Tag Archives: heart

A Place Like No Other

When you’re a regular student, living life just one day at a time, you don’t really understand what it means when people older than you tell you things like “Good friendships are really important”.
My young heart didn’t understand what these little people meant to me until that day – my last day at school. 3rd May 2019, the day that changed my life in ways I never thought of before.

The best part? It never hit me that it was my last day until the very last moment.
We spent the whole day not realising it would be the last time we would be together. And then the last bell of the day rang and we all walked down the stairs as always, teasing and pushing one another, not once thinking that it would be the last time we would share those laughs and jokes.


I walked those last few steps with my best friend, deep in discussion, not realising his eyes were glued to those steps, refusing to look at me, holding back tears. I stood in the middle of the ground, chit chatting with my friends, just like always, or so I thought. That was until one of my friends finally lost it and broke down. Followed by my bestest friend – no – my sister, clinging to me and crying her heart out.
I looked around and saw all my closest friends – all of them, but not the way I remembered them. Not one teasing remark or witty comeback, no goofy faces or ugly laughs. They all stood around me, tears flowing down their cheeks, red eyes and somber expressions.

When I finally managed to calm them down and send them off to their buses and walked towards my own bus – I saw my other group of best friends, my brothers, my partners in crime, standing by the school canteen, trying desperately to conceal the tears they were crying (but obviously not doing a good job at hiding it).
I looked at them all , saw their tears, their heartbroken looks, their heavy voices and pained expressions as we said bye with our cool handshakes one last time. I saw all of it, but felt nothing. Not a single tear fell from my eyes, I was numb.

But it all came rushing at me.

A few days later as I sat at the airport with my family, waiting for the boarding announcements – it hit me. It hit me and I cried, and hyperventilated. Tears streaming down my face, each memory – big and small hitting me like a brick.

All the times I walked down those steps, all the times I stood there at that ground talking and playing with my friends, all the times I bullied my brothers and bestfriends for treats from the school canteen always promising to pay back but never actually paying them back, all the times we fought in those classrooms and all the furniture we broke and pretended that it was never us and acting innocent infront of teachers, all the water wars that got out of hand, all the concerts we had in those classrooms – singing lyrics we didn’t even understand at the top of our lungs in our worst voices. It hit me that I would never have any of that,ever.

It hit me that I was saying goodbye to some of the most important people of my life. People that taught me the importance of surrounding myself with good people and good energy. People that taught me to laugh and live, to fall and get up, to cry and then laught it off. People that held my hand in happy times and hugged me tight during my first encounter with tough times. People who saw me grow up, and people that I grew up with. People that shaped me into the person I am today, people that are the root of all the good I’ve done and all that I will do. People that put their foot down on all my foolishness and forgave me time and time again, teaching me some of the most beautiful and important lessons of my life. People that stood by me then and still stand by me, present forever in my heart. These little people, unaware of life,just like little me, yet so wise. People that I would live and die for.

It hit me that that was my very last moment in a very special place – a place that I called my home. A place where I had people that loved me and I loved more than myself. A place where I lived some of the best years of my life. A place where I grew up from a wild, curious young girl to a much clear headed, wiser young adult. A place that shaped me in ways I didn’t realise until now. A place like no other.

To all my friends, I love you all and you will forever be the most special people in my life. Until we meet again,
Love, Anu.

POWER OF MUSIC

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been obsessed with music and musicians.Not as in singing, but in hearing.

I remember the cold mornings when I had to wake up to go to school, temples and mosques nearby would be playing holy, soulful music. At the bus stop a small speaker would be playing the most random songs, sometimes just melodies mixed together. In the bus the driver would have the music on blast, whether to cheer himself or the kids I’ll never know!

Since those days I’ve loved music (and my love grew since my brother loved to sing and had a great voice).

Anytime a great song is played everyone around you jams to it, you can see that look in their face, people are carefree, ignorant to their problems and troubles around them, music lets them be happy. But the moment the music changes to something less popular or something that doesn’t fit the vibe of the occasion, you can see the change that people have.
Most people show it visually and audibly, the room will most probably be filled with “oh!” and “come on!”. You can see the change in their facial expressions, they’re visibly disappointed, because thier connection to the music is broken.

I believe that everyone has a connection to music, ofcourse not everyone connects to music in the same way and not everyone connects to all music.It changes from time to time and place to place.
But everyone connects, there is a part in all of us that connects with music, whatever music it may be.

Sure, some of us connect more to music and some less. To some, just hearing the first few notes of the song can get them singing and dancing and to some it remains limited to just listening to the song and enjoying it.

After long nights of music and deep thoughts, I’ve realised this : music has a way of uniting and dividing.

“Music is the greatest communication in the world. Even if people don’t understand the language that you’re singing in, they still know good music when they hear it. “

Lou Rawls

When the music is good, something which most people vibe to, it becomes the uniting factor and the same way when it’s something that most of the people don’t like, it makes everyone disappointed, together.
But when the music changes to something one group likes and the other group dislikes, it becomes the dividing factor.
Even amongst friends, “what music should we play at …” is a really big discussion and might even lead to disagreements.

But let’s look at the positive side of things.
For me, music is a stress buster, my way to relax and unwind after a really tough day. Music holds the power to take my thoughts away from the difficulties of each day, from the tired reckless thoughts, to a world of fantasy and imagination, a world where I can live and laugh and explore the side of me that I hide from the rest of the world. I’m sure it’s the same for many people reading this.

For many people, it’s difficult to work with music, some say that it’s a distraction, but for me, whenever I’m unleashing my creative side, like right now, when I’m writing this, I love to have the music blasting through the earphones, cancelling out the noisy, chaotic world outside, leaving me with the humming of the music and peace inside.

As I’m growing older, my connection to different music is changing and evolving and I love to see that growth in myself, almost like looking at myself from the outside. I guess music gives you a better look at yourself, a little more soulful and a little more deep.

Another really important thing that I’ve noticed is that people who connect to the similar type of music tend to connect with each other well. Obviously it doesn’t mean that everyone that shares the same taste in music is going to connect well with you, but, music does make a common ground for you to connect with people which can be great for making new friends and meeting new people.

One of my most favourite things about music is the satisfaction that I get after jamming to some good music.
Music holds the power to elevate my mood and make me feel energetic and confident, as I’m sure it does to a lot of people .

So here’s a little tip for anyone that’s feeling low, listen to music. Any music. Specifically, any music that can get you jumping and make you happy, something that can really get the feel good chemicals pumping through you. Works every time!

Tell me below, what type of music do you connect to, also, suggest some to us!

“Music is the literature of the heart, it commences where speech ends.”

Alphonse de Lamartine