The Return of the Explorer

I write this sitting in a beautiful co-living space. It seems to be made just for me. With art pieces lined up against the walls, beds with lace curtains and wall art that definitely entices, yet makes you feel warm and welcome. It has been a while since I’ve sat down and just written, written to just…express, to allow thoughts to flow, orderly or unorderly, it doesn’t matter.

The thrill to being nomadic.

I spent many years of my life moving around. From a childhood in Delhi and Mumbai, to an upbringing in the US and Chennai, to studying in Italy and finally choosing Bangalore as a spot to possibly settle, I was actually…frustrated. What was home? Was it family? Was it friends — friendships were fleeting as I moved from place to place. Was it the sights and sounds of the place itself?

The answer here is, understanding how all of these relationships you have had with your friends, family, and spaces have made you the person you are and more importantly allowed you to discover the real and continuously evolving you.

For many years, I was envious of those who had a childhood in one single place, having the grounding that allowed them to have solid continuing relationships with people and spaces. And they envied me, the young traveler flitting like a butterfly from one place to another, how exciting, right?

Wrong.

Yes, I have got exposure.

Yes, I have got a creative bandwidth that much exceeds the average human.

Yes, I can quickly make friends and have a more open and non judgmental approach to bonding.

But the downsides of it are the lack of roots. At least that’s what I have been feeling over many years. I finally found those roots to a large level in Bangalore — The Garden City. Bangalore has not only offered me variety in terms of things to do and people to meet, but has also changed my idea of the kind of person I want to be.

Yes, it is possible to be an everything person!

From a singer to a writer to a poet to an artist, you don’t have to define yourself by one thing, we are a multitude of energy, packed into one being. Unraveling that is slowly becoming a large part of my life.

There is always more.

At times I would get stuck. You reach a certain destination and goal and you think, what next? I have come to realize that — ANYTHING CAN BE NEXT. All it takes is for you to trust yourself to take that next step and not remain in too much of a comfort zone. A lot of people have bucket lists. I don’t think I ever had too much of those. I was too much of a go-with-the flow kind of person, discovering and re discovering as the years went by. It was a slow process of understanding how I can build on the skills I had — writing, singing, teaching and so much more.

I think it comes with the want to discover yourself, to build that relationship with yourself, dig deeper and find out who you really are.

So today I sit in my co-living room, talking to a culinary scientist and a GRE aspirant and I think- yes, this is how I want my life to be. This is how I want to live my life. Moving, changing, engaging, evolving, filled with a multitude of exciting, positive relationships and adventures that never end!

My love to you all.