Somewhere near Liege in Belgium is this pretty little town called Méry, that a friend and I headed to on an impromptu early morning drive. I discovered this town on an earlier trip that I took to aimlessly explore the northeastern side of Belgium.
A big part of my daily routine apart from the morning coffee fix is commute to work, which I enjoy a lot, as its not a monotonous 30 minute journey, but a spread of tiny bits of activities: a 5 minute walk to tram stop, 10 minute tram journey, few minutes wait at Centraal Station, another tram ride of about 8 minutes and finally a 5 minute walk to the office building;
I made a quick trip to home in Hyderabad and then to Bangalore. Every time I go back, what I feel about the country completely changes and this time was no different. Am now very tempted to move back for no good reason than to just experience the country in its raw form. There is disorder and chaos everywhere, and I am yearning to drown my soul in every drop of it.
In a way, the intenseness was similar to my experience in China, except here, I can communicate and find my way around people and their personalities. For now, I am content in capturing moments that provoked this sublime nostalgia.
As soon as I landed, grandma was quite happy to stuff me, my sister and everyone with food.
My last memories of running around the corridors included me being unable to reach the mirror or the clothe hanger/cables.
Couldn’t help notice the light and shadows, that have been casted the exact same way for decades.
I was very amused to see this bag hanging on the gate for the milk-man to drop in the milk packets every morning.
I then headed to Bangalore to meet one of my friends, with whome, inspite of not meeting or talking to for years, we seem to pick things up right where we left, as though it were only yesterday. I wish there were more of them.
The scenery that I would have found boring 5 years back, I found it incredibly captivating.
At the top of the newly opened Amsterdam Tower, for which instead of a normal ticket, I got the yearly pass as the pricing was ridiculous – €25 or an year and €15 for single entry.
Cafes are one place where unexplainably I experience quietness amidst a barrage of sounds and ambient noises, of waves of people going in and out; of conversations in groups or on phone; of the sounds of whizzing steam and brewing coffee. As my mind goes wandering and my heart starts contemplating, am lost in the solitude and reduced to a mere drop in an ocean of strangers, I love watching people.
For each stranger I glimpse at, am left cluelessly wondering – what is happening in their lives? Are they having a good day? what are they feeling? what is their life like? questions that will forever remain a mystery; questions that I always forget the moment they walk past.
