It is 11.01 pm and I lie on my bed...I try to pretend its pitch dark but it isn't...Streaks of nightlife from the Bangalore high rises creep into my room on the fourth floor...Every time the curtains blow in the wind, I watch a slither of light invading my darkness...
Radio Indigo is playing "Alejandro" and the preposterous Lady Gaga comes to my mind...
I shut my eyes...I feel claustrophobic...My obsessive compulsions catch up with me...I wonder if there's water in the 500ml Coke bottle...I hope I have ironed my clothes for the next day...I try to remember whether my laptop is sitting straight or is tilted, whether my sneakers are against the wall...I get up and check, smoothing the creases on my bed knowing well that they'll be creased again in few moments...
Satiated with my surroundings, I try to sleep once again...I try to prioritise my chores for the next day but my mind drifts away to a hundred other things...I think of my days here and I think of my days at Hyderabad...For a wonderful second, I smile at the thought of home...I look forward to travelling to Chennai and the drifting image of Nalli's and Yeses Market cross my mind...I remember the two toddlers in my Guesthouse, the daughters of the cook, with neatly braided hair, resplendent smiles and tiny holes on their skirts…I recollect Mariam of “A Thousand Splendid Suns”…
I try to remember birthdays...I lie prostrate and breathe deeply hoping Yoga would put me to sleep...I try to picture lush green fields...I even count sheep !
Lady Gaga has given way to Katy Perry and Ke$ha...I'm as awake as I was...I wonder if Insomnia is hereditary...I wish I had a book with me...I pray, I curse...
It is 11.42pm...
