By Yukti Lamba:
Having been a city girl for long now, I was irritated with people and their constant blabbering. With crowds everywhere, I started hating people. I wanted to get rid of such an environment soon to live a life alone and with full independence.
My wish was granted when I had the chance to live in a rural village in one of the most beautiful states (at least according to me), Himachal Pradesh. This wish landed me in Laghat village which is some 20 km away from Bilaspur district by my company through placement recruitment.
When I first heard my base location was HP, I was all excited and started dreaming of roaming in places like Manali, Shimla and Dharamshala, as I’ve always been adventurous. Landing in my location, the first week was full of happiness and fun as Himachal’s scenic beauty is just mind blowing. But soon, loneliness took over my happiness and I started to feel empty within.
Along with the full responsibility of taking care of the accommodation provided to me by the company (cooking food, buying groceries, and other daily chores I’d never tried before), loneliness started affecting me. In spite of people living in the same building, there were times I wanted to cry and leave the place. But I never GAVE UP!
The basic requirement of today’s generation – Internet – was not provided and this made me sulk more. Each day after work, time was spent watching the same movies and TV series, and each dialogue was now on my fingertips. Gradually, I started doing many things to use my time better: learning Spanish, exercising, solving Sudoku and other puzzles.
I even started writing and expressing myself and soon spending alone with myself was never before. Today, I am doing things which I always ran from earlier – cooking, washing clothes and spending time without internet. I am more focused and have started embracing myself more than anything. I have learnt to live my life with myself and my best friend is none other than me.
Hence, I realise that we as human beings should learn to live alone without anyone else, as time can show us its colors whenever it likes. We should be prepared and take everything in our stride, and learn to love ourselves. Spend time with yourself on your own terms while learning and having wonderful and memorable experiences.
