I was nominated to go for a workshop this Friday at London, so I flew down yesterday morning and then flew back in the evening. In case you didn’t notice I was showing off there. :)
Felt quite the working woman when I made my way through the London Tube changing train after train and then reaching my office. There is something amazing about London that automatically make your steps faster, your mind goes on overdrive and your facial muscles are arranged to make you look grim and goal oriented. No one seemed friendly and no one was bothered about that fact. The city pulse was throbbing and landing there during the peak office travel hours you couldn’t help but get swept into the tide.
The workshop was a good learning and a gruelling one where an audience of 25 were fit into a small room and not let out till we managed to cover everything on the agenda. Although Friday is supposed to be casual dressing day at offices in general, I found the crowd smartly dressed, some in 3 piece suits and some in designer jeans. My colleague at office had given me a heads up on that so I had dressed accordingly as well and I knew I wasn’t sticking out like a sore thumb. The girl inside me though felt like a village bumpkin with no polish or sophistication but happy to look at all these smartly dressed people in awe. I guess that sort of egged me on to be a bit aggressive during the workshop, an attempt to not be ignored. :)
I was glad to be done with it and then meet up with my friend Smitha V. She is from Karnataka, married and settled in London but currently staying in Edinburgh due to work reasons. A spunky friendly genuine person whom I am happy to have befriended. Anyways she was in London for the week, so I met her and her husband straight after work and after another series of train changes. They took me home and there I lapsed into awe inspired speechlessness. Her home looked like a five star hotel with a doorman and the corridors exactly how the best of Taj would keep them. Once inside her apartment she has an awesome view of the Thames and all the best attractions of London – Greenwich, London Eye, St Pauls Cathedral, etc. It’s a triplex not a duplex with the bedrooms on floor 2, the bathroom on floor 1 and the sitting room on ground floor. The windows start from waist high and go right up to the ceiling, covering the entire expanse of the wall. Suddenly got the feeling that I was rubbing shoulders with the rich and hadn’t been aware of it for so long.
However, I must say that the couple is very down to earth, the house is filled with articles from India and they were quite blasé about their status. I was happy to be there because I was happy to talk to them and enjoyed their company. I felt happy that my friends were in good position and I hope god will always keep them so.
When I was returning back I kept trying to picture myself in such a flat and I kept thinking how out of place I would be amidst such posh surroundings. It just didn’t feel right for me, it was good to see Smitha and her husband in those surroundings though. I kept trying to analyse if I was jealous – I WASN’T, I truly wasn’t and that surprised the hell out of me. I would have thought the normal reaction would be one of envy and aspiration. It didn’t fall well with me that I was quite unambitious…..hmmmm, the working woman with no ambition, not a good thing is it?
Anyways, got back home by 10:30 in the night and considering the day started at 3:30AM for me, I was happy to just get back and let my hair down, have a quite cup of tea with my husband and chat the day through with him. Now that’s life. :)
