Happiness is... Hasratein!

Even though I long for changes, I am not very good at adapting to them. When I woke up this morning with my usual irate mood, I chose to listen to the songs of the theatre society of my former college. As the songs soothed my mind, I got a sinking realization that nobody around me is going to call me Cadbury here in Hyderabad. Happiness is… being called Cadbury. Sadness is… not having the people around who called me so.

After Delhi, Hyderabad it is. And I am not going to talk about the city. It’s been just a week and I have been advised that I give the city a little more time to surprise me. But even then I am not very sure that this place will give me the freedom of thoughts and speech that Delhi once welcomed me with. But who knows, I was even more depressed in my first semester in Delhi but obviously HASRATEIN came to my rescue.

HASRATEIN. One word, too many emotions. And I do not know where to begin. Should I begin with the audition where I did not get selected or the call back after a month? Should I begin with the fear of opening up in the beginning or dancing carelessly in the end? Should I begin with the first play I performed or the inability to perform most of the times? Should I begin with the people that came and went or the ones who stayed till the end? Should I begin with the first failed voice exercise or never being able to sing any song properly? Where do I begin?

Maybe I should begin with my first day in college when I went up to the then president of the theatre society and asked “Will you teach acting in the society? I do not know how to act but want to be a part of theatre.” The answer was simple, “Give the audition and we will see then.” The audition was probably one of the scariest things I ever did. I knew I would be rejected but I still wanted to take the chance. And never have I regretted my decision.

And with rejection it began. Within the first week of my joining the society, I was named Cadbury. I do not know the reason behind the name but I know that every time someone called me so I was filled with happiness and joy. Thanks to the person who named me so in the first place. And what followed next was, Cadbury seemed to be my first name instead of Akankshya. I was introduced to people as Cadbury. I loved it when in the middle of the crowd someone shouted Cadbury. And for the next two years, innumerable jokes followed. If I laughed too much, “Did you lick yourself a bit?” followed. Yes, I get high when I eat anything related to chocolates and being Cadbury I could get high on myself. That’s how it was and now it seems like another world.

My Bhand Bitches <3

Another world. The warm friendly hugs when we met, the slangs that we addressed each other with, the unplanned meetings, the whiling away time in Satya park with intellectual discussions and Bakchodi, the deconstructions, the tiring  workshops, the bone breaking practices, the happiness, excitement and disappointments of the performances, the wait for the Spring fest, the occasional parties, the overcrowded car rides, the people involved! I did not fall in love with Delhi as the place it is, but with the people I eventually found there.

The best part is that irrespective of the people who came and went, I fell in love with all the three batches of Hasratein that I witnessed. And why not it gave me my Bhand Bitches. It gave me few of the worst life lessons. With all the ups and downs, Hasratein consumes my heart even now. It is the family away from family. It is pure love.

The three batches of Hasratein from 2013 to 2015 :D