Delhi it is. The confusion and chaos outside seems minuscule when compared to that inside. Love and longing have taken a backseat. It is work that is on my mind. A lot of deadlines are hovering and I am trying to meet them all. My tickets for Palampur and Goa are done and I am looking forward to both the places and the occasions. Writing still comes out sparingly, perhaps because the same is with reading. A few more days and I will start going out daily. That should add some flavor to my book-less world.
Yesterday I was about to buy Narcopolis from Kashmiri Gate metro station on my way back home. Though the covers looked interesting but the prologue gave it away for me. It says in not so many words, that, "Bombay.... is the hero or heroine of this story". I have nothing against Bombay yet the place tires me. I have been there once and if possible would never want to go back again. I know it is a place that consumes you, makes you its own as you live there longer, the rubbing shoulders becomes a way of life and the lights at the glittering malls and the freedom that one can feel there is addictive. Yet, I have a mental block when it comes to Bombay. Except for the name I don't like much else and yes, I may have the naiveté of someone who has only known Delhi to be her home (and quite recently a bit of London). So well, I don't want to read of Bombay. Somewhat similarly I gave up reading Shantaram even as the plot had begin to thicken; the way I never liked Slumdog Millionaire despite the hoopla. My disenchantment with the city that never sleeps is illogical but firm. Ironically, one exception that I can think of is the very movie Bombay that I loved as a kid. As a child it did scare the wits out of me - coz like any other kid that age I had a fear of being lost in a crowd, parting from my family forever and never getting to see them again. But then, the movie had not much to do with Bombay as a city. I would like this to change. I don't like being prejudiced this way, this illogic mars my personal glee - that of being flexible in many other things. But who am I kidding, I enjoy not liking Bombay and bask in my ignorance of it. ;)
My room is nice and interesting now, a lot needs to be bought - new curtains, a cupboard, new chair, and most importantly, a book shelf. I also need a rug and a place to hide the innumerable stuff toys that hog most of the space in my favorite cupboard. WHY do people gift stuff toys to you if you are a girl?! I won't deny I must have enjoyed getting them as gifts at one point of time, now all they do is take up a lot of space which I would rather fill up with books and other collectibles. The trouble with stuff toys is that they are totally useless, need dedicated space in the shelf and when you are about to dump them - you just can't help but recall who gifted which teddy bear on which birthday, when you were oh-so-young and there goes your determination; the teddy bears soon find their way back to the cupboard. Stuffed rascals.
I am doing a lot of catching up on news these days. Needless to say, last 3 months I hardly read a newspaper back to back. It was only on the ipad that I used to log in for some news. It is the eds and the op-eds that I am reading now, plan on subscribing to the Hindu, Tehelka and Frontline again. I also want to send my two/three dissertations to some law journals, so I am on a look out for some human rights journal calling for papers.
That's all for now. Will keep you posted, now that I have the time.
