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Daily Diary
5th, 6th, 7th & 8th January
Finally back with some original content.
Spent the last few days in a coolish Panchgani with a bunch of cousins & their families. The drive up there was hilariously bad – potholed roads, zero lane discipline, constant honking, non-existent motorway facilities, piled up traffic and criminally bad driving conditions. Still, after almost 8 hours of torture, the Mrs & I reached our gigantic 5 bedroom villa exactly at check-in time.
Autopiloted through the next couple of days eating, drinking, laughing, gossiping and sleeping. Was fun to see my cousins after a year – we do this village escapade thing annually – but disappointed that they really hadn’t change much. I had been through a year of transformation, and they’d been through a year of stasis. Still, we continued to bond over a few beers and parlour games.
Three things really stuck out to us as we drove back to my parents place earlier: everything here seems to revolve around food & drink & religion, all my cousins (and their wives and kids) seem to be ultra-conscious and inward looking, and that their lives couldn’t be more different to ours.
Like with most things in life, I was amazed and grateful that I had these guys in my life but wondered if I am actually living my best version (I think I am) or if I had gaslit myself into believing I did. Why do I choose discipline, for example, while they pursue pleasure? Why do I, even on holiday, value time & conversation more than music & fanfare? Am I even right, and in the end, does it even matter?
FWIW, we had a superficially great time and an existentially questionable one. Still, could be worse. I am missing my life in London even more now and can’t wait to get back into the thick of it.
10 more days!
