As usual, leaving home to go back to college, in fact, anywhere after a break, has been tough for me, but every time I have gone out, it has helped me become a better person. Flash back to 2 months before! When going to Mumbai on a 2 months roller coaster ride, seemed to be a dampening proposition to me. And then, Mumbai happened, HUL happened and a few friends happened. Actually, an experience is what it was, an experience that made a small town boy see the bigger world around him.
Interestingly, for the first time in life, I haven’t felt miserable about the failures of a journey, but felt intensely passionate about the new additions, new purposes and a sense of satisfaction of doing something, that matters. The internship if we talk about, didn’t end up in a very good note. But for the first time, the calmness of “I gave my best” fills me with a sense of satisfaction. There were people from whom I learnt things, and when I say things, its not just work, knowledge, it’s a way of living. I got to meet some fabulous people, be it me my boss, some friends or a roadside stranger, who taught me way more about life, than the work at the internship did.
And Mumbai awed me!! The notion I had about the place earlier broke apart like a bolt of lightning. Not that, I would still like to spend a very big portion of my life in Mumbai, but I really admire the place. What makes it unique are its subtle nuances and the stark contrasts. There are two sides to everything in Mumbai. The place seems to be living, seems to have its own soul and seems to be learning and adapting to its external environment every moment. The feeling is internal and probably, best felt once you feel it yourself.
2 months and it seems to have made me feel very independent and free. Seems to have broken open some mental barriers and shackles that chained the inner me. It has taught a way to redefine solitude as a form of celebration and to make a few moments worth it. At the same time, it has shown me how fast life can change. Within all the changes, the memories still dwell, in the deepest abyss, flashing on and off, every instant, when you need them and even, when you don’t need them.
In the end, the 2 months has been really wonderful. And ends up perfectly, being at home for a week and meeting some of the closest ones. XL 2.0 awaits. Last few months of student life and I hope, it will be as much of an experience, as the last 2 months have been.
Signing off
A.M.
