I wonder if the baby bird knows when to leave the nest? Or the caterpillar-turned-butterfly knows where to fly off to? I wonder if I’ll ever be ready when the time comes. The time for what? I don’t know. Maybe some big opportunity, some tough hurdles or a pivot point.
It’s funny how my friends and I have always talked of getting out of the small town we were raised in. But now I fear that being caught in the rush of a city will make me forget to appreciate the little moments. The hundreds of faces everyday will not be able to match the genuine bond I shared with my neighbour. I wonder if loneliness would consume me. I wonder in the end, if it’s worth it?
Why am I afraid to grow up? When I was barely a teenager, being a grown-up seemed like the best thing in the world. Oh, the lively lives of an adult who is answerable to no one. I never realized that maybe being answerable to someone meant that someone cared for you enough to go to bed every night with worrisome faces. And I repaid them with rebellious acts in the name of teenage years. Still, they didn’t abandon me for I was loved and no one can ever love me more than that. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to love someone like that.
Lastly, what if I’m not worthy of this world? What if my head was way too up in the clouds and my expectations don’t meet my reality? What if I’m not the special bud that my parents assured I was? What if I’m just another one in this rat race? ‘I wonder’ and ‘what-if’s keep me up at night. I hope when the time comes, they’ll be the one to push me across the finishing line.
The Oberoi Grand that resides on Park Street in the socialist capital of India is one of the oldest hotels maintaining its prominence from days of the British rule. The one thing that struck out as soon as I entered the lobby was how Indian-ized the decor was, making it truly stand out from its competitors who’ve taken a rather westernized approach when it came to furnishing.
It is located on one of the busiest streets of Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, that is home to hundreds of street vendors who sell all that your heart desires at a really good bargain. The prime location of the hotel comes in handy when traffic jams create a nuisance.
You’ll be greeted with folded hands and warm smiles that’ll transport you into the era of the mighty Rajputs when India stood in all it’s glory, with its spices and treasures unplundered; when the world was yet to discover its true worth.
(The welcome treats)
They greeted us with welcome drinks and within no time, we were up in our rooms. The hotel is built horizontally and therefore there are just four floors. On the plus side, I got a lot of cardio done on my way to the lobby and restaurant.
The room has all the amenities that you should ever need. The room lacks a Smart TV but has several in-house classic movies. The bathroom doesn’t have a bidet attached toilet seat or a jet spray that had to be attached separately, though it took only a couple of minutes. The room has a thermostat with a maximum temperature of 26.5 celsius (78 fahrenheit). But if that is too cold for you, you can turn it off and the room will heat up in a few minutes.
The room has ample space which is good if you like stretching and yoga, though it can look a lot empty as if the room lacks something. The view had me disappointed as the window was really small and overlooked some houses (not as breathtaking as I thought it would be).
The bathroom has a bathtub with a shower above it with bathrobes and hair dryers and big and small mirrors. But the charging point in my bathroom was too loose. I didn’t realize this and had a really frustrating afternoon when my hair straightener wasn’t heated even after 45 minutes of charging. But once you know all the angles, you’ll be just fine.
The hotel hosts two restaurants – ThreeSixtyThree and Baan Thai of which my package included breakfast and dinner at ThreeSixtyThree as complimentary which is a multicuisine restaurant.
When my family and I went down for dinner the first night, the buffet laid out didn’t particularly cater to our taste. A huge shout out to Chef Kezang who immediately caught on my mother’s dissatisfied looks and served us several ‘off-menu’ dishes till we could eat no more. We ended the night with a magnanimous ice-cream sandwich which was enough to end our night on cloud nine.
(Eating Nutella like it’s my birthright)
I had to somewhere be the next day so I kept my breakfast light. With a plain waffle, three strips of bacon, some fruit and coffee, I wasn’t hungry till evening, when I ate a blueberry muffin and watched Ocean’s Twelve (oldie but a goodie). Before dinner, I’m glad explored the hotel a bit because the night view is to die for.
For dinner, I had the classic fish and chips. The fish wasn’t the best I’d ever had, but the fries with tartar sauce definitely were. I don’t remember the name of the yellow dessert but the honey glaze on top with the extremely light custard base is the best dessert I’ve had so far. It was sweet, savoury, full of crackle and airy at the same time that I just had to take another one.
(The yellow dessert)
I took some other pictures of hallways and the gymnasium –
The next day, we had to checkout as early as 5 o’ clock in the morning and the hotel staff was kind enough to give us a wake-up call and me some coffee and cookies. They also packed us a little something for our ride back home.
I would also like to say that the staff at The Oberoi Grand are some of the warmest people I’ve ever come across. Their service is unbeatable and their smiles are contagious. They will go the extra mile for their guests.
If you’re looking for comfort, the ultimate Indian experience and a taste of home, be sure to check out The Oberoi Group of Hotels.
All my college entrance exams are over and for the first time in five months, I’m prioritizing myself. At the cost of my mind, I’ve tortured my body for far too long. No more!
I’m getting back to the basics and developing several skills that’ll help me more than having my head buried in books ever did. Don’t get me wrong. I love to learn as far as I can fully understand the topic not rote my way to the top of the class like the education system in my country expected me to do.
I’ve loved computers ever since I crashed my first one and fixed it up again. To this day, I don’t remember how I did it, but I do remember the joy after solving something that was basically an enigma for a 11-year-old. That adrenaline rush you get when your code finally works is addictive, but in a good way. It is a high that I’ve always chased. There were nights where I’ve spent hours in front of my laptop staring at an unheard error only to realize the semicolon I missed. It’s frustrating but teaches you patience in the long run. Right now, I’m learning Python and eventually would like to make AI my major.
When I was six years old, I fell in love with a city thousands of miles away. From its famous cycling competition to the tower that’ll leave you mesmerized, Paris was truly the city of love, the city of lights. I’ve always wanted to feel close to that city and I did when I embraced croissants as my favourite pastry, Ratatouile as my favourite movie and La Vie En Rose as my favourite song. I even tried to learn French when I was 11 but that went horribly. But after so many years, Duolingo has finally come to my rescue as I’m slowly working to close the gap between my love and me.
I’m eating healthy now and trying out intermittent fasting because I gained 6 kg (12 pounds) in the last 18 months and I do not intend to keep it when I go to college. I’ve already tried my hand at keto and lost 4 kg (8 pounds) in 5 days but that was too difficult to follow with the unavailability of the correct ingredients and the fact that I hated all of them. Let’s hope that IF turns out to be the saviour like it did for most people.
Those are the changes that I’ve made in my routine and I cannot be more happy. I’m finally living life my way.
Prose And Poetry 