YES, THIS IS MY HOME.

*Beep beep beep beep beep*
Rang my not-so-melodious (read: Pathetic) alarm.

My hand slowly and lazily reached and felt for my mobile phone and it took me 15 seconds to find it, when I finally switched it off.

I rubbed my eyes and tried opening them, hoping to see a pretty little room, with white coloured walls along with butterflies and leaves on them, a huge book shelf to my right, a wall with a calender hung on it to my left, a big window in front of me and below it, a small shelf, with six photo frames holding the best captured memories.

But my luck had different plans. Yes, I did see white coloured walls, but they were different. I saw two plump girls sleeping on two different beds, to my right, a not-so-new brown coloured almirah to my left, and a huge mirror in front of me. *facepalm*

And I regained my senses and realised that I am not in my own cozy room, but in a PG from the last two months. It took me some time to accept the fact that this particular room which I described is going to be my room for the next three years, but then slowly, I got used to it. I got up and was about to slip my feet into my flip-flops when I got the opportunity to bang my head on that very same white coloured wall.

I remembered that it was my first mid-term exam.

My mood turned even more sulky as I got ready and called up my mother to tell her that I am leaving for college, a routine that I have been following religiously from the last two months.

It is the tradition in my house, and also a way of showing love, that whenever I used to leave my home for anything important, my mother used to put "dahi-cheeni" in my mouth, telling me the famous cheesy line of that Cadbury DairyMilk advertisement, "Shubh kaam karne se pehle, kuch meetha kha lo."

During the call, my mom wished me luck and put imaginary dahi-cheeni into my mouth, as I faked a laugh with teary eyes. She too laughed with me then, and cut the call, not before coo-ing "Dahi Machli" sweetly, which is a way to say good-bye.

I put my phone in my bag, still teary eyed, and opened the main door of the apartment to leave.

"Palak! wait a minute!" Uma di, my caretaker stopped me.
I turned, and found her, holding a bowl of Dahi Cheeni in her hands.
"Achha kaam karti hai na jab, tab kuch mishti kha leti hai!" She said, putting the spoon full of sweetened curd into my mouth.

The sad tears changed into happy ones as she kissed my forehead and wished me luck.
"Are han, Dahi Machli! That's what you say, no?" She added as she smiled.

Though I was sure that even after all the good wishes I had recieved, I was going to screw my exam, but I was happy.

I felt homely, safe and loved. That Dahi Cheeni indeed, made my day!

DAHI MACHLI ;)