On Days Like These

 
It's December, the days are getting colder, the night even more colder; the days are getting short, more shorter for someone like me who ends the day without doing anything. When the clock strikes 12 noon, I ran down the stairs of my apartment to buy my breakfast, and before I could start my day, the sun is already at the horizon.

Just before I sat down to write this entry, my next door neighbor who worked in one of the big MNCs in Gurgaon told me that their Christmas holidays will start in 2 days time. I could feel the excitement in his voice:

"What day is today?", I asked

"Wednesday, why?" he replied.

"And what is the date?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Of course I am. Now tell me."

"Today is 18th."

Oh my God, I thought. I had lost track of time. My parents live in the countryside, the Naga Hills of Manipur. When Christmas nears, everyone of my family from far and near come together to celebrate the happiness together at home. My sister who lived in Mumbai and I had an agreement that was made in the first week of December this year. I had told her that I expect something from her for Christmas. Such was my childhood that every year when Christmas season comes, I would expect gifts in the form of dress from my parents and older siblings, being the youngest in the family. It was only during Christmas that I got new toys and jackets and sweaters and shoes. She wasn't happy at my proposal, but after a while, she agreed. She told me, however , I will have to wait till the 17th of December to get "the thing", she confessed soon afterward that she will send me some money. Today is 18th, surely a change must have occurred in my bank balance. I need to go and check it out. For the past two months, I was so broke that my account balance was at an all time low at 240.45 INR. The nearest ATM is a 5 minute walk from my apartment. But the last couple of times I visited the kiosk to withdraw cash, I was always met with a sign that reads "No Cash" smear with dirt. I moved in to this apartment three months ago, and that ATM has always been without cash. Been new to the neighborhood, I know just a place or two where I could recharged my phone, exchanged my cylinder for refilling, buying a pen, or the like. The first week after I moved in, I roam the whole neighborhood for a cybercafé and to my utter dismay, I couldn't find any. Desperate at last, I had to run back to my old neighborhood to do the job.

Knowing that the ATM near my house gave no cash, and I don't know any other wonder machine that gave cash around here. I normally uses ATM in metro stations or elsewhere in my way to college and vise versa. Broke and excited I am, yet I find no reason to cash out whatever is in. I mean, well yeah, I had to get gifts and cards for my friends and families and many other reasons to spend the money on, but I am not going out. I have been indoor for the past many days, save the occasional run down to the nearest store to get breakfast and veggies.

The days being short, my days ended up with nothing. Soon after my breakfast, the sun is already down, and in no time it will set and the night will come. If you have watch Spy Kids: All The Time in the World, you will know what exactly is happening. If you haven't, you need to watch it, before the year ends. Haha...

This late routine of mine is mainly attributed to this cold and foggy Delhi's December. Of course I might be able to adapt to the normal morning timing of 6 am, but then I find no good reason in doing that save the nursery rhythm we learn in the early days of our studies:

"Early to bed and early to rise,

makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Healthy, wealthy and wise.

That is a big thing. Yes. But I see no reason to wake up so early. Unless I am a student who had an important class at 8 or an employee who has the risk of losing his job if he turn up late, it doesn't make much sense to a hibernating jobless creature like me to wake up so early. I cannot deny the fact that I am a student, but on days like these, with the college empty and winter break in full swing, there is no class to bother me.

Just before the start of the winter break, on the last day of our semester examination, I had this chat with a friend of mine from Andaman.

"So what will you be doing during the holidays?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I should eat as much as I can, and get the sleep I had long been deprive of. What about you?"

"I am writing a book. Hopefully I can complete it during the break if I worked really hard."

"What is the book about?"

"Just wait and see."

He is a guy from my class. He is a revolutionist Marxist in the making. He left me dumbstruck whenever we try to have a socio-political conversation. He is an activist and play an active role in student politics. In fact, he even contested for a post in the university students election this year while he is still a freshman. Such is the bravery.

Like I told him, the same is happening, I have done nothing since the break started. I have been watching movies, spending endless hours on The Internet, eating and sleeping a lot. Obviously, I had quite a busy schedule. I cannot tell when the next post will come, till then stay tuned for more.