It Has Always Been People Over Places

For me, it has always been places over people.
Just as everybody else, I look for new areas as an escape from the people, places and practices of routine.

However, a recent visit to my Nana's home changed my perspective altogether. 

My Nana stayed in a small village of Satna, in the heart of Madhya Pradesh. It is a place untouched by the craziness of cities. The day starts early and ends earlier. For me, Satna has always been a feeling. The love of my grandparents cushioned with the joy of seeing my cousins, this place has always brought happiness to me. Until now, I believed that it is the gift of geography that makes a site beautiful. I am certainly not proud to announce that I have been one of those people who looked for pretty locales online and stared at them for hours at an end. Out of money and definitely out of courage to ask my parents for some, as a teenager in India, travelling abroad is a luxury not many can fancy. 

Hence, for me, the occasional visits to my Nana's place have always been more than special.  

The summer of 2019, I lost my Nana.

I cannot stress enough on the fact that he was one of the most important people in my life. I am not trying to make it sound poetic but I was closer to him than I am to my parents or best friends. The time he served in the Indian Navy gave him a sense of discipline, his experience with life had gifted him with priceless wisdom and just his general detachment from the insincerities of this world and its facades. His absence has left a void in my life that I do not want to fill.

I heard people saying that they miss someone they lost, every single day. Until now, I always thought that was impossible. How can anyone miss a single person everyday of their life? I mean, there are so many things to look forward to in a day, so much to do and new places to be.

But you know what? It is always people over places.

It has been 4 months since Nana left us and recently I had to go to Satna again. I have never dreaded going to any place as much as I did this time. I did not want to get down at the station. My luggage felt heavier than it was and everything seemed so dull. The road to my grandparent's home felt empty, looking through the car's window, the whole city seemed somewhat broken.

It is the people you have in your life that matter. Give them your time while you can. 

Those walks will never the feel the same when alone. Homes feel more like lifeless walls of cement when you enter and do not hear the familiar voices. An evening cup of tea doesn't taste the same without your dad sitting in the sofa right in front of you. It is the same ingredients but no one can make you a bowl of piping hot Maggi like your mother does. The same bars are a lot of less fun when your friends are not there.

Never push yourself in a race for being at places where you do not have your people to be with. You are at the right place at the right time. Just enjoy the fleeting moments with those you love and everything will eventually fall in place.