Balconies, Buses, and Missed Millions"

"Balconies, Buses, and Missed Millions"

I was at the hospital, carrying on as usual with my clinical work when I saw this kid who came in for a hearing test. He wasn't wearing his school uniform like the other kids who come for their hospital appointments on a school day do .So, naturally, I got curious and asked, "Hey buddy, is today a day off for you? What’s your grand plan for the afternoon?"

Without missing a beat, the kid shoots back, “I’m gonna play Minecraft on my PlayStation!” PlayStation, huh? Oh boy, did that send me down memory lane.

You see, back in my day, if we had an unexpected day off from school, there was no PlayStation to save us. Nope. My 'play station' was my house gallery or balcony. The most action-packed part of my day would be counting the rare yellow cars that drove by. Seriously, they were like unicorns back then. Or I’d watch the queue of people waiting for the famous 257 bus. That bus wasn’t just a bus; to me it was a ship carrying people to their dream destinations—or at least, to places where they could work on those dreams.

The bus stop was a parade of characters: anxious college kids hoping to get to class on time so they could spend more time in the canteen with their friends, and office workers from the suburbs on their daily pilgrimage to the ‘actual’ Mumbai for work. After getting my fill of people-watching, I’d retreat to my imaginary café. Armed with two chairs and one of my mom's old sarees, I would serve up the most fabulous cold coffee with imaginary ice cream and, my signature dessert the ras malai sandwich. Talk about Michelin starred cuisine! If only I’d turned that dream café into a real business, I’d probably be a multi-billionaire by now. Duh!

Another favourite pastime? Foraging for flowers and leaves to make garlands and decorative items. Unfortunately, my mom didn’t share my artistic vision. “जा आधी टाकून दे ते !! कचरा नको करुस !!” she’d say, basically telling me to ditch the trash. So, I took my budding floristry career to the courtyard, creating masterpieces with my friends and handing them out to random passersby. If only I’d stuck with that, I could be a top florist or event decorator today!

The one skill I did carry forward? Talking to imaginary friends and walls. Yep, nailed that one.

Reflecting on all this, I realised that we didn’t need much to keep ourselves entertained back then. Just a bit of free time and a sprinkle of imagination. So, here's to the days of balcony adventures and imaginary cafés—missed career opportunities and all.

Who knows, maybe there's still time to turn those daydreams into reality.

Comments

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Poems ,Stories and lot more .. By Maneesha Purandare

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