Hello👋 folks, Shubham here.
I am back with another edition of Soul Letter 🗞
I was pretty bummed last week.
Why do you ask?
Well, I was supposed to go on a trek but unfortunately couldn’t.
Nope, I am not much of an adventure junkie. On my own I won’t even go to a bar, a trek is way off-limits.
However, a part of me wants to live through such experiences therefore I often end up with an internal conflict.
The answer to this dilemma is to tag along with friends who live for these escapades.
A couple of months back a friend of mine asked whether I would like to accompany him for a trek. I would have loved to but sadly things didn’t work out.
Ultimately I was left frustrated.
Funny enough, last week turned out to be one of the best weeks I have had in a while.
Wanna know why?
Witnessed the Greatest Emirates Moment
I am an Arsenal fan through and through. Have been supporting them for a decade now.
For those of you who don’t know, Arsenal is one of the biggest English football clubs that play in the English Premier League.
They are the only club in Premiere League history that went unbeaten through an entire season. However, that was way back in 2003/04 which was our last title. Since then the club's influence has dropped considerably due to various reasons.
In college, I was often mocked for being an Arsenal supporter.
We have finished 8th a couple of times in the last three seasons which is simply unacceptable.
Lately, anything related to Arsenal looked glum until this very season.
Currently, Arsenal sits at the top of the Premier League with 12 games still to play.
Their last match on Saturday has been dubbed as the greatest moment of Emirates stadium (Arsenal’s home ground is called Emirates which was built in 2006).
With 2-0 down they went on to win 3-2. The winner was a stunning volley scored in the last seconds of the match.
It will be interesting to see whether Arsenal can end their Premiere League title drought (fingers crossed).
Took My Parents to Their First Standup Show
With the growing recognition of standup comedy across India, comedians have started adding Tier-2 cities(like ours) to their tours.
On Sunday I took my parents to Ravi Gupta’s standup. He may not be counted as an elite comedian but his content is commendable.
Taking parents to a standup show is a bit risky because of no content moderation.
You see growing up in an orthodox middle-class environment talking about sex, alcohol, drugs, LGBT community, etc is equivalent to taboo.
At home, things get awkward if a love-making scene or cursing is shown on TV.
Coincidentally these sequences do come up when you watch something with the family.
Finally, it turned out to be a good decision.
As expected there were tons of non-veg jokes which drew huge cheers.
Throughout the show, I avoided my parents' gaze but on occasional glances, I saw they were enjoying a lot (especially on the adult puns).
Going standup with parents is one thing off my bucket list.
A Mini-Reunion
To make things even sweeter, post standup I attended an ad-hoc get-together.
Actually one of our friends paid a surprise visit from the United States.
A casual meet was planned to relish the moment.
Call it luck, most of us came. In fact, the guest list kept growing until we reached the venue.
I met a guy after nine years of school and we talked for hours. I couldn’t have imagined my day would end on such an unpredictable note.
There was no shortage of topics as everyone had numerous updates to share.
The company was further mellowed by tipsy drinks.
Everybody had a blast. In all, it was a fun night.
Read an Amazing Book
I finished a gem of a book named The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
The book is a sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven by the same author.
This series is based on the afterlife. Mitch has painted a beautiful post-death journey.
In heaven, our protagonists meet five people who have had a significant impact on their lives.
Maybe these five people can help them find some solace in their otherwise meaningless lives.
Perhaps their lives weren’t fully futile.
After reading several average books by Mitch, this one brings back his elusive magic.
Afterlife is in itself a fascinating topic and his vision add another dimension to it. It’s rare for a sequel to live up to its predecessor but kudos to Mitch for sublimely linking both.
A heartwarming book that will rejuvenate your zest for life.
“No story sits by itself. Our lives connect like threads on a loom, interwoven in ways we never realize.”
- The Next Person You Meet in Heaven
If you ever feel low in life, just give this book a try.
Happy Holi
The festival of colors was the perfect conclusion to the week.
Playing colors, grooving to favorite songs, and drinking spirits with high-spirited people made it quite memorable.
Fun fact, in the last twenty-six years this was my first Holi with hometown friends (which makes me wonder why wasn’t I called before).
Final Words
In hindsight going on a trek would have been great but so was not going.
The last few days were extremely lit by my monotonous standards.
Yet again I am left in awe by how mysteriously life functions.
Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you.
- Jim Carrey
Hope you enjoyed this edition.
Signing off for today :) Until next time, Houdoe! 🙋♂️