I recalled the wise man's words about the smell of the different air; the worst good smell in the world.. And, I knew it then, as I know it now.. I was home, recalled to life.
I stood in the stairway down to heaven for a moment or two, taking in the aroma of it all- the smell and the feel. I got out of the aerodrome with no delay, and took one of those black and yellow three-wheelers back home.
I stopped outside home for a drink. A drink that I knew I had to take to celebrate the homecoming. The bottled alcohol packed, I went home. Alone. Home. At last. That feeling you get when you leave your home, and when you enter it after a long battle, are the same. And I felt the agony of it in that moment, but something inside of me felt right. And it was true. "Home is where the heart is."
I called my friend. Saroy. He wasn't free to meet. "Out," he said. I did not let that hinder my sinister plan. Sinister, but highly ill-planned. After all, the genius of it lay not in the plan but in the outcome that it was supposed to deliver. Surprise. Either way, he caught it, and I didn't bother hiding it. Although my haircut a week back was terrible, and I'd very much have hidden that, if I could. We hugged. One of those long, brotherly hugs a lot of us would mistakenly call gay. But, loving, nonetheless. That was him. My brother I wish were here. Swimming in the fish bowl with me. Drunk.
We called Jhakkar after that. And did a very sad conference call which I daresay, got her majorly pissed. But, it was worth the share of laughter. Sad.
I never have been able to decide who my first friend was. For the sake of argument, it was Sagch. The quintessential and omni-present street-boy of Maker Kundan Gardens. My, don't the roads seem completely empty without him! He was roaming about the streets, not a worry, revelling in Ganapati cheer. Reminisce. Joy.
Overnight, I slept. Joyous.
The next day, Saroy had planned a li'l rendezvous for me. The entire Podu gang was planning to meet at Infiniti, oblivious to the return of the prodigal son of the soil. It was a surprise. And a well-planned device. The auto ride onwards, we met Ladesai. Ex. Awkward. Whatever.
Once inside the mall, Saroy hid me in a book store. And he, along with Ladesai went on to meet Rasin and Sagoja. And till date, when I think of that day, the image that comes to my mind is what I'm going to describe now. That split second reaction of Rasin and Sagoja made my day. And in that glimmer of the eye, I was happy. :)
Sagoja and Rasin, with their backs to the mall entry were facing Saroy and Ladesai and talking about the others not being there on time. I got the green signal from Saroy, and crept up behind him, and jumped at (well not physically!) the circle. Sagoja: She looked at me, she cupped her mouth, and did an Ooooo that was so typical of her. And she screamt. Rasin: She just stared at me. Just stared. Stared and frowned. And pointed. And shrieked with joy. And both joined in the hug. The old hug of friendship. The eternal hug of bliss. I was happy. Happy that the surprise was happy. Happy that the surprise was surprising.
Then, entered Vrusubra, Aakaul, and Shamrai. Normal hi, hello, I'm back.
We went upstairs as Shreemah entered stage. Sagoja took me to Landmark, while Shreemah sat in the food court. We played Hide n' Seek for a while, which ended with me covering her eyes. Unfortunately, the cover had a dissapointing end, so I won't say anymore. Selfish.
Jhakkar and Sousen were promising, but entered sadly. Sagoja and I pulled the same trick. Sousen reacted in a slightly confused manner, while Jhakkar gave the blushed frown. Unable to read. We hugged. Happy.
Manivya, Karkar. Same routine. Hi. Hello.
The trip ended in some food. And a full stomach.
Amimag. Unfortunate trick. Come down, Saroy is waiting downstairs. He needs to give you a SIM card. Failed. Of course. First I tried.. Come down, give a spare handset to Saroy. He needs one. Then, I NEED IT. She came. We met. We hugged. We were happy. Love.
The same routine with Fabhat, Rohravi, Sharvish, Pramaini, Lovey, Anukatra, Aaskuma, AV, Deepmani.
It turned epic when Chinu and Sagach entered stage. The three old musketeers. The original of the streets. And whiskey. Royal Challenge. And Saroy. It needed loads of coercing, and convincing, but in the end, it worked. And my house was empty. Huge glasses of Royal Challenge, Mutton Biryani, Chicken Tandoori, beautiful music, pictures, videos, dances, hangovers. The night was epic. And the morning after was tiring. A lot of cleaning was required, but at the end of the beautiful return, it was completely worth it.
Sometimes, it's not possible to sum up what you feel, what you see, what you hear, what you touch, what you taste in words. Emotions are much more than that. They can be felt, understood, and played with, but never explained. After all, how can you sum up nearly twenty years of homecoming in a few words? I have failed to do justice to that journey back home, but it feels right this time knowing that I'll always remember what that journey felt. And what Home means to me. :)
Love. Smiles. Joy. Et al.
I stood in the stairway down to heaven for a moment or two, taking in the aroma of it all- the smell and the feel. I got out of the aerodrome with no delay, and took one of those black and yellow three-wheelers back home.
I stopped outside home for a drink. A drink that I knew I had to take to celebrate the homecoming. The bottled alcohol packed, I went home. Alone. Home. At last. That feeling you get when you leave your home, and when you enter it after a long battle, are the same. And I felt the agony of it in that moment, but something inside of me felt right. And it was true. "Home is where the heart is."
I called my friend. Saroy. He wasn't free to meet. "Out," he said. I did not let that hinder my sinister plan. Sinister, but highly ill-planned. After all, the genius of it lay not in the plan but in the outcome that it was supposed to deliver. Surprise. Either way, he caught it, and I didn't bother hiding it. Although my haircut a week back was terrible, and I'd very much have hidden that, if I could. We hugged. One of those long, brotherly hugs a lot of us would mistakenly call gay. But, loving, nonetheless. That was him. My brother I wish were here. Swimming in the fish bowl with me. Drunk.
We called Jhakkar after that. And did a very sad conference call which I daresay, got her majorly pissed. But, it was worth the share of laughter. Sad.
I never have been able to decide who my first friend was. For the sake of argument, it was Sagch. The quintessential and omni-present street-boy of Maker Kundan Gardens. My, don't the roads seem completely empty without him! He was roaming about the streets, not a worry, revelling in Ganapati cheer. Reminisce. Joy.
Overnight, I slept. Joyous.
The next day, Saroy had planned a li'l rendezvous for me. The entire Podu gang was planning to meet at Infiniti, oblivious to the return of the prodigal son of the soil. It was a surprise. And a well-planned device. The auto ride onwards, we met Ladesai. Ex. Awkward. Whatever.
Once inside the mall, Saroy hid me in a book store. And he, along with Ladesai went on to meet Rasin and Sagoja. And till date, when I think of that day, the image that comes to my mind is what I'm going to describe now. That split second reaction of Rasin and Sagoja made my day. And in that glimmer of the eye, I was happy. :)
Sagoja and Rasin, with their backs to the mall entry were facing Saroy and Ladesai and talking about the others not being there on time. I got the green signal from Saroy, and crept up behind him, and jumped at (well not physically!) the circle. Sagoja: She looked at me, she cupped her mouth, and did an Ooooo that was so typical of her. And she screamt. Rasin: She just stared at me. Just stared. Stared and frowned. And pointed. And shrieked with joy. And both joined in the hug. The old hug of friendship. The eternal hug of bliss. I was happy. Happy that the surprise was happy. Happy that the surprise was surprising.
Then, entered Vrusubra, Aakaul, and Shamrai. Normal hi, hello, I'm back.
We went upstairs as Shreemah entered stage. Sagoja took me to Landmark, while Shreemah sat in the food court. We played Hide n' Seek for a while, which ended with me covering her eyes. Unfortunately, the cover had a dissapointing end, so I won't say anymore. Selfish.
Jhakkar and Sousen were promising, but entered sadly. Sagoja and I pulled the same trick. Sousen reacted in a slightly confused manner, while Jhakkar gave the blushed frown. Unable to read. We hugged. Happy.
Manivya, Karkar. Same routine. Hi. Hello.
The trip ended in some food. And a full stomach.
Amimag. Unfortunate trick. Come down, Saroy is waiting downstairs. He needs to give you a SIM card. Failed. Of course. First I tried.. Come down, give a spare handset to Saroy. He needs one. Then, I NEED IT. She came. We met. We hugged. We were happy. Love.
The same routine with Fabhat, Rohravi, Sharvish, Pramaini, Lovey, Anukatra, Aaskuma, AV, Deepmani.
It turned epic when Chinu and Sagach entered stage. The three old musketeers. The original of the streets. And whiskey. Royal Challenge. And Saroy. It needed loads of coercing, and convincing, but in the end, it worked. And my house was empty. Huge glasses of Royal Challenge, Mutton Biryani, Chicken Tandoori, beautiful music, pictures, videos, dances, hangovers. The night was epic. And the morning after was tiring. A lot of cleaning was required, but at the end of the beautiful return, it was completely worth it.
Sometimes, it's not possible to sum up what you feel, what you see, what you hear, what you touch, what you taste in words. Emotions are much more than that. They can be felt, understood, and played with, but never explained. After all, how can you sum up nearly twenty years of homecoming in a few words? I have failed to do justice to that journey back home, but it feels right this time knowing that I'll always remember what that journey felt. And what Home means to me. :)
Love. Smiles. Joy. Et al.
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