Shoebox of photographs and sepia toned loving

and so it is,
just like you said it would be,
life goes easy on me,
most... of the time.
 - from The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice. (which, incidentally, also stands out as the song two of my characters in You Are Here have sex to.)

Laundry in a window cage

Summer is fast turning into fall. Early October is almost like magic, how it smooths out bad moods, keeps your spirits high and hangovers low, and for certain former smokers, helps to make the transition easier. (Okay, it's only been a week, but still worthy of bragging about. Even if I slip up again, I'll still have this week.). I find myself getting chilly at night, and with a sigh, I'm folding up small dresses and thin cotton, all tucked away till next year, or in my When-In-Bombay pile.

A rare non-house party night out

Winter also means it's been nearly two years since I returned to this city, and even though in the beginning I was fleeing from something I left behind, I was SO homesick for Bombay, for everything that city had--from the busy roads, the smell as soon as you get out of the airport, the certain still, expectant feel of a pre-monsoon evening, I missed it all. I missed my friends. I missed my life.

But in two years, Delhi has done much to convince me that this is currently the city I want to live in. My standard of living is higher, no more fighting with a million people just to get my space. (Metaphorically. Literally, I probably fight MORE in Delhi than in Bombay.) Cheaper rents, larger spaces. A world that's not just Bandra and doesn't have to be just Bandra because it takes so long to get anywhere else. And little things that make aging better--nicer food, house parties, an abundance of green spaces, wide roads that are mostly traffic free. 

House on the Delhi-Jaipur highway.

Certain things--and people--keep me tied to Bombay though. And there are days, like today, when I miss it so fiercely, all I want to do is close my eyes and be at the Carter Road promenade, wind in my hair, Bandra hipsters leaning casually against the walls, the choice of cupcake, fro yo or ice cream at my fingertips. Being land locked truly sucks, Delhi doesn't have the feeling that the world is endless and your possibilities are infinite.

But there are certain green afternoons, sleepy roads, the sun shining through the trees that make you catch your breath with nostalgia for that which is actually still in the present. It's that kind of city.


Besides which, we have the winter, bitches!*



*sorry, too much Breaking Bad.