Monday, August 29, 2005

Moving Out

Dear Hostel mates,

Now that I am vacating, you people can sleep peacefully. Kindly contribute and help me set up a house. I accept anything to do with homemaking, from a spoon to a car. Please contribute generously. You can keep the warden.

Yours truly

....

The Hostel Crowd is getting younger and more hip. So me, the antique piece has decided it’s time to move out.

A doctor of the Ayurvedic kind, who also happens to be my school friend suddenly got dropped from nowhere and we decided to be house-mates. Got a two-bedroom house not far away from where I am staying currently.

Now, It’s time I decide between pateto, potato, tameto or tomato but there is Bread and there is Jam and there is Maggie and I’ll survive.

I will miss my hostel mates and my room immensely. Aged between 21 and 27, we were Engineers, Journos, Nurses, Architects, HRs, Writers, Lawyers, Sales and Marketing executives, CSRs, Receptionists and Admins. There were friends, who were the only earning member in the family that their parents actually didn’t want them married. There were those who earned fat salaries but saved every pie for dowry. (Seems a good husband cost nothing below Rs. 50 lakhs). I laughed at it all but I guess I did that cos my community do not practice dowry. There were those who shouldered responsibility to construct their own house and move out, those who supported a less accomplished elder brother also those like me, who never save and only shop.

On a week-end, I see these girls coming out and going in. There is a certain resplendent aura that they exude. Perhaps, it is independence, perhaps it is youth and I am proud I was one of them.

We practiced the birthright of a woman- gossiping over potato chips and magazines. The lofty minds got together and discussed sales, males and lingerie, fiancés and finances, carried tales or was the mother of some tales and kept a secret together. The woman in me was sometimes an eager participant in all these.

I’ll miss all the ”Have a nice day!, How was your day?” greetings. I always had someone to talk to and someone who understood and someone who would collect my clothes when it rains as I continued my slapdash ways.

When I was very young, we left our ancestral home to stay in the VIP area. (The only area where there is no power cuts or water shortage) We shifted many a times to many quarters until we built another house again. Through it all, I learnt to enjoy each place and cherish the people I associated with. Nowadays, everybody is mobile and adapt anywhere but as a child, there was a certain longing for a place called home, for stability and consistency.

Pompy blogged that there is an immense pleasure in even buying a spoon for a place called home. I can only echo her words. Perhaps, I’d die of happiness if I were to marry and settle down in her sense. I am all excited for now. Need to set up the kitchen and everything else from scratch. I am already thinking about curtains and colour co-ordination. I don’t know how many of my dreams I can live but I haven’t stopped dreaming.

52 comments:

Fundoo said...

Me first this time!! I know I know I am not going to be awarded Arjuna awards for being first to post a comment here... and I am alo not going to be presented with a medal for beating others in the race. Just that I enjoy the satisfaction derived from these pseudo wins(?). :) And besides, thank god that I won't have to receive and award... this means I will not have to make an Oscar like speech and thank my distance aunt's closest cousin's father in-law. :D

Oops.. btw I forgot what actually I was gonna write. :| Looks like I was too busy writing my faltoo bakbak when the actual thought escaped my (almost non-existant) brain. Duh!

Memories of 'those' days! Unforgettable indeed! BTW beneath all the words that you have punched here, there is a dream being weaved somewhere.. there is that twinkle in the eyes that says nothing can stop me from fulfilling my dream... and believe me, nothing can and nothing will. :)

P.S. - Pls bear with me if my comment sounds too vague.. not that my comments are any better but this one seems to be the most random comment I have ever written! Duh!

Stone said...

me too shifting near to office!!! ....me too dreaming abt curtain colors, washing machine model etc etc :-)

AmitL said...

Hi,Arunima,LOL..what a post..an antique piece vacating the hostel,to make way for youngsters.And,LOL again at the discussion topic of 'sales,males and lingerie,fiances and finances'.hahaha.What a combo..whew.Lastly,u're soo right..you cannot stop dreaming.:)

n.g. said...

what fun. its gonna be great. you got to got to have hindi film posters all over. don, sholay, guide, mother india, umrao jaan and mughal e azam, to name a few. if you dpont get them in bangalore, i can buy them from here and send.

Akruti said...

Yes,Dont stop dreaming:) and where is the house warming treat???

Invincible said...

We get attached to our house, the more we stay, the more is the association. Hostel is even hard to forget. So many people, so many traits, different and distinct, so many moments !

And the Dreams, they are the driving force.

Jo said...

Have fun in the new place. Everyone needs a new beginning.

Anonymous said...

Good luck and have fun !

shub said...

ahh yes i know taht feeling. been setting up a home for over a month now :D :)

Anonymous said...

Its good to move on. Otherwise where will the sweet memories come from. It is good to start afresh otherwise how will we gain the wisdom of screwing up the first time and learning from that.
It is good to have a place you can call home, the refuge from all that which hurts us. But it is even better to call all your friends over for a house warming party :)

all the best for your new place.

Nupur said...

been setting up my place for more than five years........still setting it! :P

But I know what you mean... the excitement of going to a new place!! :D Have fun girl... some interior design posts forthcoming??

heretic said...

Best of luck for the dream that came true. :-) Hope you're happy having strange guests over. You'd very soon need to work on exit cues (for them).

Anonymous said...

hi arunim,
happy house moving!
when is it?
sathya

Anonymous said...

Hey..well written. In a way, the stay in hostel is excellent. But otherwise its always nice to have a 'HOME'to come back to after a long tideous day!!! Suggest you have a Gruhapravesham. That way you can expect everything from a Teaspoon to a Car..;) Wish you all the best with your home & hoping everything works out good for you. Will surely surely Miss you..if not anything atleast your Songs..;(

Pallavi said...

Yo there ,... congrats on that.. yeah hostel life is fun but setting up house is also fun.. have a nice time.. :)

Arunima said...

@fun_da_mental: I should thank you for having so much patience to drop in your complete thoughts. I appreciate your thoughts.

@Stome: not yet thought of washing machine. first a gas stove :-)

Arunima said...

@amitL: :-)

@nish: let's chuk the Don. Get me a poster of Hero Heeralal.

@akruti: i am still searching. Do, let me know when you are in Bangalore. Now, others cannot repeat the question.

@Invincible: Hope they force me to drive the rightway :-)

@jo and ash: thanks!!

divya said...

good luck with your new home..i just moved into a new home with a friend n we r going through the same phase everyday u discover a new aspect of life...

n.g. said...

sigh. trust a woman to suggest something completely atrangi. where to get hero hiralal from??

Nikhil said...

hostel is great...but one grievance!...this guy wouldn't let me use MY comp!gas stove for house-'warming'??!

Calvin said...

all the best!

and there is always Maggi! :-)

Arunima said...

Thanks!!!

@nish: I was just trying to be a little more creative. Trying to implement your idea. I don't know from where? I want the poster of Hero Hiralal.

@missnupur: the upcoming posts could be on packing or where you find the best and the cheapest things in BAngalore- A market analysis. Certainly on my washing machine brand called Arunima.

@thunderbolt; thanks. keep coming
:-)

Arunima said...

@sathya: 1st of September.
@parna: planning to do it.

AmitKen said...

Nice post ...
Have great time with maggie and eggs... two things u cant live without if u r independently living :)

Dreamcatcher said...

lol you sound as you are forty years old or something! but you sound all happy happy that you canhouse keep.
and memories are memories - you shall always have them with you.
and i agree with you - i only spend and i dont even earn yet..retail therapy is the best therapy;-)

Arunima said...

@Amitl: yup and thank GOd, I love them both.
@ DC: lol

Arunima said...

@Jas: It's a real pleasure having you as a friend and also as my reader. Thanks for everything that you have done for me.

I will also miss having an audience for my songs. Perhaps, I'll sing while cooking.

yesterday's song on the stage was for you.

We will finish our MBA together. Though our GDs were always out of syllabus :-)

Please do pray for me for all that is going to happen in my life in the next few months.

Take care and let's be in touch. I'll miss delaying your bathing time. :-)

Anonymous said...

Surfed on in. Nice blog!

Prema Lawrence said...

Good luck with setting up home, I am sure its going to be a lot of fun, enjoy it while it lasts
Its been a long time since I blogged but I am back to writing for now

manuscrypts said...

..and moving on :)

Arunima said...

@blah blah: welcome back and see you around.

@manuscrypts: yup and moving on...

hope and love said...

nice post..
setting up a home is great fun..!!
txs for visiting my blog.

Anonymous said...

So howz ur new Home. You must be in already eh.. i have always been on the all my life.. In fact i moved so much, this one time i am feeling so lazy to move i have been in the company guest house for pura one month now.. am travelling 4 hours every day to and fro office and yet i am not shifting.. I can get real lazy sometimes.. maybe i am waiting for the company to kick me out...maybe I am enjoying my two hr each rides what with my sudden free time to read my paperbacks which i haven't been able to since that fateful day i decided to do an MBA.. last one month i have already read 4 books..

Arunima said...

@Tony: just dumped everything. So, can't reply to it.

Your guest house must be damn cool so, you are not thinking of moving out. why blame laziness? :-)

which is your company? I am thinking of applying.

I too read 4 books in the past one month.

Samba said...

Hostels are great! Especially the ladies hostels! You get to multiply your network by the number of inmates! But sharing basic necessities and bringing in collectivism in some o the routine things can be painful!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
GratisGab said...

Beautiful post.

You will love living by yourself...yes there are pros and cons but the independence can be heady!

Unknown said...

You were lucky that you could enjoy a an extended stay at hostel even after the college days! But a home also has a speacial feeling! Bad that we can't have the best of the two worlds!

Shivangi Misra said...

Well, mine is long story. All this house hunting... was practically living out of my bag for nearly 3 months before I found the kind of house i was looking for...
will post it sometime on my blog. Btw, you in media/communication... what medium?

Anonymous said...

Hi time u install that spam checker in ur Comment. Seeing mny spam. hey I don't sell spam checker by the way.

:-)
I just started a Bachelor's CookBlog. You might find it handy.. Not many meetei recipes though..

Anonymous said...

Oh my God... Was I transported back to my days at the "barsaati"..where we survived on milk, maggi and bread n cheese spread! Such a goooooood post Arunima.... I am all warm inside coz I have traveled back atleast ten years to relive those sweeeeet memories. And...all the best for your new home.... For decorating tips, just use your instinct ;-)

Swar Thounaojam said...

man! ok. woman! m checking ur blog ;p awesome post. i like that letter of yours ;)

Arunima said...

@Shivangi: thanks for dropping by. Now, I am into IT. I not only switch jobs but the industry too
:-).

Arunima said...

@tony: thanks. I cook most manipuri dishes. I am just plain lazy.

@bem: woa lady! nice to see you here. Glad we met again after such a long time.

Goan Pao said...

moving from hostel to a home..well pros are more space to stretch your legs..
cons loneliness...I always felt better in a crowd, where there was someone to talk to..
All the best in your attempt at interior decoration. Independent women, now thats what I call hip.

AAA said...

I always wish that I had the chance to live in a hostel, or a place away from home, just for the experience. I think it would have been better for me in my life to have that experience. But I didn't get the chance, and I don't think I will anymore.

All the very best with setting up your new home! It will be fun, I'm sure!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if u will even read my comment...hmm...but anyways..ur blog reminded me of those days...living on maggie and fighting for 5 rs and the remaining 50ps...U cannot beat that charm!

Ravi Handa said...

hve u stopped bloggin or wht?

anumita said...

You brought back memories of my hostel days. Of over 10 years. How often I then dreamt of moving into my own house without the warden at my back. And now that I have it, I think back of my hostel times!
Good luck to you. Have fun!

Anonymous said...

You are such a bore. Its been almost 14 days since you blogged!!! You should atleast tell us all how you have set up the house & also about your neighbours. Am tired of reading these comments for alomost a week.

Anonymous said...

You are such a bore. Its almost 15 days since you blogged. Tell us about how you have setup your house and also about your neighbours. Am tired of reading these comments from such a long time!!!! ;(

Arunima said...

Ok, I am posting soon.