Mechilpuram

  It's really liberating to be alone even in the midst of people - doing what I like. Reading, writing, solving Tinkle puzzles, reading my current paperback (Delhi: A Soliloquy), dressed in a lazy green shirt and grey shorts. I'm hogging up space on a barstool again. There seems to be only unoccupied barstools. Patrons come and leave as the interiors and each table and chair plays host. No one really gives a damn, I think. I take up my own sweet time - read, jot down, try to convey what I'm experiencing. Must've spent 45 minutes people watching - clients trying out BMW bikes next door, people with places to be. Around me, couples on dates, college friends catching up, while I'm engrossed in what the forgotten charm of Tinkle has to offer. There's something about a Sunday afternoon that makes the café feel like it belongs to everyone and no one at the same time. Patrons come and leave as the interiors and each table and chair plays host. I was just another face t...