The FRIDAY

It was a Friday. No. Not, a Good Friday. It wasn't 'The 13th' either , but indeed a Nightmarish one. I was going home. The weekend at home is something that would get anyone exuberant. 

"Home". That one syllable has the power to re-create the melody that plays in ur favorite playlist on repeat.

Home, The place where you belong!  Mumma's Lap! Itsy bitsy fights with Appa! Food. Most importantly Foooood! After so many days of tolerating semi-cooked , over-cooked and sometimes even uncooked food, I wouldn't miss out the food from my dear own mother's kitchen.(I said," my dear own mom", definitely not 'dear own kitchen'. Well, at this point kitchen is dear too. )  

Did I miss out Coffee? Who wouldn't crave to taste the little drops of heaven!?

So, why did I quote it was a nightmare?  Because, it indeed is. It was already 7.30 pm  and I'm still slogging in the 'God-knows-why-they-are-this-comfortable' chair with my eyes on the verge of leaving it's sockets from looking into that code for an entire day.That's when I realised it was 7.30 already. With a clock straight on the wall, a mobile phone with a digital clock, a bloody costly fastrack watch on the right wrist and the system flashing IST , EST and other timezones,even then I failed to notice the time . And I have a bus to catch.

When!? At 11.

Oh. 11 , eh?

Yeah. Dude, I'm at chennai and it's a Friday. God Damn. Friday.

It'll take minimum of two hours to reach the bus stop after which the real journey starts. Yeah, we have prequel and sequel to the travel.

The irony is, it only takes five hours to reach my home from chennai.

But,Guess what!? To board the bus, I'll have to travel for two and half hours.

That's not the worst part. The worst comes by when you think you're struck at a signal but even when the traffic signal turns green, not a single automobile moves.

They misinterpret the accelerator to horn and blow the horn ceaselessly.

Trust me, even after u sleep, those horns will haunt u. It's like the new A.R.Rahman album u listen to, it'll play in ur head over and over again even after you've put ur headphones to rest.

It doesn't stop there, you have to update ur friend who has already been waiting for an hour already.

"Where are you?"

"The Tidel Park signal"

After forty minutes, *furiously*

"Where are you?",

"The Tidel Park signal"

That's the thing about Chennai traffic, it demands to be held at.

You can't bring yourself to even ask the cab driver to hurry up. He'll put up this puppy face that sums up, "Ma'am, it's just one weekend for u. I face this every weekend".

It won't seem like a weekend, but like a nuclear holocaust. It'll seem like the entire city is vacating and damn, the entire city will be right there in every signal u get struck at.

The moment you reach the bus stop is when you'll realize , even if you're five minutes early , the bus will atleast be thirty minutes late. Then, the stomach starts grumbling.You decide to Dine-fast. (Well, The posh term for a midnight snack).

When the bus arrives, it already seems like a lifetime.

Crappy bus, Uncomfortable seat, Air-Unconditioned, Push-No-back. Nobody cares. Give me a seat and wake me up after five hours.

To someone who loves travel and says they never sleep during one , this travel doesn't count as one.

This is an escape from a massacre.

The Weekend officially starts and you are already exhausted.

But, when u finally reach ur hometown, drag along the huge luggage and stumble down the steps of the bus and Appa is already waiting to pick u up, you know it's all worth it.

When you reach home  and Amma is already ready with filter kaapi, you just know it's all worth it.

When your room gives u a virtual hug and make u want to quit the well-paying-job and stay cozy in the sweet little space, you know it's all worth it.

With the first sip of coffee, mom will ask , "How was the journey?" . You would just put a smile on ur face , because every single bit of it is absolutely worth it .

We slog our long days at work for mere survival and then there are days when we actually 'live'.

Let's feel alive a little too much. Because, Weekends at Home are what makes it all worth it :)

P.S : To everyone who lives away from home in a metropolitan city for ur career, this is purely dedicated to you. I feel you, bro :')