The Bitter-Sweet Taste Of Independence

INDEPENDENCE - a word we regularly reckon with but rarely ponder upon. After spending 23 years of my life under extreme cushion of protection by my parents,my initial experience of Independence was somewhat exasperating.
Although I have spent my growing years in Mumbai and consider the city as my 2nd hometown,yet staying alone is a different experience altogether.Even in these times,when the Gen X is desperately in search of opportunities to move out of home,I have been strongly attached to my family and was never way too excited with the idea of living alone.When i came back to Mumbai after a hiatus of about 3 years,not much had changed.The city wore the same hustle and bustle look,as usual crowded local trains,every single person focussed on their individual objective.However,I realised the only thing that changed was precisely my way of life.No longer will I wait to rush back home to be greeted by the warm melting smile of my mother,nor will I have the luxury of spending hours in front of the TV or laptop without bothering about household requirements deftly handled by my parents.It didn't take me long to realise that the cost of independence in today's self-centered environment is quite high and in the process may even compel me to undergo some subtle emotions for which I find no place here.
Relationship with friends assume a new meaning altogether during this so-as-to-say "free life".More than text messages and calls,a coffee at some joint is more looked forward to during the weekends.Room-mates,who were complete strangers at some point in time,have now earned the role of people whose presence indeed makes a difference.They have seen me laugh,cry,upset,angry and probably all other shades of human emotions.I have been lucky enough to come across them,who share the same wavelength as mine.
Financial independence is of utmost importance for women in today's world where relationships have lost their true meaning and marriages going kaput,but not at the cost of losing oneself in the process of owning a hefty bank balance.The toughest challenge I still face is to earn my mark as someone who prefers to stay out-of-the-rat-race and ready to live her life on terms of someone else maybe who understands the myriad facts of life more than she does because people around us cannot seem to accept anybody other than achievers.I wish to remind them at the cost of what are we achieving this glory ???
Mumbai has always been so close to my heart that I could not relate to Kolkata the way I do with the former.It just dawned on me ,city doesn't really matter,what really matters is people,your own people and this little revelation makes me miss my home and hometown like never before !!! Independence took me away from home but gifted me with the ability to explore that part of me which has perpetually stayed dormant.