Long Read

2016. The year of Brexit. The year of Trump. The year of proxy wars. The year of ugly politics the world over. Another year of irreparable damage to nature. The generations to come will have a lot to study about this year. Whatever form our species takes in the coming centuries will also have much to understand how we go extinct. 

In the past, friends from India and I have dwelled over how we form and represent a small, perhaps one per cent of India’s population. It is widely understood that India is a complex beast but we often lose ourselves in our little bubbles and get frustrated with the things that happen (or not) in the country. 

The events of this year have reinforced just how disconnected our bubble really is from reality. To vote for the UK to stay in Europe and be shocked at the results was a rude shock for many like me living in major cities in the country. But what it did do was readjust my compass to make an effort to understand how most people are thinking. 

Trump kept shocking and entertaining us through most of the year but after Brexit, I did not rule out the possibility of him winning the election. The shock when he won was at the people who could not believe it. The heartbreak and emotional turmoil that it caused was also interesting for me to observe. Obviously, it was more visible among American friends and colleagues but I have never before witnessed that kind of response to a political event. Obama’s 2008 victory came with such positivism that I didn’t make much of it then. Of course, in 2008, I was more consumed by being on that hill top, submitting assignments, crushing on nature, attempting to make a long distance relationship work, picking up on the world of the questionably wise, old monk that I probably did not even register much beyond the fact that the US had a new president. 

These memories of 2008 are making me shake my head and smile as I sit here on a disputed window seat of a Dreamliner on a long haul flight to my old home, Abu Dhabi. A young desi family in true desi style just sat on my seat and expected me to take their seat elsewhere in the cabin when I arrived. Of course, I did not choose seat number 79 to give up on my window. And so I refused and made a kid get up. I felt a little cheap but only a little. 

Being on an Etihad aircraft to Abu Dhabi also brings back memories. It is already two years since that as well. A lot of that time was bitter and negative but I often remember the good times spent in my breezy studio by the beach. And so I am glad to be hitting AD even if for an hour at the airport before I reach Delhi on a holiday! I have made several work trips home this year but most of them have been hectic and stressful. And this one is tad special as I will go to my parents’ home straight from the airport after more than a year. And with all that, I justify dancing in my seat to dhinchak Bollywood numbers. I have a feeling these headphones aren’t the greatest and so people around me can not only see my bobbing head but also clearly know what’s making me do it. But who cares!

2016. A new job. More travel. A new house. A lot of negotiations. New relationships. New culture. A learning curve in relationships. Weight gain. Same old pattern of health issues. Some clingy fragments of the past. A few anxieties about the future…..shall we dive deeper? 

Let’s go.

# The new year began with an active chase for a job which finally worked

# I continued to engage with the last employers but these latest interactions with the local office were also a darn shit show and I finally figured people are the same world over and got over the awe I was in with that company!

# I do owe my current job in part to some fine people from that last job and I am thankful for it

# I visited Sicily which was heavenly for the sun it gave my eyes and my body when I was beginning to die of London’s endless winter, for the brilliant food it offered in veggie form, and for the bloody brilliant time those three days were!

# I also visited Amsterdam and experienced its canals, space cakes, tulips, windmills and the different air even if the city was busier than I had imagined or would have liked

# C trained for and ran a half marathon in record time. I went and cheered at Wembley stadium. I experienced the easy feeling of pride and I also experienced the much harder feeling of inspiration and motivation

# Nine months later I finally acted on that inspiration (still in part) and signed up for a run myself – a 10k to begin with. I hope and pray I can prepare for it in a good way

# We didn’t make a trip we wanted to because it involved trekking for 16 kms through a gorge and C didn’t want to have me risk going for it unprepared. We have now booked that trip for May of 2017.

# I consumed a lot of sugar and have a worrisome extra five kilos on me

# I tested for diabetes, thought one of my biscuits was my last sugary treat, but the test was negative and I continue on 

# Pragya visited a couple of times and we managed to add an interesting layer to the friendship

# I witnessed completely juvenile Whatsapp politics and wished maturity for some people

# I travelled a bit too much for work, but then I also earned the bronze tier on British Airways because of it. An early check in and avoiding queues is a good enough benefit for now.

# We went to Gran Canaria for our first anniversary and I cannot begin to describe what the sun there did for my body and mind. Whatever it did for our relationship was incidental. Maybe I will someday log that travel, but for now, know that it is a gorgeous place, it stays warm throughout the year, Brits love it, and I totally know why!

# Got involved in a high profile work event with the biggest global CEOs. It was a tiring but interesting experience that involved lunching on a fancy boat on the Thames and dinners at the Globe and Cutty Sark

# Mom and dad moved homes in Delhi and with that I partially lost a home in my home city. The one I got married from was home for 19 years

# Some more friends had babies and I will soon stop telling my mother about these developments just as I had stopped telling her of people’s weddings a few years ago

# I celebrated a very colourful Holi at work

# And I had some awkward conversations about India’s independence with a few British colleagues

# There were a few weddings in the UK – an Indian-German one, an Indian-British one and a Indian-Polish one. I loved how personalised the experience was for guests. 

# I also attended a Hungarian wedding in Budapest and amusingly was one of the few ‘foreigners’ who were treated special by the hosts and their families. This also included a high energy series of dances with the groom’s 70-year-old father

# In Budapest, we rode on a tram route (over)rated on the list of top 10 scenic rides in the world. That said, Budapest is a gorgeous and lovely city!

# And then there were weddings I missed

# I was mandated to join a session of improv comedy. I was so worried that my lack of spontaneity will let me down that I had a couple of drinks before going in for it. But it turned out to be one of the fun-est things I have ever done!

# I also went for a murder mystery game and did quite poorly at it

# There was recognition at work – of my successes and weaknesses alike, with a lot of help to address the weaknesses

# I kept the tradition of going to the ER (twice) and experienced first-hand the mess that the UK’s healthcare is!

# There were several house parties – some fun, some random

# Diwali was in London

# I turned 30. I am still not comfortable saying this number out loud, but lately I have been thinking of the many experiences of the past 10-15 years that I feel it has been a memorable enough journey to this number and I should embrace it warmly

# Tried again with Avan’s help to complete my wedding video. Hopefully I will get it before the end of the year

# I had this dream for my 30th birthday. I never learned how to ride a bike because I was busy hopping countries. So I thought of going for a trek in snowy mountains for the birthday instead. I have anyway been longing to go back to the mountains for a while now. But snow in Europe in September is hard to reach. A trip in remote Switzerland would have been ideal, but I was frustrated and upset with how logistically hard and expensive it was turning out to be! And I clearly never did it.

# Instead, Chetak kindly helped plan Snowdonia as a funny ‘snow’ trek even though there would not have been any snow then. That trek didn’t happen either because the weather wasn’t on our side. And being in the countryside meant no phone network and therefore hardly any phone calls and wishes. If you haven’t figured yet, I am still bummed about all the things that did not work out even though it was a lovely trip in itself. 

# I did get a nice surprise party for the birthday which made up for all that wasn’t.

# We also went dancing and experienced mundeyan to bach ke rahi on the dance floor during the Notting Hill carnival

# A separate trip to the city of bells, Brugge was one of the biggest highlights of the year. The place was musical, scenic, quiet and very refreshing! These away-from-the-city breaks are hard to match.

# C gifted me a watch with my initials on it 

# Watched Vir Das live in London

# Watched Zakir Hussain live again 

# Visited a remote Swedish town for work and ticked off the bucket list item of seeing windmills in water 

# C got his UK driving license and we went for our first road trip with dear boys in a red Jeep :D

# I made an effort to connect with people from past life in the current city and balance my being in this foreign land beyond C and his friends

# An important relationship finally came up for air after nearly two years. It will never be the same again but I am glad the negativity is behind us.

# In my true retrospective, reflecting self, I kept sharing Facebook ‘memories’ with friends. It doesn’t help that I and many of them are spread out across the world. 

# Demonitisation happened

# Samsung gave new life to my phone with a complete overhaul over the summer

# Bought a new Canon

# I was gifted a tablet to read but I failed to read

# I started using a credit card. I know I said I started doing it when I moved to Abu Dhabi, but I now use it for 20p transactions as well. I still think it is stupid to buy on credit and then pay a bill at the end of the month when you can buy directly with a debit card. But things you do for points, offers and miles!

# This one comes low in this list just so I could reflect hard and remember the finer details of the year – we bought a flat of our own!

# We bought 200 kilos worth of furniture from Ikea and I discovered I enjoy DIY.

# C and I had a similar amount’s worth of arguments as well

# I told C that we will go easy with setting up the new home, enjoying the process instead of making a burden of it. Instead, I single-mindedly spent several evenings either buying stuff for home or just unpacking, setting up, hammering nails, et al. I could still go back and spend a dedicated week on it. We are, after all, still a few months away from completing the set-up.

# Close friends helped a great deal with the packing, moving and settling in

# Leaving my first house in the city was nothing short of an end of an era

# A fortnight still to go and I figure this has become a very long read

Year in Review: Part V

And here is the final list of 2015 highlights - some things new and some things old:

~ It was established that I absolutely love weddings, especially our desi Bollywood-y ones
~ I printed and framed photos for my new home
~ Did a special photo shoot and created a photo book from it for a friend’s farewell
~ Attended networking events
~ Did a lot of walking
~ Desperately approached random people for help
~ Started living in constant fear
~ Felt jealous
~ Met a lot of new people
~ Crushed candies and rescued pets
~ Watched British stand-up comedy and didn’t get much of it
~ Lived through London’s pissing-off pissy rain
~ Again had an injury that nobody could decode and had several funny diagnosis for it
~ Completed seven years with my Canon
~ Completed nine years with my blog, Fuchsia

Year in Review: Part IV

Here's some more new experiences from 2015:

~ Started running
~ Slept more than I did in the last five years
~ Got married
~ Received a lot of gifts
~ Put together a coffee table book of my travel experiences
~ Got added to eight new permanent Whatsapp groups
~ Of course I put all my Whatsapp groups on mute
~ Saw graffiti in Berlin
~ Saw horses running in open fields
~ Watched a classic at an open air theatre
~ Bought clothes for friends’ new-born babies
~ Bought plants for home but most of them died
~ Then Priyam sent another plant on my birthday and it’s doing well so far
~ Lost my nani
~ Struggled on the career front like never before

Year in Review: Part III

OF NEW EXPERIENCES...

~ Watched the brilliance that was the musicals, Matilda and Wicked
~ Kissed under the glittering Eiffel Tower
~ Did salsa in a pub with more than a handful of onlookers
~ Became a Monopoly pro!
~ Experienced the autumn colours
~ Made my first real make-up buy
~ Bought a real winter jacket
~ Got active on Instagram
~ Watched cabaret in Paris
~ Stayed up all night to click the red moon
~ Sat on a tram
~ Had my first serious experience of jet lag
~ Spotted jelly fish
~ Started living with someone who ensures I always have fresh flowers at home

Year in Review - Part II

FOOD & DRINKS

~ Became a Sarvana Bhavan regular

~ Made dosas with coconut chutney and sambhar at home and they were GOOD!

~ Made papayas a regular component of my diet

~ Ate at a Georgian restaurant

~ Tried a new drink called Ginja

~ Also had Champagne IN Champagne

~ I fasted. 

~ I partied

~ Had a short phase of desi-style do-at-home corn cob addiction

~ Cooked for and hosted more than 15 people at home

~ Ate a lot of crepes

~ Attended many a gatherings of wine & cheese

~ I tried another new drink – the porn star martini!

~ Went cheese-tasting

~ Had an authentic Palestinian meal with a Palestinian family

~ Had the afternoon tea experience in true British style

2015

I usually do a recap of the year every December. But since I haven’t written much this year, this recap is really going to be about me trying hard to recall the details – big and small – before they fade with memory. 

Since it’s a long list and since the blog post number has been so low this year, I shall break the post into a few parts. 

Here goes the year in review, part I:

PLACES
~ I moved from Abu Dhabi to New Delhi to London

~ Stayed at a super luxury hotel and found it utterly underwhelming

~ Visited a lavender farm that looked and smelled like a dream 

~ Travelled first class 

~ Travelled low cost 

~ Got bumped up to Etihad's business class on my final flight out of Abu Dhabi

~ Got an unexpected five year Schengen visa

~ I visited Berlin 

~ Then I visited Paris

~ And then I went to Portugal

~ Visited a museum of natural history and saw the T.Rex! 

~ Visited the Guggenheim museum

~ Chose not to visit the Louvre 

~ Visited Cambridge

~ Booked tickets to Scotland but couldn’t go

~ Booked two trips for 2016

Part II to follow...

Time

Given that I was away from the blog for most part of 2014 and that December was fairly busy itself, I never got to pen my year-end post. And then I came across this feature on HuffPost which served as a good starting point for this post. Thinking through the below 30 questions about the year that went by and the year ahead put things in perspective – some a little late in the day and some just in time before I start a new life. 

Here we go…

2014 in review

1. Describe your 2014 in three words

# Stable

# New

# Challenging

2. What was your most common mental state this year?

Happy

3. What was the biggest event in your life this year?

The engagement

4. What were your three happiest moments?

# The couplet night

# Telling Mom about Chetak

# The birthday dinner 

5. What new skills did you learn?

# Cooking

# Work processes-related things

6. What personal qualities or habits did you develop, cultivate, or strengthen?

# Started to articulate thoughts more clearly

# Introduced more fibre intake

7. What new things did you discover about yourself?

After pondering over this question for a few minutes, I feel old. There’s nothing new I discovered about myself. What I did discover about life is that 100 per cent happiness is a myth. 

8. What little things did you most enjoy doing on a daily basis?

Chatting with cabbies

9. What out-of-the-ordinary things did you do this year?

Most part of life this year was out of the ordinary

10. What cool things did you create?

All the food! Rajma, chhole, kadi, pasta, etc

11. What big things did you do that you had to get out of your comfort zone?

# Moved countries

# Worked with people from a completely different culture (inter-personal and professional)

# Swam in the ocean 

12. What achievements are you most proud of?

Living on my own

13. What was the most memorable moment this year?

The proposal

14. What are you most thankful for?

Love

15. Who are you most thankful for?

Chetak

16. How did you spend time with your family and how did the relationship evolve?

Technology-dependent bonds 

17. What or who had the biggest positive impact on your life this year?

Chetak did

18. What was the most important lesson you learnt in 2014?

You need a lot of patience and discipline to move the needle beyond a point

19. If you could turn back time, what would you have done differently?

Tackled the new role at work differently

20. What advice would you give to other people about what you have learned this year?

Ask more questions, do more research before jumping into anything

2015

21. What new things do you want to try in 2015?

# Regular exercise

# Euro travel

# Better cooking

22. What or where do you want to see, discover, and explore in 2015?

I don’t think this one is applicable given the year’s planned schedule

23. What do you want to achieve career-wise?

Discipline and independence

24. What new skills do you want to learn, improve, and master?

# Cooking is important!

# And maybe see through the Urdu plan

25. What personal qualities or habits do you want to develop, cultivate, or strengthen?

# Assertiveness

# Discipline

26. Who do you want to spend more time with?

The family before I move

27. What do you want to "feel" most of the time in 2015 (happy, content, excited, relaxed, busy, productive, creative)?

Happy and productive

28. What do you want your day-to-day life to be like in 2015?

Relaxed breakfast. Decent office hours. Productive conversations at home. Date nights. Cookouts. Travel. Socializing.  

29. What do you want to completely get rid of in your life and in 2015 you will make it happen?

Nothing really

30. What is your number one goal in 2015 and how are you planning to achieve it?

Active lifestyle - hopefully with some consistent help

And it's a wrap!

But there still was a lot that I managed to do this year. 

# I climbed 13,500 feet of a mountain topped with snow. Can I write this in all caps? No big deal, I know. But it is a personal achievement. Massive.

# I experienced the magic of Ladakh. Pure love. 

# I got to watch Zakir Hussain, live, again. The man is magic.

# Attended my first 7.30 am south Indian wedding

# Accepted to face an issue and sought help

# Almost drowned

# Sneaked out of home one night for the first time

# Dealt with dad’s illness

# Voted for change

# Saw the white desert

# AGAIN did not see through the process of getting my driver’s license

# Did far fewer stupid things

# Stayed in a house boat

# Met a stranger for chai and realised there are others who are struggling more

# Struck a conversation with another stranger only to realise it is very hard to get someone to know me now

# Saw Bombay from the 35th floor of a Nariman Point building

# Had people send me flowers from beyond international borders

# Participated in a theatre workshop

# Tried very hard to find a new job

# Lost sleep

# Lost another person who I thought was a close friend 

# Joined a dating platform only to find every other interesting person uninteresting

# Danced a choreographed dance

# Attended exactly one month of salsa lessons

# Hard work in office got acknowledged 

# Fell in love with Harvey Specter

# Got closure

# Watched Suvvir grow into a monster baby

# Wanted to marry, was asked for marriage for wrong reasons, watched some great people come together in marriage, saw some close people’s marriages fall apart

# Bought a new lens

# Experienced massive lows at work

# Continued to struggle on the health front

# Bought and wore a lot of bling clothes

# Significant cut-down of alcohol also happened this year

# Rode an elephant after more than a decade

2014 is expected to bring newness. I honestly do not know if this blog will see through its eighth year, but I do hope it does. 

Timeless

Priyam has done a series of round up posts on her blog, one of them being her 12 moments of the year through the viewfinder. So I thought I should do something similar too. I don't really have pictures as pretty as hers, but when I started browsing through the 2012 folder, I thought of doing two sets - places and people. So, here goes....  

You saw it earlier in the month, but this sunrise in Rajasthan was definitely the most beautiful one this year. 

                                                                

A numb evening with yellow lights over the river (Panjim, Goa)

Pondicherry's streets were a delight to walk through

I sat here for two hours as the sea breeze and my mind sang in harmony  (Ross Island, Andaman) 

There's nothing I haven't already said about being here. It was out of the world! (Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh)

This drive, these rains were easy to relate to because the alternative was to think about work (Odisha)

The little bubble that I live in was bursting with excitement when I went for this photo exhibition on Delhi's history

Lights and symmetry! (New Delhi)

This comes very close to the sunset that I actually experienced a day later. No company, no accessories, just me, the sea and the sun.  (Wandoor, Andaman)

Before I dozed off that afternoon (By the Bhaga river in Darcha, Lahaul)

An afternoon at a different island at Andaman. Had a damp forest behind me. Corals all around. It was the hour of reflection. (North Bay)

Liberating was the feeling!

And the people...

When Suvvir was nameless and just a few days old. Been five months already/

The palace inside Jaisalmer Fort had soo many artefacts to go through! (with Vidha)  

My moment of touristy happiness. Had just seen the sun rise on the east coast. And this was the only moment we halted inside the Sun Temple at Konark (with Anand behind the camera)

I never use people pictures for my wallpapers. This has been the only exception. (with Swetha at Deepak Taal)

Mommy!

The week that Milan and I completed a year in office (with Priyam and Vidha)

Farewells make me uncomfortable (with Daksh)

Spent some fine time in Goa with Ranjan

My dearest, most beautiful friends!

Evenings at Morrison never disappoint (with Robin, Swetha and Priyam)

From another classic evening at Morrison. Ladies night this time! (with Priyam, Milan and Vidha)

Suvvir's first Diwali with his grandparents

This took a while putting together. Hopefully, I shall only see you on the other side of the calendar now. Much love! 

Something New

Earlier this year, I was part of a workshop which was about social styles in the work environment. The assessment of my style and what was said about it was not just accurate, but also a little amusing. Well, amusing because people make fun of some things I do, but then it really is very satisfying and fun. Like making pretty Excel sheets. Won’t you agree that they can be efficient and presentable, at the same time? I certainly believe so.

So, apart from work-related Excel sheets, I made two personal ones which made me very happy.

The first was some scenario planning I did before heading out to Goa. I usually do not do this when travelling, but I was a little confused about how I should spend my time there. After all, even though I would have had company there, I was travelling alone.

How it finally shaped up was very close to Scenario 4. *grins*     

The other was a direct consequence of having a full time job and living with family. I feel the need to do something new and exciting very often. So I started maintaining a sheet with records of something new that I did every month. 

Something New: an occurrence or an event that has never been experienced before

Most of it was fun, some embarrassing, some inconsequential, and some not worth sharing, but I am glad to tell you that I did have a fair amount of data for this file. :)  

The list itself was a first. I am hoping to scale this to something better and bigger next year.

And since this is directly related to my customary year-end post, I’m clubbing the content below. 

# For a fear of drowning in water, I went scuba diving and 30 feet deep into the ocean  

# Went to watch the Beating Retreat live at Raisina Hill

# Backpacked in the mountains

# Started wearing contact lenses

# Regularly did yoga for six months

# Drove up till 16,500 feet

# For a fear of being at a height of even two feet, I sat on a camel and moved through the desert at 10 feet above ground

# Slept in the open in the desert 

# Went for a rather disappointing sufi music concert at Humayun's Tomb

# Bought my highest heels

# Became an aunt (I know I didn’t have a role to play there). But walking with him in my arms and managing 

to entertain him is big enough!

# Ventured into a swimming pool and felt that it might not be so hard after all

# Had a lot to drink - tried a lot of new drinks and found a new favourite

# Thought that I did not need to be rushed to an ER this year, had this latest accident, and felt royally idiotic!

# I did have more than my share of health-related pain and depression this year too

# Broke a heart

# Had my heart broken (Yes, again!)

# Travelled to my heart’s content!

# Watched a lot of stand-up comedy, didn’t miss any show that came to Delhi from The Comedy Store, Mumbai

# Figured the difference between being short tempered and angry. I used to be short tempered. What I now experience is a calm exterior and a lot of anger inside.

# Declined a rishta only by looking at a guy’s pictures

# Started thinking about getting married

# Made two drastic changes in the hairstyle. Loved one more than the other, got a LOT of compliments for the other.

# Experienced a first real ‘happy anniversary’

# Splurged a LOT!

# Sat on a ghoda gaadi late on a cold winter night. It was one of those *silly grin* moments.

# I listened to the entire Budget Speech of the FM, live

# Started going to a spa

# Stayed at the Taj in Mumbai

# Did a speed tour of the Sun Temple at Konark. The place reminded of history textbooks from school.

# Got promoted

# Went on a blind date for the sheer thrill of the experience

# Made my first real online purchase (not books or movie/travel tickets)

# Cut my own hair

# Watched and loved Sherlock Holmes

I worried about whether 2012 was going to last. I think it was a fairly good year. I don't know what to expect from 2013. At all. It feels like I am approaching a blind turn. But I do not know if I should be slowing down.

Too many question marks. Too much blank space. Very unsure. 

Bokeh

I began the year on a nervous note. I was not sure about how I would handle it...

It was the first year where I worked from January to December with exactly two weeks' break in the middle. So, it did fly by. But I think I managed to squeeze in enough to at least manage this post. Like I insist, lessons don't mean much unless I learn them myself. I finally figured that a minute, a moment, a day, are all enough if you really want to do something, get anywhere. It is the will that matters most. And with that thought, here's my snapshot of 2011!

# Entered an ocean full of opportunities led by the gods themselves!

# Had to get my nose re-pierced

# Four key travel outings in northern, western, southern, and central India. Beginning 2012 with the south-east. :D

# Did one semi-nude photoshoot which, I think, had turned out to be pretty good!

# Had a massive crush on an extremely nice guy

# My involvement with the big screen became extremely romantic

# Struggled with the health through one more year

# Watched Zakir Hussain live

# Spent money to watch a play for the first time

# Tried out some new restaurants and cafes in the city

# That story had another chapter unfolding this year

# Bought gold

# Said definite goodbye to Maggi and eggs, they are my allergies of the year

# Turned 25 and got my first surprise party

# Found the force in the sun

# Rode a tonga

# 10 years ago, I would not have worn an orange skirt even if you offered me money. And now, it is a dear possession

# It was the year of spotting cute men in the metro

# Taj Mahal dekha!

# OD'd on chocolate

# Drove on the streets cheering along with strangers when India won the cricket world cup

# Bought a LOT of white clothes

# Do not detest black any more. :)

# Picked a fight with Manu Joseph :P

# Visited banks of the Yamuna

# Sat on a negotiation table for Rs. 88 lakhs and contributed to the winning side 

# Dreamt about going to Ladakh. Hopefully next year.

# Gave presents to some people when they were not expecting it. Felt nice.

# One more failed attempt at the gym

# Had my first serious scary moment when that man disappeared at the cemetery in Wayanad

# Got some of my photographs printed and framed for home

# Hated rains even more

# Said a very difficult 'no'

# Made a highly entertaining trip tot the Toilet Museum

# Wrapped my camera up

# Started using a BlackBerry

# Experienced Bombay at leisure for the first time

# Obsessively listened to some sufi songs

# Made my annual trip to the emergency room of a hospital

# Also had a blackout followed by a scary ECG

# Did not purchase a single bag this year. Maybe I should buy one as a new year present.

# Changed the blog's look after really long, and quite like what I have now!

# I did not delete some text messages from the phone. They have got to feature here! A consolidated version would look something like this:

"Airtel welcomes you to...

Haryana

Rajasthan

Gujarat

Maharashtra & Goa

Himachal Pradesh

Punjab

Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Kerala

Tamil Nadu

Karnataka"

I know I didn't go to all these states, but I did go through them all to fewer destinations! :D 

# Cleartrip called me a 'frequent traveller' (ahem)

# I finally discovered the beautiful world of net banking

# TV gave us The Dewarists 

# Got listed on an India Influencer Index on Twitter :P

...but I do think we managed to handle each other fairly well. 2012, are you going to last?

A Year of Lessons

I forgot to mention in the previous post that I also saw the full moon's light making the serene waters at Bhimtal glitter, bidding me the happiest good-bye.

And now for the Fuchsia (self-proclaimed) legend - my year wrap-up post.

# The year had begun with a spill-over from last year-end's awesome trip to the best of beaches

# I had also resolved to travel every month

# I watched my first 3D movie. And an animated one at that.

# Went through two longish phases of depression

# Went crazy over not taking up the job that I did not want

# Spent a lot of time with my first cousins

# In the Exploring Delhi chapter, I visited the phool mandi at CP and Ugrasen ki Baoli

# Went on a rural marketing trip to a village near Pune. Tasted anjeers off a farm in the middle of all brand-related matters

# Bhaiya got married

# Spent a lot of energy getting accustomed to the presence of a new member in the family

# Danced with a bartender at a party

# Drove to Panchgani with friends and sat in the dark for several hours just waiting to see a perfect sunrise

# Liked almost all new alcoholic drinks that I tried this year, and developed a dislike for the Old Monk that gave a lot of memories the previous year

# Just for the record, I love Jack Daniels. And I love green apple martinis. And an advice that you are free to take - please don't make LIITs if you don't know how to make them.

# I am still not over the tequila shots happiness :D

# I went tripling on a motorcycle

# I also rode pillion on a bike on two cold nights

# Totally fell in love with Marks & Spencer

# Made a road trip to Amritsar

# In my list of temples this year

- Golden Temple

- Dandeshwar

- Jageshwar

- Golu Devta Temple

- Sun Temple

# Got a root canal treatment and multiple cavities filled

# I still love meetha!

# I went back to driving. And again did not get my license. I think I should write 'went back to practicing driving'.

# Got involved in a project I liked in a way that could not have been more unorganised

# Ruined my knee

# Fractured a foot

# Still living with dysfunctional legs

# Got two worth-absolutely-every-penny-spent amazing hairdos

# Watched a lot of movies, ate at a lot of new places

# Experimented with food (in all caps).

# Had the coldest birthday ever

# Experienced the challenges of a job hunt

# Wrote the most desperate email of my life

# Went for a few events at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and felt supercool doing that :P

# Missed two close friends' weddings

# Saw first-hand what five stars are like and really did not get impressed. I appreciate the efficiency of smaller places a lot more.

# Had a friend bring me white roses during one of my many illnesses

# Started meeting directors and CEOs of organisations and also started finding the process quite hollow

# Went back to Pune and to that campus that I did not think I will ever turn back to.

# The feelings that ran through me during my last few hours on that campus will probably go with me to my pyre

# Bonded with a stranger through a night and felt like I could spend the rest of my life with him. I was drunk.

# People I sanely wanted to keep for life decided otherwise.

# Heard Jagjit Singh live

# Made my long trip to the Himalayas and did a year's worth of new things

# Had many degrees of strength derived from my immediate and extended family

# Realised for sure that I am a strong person in spite of the love for vulnerability.

You've Seen This Before

While there is still close to a week left for the year to end, I want to write about the year that has almost gone by because I have started making my new year eve plans. So let's get to the custom of listing it all out.

# Life's second moment of hysteria happened early this year. More emotional stress than I could handle.

# Travelled to Jamshedpur from Pune to meet Shady who used to be

# Met Subhadip in Kolkata

# Started playing badminton after many years

# Travel ventures began with Ajanta and Ellora. And I covered everything from rock sculptures and paintings to river rafting in the mountains to frolicking on a beach on a rainy day to playing under waterfalls in the hills to a quiet lakeside evening to a drive to a beautiful dam followed by an awesome fort as well. A tiny wildlife sanctuary is on my list too. :-)

- So it was a first view of the sea
- A first dip in a river
- A first lakeside moment
- A first waterfall experience
- A first of a dam during rains
- A first walk on clouds in a fort
- AND a first of the wildlife

# Travel to Chandigarh to meet grandparents is definitely a separate point

# Holi brought my first rain dance experience

# Break-up happened and I became my cynical worst after that

# Got the fourth piercings in the ears

# Experienced working with a chauvinist

# It was one of the most volatile years of friendships

# I bought my first dress

# Got drunk for the first time

# Ran a marathon

# Bhaiya got engaged!
# Bought the perfect red saree I had dreamt of for a decade, for bhaiya's wedding
# More of ultrasounds and related crap

# Siddhartha passed away

# Bought a new lens with my own money

# Invested in a photograph for a good cause

# Made a perfect wall

# Dev D's music was one the biggest forms of madness ever!

# And so was Delhi 6

# Missed a flight

# Lived the thrill of having a Costa Coffee in Pune for the longest time!

# I contested and lost elections in college

# Experienced guilt like never before

# My first plant died

# Did political PR

# Voted in general elections for the first time

# Watched somebody I loved fall in love with someone else. Twice over.

# Made a little trip on Delhi's local trains

# Watched way too many movies on my laptop

# Got associated with one of the biggest brands in the world

# Attended a santoor vadan concert of Rahul Sharma's

# Saw Shah Rukh Khan :P

# Started loving peanut butter

# Sinus pains went beyond tolerance levels

# Had a man tell me I'm perfect

# Fell out of love with Nike for Woman

# Watched theatre

# Became more rude, arrogant and intolerant

# Broke my laptop's keypad in anger

# Laughed through many days too.

I am sure I am forgetting more things. I'll come back and update this list. Until then, spend some time in writing out comments. :D