Most of the time when I ping
my friends over Social Media sites, the first question they ask is how am I spending
my days in Manchester. So I thought let me describe my normal days, in this
post. Here, I would mention that I have classes only two days a week and the
rest of the five days are usually spent at home when I am not going out to
explore the place with friends.
|
SUNRISE OVER BEETHAM TOWER |
My mornings begin the last,
that is after my father has gone out for work and after my mother finishes her
breakfast and starts chatting with some of her friends back in India. I happen
to open my eyes at such a time. Of course I have never seen the colourful hues
of sunrise here except for once but I could not capture it though my lens
(maybe it would be my next New Year’s Resolution). The first thing I do is
check my phone and later proceed to have my breakfast after a quick wash.
|
DOGGIE |
While I eat breakfast, I get
to see my neighbour taking their bull dog for a walk. The dog seemed cute until
I managed to make him angry by switching on my camera flash right at him.
Since, then he has mood swings when he sees me. Some days I am non-existent and
other days I am fortunate enough to evoke a little wag from him. But it is for
sure that this dog will not shake paws with me EVER!
|
THE NEXT DOOR CAT |
My other neighbour, who I
have no clue about, owns a cat. After a lot of research I have managed to figure
out that it is a British Semi-Longhaired black cat. This cat does nothing but
sit at the window staring at something. It is only when it rains that I do not
get to see him.
After breakfast comes my
daily routine of going to the garbage dump at the basement and to the letter
box.
|
WATCHING TV |
Thereafter, I sit on the
couch with my laptop and watch the television and improvise on my blogs when I
am not writing my assignments. This takes most of my time and I head for lunch.
After lunch it is T.V time again.
The evenings are mostly kept
for household shopping for which I go to the Manchester ARNDALE. After shopping
I usually make a stop at the Hasty Tasty Pizza which stocks some of the best
takeaway pizzas I have ever tasted.
With the rain clouds hovering
above our heads most evenings see a shower here. After shopping we are mostly
stuck in rain and have to brave the heavy rain and wind to come back to our
apartment again.
Subsequently, it is laptop
time where I sit with my laptop, watch CID or listen to songs till dinner is
announced.
After dinner, I go to sleep.
Most of my days are spent
like this. When I wake up here, it is already afternoon for my friends back
home and by the time I am free in the evening, it is midnight for them. I can’t
remember how many days has it been since I last heard their voice. It is mostly
email and Facebook or Whatsapp chats nowadays where we reply
as and when we are free. But behind the veil of glamour and beauty of this
place, there is a night of darkness and loneliness that this place possesses.
It is not that I am having a bad time here, I love this place and my friends here,
but I also long to be in touch with my friends back home; to know where they
are now, what they do, to meet those who I have not met for years, to take part
in festivals. Durga Puja and Diwali just went by, but the noise and
the lights never reached me except for in the colourful photo messages sent by
my friends.
So, for all the people back
home who think I have become a Bileti
person, you guys probably have a life that I envy a lot. Life is not as full of
glamour as it seems to be. It is, in fact, really difficult and sometimes tests
your patience and limits to endure against the weather, the place, the dark
gloomy nights and your inner demons. To end this post, I’d rather quote Iris
Murdoch “We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in
life is to find reality.”