Manzeelein toh bohot mili, raste bohot kum.
Dost bhi bohot mile, humsafar bohot kum.
Samajhnewale bohot mile, bina kahe samajhnewale sirf tum!
Aaj thodasa hasne ka mann kiya, tumhari yaad aayi, aasuyon ne humari taraf rukh mod liya.
Aaj thodasa rone ka mann kiya, tumhari yaadon ne hi uspe malham laga diya.
Ye kaisa pyaar diya tumne ki jab bhi kuch mehsoos karna chaha, tumhare khayalon ne uska rukh hi badal diya!
Well, it's one of those days today when you feel nothing. When you don't want to feel anything. Being so driven by emotions, I have always spoken or written my heart out. But this is some new territory. Something different. Something much bigger than my feelings. It has been 2 years that I am staying alone and all it has done to me is made me grow up a lot. Adulting is difficult to handle when you look at it as work. But if you truly love the way you are turning out and don't keep any regrets, it is a wonderful experience and to know that you can do everything by yourself. Basically you can be your own hero!
You can take all the decisions on your own, you can make mistakes and learn from them without anyone instructing you. You can push yourself to do things which otherwise you wouldn't because you have someone to fall back on. It's scary how staying alone grows on you. You don't need anyone to do anything for you. You don't have anyone to look at you when you are miserable. You don't have anyone to raise eyebrows when you do something weird.
But to come to think of it, is it really a boon or a curse? Is it so that you won't ever feel the need to share your life with someone? Is it so that you start liking being alone that everything else just seems puny? Wondering if this could mean that I would want someone more than anything now or I wouldn't!
Inspite of being a home to many people from different cultures and parts of India, Pune is made of hilariously arrogant people. You get to see this city doing everything with discipline, except watching its mouth. We celebrate, with discipline. We mourn, with discipline.
With all the other pluses, Pune gets a title of the city that sleeps from 1 pm to 4 pm. So what if someone chooses to let go of the money he'll make in those 3 hours. So what if he gives priority to his beauty sleep rather than slogging. And you will see Pune being proud of their beauty sleep even today.
Coming back to arrogance. The birthplace of royalty, the Peshwas. I think this statement does full justice to the sentiment. You will see the Peshwai running in our blood even today, and it doesn't matter if you aren't related to the originals. For a Punekar, being arrogant doesn't come from mere genes. It is innate. It is passed on from generation to generation. Do parents teach their kids about it? The answer is yes. Not by telling the kids, but by behavior. You see, we believe more in practical training. People who do not belong to this city are always bothered by this fact.
And yet again, inspite of all this, Pune bagged the title of most livable city in India for the second time in a row!
Well, let's just say it's been a while that I felt something so strong that I write about it. But this is not just a feeling. It is much more than that. It is an effort to find myself. Something that just connects to me. Something that has changed me and always will, and always for the good. The city of brutal truths and brutally true people, PUNE!
Being a true Punekar at heart, my love for this city has seen no boundaries. No amount of heat, rain, cold or chaos is going to change that. What makes this city so special? Well, nothing in abundance, but everything in moderation. Where you may not feel at home, but you will certainly not feel alone. Where you may not get help in the middle of the road, but you are certainly protected in an utmost need. A city with a heart not of gold, but of stone. Because sometimes you don't need to outshine the world, sometimes you just need to stand strong and mark your way into it.
P.S. - Been a long time that I was here. Just a small attempt to get back to... Myself!
