Tiger Baby

The last month has been slow. I missed home more than usual, maybe because of the festival season. It was also a less busier season at work, after a super tiring few months. I was knocked out in between by high fever, an experience of being sick while living alone is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Thankfully, I was able to rest and recover over the subsequent weekend. Life is so full of social plans and travel plans and gym plans and of course work commitments, that even two days off feels quite tangible.  In a trend that has developed this year, my house has turned into a “friends and family AirBnB”. I called it AishBnB, prompting a “ridiculous” from my friend Ruby.  

It just so happens that out of the few people who have moved to Singapore to work from my broader circle, I am the only girl and thus the first point of contact for girls who need a place to stay between work trips or layovers. So, in this year, I have had classmates and friends from college, colleagues from other locations, and of course my baby sister, stay in my spare room. It helps switch up my routine a little bit, apart from making me feel like a very kind person. I am one, but it has become more of a conscious effort in recent times. 

So, here I was, explaining the MRT system and declining an offer to visit Universal Studios yet again this weekend. No matter how many times I have been to Marina Bay with a tourist, in fact I see it every time I take the bus to work, the view makes me so happy and grateful. It wasn’t always the case, there was a phase not so long ago when the very same paths I liked to cycle down with my friends would bring me close to tears. I am sure everyone has this phase, when everything seems to be going against you.  Work is tough, your home doesn’t feel safe, all your achievements and successes seem to be a distant echo, family is far and friends can only do so much. However, I promise you, it will pass.  Slowly, painfully, just like the fever from hell I had last week. You will wake up one day to birds chirping, in a clean and beautiful home, and a sense of calm. The girl who visited me this week is younger, and she asked me how I appear so “sorted”. Not to completely bum her out, but it’s from being a totally upset mess enough times as life happens that you have your recovery-to-normal method practiced down pat. 

Speaking of upset, my mother has found innovative ways to be upset with me. Now I am no longer an energetic kid she has to chase, so she has fewer natural reasons. What she does now is be angry with me about something she dreamt. Yeah. Apparently, she once dreamt I had stayed over at a friend’s place. Being a protective mom, she visited me only to see there is a full grown tiger walking around, that I claimed to be a “pet” when she began protesting and dragging me out of there. To be honest, the thought of having a pet tiger has crossed my mind more than once. The other time, she dreamt I had a pet elephant that would roam around freely and terrify the villagers. Never mind that I am living in a city-state with no villagers, or elephants.  I guess it doesn’t help when I say “what’s wrong with that?” to her dream-driven concerns. 

October has promised excitement with work and family related travel plans in the calendar.  I will be spending my Diwali at home after four years, and I can’t wait to spend time with my extended family. By next year, I would have spent ten years away from home. The Diwalis and Onams are beginning to hold a lot lot more value than they used to. Before that, I will be traveling for work as well. It does feel daunting, the pace at which life moves on. I feel like May was just yesterday, and 2023 was the day before. On the bright side, I get to do so many things that a younger me aspired to, like working in a challenging finance role. I get to celebrate Navratri with my friends and watch in awe how the Indian community has ensured tradition lives on in a different country. I get to be tired from doing too many yoga classes a week. Time is expensive, yes, but the experiences that have reached me and I am sure, await me, have been priceless as well.