Hello beautiful people of the internet!
I am going to try to keep this brief because I have a habit of telling short stories very long, and
I tend to go completely idhar udhar while telling them.
Hi, I am Sheili. I was born in Dharamshala, the hill station in Himachal Pradesh and not
Dharamshala as in the rest house (have to clear it up for some of you. Yes, it has happened
before). I was raised in Baramati, Maharashtra. Born Pahadi, raised Marathi. The first words I
ever spoke were in Marathi.
Growing up in a small town with humble beginnings often keeps you sheltered from the
outside world. Life moves at a slower pace in small towns. It keeps you unexposed. Innocent.
Home, school, friends, family, homework, evening playtime; that is your small world.
My first real exposure to the outside world was through the books in our school library. I
found my first “Famous Five” and then there was no stopping after that. Books became my
escape to new worlds, new places, cultures, and people. Books introduced me to a world
beyond mine, showing me possibilities for what life can also be.
Let me tell you a story.
I started writing because it was the only way to express myself freely and with honesty.
Writing always put things in perspective for me. The chaos in my mind found a way to beautify
itself through words.
It started with writing a diary at 12 years of age, which my mother eventually found out under
the mattress (Yes, what was I thinking?) and of course she read it (because privacy? What’s
that? 12 year olds aren’t supposed to have any) let’s just say things did not end well for me.
One day our English teacher gave us an assignment to write a poem and that changed
everything. Poetry is subjective; you can express yourself without really saying everything.
What a poet writes is only for them to know, others can just try to interpret.
An open secret shared with the world that only they truly know.
I loved that.
Words are all I have
“Words are all I have,” I remember saying that a lot not just because it is a beautiful song, but
because I truly believed it was the least I can do for anyone. As the time passed, I started
putting my words out for others to read. I believed if I am going through something,
somewhere someone might be going through similar things too. It is comforting to know you
are not alone in these motions of life; there is someone out there who understands without
explaining.
If my words could bring some solace, a smile (I believe I have a good sense of humour, fight
me on this. Let’s not.), a “Me too sister!” or a different perspective to even one person then,
being vulnerable in this judgemental world would be worth it. I started writing poetry in Hindi,
even recited a few pieces, while constantly battling with my undulating confidence about
putting myself out there.
And then, life happened
in a way nothing could have prepared me for.
As I got lost in the chaos of my world, I lost my words along the way. Words came to me but
I stopped listening to them. While I navigated my way through the quest of life, in moments
of honesty, the words came to me and the Notes app in my phone is a testimony of that. I did
not completely stop writing but I sure stopped sharing them. As I found myself again, my
words found me too and I found the confidence to put them out there again.
Thank you to every single person who has actually read something that I have written over
the years and to those who reached out to let me know with your very kind words, especially
in the last few days for the final push. You have been like those signs from the universe lighting
up my path in the darkness.
Someone in everyone is about life, mostly my life, and how am I navigating through it. I have
not always been a great navigator (not that I am one now) but I am getting better. Now I miss
only a few, turns making fewer U-turns, I hope.
And it is about someone in everyone. You may not relate to everything but maybe you will
find something familiar. If you disagree with something, we can always debate over it in a
civilised manner in the comments. I am always open to new perspectives.
I hope somewhere in these words you find a piece of yourself that feels seen.