Going Solo

It's hard to believe that I have been living alone for almost six months, and surviving it! People who used to know me back in boarding school and undergrad days will know exactly what I am talking about - how chicken-hearted I used to be when it comes to being alone in the house at any point of time, especially at night. I remember having my own room for the first time when I was in 11th std - I used to start the night at my room only to find myself waking up in mom's room the next day. During my undergrad (Grace Home) days,  I used to go room to room, begging and coercing people to stay overnight with me whenever my roommates were away. Hospitals used to (and still do) creep me out the most as they host so many deaths. I don't know how exactly I've come to reach a stage where I am actually living all alone but I believe it was a gradual process. I think it started the day I gathered all my guts to visit 'Scary House' and face my fear. Since then, I have progressed from staying alone in the house while my roomies were on a night out, to having my own room during post grad days, to living in a semi-independent flat adjacent to my aunty's and finally to where I am today, living independently in a 1BHK flat.

I remember how nervous and doubtful I was when I first made the decision of living alone. Although there are certain perks to it, I was really worried about my safety, where I would run to in case I get scared at night or have a medical emergency. Thankfully, my anxiety got reduced when I found out that there was a Mizo family living downstairs, who by the way have been so awesome. Here's a big shout out to Aunty Nuteii - my new BFF, Siama Sailo and Marley Sailo! :).

The first few weeks, I found myself celebrating my new-found independence which involved having wine and cheese in the company of myself after a hard day's work whilst watching sitcoms back to back. I didn't want to leave the house even on weekends as I immensely enjoyed the quality time spent with myself. Sometimes, I would pile up dirty dishes and throw my clothes everywhere, soaking in the feeling that I didn't have to be concerned about anyone's feeling other than my own. When it came to doing household chores, I was very content with the fact that I didn't have to expect someone to share the workload.

After a month of going solo and loving it, boredom slowly sunk in and I found myself craving the company of people and getting really depressed about being alone, doing everything alone and for myself. As a result, I was exchanging a lot of phone calls with my besties, speaking for hours and hours with them discussing the most random of things.  

Now I am at a stage where I have wholly adapted - living alone has become a normal thing - nothing to be dreaded or celebrated. The weird part though, is that I find myself sharing a peculiar relationship with my flat and the things that I own. It has become extremely difficult for me to stay overnight anywhere else. Even on nights when I am out till late, I make it a point to retreat back to my pad. I missed my bed terribly while I was away in Mumbai for two weeks. Weird huh?!

When it comes to dealing with security concerns, there are certain precautions that I take religiously. Whenever I am out for a long time, I keep the door open as I enter the house and lock it only after looking around and ascertaining that it is intruder free. I barely move out of the bedroom once I secure the door for a safe trip to dreamland and hence make it a point to keep all the essentials with me before getting ready to bed. Also, I keep the door wide open whenever somebody comes to deliver things at my place and I never blindly open the door to whoever knocks. 

I am not sure if I'll continue with my 'solo' stint for long but one thing I can say for sure is that it's a luxury that one must indulge in at least once during single-hood. To make things easier for those of you who have not had the solo experience yet, I am listing out the pros and cons of based on my experience:-

PROS

• You can walk around naked in the house (Not saying that I do it:)).
• You only need to buy the stuffs that you like - eg: you no longer have to buy that vegetable you so hate but your roommate loves.
• You can be really messy/ a cleanliness freak if you want to.
• You don't have to worry about who does what - division of responsibility.
• You can bring as many guests whenever you like and switch back to privacy mode when you wish.
• You dictate the choice of music in the house - what, when, when not.

CONS

• You don't have a 24/7 agony aunt/ cheerleader and that sucks. Imagine coming home after a bad day or a great day at work with no one to talk to, or after a major shopping spree with noone there to help you justify your case or admire your fresh loot with.
• You shop, cook, eat and clean for yourself and that gets boring over a period of time. There's no one to compliment your cooking and help out with the dishes.
• Living alone is expensive.
• Low level of security.
• The longer you live alone, it gets more and more difficult to adjust to the thought of living with other people again.

Whatever it is, for now here's a toast to "Going Solo" and independence!

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My WOW moments at Lakme Fashion Week, Summer/Resort 2013

It's been more than a week since I've recovered from the hangover of  Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort 2013 and this post is long overdue. 5 days of glamour, parties and not to mention hobnobbing with the who's who of the Indian fashion and film fraternity; it was a week well spent, thanks to ZOVI! Another bit on the ZOVI Gen Next program coming up soon on the blog.

One major challenge that I faced on a daily basis was to find the perfect outfit which could easily transition from day to night, comfortable for running around, yet suitable to be spotted at the front row in. It was a smart move to ditch all my sky high stilettos for my faithful Zara sling back wedges and Dorothy Perkins hi-top sneakers at the final stage of re-packing. Sadly, I had to give up my Zara wedges right after the fashion week as it gave up while I was taking a walk towards Joggers Park with my friend Satprem. It was an over utilized wardrobe essential that has served me for almost a year and I am going to miss much:(. You can get a gist of what I packed for the fashion week here.

Anyhoo, wardrobe talks aside here goes my list of my WOW moments at Lakme Fashion Week, Summer/Resort 2013:

NAEEM KHAN - Naeem Khan was the man who delivered my first WOW moment! It was a show that I had personally highly anticipated, not because I've a huge follower of Naeem Khan nor any designer for that matter but due to all the hype around him and his long list of celebrity clientele, some of whom are my favorite fashion icons. Of course,I am a convert now after seeing the show and I am delighted to admit that I have been officially bitten by the Naeem bug. When the show started, I was gasping with awe for every piece that was showcased. The intricate details, the perfect blend of Indian embroidery and Western cuts (especially the ones on Velvet), the stunning sequinned numbers and the immaculate finishing. The only issue was with the fittings as the dresses were too long for the Indian models because of which many of them tripped or almost tripped and most of them looked very uncomfortable. Check out my top picks from the collection below. My favourite is the red embroidered Kaftan dress.

MUNKEE SEE MUNKEE DOO - The name itself made me curious enough to not want to miss the show and I am glad I didn't. The collection was a breath of fresh air centered around sheer, fluid fabrics and clean geometric cuts. At the end of the show, out came the cutest designer duo - Teresa and Utsav who both looked so young that it was hard to believe that they were behind the wonder that I had just witnessed. I made it a point to shake hands with them and congratulate them when I met them outside later. Watch out for this duo as they are definitely going to be the next biggest thing in the Indian fashion industry.

SWAPNIL SHINDE - I was bowled over by Swapnil's psychedelic, fierce and unique collection. Futuristic shapes, metallics and an interplay of pop colours and classic monochrome checks dominated the collection titled "Alice on Acid". As I was doing a bit of research before writing this post, I came to learn that Swapnil has done a 6 months internship with Versace which he won for being the first runner up in the reality TV show Lakme Fashion House. He has rocked the Indian fashion scene since then with his dramatic and spellbinding creations. Can't wait to for his Winter/ Festive 2013 collection as I have a feeling that it will be yet another pleasant surprise!

You can watch all the shows on LFW TV here. Hope you enjoy my favourite shows too:)

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Of Police Stations and more..

Today, I was at the Police Station for the 6th time in my life and thanks to the long waiting time, old memories flashed through my mind. One incident which particularly stood out happened in 2005 when I was harassed by some random guy on the street (henceforth referred to as "the guy"). It happened around 10:00 pm while I was walking down a very busy and packed Brigade road in Bangalore towards the auto stand (have mentioned this incident in my earlier post). In case some of you are wondering what I was wearing, I was in fact modestly dressed; completely covered up from the neck down.

Anyways, coming back to my story, I remember screaming and hitting the guy with my bag. Suddenly, a crowd gathered around us and some of them told me to let him go or forget it. Thankfully, there was a gentleman named Anthony who stepped up and questioned everyone saying, "What will you do if the same thing happened to your sister or mother?" He then made it clear that the guy had to be taken to the police station and offered to help out. I also agreed with him as I felt that it was my duty as a woman to get the guy punished for his crime. Since the area was within the jurisdiction of Austin town police station, we took him there. As I observed him closely, he looked very dopey, insane and looked like someone who lived on the streets. I felt a little bad when the policemen showered him with verbal abuses, punches and kicks. The upside, however was that he would surely think twice the next time he gets the urge to harass anyone.

I bet it would have been very a challenging task to take the guy  to a police station at that time of the night had it not been for Anthony. I'm also quite doubtful if the police would have been that cooperative had it not been for him. I can't thank him enough for that night and I believe that if there were more Anthonies, India would be a much better place for women. I hope that he is happy and blessed wherever he is.

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Through this short blog post, I would like to urge all my readers to stand up against eve-teasers.