The Town That Time Forgot (I)

So I'm back in Melbourne about to complete my fourth year here. I turn 25 in 3 days and in the time between then and turning 21 my family has seen me for all of 4 months. Which was fine by me at first - after 21 years I'd had quite enough of Delhi and wanted a bit of a change. I get bored quickly. I can't stand to have the same meal twice in a fortnight (unless it's sabut saalan, obvs). So 21 years in the same place was quite a feat.

I got back last week after five weeks in Delhi and THIS time something happened. I started to see the cracks in Melbourne's pristine facade and the glow in Delhi's grubby personality.

Since I started getting really into my thesis I've been cultivating my tendency to express everything in points because I find it makes things easier for whoever's reading to understand. So here goes - there are really only two major issues that are to be taken into account.

The first is the small issue of change and it is a tricky thing to explain. I don't like it, but it excites me. Change is a sign of progress - it's proof that time elapses, human beings advance and the world becomes a more interesting place. The only discomfort to be felt is in the fact that it disturbs the status quo and adjusting to it can be unpleasant. I also dislike it because of how it makes nostalgia permanent and ensures some events will never happen again because things change, people change, circumstances, economies, abilities and infrastructure, all change.

Change happens in Delhi and its surrounds all the time. In fact, it happens so much that I thought constant change WAS the status quo. Even after I arrived in Melbourne. I lasted this long not quite noticing the lack of change because I was so enamoured with things like trams and a functional, civilised public transport system (that everyone keeps complaining about - I'll get to this in a moment). To me all this was a HUGE change and it was exciting and stressful as expected.

Now I've settled in, I've got used to sharing a house with a couple of friends of mine and having a friendly tram stop at my doorstep and take me to my cafe where I can sit and study. I'm nearly done with the thesis I started 2 years ago.

I was keen on all this for about a year and a half. The routine was pleasant and the repetition made the time zip by. Then I went back home for these five weeks. I knew there'd be a train at my doorstep, and this was delightful enough, but what I didn't expect was the jaw-dropping new international airport terminal PLUS the multilevel parking garage that didn't exist when I left. I also didn't expect construction to have begun on the rapid metro that attaches to the metro that was built and functional in the time I was away. I was there for five weeks - I cannot stress this enough - but I didn't get to do everything I had planned to do. I didn't get to go everywhere I planned, eat everything that I wanted, or meet all the friends I had to as often as I would have.

Now I've been back in Melbourne a week and I've done everything you can possibly do in this town: I've had a cup of coffee, been on a tram, and eaten at a laneway cafe. Had I taken the opportunities offered I would've also gone to the beach and a gig.

Now what?

Now I'm wondering how a town of 3 or 4 million people counts as a city and how those 3-4 million are not only a) not getting bored senseless, b) inviting their friends down to this vibrant land where there's SO MUCH TO DO.

I was sitting with one of my best friends (~17 years now) and sipping kulhar chai at Dilli Haat when she asked me - in the middle of the sights and sounds (those bloody annoying wheely things parents stupidly buy for their children, specifically) and general stimulus overload - 'don't you get bored there?' and while my instant reaction might have been "oh NO! How COULD I when there's so much GREAT COFFEE around?!?!" I decided to hesitate a millisecond longer to think about it. First thing I did was think of the all too representative Twitter sample. What does it talk about? Eating establishments. Best coffee in Melbourne. Getting drunk. TV shows. What phone do I get and when is the new one out. Which politicians are nutcases this week. And oh, the one I share with everyone back home - 'social justice'. I love social justice tweets, I always save them up!

'Kind of...' I found myself saying. And then because I'd thought of the social justice tweets and snickered a bit, I changed the subject to tell her about them. She works with her economics professor doing unglamourous research work in villages while those with smartphones tweet about how unfair the world is and how evil politicians are. I thought she deserved to know how the Australia I'd seen was supporting her through The Power Of Social Media.

I have to be fair and admit there are at least TWO things Melbs has to offer that Delhi doesn't. First, there are the gigs. I wouldn't have seen Alcest and APTBS and SSPU and Spiritualized etc. anywhere else and for that I am eternally grateful. Then, there's education. I don't know where else I would have been able to do a thesis on Online Journalism, but then again I'm not sure how much of it was me being helped to do a thesis and how much was me paying a university to recognise my thesis. I know the most help I got for it was outside of uni, so hm.

The second issue is the larger one of happiness and you can see how long change has gone on so maybe I save up happiness for next time. Give your eyes a break.