Holi Days

I don’t know if it is the effect of planetary transit, or the huge shift in lifestyle, or maturity, or unrequited hidden love for someone but I am becoming less rigid and more relaxed these days. I take things as they come and don’t try to resist much. Earlier I used to be so scared and insecure that I would be defensive all the time. And that would come out all wrong. Now I know why kindness is such an important virtue. Being kind doesn’t always mean doing volunteer work. Sometimes kindness just means sitting back and looking at things from others’ perspective. That’s how forgiving becomes easier. And forgiveness leads to liberation. Nowadays I even celebrate my sadness as well instead of suppressing it the wrong way. Now I sit back and try to talk with the sad girl. I let her cry. Wipe her tears. Give her a hug. Then tell her that it’s OK to fall back sometimes. Feeling sad every once in a while is part of life.

So when our original Holi plan got cancelled I tried to console myself and took a bus home. Cancelled plans can sometimes lead to better events – 2018 has taught me so right in the beginning. So I kept my hopes up. Why does the universe always test my optimism, I wonder. Anyway. It was long weekend of Holi; D and I were loitering around her parents’ house with no plan for next two days. She suggested, "Let’s go for Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety." Now here comes the relevance of the super boring highly philosophical ranting of the first para. Had it been a year back I would have made a face and gave her lecture about modern culture ruining our innate Bengaliness. But now I’m a changed person who is interested in committing the so-called sacrilege more than ever. So we headed for Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety. Everytime I was trying to pronounce the name of the movie it was coming out as Sonu ki Sweetu ki Tutty so I refrained from going to the counter myself. The movie was entertaining with Luv Ranjan’s usual misogynist touch. My last boyfriend was a big fan of Pyar ka Punchnama and he used to think it’s very cool to be a misogynist prick and date a girl at the same time. I am not an extremist hater at heart and by god I love men. So I ignored the ‘girls are manipulative bitch’ angle and enjoyed the bromance which was the main theme of the movie. Just one request to the director. Sir, it’s OK if some girl dumped you bad. That doesn’t make every girl bad in the world. Had it been so I would have founded a ‘We hate men’ club by now. But I do love the excitement every time I fall for a new person even if it always ends in tears and alcohol. It’s the journey remember, not the destination. However, the saddest part was they bloody 'beep'ed all the cuss words.

Our Holi would have ended on a dry note but on our way back we were roaming in Ajaynagar market where I spotted the usual fruit juice shop holding out a special signboard. Holi special thandai. Need I say more? An hour later we were so high that we could barely speak. That night I hit the bed and passed out immediately. Moral of the story? Don't get so high that it makes you sleepy.

On the second day of Holi we went to Quest. After mandatory photo session we headed for food court. We went to Chilli’s first. Sitting on a table facing Park Circus down below I commented, "Ah here I came on my first date with *beep*." My friend looked at me with concern with a small smile at the corner of her mouth. I could read her. She was trying to tell me that we could leave at once if I wasn’t OK. "Are you kidding? I no longer run away. And it actually feels nice." It did. The same way I had enjoyed on the bus. Melancholy is addictive; more than alcohol. But suddenly we remembered there’s Irish House on the floor above. So we headed there. After one round of martini and two rounds of Corona we were over the moon. Even though the sadness of cancelled plan was still stinging but we were somehow OK with it. Life, after all, will be dull without surprises.