When I moved here three years ago and was looking for my own place in London, friends and family had helpful suggestions. Some said Clapham, which had a very youthful vibe if I wanted to live near family in the South West, or Greenwich, if the idea was to stay closer to the office in Canary Wharf.

I briefly thought of Notting Hill (just because), more seriously considered Richmond, one of the prettier areas of the city, before finally settling on Chiswick – tranquil, residential, for old people – instantly appealing to my ancient soul. I was living in Utopia back then, with work that well took care of all my expenses. Also, I happened to discover my dream house on rent. And to top it off, the borough was twinned with places in India, Pakistan, Palestine and France. The idealist in me approved.

So I held on to the most compact and stylish 1bhk (a term that made colleagues laugh – it’s called one room and reception here) for almost 11 months before job loss forced me out.

I went home to India in that two-month interim, then returned as a student to live with my brother for seven months, before it was time to look again. And I did, but no further than Chiswick High Road. I had become very comfortable with the area indeed. One and a half years of walking 10,000 steps every day had made me treat Turnham Green, Ravenscourt Park and even Hammersmith as my own friendly ilaaka.

I even remembered a chance conversation with my mom back in 2021 when London was nowhere in the picture. We were visiting my brother and sipping coffee in one of the Chiswick outdoor cafes when, looking at the Turnham Green park with its gothic church, I wishfully said to her, ‘Oh, how lovely would it be to live close by and find work here.’

I think God was listening that day. In two years, I’d moved bag and baggage thanks to an internal job transfer and was living my dream, incidentally ten minutes away from said coffee shop.

From my brother’s, a 15-minute walk to the High Road, I moved to the High Road. It was five minutes away from my old house, and a two-minute walk from Gunnersbury station, beating the earlier record by a full minute.

I am listing all of this down because free time leaves a lot of room for thinking. And since I’m used to living in my head, the thinking leads to writing and making sense of my convoluted thoughts. I did lose my job, undertook a course I hadn’t planned on, had my opinion on Gen Z kids forever change for the better, and learned life lessons well into my thirties that I ideally should have in my teens.

But above it all, my core remained intact. I have never been much of a planner and can’t think of what I’ll be doing in life a week ahead. My expectations have been vague and minimal. I was an exceptionally shy kid who never thought she could open her mouth in a boardroom. Life kept happening for me. Whether it was Papa getting a transfer letter for Delhi from Patna when I was in middle school, or getting my first job in Mumbai and discovering I had money I could call my own and spend on food and fancy places like T.G.I.F.

Instagram was not yet a thing. Eating out was an occasion fitting for a birthday or weekend. Life was good. I endlessly changed houses in Mumbai as well. Maybe it’s written in the stars. Covid, of course, made me happily return home and attack Delhi street food with a vengeance. And when I was least expecting it, London happened.

I have little to complain about. My job uncertainty is ending. I got to enjoy my graduation ceremony with my brother in attendance and surprisingly moving speeches made by the keynote speakers. I got a tassel in my cap. I also keep getting ID'd in bars, which I intend to enjoy till it lasts. While I’m all for ageing gracefully, I’m not going to deny the polite gentleman who enquired if I could play for his junior chess team and if I was over 16 yet (this happened once!).

For someone who knew little about what she wanted, I have been given more than I asked for. Anything on top of this is a bonus.

Never a dull moment with geography, I was made to move again, thanks to a comedy of errors involving a house sale, a U-turn and a lease set in stone. I now live at the riverfront.

Life has come full circle, and I’m very grateful. I’ll soon be older, perhaps wiser. I hope I continue writing. This platform has given me real joy, a handful of regular readers, and the mental bandwidth to keep striving for Utopia, changed circumstances notwithstanding.

Full Circle

The Reclamation of Anger