My Story

                                                                 

Where do I begin….. ( with the soundtrack  of  Dr.Zhivago  playing in my mind) I sit down to pen my story. I know I am not a celebrity or a famous  personality with my name on every lips ,but nevertheless, I have a story to tell -

My mind travels back in time to the 80’s growing up in cold, wet and green Darjeeling with the pristine Himalayas standing tall and staring at me as I walked to school everyday.  Angela’s Ashes by Frank Mc Court – I could draw parallels with his life  when it came to a Catholic childhood( even I threw up my first Holy Communion!) but not the poverty and the squalor that he so dismally describes in his book. I had a good , happy Catholic childhood  and the worse that could happen to you was  when you had a Bishop as your maternal uncle – that meant you were being watched, watched all the time; be a good exemplary girl or even expected to join a religious congregation when you grew up!. Amidst the Faith, Christmases and Easters, the evening prayers and hymns, the convent school that I didn’t quite like, my first friend Marisa,the never ending Monsoons and  Winters, the healthy organic food, the occasional picnics, Keventers'  cold cuts, rolls and Darjeeling  tea, steaming hot dumpling in  town ,the weekend walks , the annual holidays here there and everywhere , the supportive family, busy,  strict and stern parents  and very musical cousins…..I grew up leaps and bounds literally! All hands and legs and lanky I stood at 167 cms  – a little too tall for my little people with big hearts.

“She Understands”, I overheard my father saying these words about me  to my mother. I was very young and all ears!  And somehow these two words have been my mantra ever since. I have carried these two golden words in my heart and my soul, and my life have been woven around them. For a decade I was a Helenite and as if that was'nt enough I  went on to an all girls college- Loreto ,with a promise letter to my parents that I would study and never put them in any difficult situation and shame and I graduated with not only a degree but  with a realization that I was multi- talented and had leadership qualities, substance and style and more .  This beautiful girls college and her dynamic Mother Damien sitting at the helm, my best friends Suprina and Namrata, the ever so wonderful professors who spoke impeccable English, has left indelible experiences and beautiful learnings and memories that has made me what I am today.

A rebel at heart , a confident young girl, a gypsy soul, a self declared stylist with an eye for detail  – I found a home for the next decade with two airlines in contrary to my mother coaxing me to become  teacher( and get a comfy job not far away from home). I travelled extensively in India and across the globe rubbing shoulders with hoity toity girls  from numerous nationalities, learnt to adapt and adjust- to time zones and foreign shores, shopped and went sight seeing, practiced virtues like patience and calmness at 37,000 ft above sea level,  I made a trip to the Holyland with my parents- thus realizing my mother’s dream to touch the waters on which Jesus walked. The perks of a flight attendants life!

When I write my story – how can I not mention the  protagonist  who had turned my world upside down the day I met him  in New Delhi where  I was on a short trip to write my DGCA( Civil Aviation ) exams. Rahul  swept me off my feet with his Clark Kent glasses and his signature lop- sided smile. I am  forever indebted to Hotel Imperial where he was working at that time and my colleague and friend Shelley who played cupid and  propelled our ‘ love at first sight’ moment to a journey forever.

  

My heart signed off to him I saw myself flying to India more often than I could imagine. Meeting and parting became a norm. Swapping my long flights with girls to get me back to India, counting days – what love can do to people! I was a  written off victim of this thing called Love.

All good things come to an end – We decided to get married! We were looking for some commonality between us to take things further- there was none! He- a  rudraskh wearing Hindu, Me- a cross wearing Christian, He- a Vegetarian, Me – a Meat eater! Community and language – nothing was on our side except for our  crazy  love that made all these objective things look miniscule. Fighting in our own rustic way  we got hitched at the turn of the millennium!  I willingly became his wifey and our travels continued as my  airline fetched him free tickets and his hospitality job fetched us free stays at classy starred hotels .That definitely was a steal deal!

That was 12 long years ago. Today we are definitely older and wiser and  still very much  in love.  We have  two beautiful children and we have  realized that we have bigger hearts to accommodate these two new members   in our fold .  Motherhood has altered and taken my life to a different level all together. After having moved 6 destinations with Rahul’s  work, I still do the adapting and adjusting. I am still a gypsy soul and I love my life on the move. Resilient children who have taken to our  way of life – newness does not worry them! Making friends and leaving a trail of friends and school mates with each change of location! Where we four are together -that is home. Living among diverse people, we learn to  accept and  celebrate differences.

Being a wife and a mother is so fulfilling but  I did have a fire within me to do something for myself. Me in competition with myself and no one else. I have slowly but surely  honed my skills as a  life coach  – have realized that I can help people who are in need of guidance, share my knowledge of what I am passionate about- to be a catalyst for smart , confident and ‘ well turned out’ people.  As I write , those two words I overheard my father utter  many many years ago, ‘ She Understands’ resonated within me. I believe my life has come full circle and that I can only go higher and higher from here.