Day One

Day One, January 4:

Hype, hangover and old calendars discarded in the bin. Some of us are still drunk and munching on fatty snacks. Resolutions are made and broken in no time as we are still high on alcohol to painfully getting back to the grind, albeit being stuck in a rut. The entire saga from waking up to a new dawn and watching the sun rising to indulge in crackers, or for that matter, getting drunk is so overrated. A cliché of sort with the same question, ‘What are you doing on December 31?’

Chill! It’s a change in the calendar which is already three-days-old. For sure, I am enjoying my Scotch like I always do and yesterday, was at someone place having Old Monk Rum after years. I was never a rum enthusiast but do love the Indian version once in a blue moon. The only hitch is that I haven’t made too much progress on the smoke front and failing to keep it to four but have reached six to seven fags in a fortnight.  Time to pull the socks.

The crystal clear sky has been beaten to death by the dark since two days with the rain putting me into a leaden silence during the nights. I am enjoying the weather but the only hitch is being confined to the room. A pall of gloom sets in. The windy breeze roaring and stuttering its might like a wail but its soft murmur percolates. An inchoate year sets in. The weather bears a moody streak, gentleness, trace of anger and riveting to the mind at the same time.

We cannot discard the new season to bring cheerz. There is a silver lining in tediousness in this stream of human perception. I trust my intuition for it can never go wrong. I started Day One of the year on a pretty high note. Got George Orwell’s 1984 as a gift from family friends traveling to India and the young kids won over the heart A surprise gift and bang on. A right choice that sent me into a groove of happiness. I reconnected with a friend, Ajitabh Bhaiya and we spoke on the phone on Jan 1 after nine years. Would you believe it? It felt like yesterday only. He was my senior in college and it was one Jan 1 we were boozing together discussing life on where it would take us years later. It couldn’t get better than that. A perfect start.

There are so many things that happened, right from his serious accident and how he survived battling the upsets. I shouldn’t be surprised since he is a strong-willed person and lover of existence but got a jolt when he told me one of our Pune friends passed away three years back. Life can be so uncertain. There is a close family who is facing health issues and fighting death. But, in hope, we believe.

It’s this uncertainty that led me to bag this Iphone8 after dilly-dallying for one whole year and a conversation with Meghna in the morning. The choice was made. There are very few friends whose opinions I value when in doubt. It’s a cool and slick gadget. I am practically hooked to my iPhone.  Last year. my writing took a dip in reviving the old novel draft and restarting it but was somehow stuck. But, then, let last year be buried and I shall not reel on success or disappointment. There are so many things brewing in the head to push myself to the edge. But, at the same time going berserk over competition is one of the worst things we can ever do. We need to chill out and take things slowly but at the same time indulge in stuff to make me happy.

I am reading David Gregory Roberts after years. I started with the sequel to Shantaram, ‘The Mountain Shadow’ and it’s about the same life with characters like Vikram, Carla, and Johnny in what was once called, ‘Bombay’. The fascination with Maximum City and living life on the edge in a narration laden with rich expression, description, and vocabulary. I somehow feel that the title lacks appeal. Some 200 pages have already been done in the book and love how ‘Shantaram’ made it an edgy and pacy read taking you into the world of Mumbai and the scintillating places in SoBo. Been there and done that. I miss the city.

Resolutions are so passe in my life that I have stopped doing it for a couple of years nor did I pen something on the year that was. I don’t see its importance. The sound of the rain plopping on the ground is music to the ear. This January, I shall be sharing snippets of life and it starts today with Day 1. Like they say writing is therapeutic and helps to release energy, good or bad that we absorb within.

Ciao

V