//Getting in Touch Again//

I have been sitting past half an hour in front of the screen with a blank document, trying to figure out how to start this. Past two days, I have been thinking about finally starting this. I was last active on this blog in 2020. It's been longer than I thought. I feel guilty on some days about how I've stopped writing now and I know Papa would certainly not agree with that and say, "If you were feeling that why didn't you write?". Well, now that's a tough one to answer. I'm lazy, yes. However, more than that once you lose a habit it's so difficult to get it back. The biggest fear is if I'll be able to write how I used to. Not that I was amazing at it earlier, but still. 

In these two years, I completed school, struggled with the anxiety of applying in colleges, finally getting into one and then settling in a completely new place. I took admission in the design department of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Faculty of Fine Arts. The design department's name is Maharaja Ranjitsingh Gaekwad Institute of Design. I was very nostalgic about leaving Lucknow. My college is in Gujarat and it's way too far from home. It's not in a nearby place that whenever I feel homesick I can come back over the weekend. I didn't know that once I leave for college, I'll come back after five months. My college hostels weren't open at the time when I left for college because of COVID. There were four of us, looking for a place to rent. There was so much fear yet excitement in me at that time. So many feelings were rushing through my blood at that time. All this while, after school, I kept cribbing about going to college and when the time actually came, it felt like it happened so quickly. 

I went cycling to Janeshwar in the evening and I sat down for a break. My phone kept ringing with too many notifications and I was like "who is this person sending so many texts". When I checked my phone, it was my college WhatsApp group. We received the official notice for offline classes. I remember I literally started jumping with happiness. I went back home quickly and told everyone. I called Papa and told him. I was so happy as if all my wishes came true. I was screaming, jumping, calling all my friends, totally out of control. From the very next day, I started with my packing and buying necessary things for college, looking for places to stay. I was so excited. I cried a bit while leaving Lucknow. It was a weird feeling. Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about friends or family at that time, it was just too much about Lucknow. The food, the culture, the places, everything. 

I reached Baroda on the 9th of December and a whole new life started from that day. I visited college and my classmates there. After 1.5 years of online classes, it was so weird meeting everyone offline. That day by the evening we had finalized a place to stay. Amongst the four of us, two of us, Vasu and I, were there and we looked for a place with our parents. I must say looking for a house is not at all an easy task, especially for students. It took us about a week to settle down. During that week my other two flatmates, Namrata and Tehrim had also reached. Naturally, Vasu and I became roommates. I remember spending most of our time at D-Mart in the first week because everyday we discovered something or the other which we didn't have and had to buy. Our parents had left after a week and we were all by ourselves. 

Vasu and I shifted in the house on 13th December. Our house is very close to the college and pretty much every place where we need to go on a regular basis. It's a ten minutes walk to almost every place. Our first night alone in a new house. It was good. We talked for hours and hours that night, bonded upon many things and shared a good amount of laughter. Our first morning was so beautiful in our house (it feels good to call it our house). The place where we live, it's surrounded by huge trees. So many different types of birds come there every morning and it was pleasant at that time. Vasu made coffee for us and we sat on the balcony. They, being the wildlife enthusiast, kept showing me different birds sitting on the tree and their names and everything. The day proceeded then with settling the house, visiting the college, getting our Identity Cards made, etc. For the starting few days, it went like this. We had a lot of time to talk and visit places, but when our regular classes began it became so hectic. However, I enjoy that rush. I enjoy how I work the whole day at college and then come back home in the evening, even night sometimes, and then just see my friends, talk to them, have dinner and the day is complete. 

One afternoon, I was at home. Vasu had classes so they were in college. Vasu and Namrata have their classes at Gulab Baug and Tehrim and I have our classes at Sayaji Bhavan.  That day Namrata was sick and Tehrim was home too. I received a call from Vasu and they very casually just said, "Sana, can you come pick me up from Gulab Baug? I fell from the cycle and I think I might've broken my leg." I didn't really know how to react to their casual attitude and I just told them to stay there and I'll be there in 10 minutes. When I reached Gulab Baug, Vasu was just sitting there on the pedestrian with Shyam Bhai (the most fun and helpful person at college). They were literally just laughing in that injured state and Shyam Bhai and I were more worried. I got them home in an auto and kept telling them to visit the doctor once because I really felt like they’ve broken a limb or something, but no. Vasu being their stubborn self just couldn't agree. The next morning they finally agreed to go to the doctor and guess who was right. They had fractured their knee. That day I was just traveling with them the whole day to the hospital and scan center, back and forth. I had to fill out hospital forms and everything. One thing really hit me that day and I realized that you know, we are all by ourselves here. We are each other's guardians and we have to take care of each other along with ourselves because whatever happens, our parents are not here and we are the ones who have to stand for each other. No-one obviously knew that just a few days in Baroda and we'll have to go to the hospital also. During that week, everyone was sick at home except me, so naturally, I was taking care of everyone. However, we all managed well and I'm proud of all of us. Vasu had left for their home 2-3 days after their injury and they had to get a small operation done. They were going to return after a month. I was very upset when I dropped them off on the train. I was mostly close to them at that time in the house and I was really thinking how I would manage for a month. 

New year's was also approaching. First new year away from home. Namrata, Tehrim and I kept a small party at our place on the 31st. The college friends whom we knew at that time came. It was a fun night where we all got to know each other a little more. Simran and Moksha had reached Baroda on the 30th only so they couldn't make it to the party because their parents were there just for one more day. 

Simran and I weren't exactly "friends" during online classes, we just knew that we both loved Shahrukh Khan, were bollywood enthusiasts and shared reels and memes over Instagram. Who knew, this girl would practically become my support system there. On 2nd January, Namrata, Tehrim, Jinny, Rohit, Simran and I went to Lakshmi Vilas Palace. That day was when Simran and I had a proper conversation and we became friends. We started hanging out a lot together after that and now we love each other too much. 

After a few days even Tehrim had gone home for a month. That was the time when Namrata and I started bonding and we became good friends. We both were the only ones home so we cooked together, ate together, talked for hours, went out, had a lot of fun. In the beginning, we had a dabba for dinner, but soon we couldn't handle the food so we started cooking at home. Namrata and I became those friends after that who sit in the balcony during evenings, share and talk about so many things over Chai. We have been each other's official Chai buddy since then. 

During that time, Simran was having trouble looking for a place, so she was temporarily staying at our place, but after some time we just decided to stay together and now the five of us are flatmates. 

Currently, I'm home in Lucknow, after 5 months. I'm going to stay for a month. In these 5 months in Baroda, we had so much fun. We shared good and bad days. So this was a brief background of what happened all this while when I didn't write. I am going to write more and tell more stories of Baroda in the coming posts :)

(still have to add Simran's name here)

سناSanaसना