Mixed Feelings

One month back I was all happy and excited to return home to meet my parents, relatives and mates, to eat all types of street food that I was badly missing in France. To talk in my mother tongue which was a rare thing to do in France. To be amidst my people. I dreamt of visiting Uttarakhand, a beautiful state in the north of India with breathtaking landscapes, hospitable people and delicious food. I wanted to do trekking, adventuring. I wanted to visit the remote places, to be close to the nature, to live with the villagers and to be one of their kind during my stay. I wanted to give myself a chance to see and experience life differently. I wanted to do things that I had never done before including sleeping on the streets with a bare minimum of facilities. Oh yes! I definitely wanted to be away from the Facebook and my cell phone. I had so many plans but unfortunately only a few of them turned into reality. Why ? Well, its a long story and not an interesting one.

Now that I have met all the people I wanted to meet and have eaten all the food that I was craving for, I kind of miss my small city in France. Although it is the fourth largest city in France but for an Indian who has seen big cities, Lille would be nothing more than a small city. I miss my mates and hanging out with them. I miss my morning breakfast of croissants, marmalade and coffee. I miss those times when my mates and I used to drink good Belgian beers without keeping a count on the number of bottles emptied.

When I was in France, I was disgusted with my hectic schedule. I was fed up of talking in French 24x7. I was sick of living a dorm of 9 square meters where the neighbours hardly interacted with you. I often wondered how nice the life would be back home. This reminds me of the saying that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Unfortunately my dream to visit Uttarakhand has to wait for some more time. All good things come to he who waits. I guess it is rightly said in Sanskrit "Shaantitulyan tapo naasti na santoshaaparan sukham" which means there is no penance better than peace, no happiness better than satisfaction. I guess I should learn the fact that the grass will continue to look greener on the other side of the fence. I need to be content with my lawn, lay down and be happy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Confused amidst Alas and Hurray !

It's the last day of the year and it feels like the year started just yesterday. I always take a moment on the last day of the year to reflect on what I've done, what I've achieved and what I've experienced during the current year. Should I be sad that 2011 is about to end or should I be excited about the arrival of 2012 ? I ask myself this unsettling question at the end of every year and yet I could never come up with a tangible answer. I guess Syrus rightly said "Not every question deserves an answer." 2011 has been like a roller coaster ride for me with both highs and lows. The important thing is I embraced life as it came to me. I learned to be patient and how to say NO. I realised the point of travelling is not to see all the tourist spots but to relax, have fun and to experience the new culture. I visited 6 new countries (Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Poland) and wished I could travel even more. I grew a serious passion fo...
Read more

A Night of Inspiration

I often think that the night is more alive and colourful than the day. It's the time when my mind takes a stroll and give me ideas. It gives me a chance to analyse what's going with and around me. Night has always given me the motivation to keep on moving. It inspires and reminds me that the chase to become a better person is not yet over. I don't know when will it over or if at all it will be over. I don't know how would that better person be but for sure I'm not him. Night has taught me the 3 Ps (Perseverance, Persistence and Patience) that my father always wanted me to learn. It has taught me to look a person beyond his colour. It has encouraged me to try and to do the things that I would never do ordinarily. What I take from my nights I add to the days. 
Read more

Life in a Metro

The other day while I was in the toilet, I did some quick maths and figured out that I spend 270 hours a year on an average in the metro. As I have nothing else to do but to wait for my stop to come, often I observe the fellow commuters. Where for the most part, I share my journey with people who are confined to themselves as if they have been sentenced to a solitary confinement or a high school couple who are completely oblivious of the fact that there are also other people surrounding them and think the metro to be the best place on the earth to make out and to prove their commitment towards each other; I often encounter some very peculiar people. - The Vibrating Dude : He always makes a grand entrance with a smirk on his face. The bloke should be easily in his 40s if not in the 50s. Every time I see him, I find him with the same attire; a cap placed at 45° angle, a Redskins jacket, an Aeropostale Tshirt, a Kaporal jeans, a Redskins shoes and a handbag which looks like a music ...
Read more