A Perfect Date?

It's ironic how this post will reach you all a day after Valentines Day but it might just be a bummer for quite a few of you since it's not about two people in love going on a date. It's about a 32 year old woman taking herself out. Don't get me wrong, its not out of pity or loneliness. It was just what I wanted to do. Rather, I've heard so many people romanticise it that I simply wished to give it a shot.

It's stupid how I even had to explain myself as I obviously assumed that a bunch of you might create scenariois in your head about why I'd want to do this alone when I am married. It's also funny that people would expect you to show up everywhere with your better half. I mean, that's how a large part of society works (unfortunately). However, couples who do show up with their partners everywhere, I only have admiration for them. It's cute, gotta admit. Nevertheless, more on this topic some other time. Today's about me taking myself out on a date.

Five years in Bombay and I hadn't been to the Kala Ghoda festival. This year I decided to break the jinx. Rather, coincidentally it happened to pop up in a conversation and that's when I knew I'd go. The fact that I had zero energy left after two and a half hours of traffic is something no mumbaikar will relate with as it's a norm for them. I am sure I didn't do the exploration bit right cause Kala Ghoda for me was a little underhwhelming. Maybe because there are creative & cultural activities that are part of the itineary which I didn't dive into due to lack of planning. It was swamped with teenagers and 20 year-olds which made me feel a little displaced. I lack that energy of being amused by everything that I see. Been there and done that. The installations were indeed praise-worthy. I only got to see glimpses of it since there were only phone cameras of feisty youngsters pointing towards them. So, the myriad phone cases were the only installations I witnessed, not the real ones.

I despise crowded places and that's why when Shant and I happened to walk into the much talked about Oktoberfest in Munich, I was transfixed. Just couldn't believe my eyes. It felt like I was bang in the middle of Andheri station. An overwhelming experience indeed but I wouldn't do that again.

Coming back to Kala Ghoda, in 10mins I had exited into an alley where the first thing I spotted was a bookstore. God! I was elated. That's when I knew it's probably only going to get better from here. It's become a bit of a ritual which needs to eventually stop cause there's only so much space in Mumbai homes to have a library. Regardless, I bought two books because who cares about space when bliss is what you find in flipping through every single page. Of course I was hungry and soon walked into a cafe. Placed an order for Hummus and Pita, perfect companions of each other and mine. Immeditaely took out my kindle and resumed reading. 60mins later I realised, getting home would be a herculean task.

7.00pm in Mumbai is like an avalanche of vehicles and people in every direction. Rather, thats pretty much all the time. So, this time around I decided to take the train.Half of Mumbai takes the local and the other half is on the road. The former needs courage and the latter, a sea of patience. I chose the former since I was feeling brave. Maybe it was the hormones. I am still here writing this blog, so safe to say I made it out alive. However, to see how unfazed people were by the crowd in a mumbai local is pretty much like meditattion. You There is a synergy that you'll almost never see anywhere else. Men were ready to accomodate themselves so that a woman doesn't feel uncomfortable. Imagine adjusting yourself in a place where there's only enough place for your pinky toe to breathe,forget about a whole human. With bewilderment in my eyes and prayers in my thoughts when I finally got off at my station, I took a minute to congratulate myself.

The date turned out to be an adventure, one that I am willing to go on, again. The thing about experience is- it can be underwhelming and overated at the same time for one person and incredible for another one. This is defined by the headspace you're in and the phase of life you're currently juggling through. I am currently finding peace in chaos and thats exactly what I did on my day out.

10/10 recommend.