The Countdown

One week to go for this year.

What did I do in the last 51 weeks?

The year began with series of shocks. My father had a heart attack. Yes, lots of people have them, but it still felt so unbelievable. It was a blessing that everything worked out and after a bypass surgery and some months of recovery he his back to his normal self now. Those days were unreal. It was strange taking an Uber in Jaipur and going to the hospital from the airport. I was never allowed to take a taxi in Jaipur. Papa would always insist on picking me up. (That when he empowered me to drive at fourteen and travel everywhere on my own).

It was strange going home and unlocking the door. That door would always open before we reached it. My parents would always be waiting for us at least half-an-hour before we were supposed to reach.

Watching Papa completely unconscious wired to a dozen beeping machines, breathing through a mask, with pipes stuck into his body was so unnerving that, being in Jaipur, I went and stayed with a friend instead of going home. And felt that warm reassurance of knowing we always have more than one home when we have friends.

Then I lost a close friend unexpectedly. It was something which was not supposed to happen. But it did. And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

The fragility of life and the finality of death-that was what this year hit me with. And the realization that how important each moment of life is.

It is not as if we don’t know about life and death, but when it is close, it changes some things forever. It changes how you look at the time you took for granted, the words you wish you had never said or the words you never said.