Last Friday

I went for a Euphoria concert last Friday. Mostly because I didn’t have much else to do. It was after work and I was kind of tired. Luckily we had great passes that got us second row seats. My cousins and I perched ourselves and waited for Palash and the gang to start the show. To my mild amusement he made this grand rock star type entry on the stage. Wasn’t he kind of old for all this? Midlife crisis I suppose.

So he started off with the “helloooo Mumbai” and the “Mumbai girls are so pretty” routine. And for the first time I realized I had not attended a single concert in Mumbai. Last I remember is hearing “Delhi girls are the prettiest”. So what am I now? A Mumbai girl? But that can’t be. I’ll always be a Delhi girl. But I consider Mumbai as my city now. But does that mean I am also of Mumbai’s now? Can I be of two cities? Will I have to pick one? Will they stop addressing me as a Delhi girl when I go for the weekend? Rather unsettling.

Thankfully, music cleared the air. I’d forgotten “Dhoom pichuk dhoom” completely. It took me back some insane years. Then he asked everyone to stand up. It was a concert and not a jagrata, he said. He must be kidding. This was after a long day of work. I can’t be jumping to “aage jaane ram kya hoga”. I was too old for this. What the hell! When did I grow too old for this? This concert is turning out to be more and more disturbing. Bombay college girls jumping enthusiastically all over the place. Palash Sen, the 48-year-old man taking his shirt off and acting like he’s not a day over 18. What’s happening to this world?

And then there was magic. This 48-year-old man made every single boring person like me get up and dance and shout and hoot to his songs. Before I knew it, I was jumping all over the place myself. He reminded me how much I loved “Maeri”. I realized I remembered the lyrics of the entire song. Everyone in the audience remembered the lyrics of the entire song. Maybe that’s what was keeping this man so young. One of my confusions got resolved. I’m never going to be too old for anything. As for the other, well, no matter where I am, I’ll always be a Delhi girl!