Bit of This and Bit of That

   I had been dying to write this piece ever since I posted My Weight Story - my story of gaining weight during the pandemic. I had already begun imagining things I would tell my readers about how I lost my weight even when I wasn’t sure of how to lose some. Exactly the way an actor might be working on his award acceptance speech even before the release of their movie. But I told myself to pen this post only when the needle of my weighing scale returned to the 50s. Well, I feel proud to say that I now weigh in the 50s, although on the higher side 😊 . Well…umm… the journey still continues of course… As I mentioned earlier, exercises didn’t work for me, and I had been looking for some easy to implement measures to lose weight. Now the obvious option to follow a diet didn’t quite interest me. No, I am not a foodie, but I can never imagine myself eating only veggies for a meal or worse skip a meal. Also, I need my regular doses of junk food to survive. I believed only walki...

   Sometimes, we endlessly thank someone for the little favors they do us and stay indebted forever. But at times, knowingly or unknowingly, we take some people in our life for granted. We do not realize how our life would have been if not for them. Anjali, you are that one person in my life I regret taking for granted. I still remember my first day of college when we met and instantly got along with each other. It didn’t cost me much time and effort to befriend you, may be because we had a lot in common. Perhaps, both of us were seeking a friendship without any expectations. You stuck with me despite my flaws and mood swings right till graduation. I was very relieved to have you with me in a new city when we began our career. But somewhere down the line I think I started taking you for granted. Yes, having a known face around was a relief. I didn’t have to learn to adjust to the whims and fancies of unknown roommates. I didn’t have to desperately go out of the way to ma...

    During my stay in Bangalore, I got a chance to spend a couple of months with some Manipuri schoolgirls. Our hostel with its bare minimum facilities provided a roof over my head and experiences for a life time. I drew inspiration from these little girls, who were at least ten years younger than me, to overcome my anxieties of living away from my family. Initially, they maintained safe distance from me and spoke only when asked. Gradually the seemingly shy and reticent girls started opening up and I bonded beautifully with them. They were like a family, I looked forward to meeting in the evening. From discussing academics and family, bearing the only-rice-meals provided in the hostel to preparing special meals on Sundays; from secretly watching late night movies on the school computer to gossiping about the warden and the cook, we shared our lives with each other. Though my stay there was short, I tried my best to meet them on weekends. Playing, celebrating birthdays or ju...