Its apparently been over 2 months since I penned anything down here... Not that nothing happened in these past months. On the contrary, its been one heck of a weird time. Around 7th August, I was under house arrest due to the Surat floods. Over a week without power, running water, new provisions, milk and absolutely no way of communicating beyond the range of your own voice (our relatives all over were super worried, apparently). Thankfully (for both of us), my parents had landed here just a day earlier and I had bought provisions for them. We peacefully 'survived' the flood.
One of the things I did in those 7 days is what would take any sane person over a month to do; I read "Of human bondage" by Somerset Maugham. Its a marvellous book, drawing from the author's life experiences and containing vignettes of astute observations. The drawback is that its a VERY slow book. Its in stark contrast to any rivetting novel that you would've held on to through the night (Not as rubbery as Ayn Rand though). The flood situation with its extremely limited set of distractions gave me a good chance to finish the book in one go.
One other amazing thing was learning to cook! Amma is an excellent teacher. The testament to this is the praise accorded to my sabji preparation by my co-workers today. And the best part is that I discovered that I actually enjoy cooking! yay!
Which brings me back to the topic of this post. My parents moved into where I live, early last month. It consisted of 2 rooms with walls, the decent kitchen and of course, the loo. But when they left it yesterday, I could in a very slight way call it home. Home with a grouchy landlord (they live in the floor below), a leakin roof, absolutely no furniture... But home nevertheless. Suddenly am shrouded in solitude until I set out on almost a week long work (and fun in between) trip. And solitude in qutie scary at first. The worst is the silence. Not necessarily because you would be yapping otherwise, but just the presence was enough. The silence here suddenly turns eerie. Thank goodness for my computer which is working perfectly , showering me with the flourescent aura of Chandler's snide remarks and Jerry's repeated victories over Tom.
What I am trying to say is.... Heck... I am not trying to say anything. Its just that the home's empty, but I am going to enjoy every ounce of solitude that I can. The chirpy phone will keep me connected regularly, but I have the gift that many others crave for and even crib about at all times. Here's to living a grandpa's life at 22! :)
One of the things I did in those 7 days is what would take any sane person over a month to do; I read "Of human bondage" by Somerset Maugham. Its a marvellous book, drawing from the author's life experiences and containing vignettes of astute observations. The drawback is that its a VERY slow book. Its in stark contrast to any rivetting novel that you would've held on to through the night (Not as rubbery as Ayn Rand though). The flood situation with its extremely limited set of distractions gave me a good chance to finish the book in one go.
One other amazing thing was learning to cook! Amma is an excellent teacher. The testament to this is the praise accorded to my sabji preparation by my co-workers today. And the best part is that I discovered that I actually enjoy cooking! yay!
Which brings me back to the topic of this post. My parents moved into where I live, early last month. It consisted of 2 rooms with walls, the decent kitchen and of course, the loo. But when they left it yesterday, I could in a very slight way call it home. Home with a grouchy landlord (they live in the floor below), a leakin roof, absolutely no furniture... But home nevertheless. Suddenly am shrouded in solitude until I set out on almost a week long work (and fun in between) trip. And solitude in qutie scary at first. The worst is the silence. Not necessarily because you would be yapping otherwise, but just the presence was enough. The silence here suddenly turns eerie. Thank goodness for my computer which is working perfectly
What I am trying to say is.... Heck... I am not trying to say anything. Its just that the home's empty, but I am going to enjoy every ounce of solitude that I can. The chirpy phone will keep me connected regularly, but I have the gift that many others crave for and even crib about at all times. Here's to living a grandpa's life at 22! :)
