Changra Chick 47 : Gurgaon, Thank you.

all of a sudden, today, i remembered a day nearly two years back. the day i came to gurgaon. Back pack , book carton and college duffel.

why did i remember, i think it was the sunshine.

the sunshine today, was EXACTLY the same as it was that day those nearly two years back.



i wasnt bewildered, scared, or awed. i had just finished moving 7 cities in 6 years, 5 of those cities in 3 of those months. i was too used to Back pack and Duffel being my travel Buddies.



i remember thinking that the amount of dust i saw excited me. i felt i was in the midst of "Urbanization" or Industiralization. or something. i could identify the different brands of cement, by being able to taste them on my lips. there was so much construction happening.

i remember being lost. i could not find my way to my aunts place ( and ive been going there for 13 years or something !!). i remember thinking that first evening, that i HAD to find Central Mall, because the centre ( of what, sajani?) was about the right place to start.



the work was something i wasnt prepared for. eating dinner from a "food court" at 3 am EVERYDAY wasnt something that i minded, but it just wasnt me.

i suddenly became aware, that my adress mattered here in Gurgaon. PHase 3 was NOT cool. so what if my little rabbit hole, WITH a private terrace and a lot of books everywhere including the floor was an awesome way to live.

i was told to get a car ASAP. you cant survive in gurgaon without a car. Matiz. Alto. and what not. thankfully, i didnt knw WHAT an Matiz was till 2 months back. and i dont do such silly cars.

there was a lot happening. i was excited by everything.i was still me. id ignore what was obvious to the common everyone. really ? id challenge. and id smirk. giggle. and skip away.



eating at dhabas in the midst of * MC/ BC/ other C* words. damn !! i have eaten with rickshaw pullers and brick layers in many a city, on many a pavement. but here, i had burly, wannabe corporate looking hindi speaking yokels. they were crude, but not the crudeness and rusticity that i was used to from college and my trampings. i couldnt put my finger on it. different, i noted.

i went to work. and came home at ungodly hours. and went back to work. malls were " entertainment", i noted. i noted a lot of things.



i noted winter could be bad. and that summers were a bitch. i noticed that there were no pavements for ppl to walk. and i giggled watching corporate dressed silly men and women tried hard to ballet dance over broken roads in worng wannabe shoes. ( heh really.... nowhere have i seen it matter so much, that you had to LOOK correct. not decent. correct. even at the cost of discomfort and obscenity).you had to be CORRECT.

i remember noting, that the big fat jat cars here are ill mannered, bigfat, and very dangerous to a pedestrian.they hurtle at you, swerve their bulk and vamoose away ever so gracefully. leaving me ......... erm. ????? ....... !!!!!



i didnt know about vegetables, i didnt need to buy them. i remember fighting nonstop with The Mother , because i couldn't get her to understand that a bicylce was impossible to use for navigation on these car-red and untarred roads here.i remember thinking that power cuts happen everywhere. so what ?? i could still manage to read on sundays after doing the laundry.



then.

i called piu one day. and i told her i needed to shift houses. because i couldnt go running where i was, and because the books were collecting too much dust like that. piu and i decided that was good enough reason.

it took me 6 months to find a flat, flatmate etc. one thing came, the other went. i decided looking for a husband would be a better idea, more fruitful. i could keep a dog and cat too, in that situation, was what i had reasoned. ( damn.... why and how did i forget to marry and all?? .... aah. i got merry !! heh. i had to crack that one) .



i decided delhi winter was the best. i romanced the stages, performances, myself and the cold wind. i had the best delhi Pre winter and Winter last year.

i told tripsy, mili, himani, srishti, her, him, you, there that as soon as delhi winter was over, and mosoon came, id be in Mumbai. and my book would be written.





today , here i am.

i still dont give a damn about vegetables, traffic and whatnot.

i have stolen bicyles, owned bicylces, and borrowed bicylces. in that order.

i have learnt that gurgaon is ok. unsafe. but my iPod was my pepper spray. and i could walk around at 11 pm. i dindt burden myself with that " i am in gurgaon, it is unsafe for women, and walking at 11 pm !! on the ROADS !!". no, sillies, of course id walk on the road. where else would i want to walk.... in the basement parking lots??!! how stoopid could ppl get, really !!!

i have discovered, that all dessert joints in gurgaon are same. lemon tart to blueberry mousse. my fav, rum balls, thankfully are cheapest, available everywhere. the awesomeness creme brulee , was at khan. more Kickass dessert was at corner house in Blore. and the Only Place.

i realized, that going to delhi to spend the weekend involved less planning and thinking , than visiting a neighbour in gurgaon. ( pick up, drop, time, trafiic)

i realized , that taking the next flight to Mumbai was yet, easier. traffic, time, things to do. thank god i was in a position to be able to do that. ( heh. wink. i am wicked). prithvi has the best coffee conversations. and i dont even like coffee all that much. that the many whiskeys at powaii was memorable.



i know book shops. i know what to do next summer. and i know when to get away this year to avoid being frozen. and to where.

i travelled. like insane. i travelled, because i hated gurgaon so much, i had to travel.

really, if anything, getting away from Gurgaon is easier than spending the weekend in Gurgaon.

Bee. that girl is Impossible . ever so Busy. yet i feel like i HAVE to find her one of these days , in some little gurgaon Corner. where ARE you , bee.



last night i found myself thinking, though.

do i go to Pele's, with his A and his dog, and celebrate Cohen , with Biryani and Coke ??

or do I Go to Bodhi's , with Dee and the Cat, and have south Indian food . (ok so then i did neither, because it was late, traffic, unsafe etc.):P. btw, Dee, make that plan !!!

of course, sunday i shall do Jacks. jack J and jack D. solo. in my balcony.right after my cha and story book.

i shall also, mist definitely, visiting that Resort at Sona Road. after my delhi trip on sat, local socials on fri, and brunch at LTree and coffee with N and what not. God. and Sona ROad isnt even IN gurgaon. phew.



and when i fall ill. rukmini,from bombay, will call Bodhi , here in Delhi , to order him to bring over soup.i felt to royal, then.

and when i want, there will be those Bong Boys , with whom i will go storm chasing, watch football with, share music and extend the weekends into thursdays. ( from either which end of the weeeknd).i realized that the Brady Bunch was well, awe-fuck-some !!



i love the sunshine. i love the sky today. i make my peace with you, gurgaon.

you still have the traffic, no pavements, and allthat. so what if you have a metro. it doesnt help me here in Gurgaon.

you still havent gone beyong Mall culture.



but i have found a strange new way of surviving. in this village, we still call each other. ( or facebook each other, more aptly).

in this village, i find funny stories to tell the Lil One.

in this village, i realize that i am ever so much a Mother dependent brat.

in this village, i realize that i can live the rest of my life without EVER learning how to cook, because my backpack is always packed.

in this village, i often dont need a map. i can just stand on the road, and allow myself to be swept away.

in this village, i dont belong. amen, to that. :)

in this village, each minute is a war. to win , or lose, till the next mintue. ( the one minute wars... my next book !!)

in this village, i can eat capsicum anytime i want. :) i just ahve to call a certain little Missy. )



goddaammit. i really have to get my butt to Mumbai . :P



PS: did i mention, that i learnt to Speak Bangla here in Jatland ? after i Learnt to speak Hindi in Bangalore ? why are my Linguistics so screwed? or should that be skewed? lol.

PPS : i forgot to mention, that i had gone househunting in Mumbai, once. even though i didnt have a job in mumbai.

and my book is unwritten as of now.