Bring back the 90s and the early 2000s
says another girl who thinks she is born in the “wrong generation”.
The story starts in a predictable pattern. A dimly lit room, a bowl of popcorn, and Bollywood’s baby, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, on repeat on her laptop. She is kicking her feet and giggling when she sees how close Jai and Aditi are. She already knows the outcome. The plot shows her favorite trope— two best friends in love with each other, and everyone knows but them. She makes a mental note of finding someone like the male lead in her life. “Every romance is preserved in great friendship”. She tells herself.
Behind her, a stack of registers rests on the stool. Notes after notes on foreign relations, her country’s polity, and a newspaper talking more of the same. She rolls her eyes. It’s not like she doesn’t find it interesting, but it’s certainly not as interesting as rewatching this movie for the nth time.
And she has been ‘out of it’ for a while.
Her phone flickers for a bit, she enters the passcode, and sighs. Another date she had agreed to go on to prove a point to herself. Another man she doesn’t quite like but…
Who knows? (She knows).
After skipping through the insignificant bits in the movie to reach her favorite parts, she realizes what she desperately wants— time travel (and a vacation). She would love to go back to the 90s or even the early 2000s as a 23-year-old because that is when “romance was real”.
And there was no Hinge or even Instagram, thankfully—no laughable pickup lines.
She thinks she has done it. She knows she is onto something. (She fails to consider that people are the same in every period and that those who are normal and romantic barely exist.)
Her life, currently, spins into a monochromatic drudgery. She hates it. The only lilac she sees is within her, and what use is the world if it cannot bloom with her favorite color as time yawns and turns on its back or its side? She is convinced that she is grasping at the future while having an extremely boring present. Her only pastime is now imagining herself in fun songs and cute romcoms.
She needs to keep her afternoon aside for Romedy Now the next day. Apparently, 10 Things I Hate About You was scheduled for 2 PM. Oh, it was a big day.
Her career plans remained stolid despite the occasional bouts of drowsiness and burnout. She preferred not to tell many people about it. She had decided that this year was going to be her year, and she was going to go back to the future. (Side note: this movie franchise is amazing. please watch.) Having a cute guy in the mix wasn’t so bad.
She knew who she wanted, even while watching a very attractive Imran Khan as Jai Rathore on her laptop. She wanted a good joke. She loved people in jokes. If anyone would make her laugh, she wanted to make them laugh too. Sex, laughter, and friendship go together in her version of a good romance.
That and well-dressed boys. That was important. She pulls out a sticky note from her bedside and scribbles, “Accessibility kills the thrill”. She, then, proceeds to throw it in the dustbin. She sits down and opens her phone again, her thumb hovering over the chat. She bites her lip and breathes deeply.
She looks up. She was not born in the wrong generation. She sometimes liked to engage in this roulette. Yet she was exhausted by it. That and the books on her table, but she could at least get something from the latter. Sometimes, the sexting is good, though, and well, coffee isn’t so bad.
She clenches and unclenches her fist. Well, if it makes sense, then the date will happen, and if it doesn’t, then it won’t, but she won’t cancel. She hated being guilt-tripped over plans she didn’t even want to make. She loved a good dose of gossip, but occasionally she loved her sanity.
She types, “Tomorrow sounds good. Does 6:30 PM work?”
“Sure! See you then.”
The next morning, she wakes up and sends him the location of the cafe. She begins to complete her work because Romedy Now couldn’t wait. She needed to see Heath Ledger singing one of her favorite songs to date to muster the energy to ‘do it for the plot’ later.
Around 3 PM, her phone screen lights up again”.
“Hi, I am sorry. Something came up. Rain check?”
She smiles.
“Sure”.
as always Sakhi, you know how to write a compelling narrative and reading you always soothes me <3
❤️