Writing from the train

An overwhelming week in the city

From 2012 to 2022, I lived in Mumbai with my parents. In May 2014, while returning home after visiting my village, Rewari, I found myself overwhelmed by a strange mix of emotions. I had just finished my 12th board exams and was about to start college. I was caught in the transition between adolescence and adulthood, with constant changes in my body, mood, and perspectives reminding me of this shift. I remember sitting on the upper berth of the train, opening the notes app, and writing. I wrote a few lines and posted them on WordPress using the unreliable 2G internet. That was my first piece of writing. It was the first time I expressed myself in that way.

I didn’t share that blog with anyone, nor did I feel the need to. Yet, I felt lighter, calmer, and more capable of handling myself. It was a new feeling, and it was nice.

Ten years later, as I write this newsletter, I find myself on a similar train, traveling a similar route, and expressing myself in a similar fashion.

This time, I’m traveling to Mumbai as a writer, to facilitate a corporate art retreat with a wonderful team of four facilitators and artists. It’s truly an opportunity of a lifetime for me.

I’m super nervous right now. While I’m looking forward to the retreat, a part of me just wants to sleep and wake up on the last day of the retreat! I hope it goes well—do send your wishes my way. :)

Writing happened to me by chance, and I say that not out of modesty, but as an absolute truth. However, I’m glad that even after so many years, it has stayed with me.

Thank you, dear writing. You saved me on that cool summer night ten years ago, you’ve saved me a million times in the past decade, and you’re saving me today as I write this newsletter.

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Since arriving at my parent’s house in Noida last week, I’ve mostly felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and mentally drained.

Life in the hills is usually slow, quiet, and at a natural pace. Since I rarely visit home and am blessed to have many loved ones, this week, work, family, and friends all came together at once.

As a writer, all efforts to sit with myself to write or take a breather were overshadowed by plans and commitments. I vented a lot about this to my partner and parents.

When I shared this with a fellow friend from the mountains last week, and a couple of months ago with another friend, they both offered the same reflection:

Try to enjoy life in the city for what it offers—great food, family, friends, comfort, cinema halls, essential shopping, etc

I needed to hear that. I become easily annoyed and irritated when I’m in the city. I moved to the mountains to live close to nature and lead a solitary creative life, not to become someone who despises cities and finds faults in them. I was becoming so entrenched in my personality in the hills that maybe I wasn’t liking who I became when I came to the city. I became lazy, and rarely took time for myself, and that compromised my writing and work, which made me feel sad and guilty. As a result, I felt irritated and annoyed.

I hope to draw boundaries next time so that I can make time for my work while also spending time with my loved ones. I value my people a lot. It’s my priority to spend quality time with those I decide to meet. This was a powerful reflection from the last week.

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Well, since I’m coming to Bombay, I also want to share that I’m hosting an offline space this time with a dear artist friend, Kruti Gandhi. If you follow my newsletter, you know she was featured in the first Artist Lounge as well!

The idea of "Anybody Can Create: Writing and Art for All" is our effort to offer a space where people can experience child-like curiosity and creation all over again.

If you’re interested in registering for this, you may check out this link.

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For this week’s Artist Lounge:

I’m honoured to present Shahid, an incredible writer, poet, and dear friend. You can find his work here.

The Artist Lounge stems from my long-held dream of documenting the lives of artists.

Shahid and I have known each other since our college days. We started writing on Instagram together, and I’ve been fortunate to have him as my friend and brother. We would hype each other up on IG through comments and shares, being cheerleaders in each other’s journeys.

Shahid is a lovely human being, a motorcyclist, and recently, he’s been participating in open mics. I wish him all the best in his career and artistic endeavours. Thank you, Shahid, for writing and letting your words touch hearts all around you!

As a feature of all my newsletters, I share one song, one book, one plant-based meal, one film/video that inspired me, and some photographic updates from my life.

• Song: Big Dawgs by Hanumankind has been my go-to music in the past week. As a lover of rap music, Hanumankind has paved his way into the international music community with his brilliant songs.

• Book: I am reading Lincoln in the Bardo as part of a writing-reading community that I’m a part of. It’s very different from the kind of books I usually read, but I’m giving it a fair chance.

• Meal: I didn’t get a chance to cook anything last week, but thanks to being at home and around lovely cafes in Delhi, I enjoyed some amazing food. Here’s a carousel of my culinary adventures.

• Film/Video: I watched this wonderful Zine tutorial by

  Austin Kleon
  .

• Photograph: I didn’t get the chance to shoot much last week, and my Photos app is full of food photos. I hope you’ll let me get away with these two photographs I took on the train.

If you’re in Bombay do consider coming for the event. It will be fun to write and create together. Hope you have a brilliant day and week ahead. Thank you for reading.