Page 72 - You Only Live Once [BooksLD]

‘You’re planning to stay until the New Years? That’s what Parvathi told
me over the phone call.’

‘Yes!’
‘We generally do not let out our rooms for less than six months. But this
penthouse has been vacant for a long time. Nobody wants to stay so far
cutoff from the city centre. So, we’ve decided to let you have it at 30,000

rupees for two months. You have to pay 50% in advance,’ she says
mechanically. It seems like Maria does not speak much and has trained
Madhuri to look after her and the property.

‘I’m moving in today,’ I reply with a smile.
I head back to the hotel and Parvathi helps me do up my new place. ‘Didi
, write as your heart desires on this desk. I am sure you will touch a million
souls,’ she says and walks out. She tells me that she has to pick her mother
up from a nearby orphanage where she works as a nurse.

I hit the beach for the very first time since I have arrived. As I jump and
dance all on my own, I feel so liberated as I can live like Ramy for two
months. I have watched it in the movies for so long, but this feels pretty real

now. I am at a place where I can be who I wish to be without adhering to
the norms of the society. Splashing around in the water like the birds and
animals from the jungle, singing and shouting out loud, contemplating and
writing my next song, running endlessly along the shore, trekking up the
cliffs nearby. Yes, this is my home. In the wilderness, don’t let your phone
ring, only your heart sing!

Like Ramy says on his blog on the open road : The world is our home. It
is delusional to call your apartment home. Even worse, to stick to the same
place all through your lives. If you’ve found love, happiness, or
togetherness somewhere, you’ve certainly found a home.

Relax. Calm down. Meditate. Your mind needs cleansing just like your
body. When you travel, make sure that you cleanse your mind and soul in
the embrace of nature, flowing water preferably. The sound of water acts
like a healer. Always take some time out to spend with yourself and heal. I
am cleansing myself in the Arabian Sea, literally. The water is clear as

crystal and as green and glittery as emerald, and I’m sure it has taken a
journey traversing ages, universes. What if a part of it has touched my
mother too.