My "Unreal" World!

I often look back at the year that is now swiftly slipping away. The Home Run - R's final semester at IIM A begins today. In just another 3 months this sanctified campus that I live in will be a talk of the past. Sometimes I wish I could hold onto this time I happily spent doing hardly anything in what I call an  “unreal” world of mine.

Yes, it’s unreal – it’s unreal because of the small pleasures of living a different experience that I will miss once I step out of my small secure surroundings.

On a particular day in November 2010, I sat through what I remember as the longest cab ride home from work. R recieved his much awaited admit into IIM A and I couldn't wait to see him. That November I spent thinking about how important this one year in Ahmedabad would be for me and for R. I was excited and anxious, I was uncertain.

The results for the next year have been declared and soon these courtyards will be full of another set of little ones and their contagious laughter. Last year around the same time R and I were in an ecstatic phase of life. We would spend our evenings after work feverishly planning our move to Ahmedabad. R’s inbox would be flooded with emails from his prospective classmates, now buddies and I would fight to read every one of those mails. Meetings, lunches and dinners were planned, a Google group for spouses was formed. At that time April seemed a whole 4 months away, and it felt almost like a decade.

We're now almost at the tail end of the crazy one year at IIM Ahmedabad and the reverse counting to March 9 has now begun in most households. At this point, I wish there was a pause button that I could press and hold on to the little joys of living in a closed community like this one. At times I find myself debating animatedly with my NRI friends about how the life on campus is "unreal".

Why "unreal"?

 - Because in the "real" life R and I usually spend most of our weekends endlessly seeking, fighting, chasing and then haggling with plumbing guys, electricians, and mechanics. In the "unreal" world they are a phone call away and I don't pay them. 

Unreal? Yes!

- Because in the "real" life that I spent in Noida, I lived with hours and hours of electricity cuts and water shortages. Power cuts don't happen in the "unreal" world and if they do, we receive an email about the date, time and apologies for the inconvenience! 

Unreal? Yes - I moved from the land of Power cuts. 

- Because in the fast paced "real" life I had been so preoccupied that I hardly knew my neighbor, leave alone the pot-luck dinners that we enjoy in our unreal world. One year is a really short time, by the time you start enjoying weekend dinners and poker nights, its time to move on. 

- Because there are days altogether when R & I don't even step out of the campus. Almost everything is a call away.The KLMDC Cafe and its range of not extraordinary but palatable dishes usually makes up for a dinner out - atleast technically.

- Because I live in a city that I have grown incredibly fond of within this short span of time. Ahmedabad that has recently been rated as one of the best cities truly lives up to its A+ grade. 

Although I do miss my relatively larger TV, fridge, and house -  but then, what the heck, I would give anything to live this one year all over again!