July 18, 2015, The day when I shifted to a flat in Delhi, away from home and family. The first few days have been really tough to me. But it’s been a great learning experience too. Probably the biggest and toughest lessons of life that I’ve learnt so far (and of course many more to be learned), have been the result of the last one year that I’ve spent in Delhi. One year back, I never had thought in my wildest dreams that I’ll ever be able to survive independently in a city like Delhi. NEVER. But today, here I am, penning down this article, sharing my experiences. Life’s unpredictable? Pretty much!
After shifting here, I came to know that there is a long list of things to be learnt. First among them was to understand the whole procedure to travel in a metro. A few confusions, wrong decisions, an app and almost a week of regular travelling later, I became somewhat a pro at it.
Secondly, I needed to learn NOT to get befooled by the autorickshaw drivers and street vendors. I was literally shocked when I saw my roomie bargain a dungaree of Rs.650 to Rs.300. My mom was really amazed to see my bargaining skills back home.
Next on the list- you HAVE to learn to manage your expenses as per your monthly budget and to save wherever you can. You’ll many a times need to limit the number of hangouts and shopping, just so you don’t run out of money at the end of the month and be able to fulfill the necessary requirements.
Are you too among those who think that NOT knowing cooking would work? You surely need to break this misconception and take a few cooking classes from your mom. Even if you’re going for a tiffin system or opting for a maid to cook your food, mark my words, there’ll be days when you won’t feel like having that food and won’t have sufficient money to eat out either. This will be the time when you’ll have to cook by yourself (Ah, Maggie? you’re gonna get bored of it!)
Are you very much into being at home, uninterested in travelling or even travelling only with a bunch of people? You’ll get over it. You’ll learn to travel alone at times. And yes, you’ll enjoy every bit of it. I’ve seen myself transform into a person who’s no more bothered by a few hours alone-be it at my flat or even travelling. From Sarojini Nagar Market to Chandni Chowk and to Connaught Place, I enjoy travelling solo. Moreover, I’ve learnt that the art of socialising isn’t that tough. You meet new people, talk to them, know more about them and make new friends. I’m now much better at mixing up with people.
Spending the last one year in Delhi, has helped me broaden my thinking and realize that we need to let people be who they are as well as respecting them to be themselves. “See with glittering eyes, the magic that occurs, when you give a person, just enough comfort, to be themselves.”
I know it’s a tough call to start living away from your family, all of a sudden, for the sake of studies. But apart from education, you gain knowledge enough to be mature and become independent. I’ve learnt that there’ll be good days and then, there’ll be bad days too. But you know what? You’ll survive. As good days don’t last long, bad days too won’t last either. Moreover, I now recognise myself as a Gorakhpuriya Dilliwali. Delhi, a place I’ll forever cherish for teaching me that life never fails to surprise you.
Shreya Srivastava,
Content Writer – DU Times.