~Am the girl from WULMUL WULMUL WONDER :)~

I had never felt this dull and de-motivated in life before. My job sucked and I was struggling to cope up with relations. I found myself faced with negativity and utter boredom. I could not even remember the last time I’d gone on a vacation with friends and family. I was busy yes, but they were all busy too. Distances tend to bring distances and slowly we had all drifted apart. One fine day, I decided to pack my bags and set off to a random place. I wanted to set out! – away from the hustle bustle of this buzzing world; away from the daily pressure of deadlines; away from the expectations of an ever demanding world – to a place where I could find myself back.

I reached the New Delhi Station at 6 a.m. in the morning. As usual, railway stations never sleep, and even at this hour it overflowed with people. I managed to make my way through to the ticket counters and stood there for a while, trying to decide where to travel to. I had thought of nearby places like Agra or Alibagh, but I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy these on a solo trip. As I looked around – a very strange site caught my eyes: an empty ticket counter, which read “Tickets to wulmul wulmul wonder”. I rubbed my eyes hard to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I reached the counter to find a lady sitting there, smiling away to glory. I enquired: “Madam what place is this; never heard of it”. She replied in a sweet husky voice, “If you believe in God and if you think he loves you, don’t think twice. Just buy the tickets!!”. ‘What the hell is she talking about’, was my instant reaction. After a little thought I bought the tickets. I took them from her, and looked down to check the platform number. To my horror, the ticket read ‘Platform no. 9 ¾’. My jaw dropped! I know that I am a die-hard fan of Harry Potter but that definitely does not imply that this lady will kid with me in this wild way. I looked up to blast her, but my world shook when I found myself standing in front of a wall instead of the counter! ‘Oh boy, what the hell was going on???!!’

I made my way towards platform number 9, still trying to recover from the shock. ‘All these days of depression have probably left me crazy and I must be imagining things’, is all I could tell myself at that point of time. I was not surprised to see a huge pillar standing midway between platforms 9 and 10. Not thinking too much, I decided to run into it, as in the movie. I did, and I saw myself standing on Platform 9 ¾. Only difference here as compared to the movie was that I found the platform absolutely empty. The train showed a green signal and started moving. I don’t know what was compelling me to do this, but I ran as fast as I could and managed to catch the train.

As I entered the compartment, the most marvellous site appeared before me: a buffet with my favourite food!! Super hungry that I was, I ran to the table and started hogging every bit of it! All varieties of pizzas, pastas, dhoklas, chocolates, etc etc went right into my mouth, to be squashed down with my favourite soft drinks and mocktails! Soft music played in the background, and a powerful aroma of fresh roses refreshed the atmosphere. I wrapped up the feast with some delicious desserts and then went ahead to explore the other compartments. All this while, I wasn’t thinking much – what, why, where. It all seemed to be part of a reality show and I wouldn’t be surprised if any one of Salman Khan from Big Boss or Cyrus Brocha from MTV Bakra would suddenly blast into the train accompanied by flashy cameras.

Anyways, I went ahead to explore the other compartments and to my amazement, each one of them had something or the other to offer: a marvellous collection of best-selling books I have always wanted to read, an exhaustive collection of music and movies DVDs, a home theatre, a gaming zone with the latest version of x-box, and everything imaginable when one thinks of ‘fun’. I was swooned and tried my hand at everything. ‘This was awesome and legendary!!’

I was so involved in the endless entertainment that I did not realize just how much time I’d been on that super amazing train. Suddenly, I realized that the train had halted. I went outside the compartment to check. I was there. I had reached the land of Wulmul Wulmul wonder. I stepped out of the train. All I could now see was a door which seemed to be flashing something. It seemed to have a TV screen on it. I went near it to see what it read. And what I saw was unbelievable:

I placed my finger on the ‘Touch here for suggestions’ tab. ‘Whoa!’ There appeared a list of all fascinating tourist destinations – from Kashmir to South Africa to Honolulu and far-fetched places I’d not even dreamt of ever visiting. I touched California and another list of places within the state appeared. I chose ‘Disneyland’! I then moved to suggestions for the person I would like to visit this place with. A huge list of all the people I have ever known in my life popped up, including those I loved, those I loved and lost, and those I hated. I scrolled down to search for the name of a person who was once my best friend-turned-boyfriend, someone I’d have the most fun with, but somehow we’d fallen apart a year back for reasons I didn’t wish to remember. There it was; his name – Arpit – my long lost friend. I chose his name. Then gently I pushed the door knob and walked inside.

As I walked inside, I saw the silhouette of a man standing right in front of Disneyland. As I moved towards him, his face became clearer and I saw him looking at me, with that same heavenly smile and those kind eyes that knew only love. I came close to him, and without saying a word, we hugged. Memories of the past rushed back. About a year back, he chose to leave me alone for someone else. But right here right now, I either had an option to cry and blame him for the past or live the present moment. I decided to go with the latter. Somehow I felt, this was the Arpit I’d met on the first day of college – the happy guy who cared about everyone. It seemed that Wulmul Wulmul wonder had actually filtered and sent the best version of my friend minus what had gone wrong in the later stages of life. What more could I have asked for. Thank you Wulmul Wulmul Wonder! The world around appeared the same – excited children, doting parents, couples in-love – which meant we were actually in Disneyland and this was not a figment of our imagination. Like the good old days we went hand in hand, into Disneyland, and into hours of exuberance. In life, we choose to leave some people, and some people choose to leave us. What we forget sometimes is that even if hell breaks loose, we should never let go of someone who trusts us blindly and loves us from the bottom of his or her heart.

Suddenly with a loud thud, everything including Arpit disappeared and I was standing in front of the same door again with an option to enter a new place and destination. This time I entered ‘Seven wonders of the world’ and ‘Family’. Ever since I was a child, I had this dream of going around the world with my parents and sisters. They were my most prized possession and my busy life left me with no time for them. I opened the door, and there they were! We group-hugged and walked over to this big screen right in front of us:

We decided to start with Taj Mahal India; I touched the screen and there we were standing right in front of the beautiful monument. Amma papa’s happiness knew no bounds and I had never seen my sisters this happy before. My life seemed complete and I felt Nirvana. The board with the list of the seven wonders appeared every time we finished exploring a place. We visited them all while having the time of our lives. Our family is indeed the most important part of our life – we must always find time for them.

Everything vanished again. The door appeared. I chose combinations of my best friends from every walk of life along with a combination of places I have always wanted to visit. As in the case of Arpit, Wulmul Wulmul Wonder filtered and sent the best versions of all these people. The expeditions became all the more special when we would come across our favourite celebrities like Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and many many more. We even visited the Parliament and slapped some politicians. Life seemed more than perfect!

All of a sudden, a splash of chilled water hit my face. I heard my roommate scream: “Don’t you have to go to the office!!??? Wake up silly girl! And how many times are you going to listen to this song ‘wulmul wulmul wonder’ from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB)! You left it on repeat mode last night; had to wake up in the middle of the night to turn it off!!”

‘DAMN!! So this was a dream!! NOOOOOOO!’ Every time I listened to this song from BMB, I wondered what Wulmul Wulmul wonder would look like. My fascination built into this dream of a perfect land where you could be with people you love, go where you want to go and do what you want!

I felt so refreshed and rejuvenated after this dream. It taught me a lesson of forgiveness, of love, of valuing people, of ignoring their shortcomings and respecting them for what they are. Just like Wulmul Wulmul Wonder filtered and produced the best versions of people, similarly we have the power to let go of negativity. And most importantly, apart from all the hustle bustle of our busy professional lives, we need to take some time out for those who matter. Plan a trip, go out, explore new places, have fun. Take some time out for your hobbies and interests – every now and then take a ride of that super amazing train I saw in my dream. We have a small life. It doesn’t need to be taken so seriously. As for me, I am setting out on a real trip now. My bags are packed and this time I know exactly where to go.

You just met a girl and she’s from WULMUL WULMUL WONDER. You can dance and she can sing, rock the whole night longer!! WULMUL WULMUL WONDER WULMUL WULMUL.

You got it right. I am the girl from WULMUL WULMUL WONDER and the language of love and happiness is all I know.

"This post has been written exclusively for Tata Safari Storme-I am Explorer and Indiblogger (www.tatasafari.com)"