the missing 4 P's of my life

Paunch: everyone has flat stomachs here. what is it about this pig eating, 7 course meal, 2 hour siesta country that my country doesn't? paunches. to start with. i miss the traffic policemen standing manning the streets in the hot sun and wondering whether it is the all-day standing that gives them the paunch. i miss the dingy government offices where all the walls are splashed with paan spits (another missing p) and the cobwebs carry a heritage that goes beyond the british. i guess for them it is the all-day sitting that gives them the paunches. or maybe it is the race of ghee versus olive oil.

Perspiration: noses here are about ten times more sensitive than back home. you walk into the dance studio after the previous batch has left. and someone behind you comments, this room smells of dance. i understand the comment in my head, but not in my nose. and the sweaty people are not even in the room. i wonder what would happen if the someone were in india. in mumbai. by marine drive on a sweltering may evening. maybe just melt away into the sea. oh but wait, how many smells would he distinguish on the beach. i miss the wind drying the sweat beads on my face. the trail of the bead down my skin. spreading my arms wide pillion riding on the bike, almost flying away. where were you going missing p - pillion riding.

Phone: i could never sit quietly. after all what was the phone for. i had things to talk, and people had time to listen. even before the mobile-less days, back when i was forbidden to take calls because of the number of blank calls we used to get. then the missed call communication mode. then the free sms mode. then the free calling mode. then the free receiving mode. and now no phone mode. gone are the days when i preferred the slim genius. i have a monster of a smartphone now, which i barely use to call. my world of voices has now become my world of words. and from today onwards in this new term with my new seat where the professor talk to the class while his face is inches away from mine, i am back into the no phone zone. missing p - pj, (time)pass.

Pals: i miss you guys. canteen to telankhedi, CCD to long rides, GB to sweet chariot, aundh to KP, those are precious memories and i am proud to have shared these moments with you. another missing p - picture dekhne jate hain.

perseverance keeps me going. some p's are good to have.