Evenings ....

Ok things are much more settled now. Its been two weeks into the job and two weeks setting up stuff at home.

Most of the essentials are in place. The poster remains, the cushion covers remain. But things that make the day go smoothly have been bought. The current cash flow crunch will keep the remaining items out of reach for the near future (aka the fridge and the dining table).

But now that things are settled, the evenings come to bite at you. I cant help but get a feeling of deja vu. I have done something similar 5 years back when I got out of IIT. I may have become older, and more sensitive of the heat and the filth that surrounds me, but the question of what to do in the evenings still remains!

What does one do? Rather what does a bachelor who has gotten out of a relationship do? Women are of no immediate interest. Unfortunately, the bachelor is an Indian, and never had the chance to passionately follow a pursuit, music or arts wise, so there is no hope there.

Yes there are millions of movies to see. But the good ones are unfortunately out of easy reach. The international favorites, the winners of Cannes awards (other than Lagaan and Amelie), the Sundance nominees and similar such thought provoking masterpeices will never be found in the local DVD rental store.

Yes, there are billions of books to be read. But unfortunately for the Indian bachelor, he was not enough of a nerd to live off them completely. He can pick up one to curl up with in the late hours of the evening. However, they cant be the only thing he does to pass his time.

Yes, there are runs to be run, but where does this Indian bachelor find the people who run slow and for hours. Its easy to find the casual runner in our godforsaken 'metros' but how do you find the ones that push themselves. And this Indian bachelor is very picky about them as well. He wants not only them to be able to run for hours, he also wants them to be smart enough to talk to. After all, long distance running is a lonely affair and the company of a sensible, intriguing individual makes all the difference.

Yes, there are tonnes of TV series that are there to be consumed. But this bachelor has a mental block against them. He scoffs at people who come back home excited to watch the next episode of some stupid make-believe series. How will he face himself in the mirror if he becomes one of them?!

Yes, people who know the rants of this bachelor will come back and tell him that he can go ahead and 'learn' something. This is what the bachelor himself suggested to a lot of people when he was at the verge of finishing up his MBA. But, its not as easy as it sounds! There are several barriers to entry. The timings are conducive to the college student but certainly not to a working professional. Then there is thr problem of choosing what to pursue. The choice is very important since it decides whether the person will push himself against the blaring traffic, sweaty painful commute and a tired body to go for that hour long class in the evening.

Of course, the bachelor is leaving out the worthless pursuits that several of his batchmates will eventually conform to. This includes evening dinners and chit-chat under the pretext of exploring the wonderful, oily, filty, overpriced cuisines that the city has to offer.

The bachelor also leaves out the weekend excursions that some of his more adventurous friends may pursue. To this, he does not scoff. But he realizes that travel is actually an excuse to spend hours and hours with a set of friends and enjoy conversation and going-ons. In his experience, the conversations that fill the hours of travelling are actually what people cherish a lot along with the beauty of the destination. Even the beauty of the destination offers ripe material for which another set of conversations can be based on. And if the bachelor is fortunate to have such a set of wonderful friends to begin with, then why would he travel with them far and wide. He would just sit with them in a decent bar and use alcohol as the stimulus of conversation!

Which reminds the bachelor of another lingering grievance, the absence of good, sophisticated places to drink in the Indian 'metros' that dont suck the living daylights out of your wallet! But that is a rant for another day .....