in the air made me feel festive. Yes, something special is happening today, not just here, everywhere! It’s a new beginning, once again! The railway station was quiet today. I was waiting for the bus near the stop. At 11.50 pm the bus arrived and with the audiobook of Don Quichotte, I started my journey. The bus was going to take 8 hours to reach the destination. Oh I forgot to tell you, the destination is Cologne, Germany (It’s Köln in German.) Jump ahead to January 1st 2016. It’s exactly 7.10 am and we reach Köln airport, the last stop of the bus. I have no idea how do they manage to be so on time! I got out and suddenly instead of being happy and hopeful, for a second I was scared and nervous! I don’t know the language! This is odd, very odd! I felt so out of place and being completely and thoroughly illiterate. I am a German illiterate, I know, but that thought made me feel a little weird and excited. I have no knowledge of something and it’s completely unreachable for me. You know, people keep asking me why does French language have all those letters that you don’t pronounce? The truth is, that situation is manageable. Sometimes less is better! But in German, you use every single letter to form a word and on top of that you use all of that in the pronunciation!! Whoa! Intrigued! Once I become super comfortable with French (which I think will take a lifetime, but still), next stop German!
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I got out of the Köln HBF station and it was a mess. I saw the road full of hints of the stories of last night. It was the last night of 2015. There were beer bottles shattered on the road by people who were extremely happy to have lived the last night to the fullest. There were the remains of fireworks that must have left everyone with a smile on their face. There were some barf-stains on the roads, no, not gross. To be honest, I smiled. (I know. I am weird. My mother had me tested.) You see, people have their “I had so much to drink that I puked” stories. I just got to know one more even without that person telling me! Haha. Visual communication people, look around, the world is changing. Anyway, it must have been a heck of a scene in Köln ‘cause there were piles and piles of waste on the road. I have seen people getting wasted but looking at a hung-over city was something new. I understood and didn’t judge the city right away. (Ok, maybe I judged a little. But who wouldn’t?) I started roaming around the city with no map and no specific destination in mind. My hostel check-in was in the afternoon so I had the whole morning. Around 10-11ish, I was walking by Rhine river (which is huge btw) and trying to not let my hands die from the cold winds that were blowing relentlessly. I saw a group of people, my age. They were sitting on the benches and talking, laughing, high-fiving each other, happy times. I smiled and exhaled the cold away. Now with hot coffee in my hand I decided to go to the Cathedral of Cologne. The Cathedral of Cologne, the Kölner Dom is beautiful! Gothic, Dark, Spikey on the outside and warm, embracing on the inside. The huge structure stands as a landmark and for all the newcomers it’s a savior! If you are lost, look up, locate the cathedral and start walking towards it! Once you are near that area, you are home! (not actually, just saying, GODD.) The Notre Dame of Paris is on the softer, motherly side of the cathedrals; and this one looks like a strong, proud member of the group. The stained Glass windows of the cathedral are magnificent. Such a detailed intricate work done with passion. The grandeur of the cathedral goes hand in hand with the interesting Roman history and Gothic architecture. When I went there in the evening, some sort of religious ceremony was going on. There was choir singing, there was reading of passages from bible, it was all in German so I didn’t understand anything. All I understood was it was wonderful. The
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Cathedral was filled with people to its capacity, everyone was quiet, and there was this distinctive scent, no flashes from cameras, the whole space lit by candles, it all left me spellbound. Oh you Cathedrals, why are you so captivating!? Thank you by the way. P.S. I went there 3 times in these two days! Missing it already. I decided to go for a quick stroll in the Christmas market of the city but the cold winds didn’t let me. My hands and the bloody nose of mine (not literally, more like in a British way), they gave up, they went numb and I had to go back to the hostel. Good night. First day of the New Year, gone, with the wind. Today (as I am writing this at 11.30 pm of January 2nd, it’s still today for me), I got up, readied myself and left the hostel with my bag. I carry my ‘Chitale Udyog’ sack everywhere, it’s like Hermione’s handbag. It can accommodate anything and everything. (Not so subtle product placement!) So I left and got in the first train I saw. I have this kind of day-pass with me so I can go anywhere. The train was going away from the city, some place whose name I couldn’t read. It’s something German. I checked the route and one familiar name caught my attention, IKEA. Let’s see…You have time, you haven’t been there aaaand you are going. Today makrs an important event in the history, today I went to IKEA for the first time. Such a huge store it is! It’s not a store it’s a complex. You can see the product, the suggested placement, usage, every possibility of modification in actual demo-rooms and also through virtual simulation. Basically, if you want, you can visualize each corner of your house over there, buy the parts, ship them to your address and build it on your own! I am quite impressed with that! I went through every section of that huge building. Very wisely managed displays, clever selection of colours that would attract the desired target buyer, omission of difficult choices, everything designed to make you buy things even if you don’t want to! I almost bought a Kitchen! Not kidding. It was just perfect! Well lit, calm, nicely organized, fully equipped and the colours of the different elements were amazing together. I just don’t know German and I had a question about the size of the spoons in the set, otherwise I would have bought it. Jokes apart, Even when I knew it was impossible for me to buy that whole display, IKEA made me want it so bad. Then I had to buy something as the feeling of “I need something” had taken over
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my logical thinking. I got a set of sketch pens cause when in doubt, buy stationary. It works. Just for fun, this whole trip, I ate only at McDonald’s. Same order every time. One Hamburger and one Chicken burger. For every meal. (Excluding breakfast) Just like that. No special reason. Just to see if I can do that. Turns out I can and now the thrill is gone. Anyway, today I was supposed to meet Rajan, a friend of mine from my Engineering College. He was coming to Köln to meet me, I asked him to come to McD as I was having lunch! Hahah. No sooner did I finish eating than he came in through the door. (Confession: This might be the first time I’ve used ‘No sooner did…than’ structure in a real sentence. I hope it’s correct.) We went to the Schocoladunmuseum i.e. Chocolate Museum of Köln. It was fun. The mystery of how chocolate is made is solved now. By the way, there was this one tour guide who was talking about each part of the exhibit, his audience was a group of completely mesmerized visitors below age 8! They were asking questions and laughing at his jokes, I didn’t understand anything (again) as he was peaking in German but I wanted to stay and listen to the whole story cause it sounded like a fairy tale! For those children it WAS like a trip to the wonderland. The most special gift that makes one go from “I don’t know you’ to “I missed you so much” was being brought to life in front of us. Sweet. I had to catch my bus back to Mulhouse and he had to go back to Kleve, Rajan and I parted ways and I came here. Köln Bonn Airport from where I have to take my bus. I am able to write this now because the bus is almost two hours late. So Let’s see…Fun two days. Different than any other days? definitely. Exciting? yup. Does this count as an awesome start of the New Year? For me, yes. So Yes. It was so eventful. New years is a complicated time in our lives. It’s like every year we all come to Köln where suddenly we don’t know the language, the place, and we feel like being without any plan whatsoever. We plan to change something in us, to make ourselves a better version of ourselves. On each New Year’s Eve, we decide to do something amazing the next year but we all know what happens on each 31st Dec. Excuses, regrets and some more regrets. Why? Because everything didn’t go the way we planned.
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It happens. But you know what? We change. We do change and we become a slightly different person, in the way the life takes us. It might not be the logical, practical decision you wouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve taken but it sure is the best one for you. So sometimes you can just let go. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to go for a trip rather than working. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to walk alone at night. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to come to KĂśln, knowing zero German, not knowing how cold itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to let your hands freeze a bit. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to dip your cracker in the chocolate fountain and take a bite and lick the dripping chocolate. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to do stupid things for no reason. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to know that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where you are going because in the end, you find peace, you find extra-ordinary joy in super-ordinary things, you get surprised, you smile and most importantly, you get sketch pens. So just have fun doing whatever. Let this year have a wonderful you! I am a little sleepy, if there are any mistakes regarding grammar or spelling or thoughts or my life in general, just ignore. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done is done. Co-operation expected. Thanks.
~đ??&#x2026;~
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This page is left blank for you to do whatever.
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I am going to jump ahead to the next day. So I woke up with a huge disappointment, a broken heart. But I just couldn’t believe that it happened the way it happened. So traumatic. So tragic that it’s funny now. Ok I should just tell you. It all began with the jury presentation. I can’t tell you everything cause that would be just you know...too much to handle...so I’ll just go with the silent conversations in my head which were just there. Happening.
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Everything that can happen, happened. 12 January 2016
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This one is just a quick update on what has happened in the last few days… I am going to be very brief, very ‘to the point’ and not at all elaborated and descriptive as this sentence is. Ok, That’s not going to happen. But I’ll try to sum up my week in the most interesting way because too much was happening in absolutely unprecedented manner. So let’s begin. Let the odds be ever in your (and my) favour. Last Wednesday, I had my Jury. It’s called ‘le bilan’ which is actually presenting everything you have done in that semester to the jury panel and they see if you’ve been nice or naughty. If you have worked well and you’ve been nice, you get thumbs up (actually I prefer coca-cola but meh…Fukat te Paushtik!!) and if not, no presents from santa this year, you’ve been bad. I was stressing over the jury preparation and I wanted everything to go as smoothly and perfectly as it can. The day before the presentation, I arranged everything in my room, I made lists of things that needed to be there, I planned how it should look, where everything would go, I planned it like a bride would plan her wedding. I could not sleep well as usual, the only difference between me and a bride was I didn’t get cold feet at the last moment. (To be honest, I did a little, but more of that later.) I envisioned every possible thing that can go wrong and tried myself to sleep. (cause try try but don’t cry.) Anyway, The day of the Jury Presentation, 6th January 2016. 06.01.16. I got up, got ready, took all the things I had perfectly packed and left for the adventure. I’ll tell you why this was such a big deal for me. I was going to give my jury entirely in French. Nothing in English, Just French. I was going to present all the projects in French. Everything that I’ve done in this semester, even the projects which were in English, my experiences, my travelling stories, my own thoughts about each work, the research, the process, the product, everything in French. How much do I know French? Good enough. But just good enough. Were there any chances of this all going way south than expected? Yes. Was I aware of that? Yes. Was that going to stop me from doing that? No. Why? Cause I had
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called dibs on my French Potato. It had to go the way we both wanted, Perfect and in French. Quite an optimistic I am, right? Heheh… I entered the entrance hall, people were putting up their displays. I was the last one in the list so I had ample amount of time to roam around and help other people wit their presentations. As per the schedule my bilan was at 3.30 pm. At 12ish I went to the given space and it hit me, The place I had in mind was not the place that was there. At the last moment, there was some bigger work going on in the exact corner where I was supposed to put my work in the giant hall and so I was given another section on the hall, equally big, equally well-lit but different. It was like giving me a new hugs, I wanted the old one. Have you ever been in that zone where you just wing it and it just goes in the right direction. Fortunately for me that happened. All the glorious (not so much) dreams of my to the point presentation were now scrammed up in that old corner and I was building one from scratch. If this were in NID, I wouldn’t have panicked this much but here, I had the responsibility to do good. If I do good then by transitivity NID does good and that’s a huge responsibility to have. Anyway, everything fell into places and I felt proud. Proud of doing all those things. Proud of doing good. I am going to jump ahead to the next day. So I woke up with a huge disappointment, a broken heart. But I just couldn’t believe that it happened the way it happened. So traumatic. So tragic that it’s funny now. Ok I should just tell you. It all began with the jury presentation. I can’t tell you everything cause that would be just you know…too much to handle…so I’ll just go with the silent conversations in my head which were just there. Happening.
During the presentation. “Oh here they come. They look ok, not scary, ok good. Check your belt once again.” “Bonjour, Je m’appelle Parag.”
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“You pronounced your name correctly right?” Yes I did. “Ok good just checking and btw they already know you that was a little stupid.” Shsss. I am talking now, stop. . . “Show them that. Show them this one too na. Did you tell them how you came up with this idea? And just saying, the past tense of ‘penser’ is ‘pensé’ not ‘pensais’. OH wait it’s both, don’t bother, my bad.” Will you just let me do this on my own? Please? Ok. “Hey! They like it!” I know! “Why is he not smiling? Like the others? Did you do something wrong? What did you say right now!?” I don’t remember. But look, Khyati is smiling, maybe he’s just thinking about the last project, that one was quite deep. Yeah, that must be it. Oh wait there you go! He nodded in appreciation! Good going! “Don’t start jumping! It shows, Parag! stop moving! GoDD.” . “Do you know you have never been the last room in that corner right there? The door is always half-closed, maybe something’s there. You should go there once before you leave.” Not now. Please stop thinking about random things. This is not the time. “But just look at that. The door is kind of shiny and looks like the one we saw in, you know..pch what was the name of that..” Really? Now? Thankfully they are listening to one of the music pieces but that doesn’t mean you should just start roaming around! Oh He’s looking at me, SMILE. Yup. good. And yes, I’ll go there once. (turns out that was the wood workshop where I have been hundreds of times) . Ok that was good. They seem to like it. Now’s the time for feedback. Yay! I can’t wait to know what they thought of the work! Oh wait! they leaving! Where are they going!? “They smiled and left, Parag.” I know. What’s happening. Is it done? Huh? I need to know how did it
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go! Now! “They left.” Would you please stop? Like STOP.
After the presentation. She told you that they’ll call you one by one for the feedback. Be a little more patient. “But I want to know now.” Ok go. “Really!?” Yup. Cause she just told you to go inside! Haha! “Oui.” “Hahaha, ça marche.” “OK.” “Oui. Je comprends.” ” Oui. Oh! Oui.” They are saying such nice things about me. Is this really happening? Are they really talking about me!? “You did good. I am so proud of you.” Me too!! “Non non. C’est gentil.” Yay!! Smile now! Don’t be so tensed. It’s done! They are happy with your work! “Good work”, they said! . . SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE **A really fast recap of the whole semester** It was good, wasn’t it? “Really Good!”
On the way home. “Has this really been it!? It was awesome! So many things happened! Your first French food,..”
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Oh food, I need to get something to eat, haven’t eaten the whole day! Ok food, Yup. Then? “Then traveling, Nice Cannes Monaco, Your Birthday was here, remember? Paris, OH yes, Paris. But even before that, Strasbourg and how your macbook crashed, that was fun! Hahah” But I got it fixed. And I don’t want to talk about that today, please. It’s a nice day today! “That’s alright, I agree. I am really happy that you actually presented everything in French.” Well, not everything. Remember, I couldn’t find the word for ‘fortunately’? “Yes, but ‘heureusement’ the prof helped you na? And no one was expecting you to talk entirely in French. Be Proud of yourself.” Actually, I already am. I was just being modest! “I know.” “Now go and get something to eat. Go home, Put Friends on and celebrate!” It’s scary how well you know me! You know everything. “I know.”
On my bed, with my macbook. “Oh look, White screen!” Nononononono. “Oh look, it’s telling you Hard-disk not found. Now what do we do?” You had to jinx it. Didn’t you?? Why today!!?? Why now!!?? NONONONONONONNONO. “Wait, does that mean we can’t eat now?” . . Waking up to a dead laptop is heartbreaking. I was upset but I decided to make it right. I went to Strasbourg to get my macbook fixed. They were surprised to see me. They didn’t expect this to happen for the forth time in 8 months. But it’s me, nothing is just how it should be; Everything is
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just how is it. They told me that they were sorry and they’d look into it and would take care of it and I wouldn’t have to pay anything. Good. At least that’s something. I went to Kriti’s place and started planning for my weekend. Oh one more thing, I went blonde! Golden-ish blonde!! I always wanted to do that and never thought I actually would go there but when you are extremely happy and nothing is going wrong (except the macbook tragedy) you get one extra ounce of confidence. I did it and No one can do anything about it now, not even me, cause it’s done and I like it! It looks so different that I myself get surprised every time I look into a mirror! Yay! So there’s that. It took time for me to get adjusted to my new image but yeah, it’s going good. I like surprises, the “Oh hey!” moments! They make our lives brighter. (Pun originally not intended but now, yes.) I decided to go to Riems. A few good friends of mine stayed there for their exchange semesters. I asked them and they were telling the truth. Reims is such a pretty place! Not so close yet not too far from Paris, it’s just pretty. I was there only for a day and I can’t wait to go back again. The cathedral Notre Dame where kings were crowned, the abby of Saint Remi, the pavements the fountains, the buildings, just beautiful. The glass windows are just out of the world! They get me very time! Just brilliant! And as I wished, it rained and everything became even more enchanting. Rain makes everything better. If it’s food then it’s butter, but for everything else, it’s the rain, trust me. I roamed around in the city, I ate a lot, sat in the park watching people walking dogs and people running across the streets to find a place to cover themselves and protect themselves from the rain, I saw brick walled buildings, I saw concrete apartments, I saw row-houses and I saw old churches. Europe, France specially as I travelled mostly in France, has a special integration of the new and the old. They go so well together that they do not feel different.
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The contrast works good in some places and in some the similarities shine together. Everything looks beautiful as an independent entity and also as a composition. By the way, I had this plan to stay at the railway station for one night instead of booking a hostel room, just to see if I can do it. Turns out the universe cares a bit too much for me. The railway stations close at night!! Who knew!!?? I had to stay at a nice hostel ultimately. The one where they provide breakfast too. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just unfair. Damn it. Heheh.. Â
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So this whole week, everything that can happen, happened. Both good and bad. I successfully gave my jury in French, I colored my hair (Technically de-coloured). My laptop crashed. I went to Reims. Though I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stay at the railway station, I got to explore one more pretty city in France. I spoke a lot of French, now with the added confidence. Once again I was just as happy as one should be! Glad that all this happened! A little bit of confidence boost goes a long way. The fact that I am writing this sitting in France says it all! Thanks people! Thanks for that little push that made everything happen! Â
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I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t got my macbook back yet and so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m writing this on the pc in my school which has a french keyboard! Finishing this whole thing is an achievement. I should add this in my CV!! No Kidding!!
Keep pushing! Some might fall but some will slip too, whatever makes you laugh, just keep pushing people! ~đ??&#x2026;~
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This page is left blank as a tribute to the limitless possibilities of life.
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I almost fell down after slipping on the snow on the pavement, I dropped some biscuits, people saw all this happening, but I got up, laughed at myself, smiled at the people who were watching and kept on walking looking up towards the sky with my tongue out to catch the snow.
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Brown and White 19 January 2016
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I always (try to) tell the truth. It’s easier to handle the situation when you are telling the truth. Whatever the question may be, the unashamed person I think I am, I don’t mind telling the truth, whatever it may be. Why am I talking about this? Cause I saw something I had never seen before and When I am going to tell you what I saw, you’ll ask me if it’s really the truth. And so I am telling you beforehand that I am telling you the truth. Ok ready?
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I saw magic powder falling from the sky!
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There you go. I said it. Not kidding! Believe me! I was walking fully covered in warm heavy cloths on the cold wintery afternoon on the Hamburg roads. I saw the town hall and I took the right turn towards the church of St. Michaels and then suddenly it happened! The sky started falling down! It just crumbled into small tiny white pieces and started coming down. Everyone was pretending like nothing’s happening but I knew something incredible was going on. The nice and caring giants in the sky were sprinkling some super fluffy, super cold magic powder to make us feel good in these harsh temperatures! The sky was falling down to make room for the sun to come up and shine the cold away! It was wonderful and enchanting and magical! Everything became better when it happened! In a second, it all changed! I am going to ask Santa to make the giants in the sky sprinkle that magic powder everyday! A little bit is enough! Or maybe a personalized cloud just the way Olaf has, I won’t mind. Being a first time snowfall-watcher, this is just the tip of the excitement and extreme rush I am going through right now. Whoa! People! I did NOT know that I would literally turn into a child in a snowfall! I did not see that coming! After watching that amazing phenomenon of pure magic, I was running on the Hamburg roads like a kid who got the best present evver. I was ecstatic. I almost fell down after slipping on the snow on the pavement, I dropped some biscuits, people saw all this happening, but I got up, laughed at myself, smiled at the people who
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were watching and kept on walking looking up towards the sky with my tongue out to catch the snow. Now looking back, that must have been a heck of a scene, mustn’t it!? I was just so happy to experience this extra-ordinary thing that I forgot where I was and how old I was! There are just a few moments when I behave like this, like a super hyper sugar-rushed child. Ok, correction, There are a lot of moments when I behave like this, like a super hyper sugar-rushed child, but this one takes the cake! (And now, I want to have cake! Help me!!) This week has been really good though. Calm, cozy and coffee! I am staying at Pradnya’s place in Hamburg. Pradnya is a very old friend of mine. She is not very old, our friendship is. Ok, so, I was saying, I feel like being home. If you remember, she’s the one who sent me the Hogwarts letter on my birthday. We are the people who have fun doing the most random things and we enjoy them thoroughly. Oh before I forget to mention, We eat! We eat a lott! I am proud to tell you that on my very first day in Hamburg, we were in the kitchen the whole day! Starting from Poha in the morning, till the last cup of Madras coffee, we were just cooking and baking and making awesome food and eating it!! This is what we do! I am so grateful for that! Originally, she’s a friend of my sister’s (Juitai) and I am a friend of her brother’s (shubhankar) but over the period of time, you know, these tags just vanish. I have so many amazing people in my life who were not directly mine in the beginning, but now fortunately they are. I am thankful for those vanishing tags. She knows Hamburg quite well (obviously) so she told me where all I can go and what’s where. Today, I got the day pass and I left to explore the city in the minus temperatures. The white is just so crazy, you know? Here, in northern Europe, as it snows, everything becomes white at some point in time and then it’s just white! Just like that! I know this sound stupid, but humour me for a minute. You see a brown-green tree, it stands at the corner of the brown pavement where there’s always a red car parked. You see this before sleeping and when you wake up everything is white! The tree, the pavement, the car, everything is covered in snow. That’s wonderful to look at and honestly; it’s crazy! Maybe I am seeing this for the first time
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and so I find it a little oddly extra-ordinary, but this white is enchanting! This white changes a lot of things. The buildings in Hamburg are not as colourful and joyful as the ones in south of France. These ones are Brown, Black, Grey and Brown again. In the daylight, they do not look enthusiastic and cheerful; they look really inert and indifferent. The south of France had that vibrancy in the air, this one seemed a little monochrome. I found it really interesting. The colour palette of the city speaks a lot about its character, I thought. I saw those dark shades but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand why. Today when it snowed, all became clear. The white snowflakes floating down from above looked mesmerizing infront of that dark architectural backdrop! I felt as if someone was sprinkling sugar over a chocolate chip muffin. Sweetness overload. The brown and White look perfect together and they make sense together. I had a feeling that the city must be waiting the whole year for the winters so that it can be the prettiest.
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The almost frozen lake, the snowflakes settled over a tiny pond, the thin crusty layer of snow on the top of cars, the amazing contrast of the brown and white, the chocolate biscuit that I dropped in the snow, the tree trunks with no leaves sporting the whites, the people with snowcapped caps, the melting patch on the pavement showing the hints of the browns underneath, the small sheets of snowy ice at the bottom of the tree-trunks covering the roots and the soil beneath, the tall towers and churches that hide their strong pointy tops under the snowy heaps of whites, the drop of milk in a cup of Kaffee, sugar-coated muffins, everything beautiful is in Brown and White. To me, Black and White seems quite cold and final. This Brown and White has that little dash of warmth in that certainty. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not super cold, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not super cheery; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sufficiently exciting. I am intrigued by this idea of Brown and White. Though keeping things brown might seem a little dull now, but someday, when it snows, you are the winner! At least for me. (and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all that matters! Heheh) ~đ??&#x2026;~
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This page is left white not blank.
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This one is for my people; the people with whom I have a strong bond. Our relation is like a Superglue. Very strong, long lasting, multi-purpose, and shamelessly hard to get off! I am grateful for their stickiness!
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Sticky People 24 January 2016
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This one is for my people; the people with whom I have a strong bond. Our relation is like a Superglue. Very strong, long lasting, multi-purpose, and shamelessly hard to get off! I am grateful for their stickiness! I won’t be using the names, as the list is just unending and also the names don’t matter. What matters is the qualities of these amazing people! If you know me well, you already know these people because they are you! If you don’t know me, it doesn’t matter, don’t be sad, I am sure you have the exact replicas of these people in your lives, I know you’ll find them and their stickiness worth keeping glued to. (OK I know the word ‘stickiness’ is a little weird. But it’s just perfect here!)
The Talker This is the person who just can’t stop talking. (duh.) Without any specific trigger, this one starts talking and never stops. These content generators are so talented that most of the times you don’t even know how they segued into another subject. Their stories are interesting and their stories are just plain boring. Their intentions are never blah, though they seem like one. They convey their feelings to you through their meaningful blabbering!
I appreciate their enthusiasm. It inspires me to be more present in the conversations.
The Philosopher This one is always talking in a very deep and heavy way about the things in life. If you ask them to pass the butter, they’ll make you understand the necessity and importance of sharing with the butter in their hand. They’ll give you the butter, no doubt there, but also a much needed dose of life metaphors. Such fun.
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I admire their confidence and clarity in thoughts. It teaches me to find a greater sense in life than just living it.
The Helper “Can you please do this for me, please?” “Absolutely.” The general conversation between a person in need and a helper. The helper never says no to any request. If you are in need, this one will be there. Koi Doubt mat rakhna dil me! These people believe in helping people and making other’s lives a bit simpler. That’s their role in life. They do it right.
I am amazed by their compassion and genuineness. They help me believe in positivity in life.
The High-fiver Each encounter with this kind of people ends with “OUCH! My hand hurts!!” These high-fivers are extremely hyper enthusiastic and are constantly searching for opportunities to celebrate life. Their celebration is not going for shopping or a fancy dinner; it is just a simple high-five. When two people hit each other’s palms as hard as they can to show how happy they are, the special phenomenon of high-five takes place. These people are generally found in pairs. If one of them is not there, all other present members of the group are in the danger of being on the receiving end of that powerful high-five.
I enjoy my burning red hands after a successful high-five. These people encourage me to celebrate each happy moment then and there, cause that elevates the level of happiness around, then and there.
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The Adventure Seeker These sorts of people have really interesting lives. They do unimaginable things in their lives. The things that are adventures to others are ‘just for fun’ things to these people. They add a spoonful of thrill to their lives and to the lives of people in their lives. I know you’ll agree, these people inspire us to do something more than just doing the ordinary things we seem to do all the time. Each day in their lives brings opportunities for them to be adventurous and they meet these opportunities head on, sometimes with a helmet, sometimes without one.
I always find these people brave and courageous for following their instincts. They show me that it’s possible to do anything you want if you are ready to accept the consequences of your actions.
The Troublemaker “How did you manage to do that?” “I don’t know, it just happened!” The troublemakers make their life as difficult as it can get by doing the most basic mistakes. Sometimes they don’t do any mistake but still they are in trouble somehow. I guess, after a while, their life itself becomes so accustomed to the troubles that even if they don’t go looking for trouble, life finds troubles for them. They are always in trouble, one way or another. As these troubles affect the people around the troublemaker, they teach me the strength of being together and finding a solution together.
I am always surprised to see a new kind of trouble because of these people and it teaches me about possibilities in life. Thank you guys.
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The Shameless These are my favourite kind of people. They just own their lives. Their motto in life is “You do you.” Unapologetic about their decisions in life they live their lives to the fullest. These awesome people hug their crazy lives so hard that other people feel jealous of their ecstatic happiness. They know how to be happy in their own way and they do that. They bring smiles on our faces and they tell us to be honest in our lives. Happiness is hidden everywhere around us, if you are brave enough to show your true craziness, it’ll find you.
I look up to these people. They help me to stay the crazy self I think I am.
The Strong One Each group has that one person who is undoubtedly the strong one. Any kind of activity where physical strength is needed we all turn to this one. We believe strongly that if needed this one can move mountains and if the mountain is just big enough they’ll do that too. They are considered to be the power weapon of the group and they don’t mind proving that time-to-time. I find these people kind of intimidating cause I’ve had unforgettable experiences of high-fiving these people. I couldn’t feel my hands for a while after that out of the world high-five.
I feel safe around these people and they (try to) inspire me to be a stronger person.
The Strong Two There’s another kind of strong people. People who are so sorted in their lives that no one could harm them in any way. They need not be physically strong, but emotionally and other-things-that-matter-in-lifely they are the strongest. They help you fight your demons. They stand
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with you in your battles and teach you how not to be weak. They are not afraid to take hard decisions because they know what needs to stay and what doesn’t. Just like the first kind, they know that “No Pain No Gain” is sometimes the reality you need to accept.
These are a really important kind of people because their thoughts stay forever. They stick with you and make you stronger by just being there. I aspire to be this kind of a person. (Because I know the first kind is not going to happen anytime soon.)
The One in the Safe Zone If you open the bag of this kind of person, you’ll find everything that’ll help you keep safe. These people don’t say no to a football match but they carry a cardiologist, an orthopedic, a dermatologist, a psychotherapist and a team of paramedics ready with an ambulance in their first aid box, just in case. Though I exaggerated some things, these people need surety of safety in whatever they are doing. This safety is not just physical; it covers all the possibilities of things going wrong. They don’t like uncertainty of any kind.
They make sure that I understand the gravity of things going wrong. They teach me to be prepared for everything. They show me how to see a trouble approaching and how to manage the situation to ensure a safe future.
The Unbearably Happy One Some people’s happiness is just contagious. They come for a second and brighten your whole life. They make you smile without doing anything else but being there. Their charming face just shakes you and wakes you up from your grim dull shadowy life and makes you dream of sunshine. Their bright glee just doesn’t let you stay still; they fill you up with
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positivity and hope. Full of energy, these people should stand on every corner everyday and make this world a happy place.
I hope that everyone would get to be that unbearably happy one. They live for happiness. They are happiness.
The “I need to talk right now” buddy We all have some special people who know EVERYTHING about you. They know so much that can BE you if needed. If there is a moment in your life when you just need a vent, you go to this one. They don’t judge you, they listen and they comfort you, they scold you, they take your hand and bring you back on track. They are your support system when your life comes to the point where you feel lost. They are something more than just a friend. They are a special matter in your life that keeps your life together.
I can’t imagine my life without these people. We all need them to stay human and stay a living person. I can literally die without these people.
The Family Exchange Person Some people in your life who are not biologically your family become your family. Most of the times, very old friends know each other’s families really well and they hangout so much that they become a part of each other’s families. Sometimes this sort of thing becomes so intense that your families prefer the other to the original! I do have some people in my life who are preferred by my family and vice-versa! The amount of mutual trust and respect is so high that we don’t mind this happening and we actually celebrate this achievement.
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I feel honoured to be a part of such an arrangement that lets us have more than one families and a bunch of special loving people to call ours.
The Ruler Some people in your life bring a set of rules with them and you are supposed to follow them no matter what. That’s it. We are expected to do just that. No questions asked.
I need to have this command on people.
The “Did we forget him again?” Person Is it just me or do you also have a person who is just forgettable? It’s not anyone’s fault that it happens but it does happen. We forget that person while counting people, we forget their order in a restaurant. They are somehow invisible, that’s sad, and I don’t know how that can be resolved. We make an obvious effort not to forget them and that makes it even more awkward. Can you think of anyone? No one? That’s my point!
The Traveller Some people live in houses; some people live on the roads. (Not literally. Well some do, but I am not talking about them right now.) Some people in my live travel so much that sometimes it is really hard for me to remember their current location. They are just looking for a window to travel. One day trips, Weekend outings, trekking, traveling, these people
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explore the world and through their medium of sharing let us see the world through their eyes. They widen our horizon and inspire us to go a little more distance than bedroom to kitchen. I saw a post on instagram that said “if travelling were free, you wouldn’t see me.”
These people find time and space in their lives and make every second of it a priceless memory.
The Crier Oh you all know this one. This one just needs a reason and sometimes not even that. This one cries when something good happens, this one cries when something bad happens, this one cries when something sad happens, this one cried when something exciting happens. They just have their eyes ready for any kind of situation and they just let go. I feel happy when I see people cry. I don’t want them to cry for a sad/ bad reason but it is just amusing how they express their emotions freely.
Being vulnerable is not wrong; it keeps you clean and pure they tell me, teary eyed.
The Mystery Person We all think that we know this person, what they do in life, things they like and things they don’t and then suddenly we realize, actually we don’t. We realize we don’t know a lot of things, things that matter. We realize that the amount of unknowns is much larger that the amount of knowns in their lives. It’s fine. You don’t need a reason to keep your life private and personal. Some people are so successful in this venture that I really don’t know a lot about them and still I consider them my people. Why? Because the details don’t matter, the nature of the relation we have does.
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I like a certain amount of mystery in a person. It keeps you alert and awake.
The Big Brother / Big Sister These are the caring people in our lives. They care for you so much that they consider you their younger sibling. They have genuine concern about your life and once in a while they call you to just see how you are doing. They just want you know that they are there for you whenever you need them. They get paranoid when you tell them something thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bothering you and they do everything in their capacity to make that go away. The funny thing is, these people are not necessarily older than you, they can be your age, even younger sometimes. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the care that makes them bigger than you. Currently I am a young brother to some really special people in my life. I know theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be there always, looking after me.
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a privilege to have such amazing Big Brothers and Big sisters. I would love to be a big brother to someone, someday. Â
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So, These are just a few types of sticky people in my life. If I get time, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find some extra special categories of sticky people and I think you should do that too, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be fun. I am lucky to have these people in my life. They are not going anywhere. They are going to stick with me and I with them, all our lives. So, if you have your bunch of sticky people, go, hug them and never leave them, EVER. ~đ??&#x2026;~
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This page is left blank becuase I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think of anything witty to write.
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The last few months of my life and most of my posts were really random, “That’s stupid” kind of stupid, majorly loaded with fun-filled craziness and a little bit of adventure. I just put my thoughts out there for someone but I read it and it made me think.
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A different kind of waiting. 28 January 2016
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I am not sure if any of this makes sense or not, just had to write it. ok? Be cool. Ok now read.
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The last few months of my life and most of my posts were really random, “That’s stupid” kind of stupid, majorly loaded with fun-filled craziness and a little bit of adventure. I just put my thoughts out there for someone but I read it and it made me think.
So yeah... It was the last day of my school. Last day of Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin, Mulhouse. This amazing journey is coming to an end. In exactly one week, I’ll be leaving. I will come home but I will be leaving home too. We all know global families, right? The families in which different family members live in different parts of the world. Today, I am feeling like being a Global person. I have so many homes in so many different parts of the world that I feel like having different parts of me everywhere. Tell me honestly; if your best friend moves to a different country, doesn’t a part of you go with him/her too? If your sister lives in a different city doesn’t a big chink of your heart go with her? If you leave your city to move somewhere else, don’t your memories stay there forever? It happens. So now this last official day of my school has made me realize that I felt home when I was here and so I will be leaving home to go home the next Saturday! Hmmm…what should I be feeling? I don’t know. So yeah... I had to say the last goodbye to Claudia today. She’ll leave tomorrow. Her school has already started in Edinburgh and she is already missing her classes. Claudia, Andrea, Khyati and Parag, we were the four exchange students in HEAR, Mulhouse. The people who had to stand up and say ‘hi’ to everyone in the first school assembly. We used to have lunch together, hangout and travel together. Claudia, Khyati and me, we went to Nice together. That amazing trip is forever etched in my memory. Awesome location, fun people, immense amount of topics to
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talk about and the most amazingly limited knowledge of French! It was just wonderful. It’s interesting when all of you are in the same boat you understand each other and help, support each other while having fun. I am going to miss this fun one with the British accent. Be good. Khyati and Andrea were in Textile Design, I used to hangout with them a lot. Actually, I have spent so much time in the Textile studio that the Textile professors know me by name now! Andrea, from Romania, a hard worker and a super talkative enthu person. She literally gave the rest of us a panic attack by working a lot, really fast. Very serious when it’s time to work and super chill when it’s not. She helped me to improve my French. We used to speak in French and that helped me to understand the subtle nuances of the language. We’d laugh a lot and you know humour teaches you the difference between knowing and understanding. We all are leaving on the 5th Feb so I still have some time to say goodbye, which is again going to be very difficult. If you couldn’t find Khyati, Parag or Andrea in their studios they would be in the Art room. The Art room was the place where Flora would be working on her project. Flora, an Art student from Romania who knew French and English really well. She was and will always be our savior. She was the bond that tied all of us together. Claudia and Flora would work in the same studio; Andrea and Flora could talk in Romanian and Khyati and I would go to her asking for help in our French adventures. It clicked and we all started hanging out together. We laughed, we ate, we planned our trips, and we had many intense discussions about art and life and stuff, just how it should be in an Art/Design School. Some of the nicest people I got to know in this school. Thanks. Salut Sabotte, Salut Jacques, Salut Leela! These would be my first three sentences coming home. I just can’t imagine my life in Mulhouse without these three. Super helpful Jacques and Sabotte, they are just perfect. Extremely fun and just wonderful people, I tell you. If it weren’t for these two, I would have been super panicky the entire time. These guys are an inspiration. Sabotte helped me in my everyday French life and I tried to help her by not making a lot of mess while cooking. Hahah..It was an unwritten rule that I would speak or write in French and she’d
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reply in English. If anyone of us makes any mistake the other would correct it. Jacques with his generous helping nature and Sabotte with her little notes telling me to eat this and try that, they helped me to feel at home. I am thankful for these really special people. Oh and Leela, how can I forget her? Waiting for me outside the door in the morning, Looking at me from over the shelves, Spying on my cooking adventures, Pretending that she doesn’t bother about my existence, purring when I’d scratch around her ears, scratching me if I’d ever come near her paws, she has her own special place in my heart. 81, Rue de Pfastatt, Mulhouse 68200, you were and will always be my home. You are the best.
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I was sitting there in the Salle audio thinking about the same thing. I decided to write all this down to clear my mind a bit. I overheard someone telling a friend of mine who is going on some other exchange, “Profites bien.” I teared up.
I am just quite overwhelmed by the fact that it has been four months and it is going to end next week. These four months inspired me to do a little bit more than I’d generally go for and it showed me that it’s possible. It is possible to do a little bit more in life. There are a lot of things that would have been different it weren’t for this. I never would have written this much, this seriously, seriously. I wouldn’t know how much people care and worry about each other and especially when the distances between them increase. I would be almost completely unaware about homesickness and what it does to you. I wouldn’t have worked on my hand lettering and wouldn’t have got over my complex of having a bad handwriting. I wouldn’t have learned a completely new language. I never would have gone blonde. I wouldn’t have completed Inktober. I never would have seen snow falling from the sky. I never would have seen the wonderful places I got to see. I never would have known these wonderful people. I never would have thought the way I am thinking
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now. I am glad for this. I am humbled and thankful for everyone who made this happen. Â
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So yeah, exactly one week left for my departure, bags are not at all ready, the items in the to-do list are increasing every second. I feel like everything around me is going to change suddenly. I am just looking around. Trying to make sense of it all. But the time doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop. One week. Tik Tok Tik Tok. I am just waiting. Still Overwhelmed. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s different, kind of. ~đ??&#x2026;~
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Happy to have been here. Happy to have grown a bit. Happy to go home a slightly altered version of mine. Happy to be ready for the next adventure. Happy.
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The new journey starts. 05 February 2016
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4 February 16 9 am, sitting on my comfy bed with a cup of coffee, nice morning outside I have my flight at 7 in the morning, almost 22 hours. Almost all of my packing is done, right? I have a lot of time. No need to hurry or worry now. Getting up to Leela’s door scratching and nagging her till she got irritated was a great beginning to this last day in Mulhouse. I know for the last few posts I am just talking about Me, Mulhouse and leaving Mulhouse but to be honest that is the only thing that is there this whole time. Anyway, I slept quite late last night. Around 4-ish. I was going through all my stuff and packing and re-packing my bags again and again, one after the other. Finally I got so tired doing the weight calculations that I slept. Today, I woke up with a delusion that my packing is done, but then the whole mess brought me back to reality. I had to finish my pending work. I revived my special performance of packing extravaganza and now after an hour or so I am done. Packing still isn’t, I am. I am done. I felt for a minute that let’s just leave everything like this and ask mom for help. This time, I can’t. Have to do it myself. I don’t want to. I know everyone has gone through this drama. Why do all the big bags with ample amount of free space are always heavier than the limit and why small bags that are completely over-packed are underweight? Why? Every time. Logic, I know. But that’s not fair. My laptop bag was 11 Kg and my cabin luggage 7! What the Actual Fun! How does this happen? Literally all the clothes I got when I came here are in my cabin bag because my check-in luggage is filled with study and shopping things and still my laptop bag is heavier! You have got to be kidding me! Hahahh But these sorts of things bring that special charm to the boring notion of Travelling! (**Sarcastic comment**) Meh…I am hoping, after some more permutations and combinations, in around 2 hours my bags would be packed and ready to go. Hope is the secret of my energy.
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12 pm, taking out the bed sheets from the dryer, cold but nice and sunny outside I have my flight at 7 in the morning, almost 19 hours. I can easily go to school for an hour or so, right? I still have a lot of time. No need to hurry or worry now. HEAR. 3, Quai des Pêcheurs, Mulhouse. In our first meeting, Rosalie and Julia, our exchange admins, told us how Mulhouse campus is different than the Strasbourg campus. They told us that the horizontal Mulhouse campus, which has everything on ground floor, would give us freedom to explore different areas and this open and white space does not have issues of hierarchy. Today, looking back, it makes sense to me. The four months that I got to spend in this building of creativity, acceptance and freedom strengthened my hopeful beliefs. This place taught me a lot of things. Not just about Art and Design, but about people and life. I will always remember this one, sunbathing in the morning, sitting comfortably by the river, sporting its pink and grey, my school. I will always Less than three you. 4 pm, sitting in my empty room with my bags fully packed, raining outside I have my flight at 7 in the morning, almost 15 hours. Jacques is dropping me off at the railway station at 5, right? I still have some time. No need to hurry or worry now. After saying the final final goodbyes to school people, having hot chocolate with Andrea in the rainy afternoon, I am home. Nothing’s left on my list now. Packing? Done (finally). School? Done. Cleaned the room and checked everything? Yup. Now what? I don’t know. Is everything done now? Should I just be waiting? How can I explain
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this feeling that I am having? Why does this empty bright room turn dark suddenly? Why this Des raag by Shubha Mudgal feels different now? Why do I keep checking on Leela? I know Jacques is there, he has always been there, Why am I so worried about her? Why? What happened? Why is this so difficult? How come these few walls and doors and windows have become such an important part of me? For me, each corner of this house is filled with memories. Looking from outside it was ‘just’ four months but in here it was 132 days, each one with a different story to tell. Today on the 133rd day, it is an empty room. An empty room on a rainy day with a busy mind filled with a lot of questions. Knocking on the door, “Ça va Parag? T’es prêt? ” “Oui. On y va.”
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Bye home.
I am leaving for airport now. It’s still raining outside. It’s raining inside too.
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8 pm, sitting in the Departure waiting lounge, EuroAirport, Dark outside I have my flight at 7 in the morning, almost 11 hours. All the things are here? Yup. I have nothing else to do but wait, right? I am so good. Before time! No need to hurry or worry now. Oh one thing, If you ever decide to go alone on a solo trip, I have an advice for you. Do not bring 23+23+12 Kg of luggage. It is very difficult if you don’t have any trolleys at the stations. It is just hard. Doable, as I did it, but hard. It was almost like an impromptu upper body workout session for me. And for me, doing a single push-up per week is too much. (I need to change this, I know that but for now, that’s
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what it is.) So from Gare central to Saint Louis by train and from there to the airport by bus, quite a bit of stretch. But now I am here. Now I know why people say workout helps you clear your mind. All my attention is focused on judging the intensity of my alleged muscle pull that I forgot about me leaving Mulhouse. Oh, Damn it. It’s back now. Why do I do this to myself ? Sitting here in this lounge brought back the memories of Mumbai airport and how I almost missed my flight that night! That’s where it all began and now I am here ready to go back. Everything was good, I am going home but then why am I still kind of nervous and in an ‘aaaarrggghh’ mood deep inside? I need to calm down. I should at least try to clear my head.
12 am, EuroAirport, I have my flight at 7 in the morning, almost 7 hours. Had enough food for tummy and also for thoughts, right? Now be still and be calm. Take deep breaths. No need to hurry or worry now. All those questions I had about why is this bothering me so much and why am I so taken aback by the idea of leaving Mulhouse must be there for a reason. A reason I wasn’t able to identify. See, this whole experience, as you know, was an adventure for me. Being in a completely unknown part of the world for four months, studying in a different atmosphere and not failing at it. Yes. It was an adventure and I tried my best. It was once in a lifetime opportunity for me because I am never going to be able to come to Mulhouse for my 3rd Semester in M.Des. Graphic Design, ever. I am afraid and nervous that when I go back, this adventure will be over and I don’t know if I could ever have another one!! This one was different. Very different. And I am not ready to let that go. I close my eyes and I stay still. At that moment everything stops. My thoughts about leaving Mulhouse leave me. My anxious mind stops
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being agitated. My nervousness fails to win and I get this sudden feeling of realization and I smile. I have a solution, kind of. Sitting here, done with everything, suddenly it hit me. It’s fine if this one’s ending, you will have another. How can you say that? this was the one, the only one maybe! I am telling you, you WILL have another. Now don’t be stupid. In fact, you’ve had many adventures before, you just didn’t realise that they were adventures! Think about all the things that you’ve done in life and tell me that you didn’t have any adventures at all. Tell me, I dare you. See? I am right. The way I see it now, the adventures were always there. I just didn’t know how and why they were there and, how and why they were important. This time I knew how important this one was and I tried to make the most of it. I learned how to identify the advantages of the adventures this time. It’s easy; Everything is an adventure if you really want it to be. Important thing is to get something good out of it. So Parag, you ARE going to have a lot more adventures. This one can end happily now. This one has done its part. Now be ok. ok? Yup. Thanks. (I need this kind of pep talk once in a while.)
After 6 hours at 6 am, I’ll be Boarding with a sky waking up with immense joy and hope. I did everything I should/would have done, right? I still have some glorious adventures hidden somewhere in my future, may be more glorious than this one, in all the different parts of the world. Not just me, we all do. So no need to hurry or worry right now. Slow and steady, one by one we’ll enjoy all the enchanting adventures life has in its store.
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;
â&#x20AC;?
In 7 hours my new journey starts. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be heading towards home, with my head held high, smiling, thankful, humbled, teary eyed, nostalgic, with weird tummy grumbling, excited and importantly, Happy. Â Happy to have been here. Happy to have grown a bit. Happy to go home a slightly altered version of mine. Happy to be ready for the next adventure. Â Happy. Â Yup. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it. Happy. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cause thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all that matters. ~đ??&#x2026;~
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It looks like you read the whole thing, I am impressed. Impressed with my writing skills! Oh and also you. I am impressed with you too. Impressed with your patience. Thank you.
The book ends here, but our conversation doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Share your stories with me when we meet next time and if you are too shy to start a conversation, follow me on Facebook and Instagram to get regular updates about my annoyingly wonderful life... Au revoir. Bisous.
fin.
This tiny collection of heartfelt essays is set in typeface â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Baskervilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. All images are captured by Parag Chitale with Moto G3.
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