Looking back at 2017 and Life at CMC Vellore!
I smile like that when I have great company and good food!
I have not been able to blog for almost a year now and I’m not beating myself up for it, nevertheless, putting this old piece out here on the Internet to keep the tradition going. I wrote this piece way back in 2017! A lot has happened since then. Let me know what you think.
“A black ‘JBL’ Wi-Fi speaker rested amidst the food, divided into the ‘Veg’ and the ‘Non-Veg’ sections. The spread included mouth-watering Vegetable rice, barbecued vegetables, Cottage cheese and Cottage cheese gravy on one side of the table. The other side boasted of the famous Chicken biryani and “Kathrika kozhambu”; roasted eggplant in spicy gravy! Not to forget, there was dessert, a yummy combination of vanilla flavored ice cream, and two sweets: Mini Gulab jamoon and Carrot halwa.
Fifteen of us were cozily seated in a room, spread out on the chairs, the bean bag, the floor; wherever we could find space. Why not go to a restaurant, instead, one could wonder! That would mean, no music of our choice, and leaving behind three people from the gang, who would be on duty in our rural health center, a stone’s throw away from our abode: The CHAD PGeon hole. I’m not sure who came up with the name for our building, but it’s impressive. We are all ‘Post graduates’ or ‘PG’s; so, Pigeon became PGeon! Though, I haven’t seen any pigeons around!
Well, so most of the dinner parties over the last three years of my ‘PG’ period have been ‘Pot-Luck’. Where each of us would get a dish. Almost always, music was an essential part of these ‘pot-luck’ dinners. Sometimes, we sat into the night, under the starlit sky on the PGeon hole terrace; at other times, we danced like mad, to Tamil, Telugu, English, Hindi songs. Tappanguth, slow-mo, and rock; we shook our leg to a variety of dance tunes. Laughter joined hands with the music in making music that was even more fun to hear.
And its selfie era! What’s a party without selfies, videos and funny faces!
It’s amazing how all you need to have a good time is good company, good food and good music!
And trust me, after many sober super-fun parties, I can vouch for the fact: You don’t need alcohol to get high! You need like-minded people, who make you feel comfortable, you need a warm place where you belong and you need a heart that accepts different people for who they are!
Well, I’m glad, I found that bunch of crazy people with whom I can connect like hell!
Loud blaring Oh-so-fun tippy-tappy Music!
Followed by a silence. Silence of the night, silence of an end in sight. The silence of triumph, of nostalgia and that of smiling tired faces, with closed eyes.
Don’t the best of times come to an end! The stage must draw its curtains when the play is over. The track must stop playing at some point of time. Well PGeon hole is a page I must turn in the book called life! With a heavy heart, though.
Well, a new track starts to play! Bengaluru, I’m back!!”
Fast forward from 2017 to 2022. I’m married to my ‘boyfriend’ have been in Project Manager, Public Health Scientist, Friend, Senior Analyst, Confidante, Tutor, India Project Officer, wife, daughter-in-law and many other roles. I’ve been hooked on to audiobooks, trekked in the Himalayas twice, experienced emotional outbursts, felt calm, practiced consistency in fitness, cleared more exams all of that and more. Well, I’m glad that my online blogging journey continues and hope to share more snippets along this winding road of mine!