My "Go Out Alone" Adventure

I'm a loner and I don't like going out alone. I would look for the comfort of a friend's company to keep me distracted throughout so that I can giggle in between, have a safe umbrella of being with someone to talk to and not look around lost and return home safely.  

Just to keep you on the same page, I am loudly talking about going out alone apart from work. I go to work daily by driving my car, interact with colleagues, and have a healthy number of friends and an amazing husband.  I like to think of myself as an independent working woman who is adequately funny and cheerful, has an average Indian lethargy within, like most people, is a jack of all trades and master of none; I like to try multiple things with more interest than passion and would like to believe that I'm still discovering the real kick in life. 

Out of my many silly troubles in life, the current major point of concern is that I need a good company for shopping, movies, beaches, local streets and bazaars. To add to it, I am also the same person who dream of travelling the world by herself someday! What ?! I like to keep myself amused. :) So you would say, what's so difficult in going out alone? Just step out and start walking. Hmmm...To think of it, I was terrified of the idea; keep mulling over the thought and skip the opportunity or event at last.  To travel especially in public transports like Mumbai local where I had to push and shove and beat the others to land on a footing inside; I was scared of people or to interact with people.  To build a shell around me, I have taken to solo sports like reading, writing and photography where I and an inanimate object romance with each other in peace and quiet. But yet again, man is a social animal and how can he thrive with only books in his hand for life. 

Photography gave me a new window to see world like never before and there calmly stood my hurdle of making contact with people again.  I looked out for opportunities where I could get together with few acquaintances, fit in somehow with already formed groups, click street life, often get snubbed out by walkers and shooed away by people being clicked; I took limited steps to give water to this budding social thirst of capturing the world in a new light. 

So, just another Sunday, lazing around reading newspaper, my eyes got attention to a literary festival taking place in my city. Oh I had to go! But I had not taken a bath, I had plans of going to the parlor and getting my eyebrows in shape and the event was to start in an hour. Within a split second I just jumped on my feet, with robotic speed I took bath and shampooed my hair, getting ready within a flash, chucking out the perfect eyebrow-ed girl look, running out of the door while limping to get the shoe on my left foot, I stepped out of my home feeling divine :P. Takeaway: So this is what needs to be done when in doubt, just step out however awful you might look!

I reached the destination, struggled for the front seats of a Bollywood celebrity chat session, managed to take a selfie with one of them, ate in the crowd with hawk eyes like nobody is watching, met a long lost acquaintance but with good summary of her life (thanks to FB), shared the selfie in 3-4 different Whatsapp groups and gloated with each "aww" and "amazing" comments and finally came back exhilarated.

Feeling like a conqueror, I excitedly told my husband just back from some work at the end of the day,"You can't imagine what I just did..!!!"  I recounted each and every memory in detail of the event to him beaming 

"See! you always told me that I tag you along to unnecessary boredom...I did this alone, what do you have to say?"  

He asked me straight faced “What transport you took for the venue?"

Bewildered, not understanding the context, I said "Auto!” 

"Ahh! The day you take a local by yourself and go someplace, that would be exciting for me” he said with an crooked smile.

Duh!!!! Back to the kitchen for the vegetable soup.....Arghhh !!!

Share this post