Sundried and salted

Their set of questions-”what’s up? Howz Delhi? What you up to these days?”

My set of replies-”Nothin‘ much man..chillin’..Delhi’s good..awesome..been shoppin!…howz u?”

It’s funny how complete sundried tomatoes taste…almost cooked..not that you ever minded the raw juicy pulp..relished it even..but somehow..sun dried feels more wholesome…amiable..thorough

Life’s in Bangalore’s as good as it gets..got a house, friends i’ve known since college for flatmates, a decent job, all the freedom that i’d wanted, the works. Missing home is always about the superficial, materialistic side of things….little, annoying images of the luxury left behind, that creep up whenever there’s no butter at home and dinner means brown bread with water and cigarettes..and sometimes about the longing for the old things…people male, female and dancer..and animal golden and covered in baby fat..
I took a flight to Delhi..home…last friday..to ‘chill’ for a bit. Homecoming was bear hugs from the family, an overenthusiatic golden labrador panting like crazy and juicy meat-balls in rich gravy and rice.

It’s strange how we adapt to new cities and new situations..even stranger how we adapt to the old ones. I don’t miss bangalore…ok, i miss the cigarettes..and the beer..but i think i like the taste and texture of sun dried tomatoes on my tongue..the whole-ness..the familiar tingle of the old sun on a life that hasn’t changed much…at least doesn’t seem so from 2400 kms away, where the raw tomato puree compromises its way through the unfamiliar maze in a city too big for its own good..trying to hold ground at times and trying to leave a trail behind at some others…mostly trying to lose what it had become over the years..to something else..like some disillusion taken seriously..only to taste the sun and the salt again,..but just for a bit…only for a little bit