A day off #2

Part 2 -- A friend

One more person I met today is Deepthi. One reason we met today was – she refused to come to my place till I visited her at least once. And I hadn't been able to make dedicated time since the last year. And the main one because it had been more than 6 months that I had not met her in person. 

I just had to step in! To know why she was so keen on wanting her friends to visit her once. You have to experience and see some things with your own eyes to know. It was a spacious place. And her room was cute and nice. And it felt so much like home. Mostly everyone feels at home in their home. But when you step in and you feel that way in someone else's place. It says a lot – about the person who is hosting you.. 

She had planted some small plants in the balcony. Which I admired for some time. One especially admires things they find themselves incapable of doing. 

Despite all my ideas to live in a place nestled in jungles and within nature, I don’t have the drive to even maintain some plants by myself. Too much effort for me! 

She also showed me how she was planning to make "dhoop" and "agarbatti" from dried flowers. And that reminded me– the electric composter I have been thinking about on and off for years,  just needs a dehydrator and grinder. Such of course moments, like, I know it, why did I not do anything about it yet.. make you feel silly. And much more grateful that they clicked. 

Then we sat down with some noodles that I had gotten packed from my previous trip with MTR and Anand. And just talked. We had months worth of stuff to catch up on. 

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After some time, we stepped out. To see the neighbourhood. And the places around. She took me to The Chai Walah cafe. It was very nice and pocket friendly. It offered 10+ flavours of tea and small bites to enjoy along with the teas. Initially, I wanted to try all teas there. 

I picked chocolate to start with. My favourite recently. Safe and for comparison against what I make at home. 

In the last few months, I had recently stopped liking normal tea after I tasted chocolate tea and rose tea from down south. (That story is for another time)

Deepthi advised me strongly against chocolate tea. But I thought, chocolate is a safe option. Plus, I could take another one if I wanted after that. 

She ordered Kashmiri saffron tea and I ordered chocolate tea. And some bun maska. 

One sip of the chocolate tea and I hated it. It reminded me of the phony taste chocolate biscuits and cookies have. If not worse. 

Deepthi very over-kindly switched her Kashmiri Saffron Tea with my chocolate one. That is the moment when friends subtly up the game. 

And I fall short at such times. 

Very few people do that for me. Switch their better ordered option for my terrible choice. 

I would have just ordered another one.

She is a better friend than me sometimes. 😛 By this gesture, she also made the small list of 2-5 people, I like eating out and trying out new places with. 

Just as time was going well, and we had taken a few bad pictures. I realised I also have an office IPhone which I don't use and could try for pictures. Since One Plus was not giving desired results. It was not obviously not our photography skills and photogenic faces. 

I reached out in my pockets, and then found my office phone missing. Now there was something way worse than the pictures I had clicked. We headed back home to confirm how the rest of the day’s mood would be! Losing a phone that too office phone, that too Iphone – huhh. 

Somehow, I was blessed that day. I found my phone at her place. I would have taken it out of my pocket while making myself at home and left it on the bed sometime. After that, my mood became twice as nice and my spirits even better. 

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We went for a walk again! Around the society this time. After some time, it started drizzling. So, we went back up indoors and resumed our chit chat in the balcony. Still enjoying the weather but not getting drenched. After sometime, when it started getting chilly, in the warmth of the hall again. All the time just chit chatting.

So same talking, conversations, chit chat - at all possible locations. A few days could easily pass by in that was normal catching up. After that, I am sure, she is one person, with whom once the general talking topics do a few rounds, we might as well do stuff we talk about! :P (*Fingers crossed, touchwood*)

Hours slipped by in minutes. It was already 8. It had been 4 hours. We went back for a walk outside and then to see if we wanted anything for a quick dinner. 

We walked around looking at new building and societies, enquiring about rents (which is, kind of a pastime in Bangalore), checking out small and big cafes. 

After a quick dinner of Masala puri and Mangalore Buns, we went back to the Chai Walah cafe again. Because of the missing phone bit, I was not able to enjoy the chais there earlier. So, we ordered one more Kashmiri Saffron there and this time, even the pictures came out nicer. 

Then back to the society and after a few more rounds there, I had to head back. Though I did not want to go!

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On my way back, I was thinking about my day. But first let me go over what I understood on why I like this particular friend of mine. 

I like her because she tells me about so many things I don’t know about. Makes me experience them too. Like the Kaadubeesanhalli area, I would never have visited if I was not forced. And seen that it was not what I had had in my head. 

Or the chai walah cafe that offered various flavours of tea. It brought home the idea that not everything has to be big or complicated. Simple things are also sometimes the best ones. Like we could open a small cafe in a hill station sometime.. (*touchwood) like in the movie Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander.

She also told me about Canton Markets which is definitely a place I would like to visit if I ever get a chance. And become a trader. :D 

Also, having complimentary skillsets is cool. She likes and is a pro at swimming and dancing. 

And the best thing she said was– Just start a small thing, anything and then see.. Instead of thinking about so many which are so unreachable to start with. 

I like how she has a keen and unbiased observation about everything. 

Somewhere in our conversation, we also discussed 'loneliness' and 'solitude'. Loneliness, that has become a part of modern lifestyle especially in IT jobs. 'Solitude' which is almost the same from outside, and opposite in essence. That everyone always needs to function, irrespective of the times.

In our case. I have often wondered! A person who does not check any of the parameters I have to be interested in a person.. How did we end up being natural friends? Ofcourse, because we are both pretty friendly and I owe it to her to being more friendly than me at times.. 

Also because, despite the so popular north south divide, she is more north Indian than I am, and I am more south Indian than she is.. 

And I will close this one with the thought of a life where all my friends stay in the same locality as neighbours... In these times, where work and daily life takes a toll every now and then, walks and talks with your people is just about everything we all need. (*touchwood*)

#twwg