Boy with the terrace

Pata Hai, Yaha se bahut door, Galat aur Sahi ke paar, Ek Terrace Hai 
Mein waha milunga tujhe

The year was 1980 and the month October. A couple by the name of Alok and Shanta Ganguly along with their son and daughter made the switch from to Nepean Sea Road to Versova. The building that they settled in was one of the few on the stretch. There was hardly anything around it. This place used to be a British cantonment. The only thing worth seeing was the beach. One had to just Hop Skip and Jump (it’s much more than that actually) and your feet were in the sand with the waves passing over them.

10 years later, a boy by the name of Adit was born. He played in this building, he ran like there was nothing to stop him, he fell down, he rose. Balls were hit into the sea which were never found again. As kids, our curiosity to find out what that boy and girl used to do behind those rocks were answered. 22 years later, Adit still lives in the same place. There is a reason why he will never leave this building. He just cannot. There might be better places in the city to live, he might earn the money to live abroad for that matter but at the end of the day Adit will come back to the place that he calls HOME.

The building playground (that used to exist once upon a time but it’s nothing more than rubble and concrete now) and my residence were always there, but these two places aren’t the reason for my being so attached to where I stay. That place belongs to …

A terrace is something all buildings have. Mine’s a bit special for it’s a stone’s throw from the beach. I’ve got compliments like ‘ What a wonderful view’ , ‘ it’s so beautiful’ , ‘ You’re so lucky ' and not to forget ‘ How are you still single’ from friends. For this, I have only two people to thank, my grandparents, Alok and Shanta Ganguly. Thank you for choosing this part of the city to live in.

My terrace started off as nothing but a place above the 7^th floor of my building. I hardly used to go there until the second half of last year. It slowly became a room of my own due to the number of times I kept going there. I think if there’s anyone after the watchmen of the building who have visited the terrace the most in the past year, it is me.

There is now more than just a bond between the two of us. From a room, the terrace is now a person, one of my closest friends. I share a lot of things with my terrace. Things that no else knows about. Wherever I go, I feel that some part of the terrace is within me.

There’s a lot of stuff inside my head. I keep thinking about the things around me. A lot of thinking was done on the terrace. I used to go up and spend hours by myself. How does time fly and sunset turn to darkness sitting on the parapet of the terrace I do not know? One of the reasons why my book was named ‘The Answer Within ‘was because it was at this very place where I got the answers to most of the questions I asked. Such was the magic about the place that many times I got the answer before asking the question. If Karthik (From the film Karthik calling Karthik) had a phone where he got an answer, I have my terrace. Whatever I asked and replied by my friend is what fills those of my book. What is in the book, that we shall discuss someday later. That day is not today.

This is what it looks like from the top

This friend of mine has brought me nothing but good luck. I got my happiness, creativity, sense of humour and unpredictable nature back. My friend told me that for you to be happy, one must make the people around him happy. And thus started my daily jokes on Facebook. I was told that no matter how sad you may be, even if you’re in no mood to smile, put others before yourself and add a smile to their faces. I set out on this journey making sure that the morning of the people I know starts on a good note. Making the world smile is not an easy thing to do. My friend taught me how to do that.

When I asked a question, this friend showed me another path to get what I wanted. A terrace can’t be called a person but if there was ever a reason behind me teaching the kids, we all know who to thank.

I ' CHILL ' at the terrace

And then we have some people in the building who don’t like to see other people happy. This prick has a problem with my happiness and the place I get my happiness from. Mr. Prick comes across that type of person who never had ‘ fun ' in his life. Mr. Prick doesn’t like me taking my friends to meet my ‘best friend’. He wants me to take permission from him to visit my own terrace.

What Mr. Prick doesn’t understand that he is fighting a lost battle. He is 60 years old, I am 22. He is going to die in some time; I have my whole life ahead of me. I am not leaving the building anytime soon. So who is the loser at the end of the day?

Most of the people that I've taken to my terrace don't live that close to the sea. They feel that they've come to some wonderland when they come to the terrace and on the beach. I never used to pay much attention as I've lived here since birth. I used to see the same sun set by the horizon day after day. What was so special about it. Couples used to come, do what they had to, and leave. What was there to feel good about where I stayed. And don't get me started on Ganesh Visarjan. The noise and people on the last day, the garbage, the condition of the beach and the sea after everything is over. What's so good about living by the sea?

These were some of the initial questions that I'd asked this friend of mine. Within minutes, I had found the answer. Such is the case today, that each time I visit this friend of mine, it feels like I'm visiting the terrace for the first time. I don't know if such a thing is called magic, but there is just something about the place.

The year has started on a superb note. Each day thus far has been more exciting than the previous day. There is a lot to look forward to. If the first month of the year has been this kickass, I can't imagine what the next 11 months have in store. I am so happy, cheerful and pumped up these days. I have a trip to Rajasthan next month, the excitement is such that the wait is killing me. I have got back all the things I'd lost thanks to this friend of mine.

This aside, I have another journey to set out in the last week of this month. Despite the happiness and craziness returning, there is still something missing. I asked my friend where I could find it and like always I wasn't disappointed. To rediscover myself, I need to get lost first. And I will ‘get lost ' for the next 7 days. Getting lost helped me find myself a few months back. Need to find myself again.