July 9, 2013
A happy day! Siyona also gets
admitted to GEA. Kshitij has already settled back in happily with his old
friends and school. It has been less
than a month since we landed in Mumbai, but now I feel as though I never went
away. Everything is just the way it was, it is only me who has changed in a lot
of ways in the last two years. Now, I
understand the true meaning of home
coming. The familiarity and the routine is what makes and keeps me happy. I
don’t have to make an effort to feel calm and peaceful.
I AM calm, happy and at peace. Simple.
Its rainy season in Mumbai and
the roads are always packed, the potholes seem larger and more murkier and the
house is may be 1/5th the size of my Lagos apartment, right now is
bursting with people and things. But that does not in any way reduces my
happiness. Our happiness is never
derived from the house we live in or the car we drive in, it is always
dependent on the work we do and the people we meet. Take away the freedom of
the pauper and give him a mansion to live, I wonder whether he would be happy! Freedom
to move, think, act is what life means to me.
Mind plays pranks on us, when
that freedom is taken away and only the strongest of humans can live happily in
an environment of imprisonment. Community and social life are important factors
which can play a big role in the happiness of a family. The children are the
easiest to adapt to changing environments, since their happiness is derived
from the security of their parents. For the Man it is easy to adapt to a
location like Lagos, since the mind space is not so huge, but for the woman,
Lagos is truly a challenging location. I would classify myself a survivor in
Lagos. It was a huge learning experience and if I have to ever do a location
like this again, I know a bit better now and will be easier.
