Burgers for Thought
By: Aarya Morwal
Tags: Birthday, McDonalds, Self Reflection, Food For Thought, Conversations

The mandatory-fancy-coffee-photo

The art of understanding people and accepting who they are as a whole is often very confusing.

The above statement is exquisite and complex to comprehend (for me as well). But as I sit in a room full of strangers having burgers, fries, and aerated drinks, with a laptop, I realize that there is so much to learn from the unheard, overheard conversations around me.

To give a back story, it’s my sister’s birthday, and I am out here at Mcdonalds (since 7.09 pm to be precise)with her and her friends. These young ladies have found solace in a corner, and I sit alone in between nowhere. My laptop is for rescue as I got the opportunity to complete my long-due final year presentation.

Fats forward to now, 8.57 pm I am done with my presentation to surprise and tada here I am writing a blog in a restaurant. With the idea of adding a photo to prove that I am here on 20th August, I take a landscape shot with sheer confidence, only to know that taking pictures is prohibited. ( because I am invading other’s privacy-which I did.) The most exciting part of writing a blog or working(kind of) from a cafe is that you’re constantly intrigued by the people around you and overwhelmed with your work.

Among couples, groups of friends, and work colleagues, I find people like me who treat themselves ( which makes me joyful.) On noticing them, I get transported to when I visited my favorite restaurant in Manipal to treat myself. Veg club grilled sandwich, half-plate dry Manchurian, and a good web series were my go-to things for my extreme moods. The restaurant is an unconventional one — the family dharmik restaurant playing bhajans for the guests. My friends detested the place and made me happy deep down as I wouldn’t have to share my food with them in the first place.

Bulbul, get yourself back to Hanuman Road, Vile Parle — West, Mumbai.

As I remove my earphones again, I find chaos around me, a lot of it: discussions, laughter, arguments, chats, music, and a little silence between the entropy. These sounds are also present in my mind(I suppose everyone’s.) The constant muttering and nonstop noise in our brain are daunting and as well as advantageous. Mastering the skill of controlling our thoughts is a task in itself. In these 2 hours, I have experienced 23 emotional shifts and gotten myself back to this screen to make the most out of the time. From missing my first love to reminiscing memories of college days, from profoundly feeling the lyrics of romantic songs to stalking hot guys around, I feel amazed with my mind’s ability.

I remind myself of the primary purpose of me being there-my sister’s birthday treat. Therefore, I constantly keep a tab on her and her friends to make sure they’re enjoying themselves to their fullest. I also begin to wonder what these young ladies would be discussing. Seeing them happy, laughing, and cracking jokes made me realize how life was back in childhood. More of love and less of hate. More of appreciation and less of envy. More of me and less of others. More of now and less of the past/ future.

My phone rings, 9.26 pm; it is dad calling. He reminds us that it’s late for the Lil girls, and we should probably leave now. Our driver has also been waiting ever since; I feel pity for him. As we wrap things at McDonald’s, I gather myself and put an end to this time for self-reflection, wondering that I should do it more often.

PS: Here’s a photo of me and my sister on her birthday.