Conversations over chai #1

Posted on by Parul Thakur

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that I am on a week long staycation in my own home. It’s a cozy feeling having not to go anywhere in the holidays yet being able to relax and rest.

Every year at this time, my mind goes to reflecting on the highs and lows of the year. I look up my photo archives in my phone and sometimes I also read my journal. I find names and events in my journal. I find things that made me happy – some silly yet in that moment they were something that I was grateful for. Going back to my journal and phone pictures is my way to relive the time gone by.

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that I am grateful for the people I met and made connections with in 2023. It’s one thing when family and friends watch your back but it’s another when you meet and get to know new people who become close. Outside of my close circle, When I think of the people that I work with and those who live around me, I consider myself lucky to be in good, funny and caring company. If you know me, you also know that I love my work. So while there were days, I was exhausted, I love that my work keeps me going. I am grateful to be working at a place I love. My US trip to work was a big highlight of the year. My (work) friends there made me experience the best of what fall season had to offer. There were many local experiences in Minneapolis that will become stories for future.

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that this year I worked out and took care of my health in the best possible way I could. I walked and explored some lakes and a small forest nearby with my workout buddies who are now friends. I also shook a leg or two at dance fitness classes and lifted weights. Early in the year, I also swimmed but then being on a yoga mat felt nicer. I cheated on cakes and desserts and I hope to balance out my sweet tooth in 2024.

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that VT and I explored a few new outlets to have fresh dosas and that was a joy. With VT in tow, there is always room for chole bhature and parathas. This year was no different. We enjoy the our own favorite things and then there are times we do things together.

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that I loved being away to my parents’ in October this year. It’s an annual ritual that I have started to look forward to. They are now closer (just a flight away) so once a year I spend time with them and get pampered. While I work a few days from there, I love that Papa makes the best of the time to get a few things done on the computer and Mum enjoys some chatting time.

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that I picked up knitting in 2023. One of my desires and soft goals for 2023 was to knit and I was able to knit a top for myself. I am a better crocheter than a knitter but maybe I am being too hard on myself. Sharing a bit about crochet, I can tell you that I love my time with the hook and a ball of yarn. I made a few wearables in 2023 and also sold a few things here and there. I call myself a super tiny business owner and I love that some of my pieces are being used by people who also appreciate handmade work. If you did not know, I crochet – have a look at dawn to dusk, Instagram account.

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that I love hosting friends and family at home. So in 2023, I had family stay with me a couple of times. Including my parents, my cousin with her son and then Bua-Phupha (Papa’s sister and her husband) also stayed with us for a few days and it was a joy. I also had my work friends come over for tea and/or dinners and that was fun too. If given a chance, I would love having folks at home versus me having to go. Blame it on the lazy me but my photo archives tell me, those days and conversations were memorable.

If we were having chai together, I would tell you that I want to be a better person in 2024. I want to be fearless and accept the change that life has to bring. I want to stay healthy and fit. I want to write and continue to knit and crochet. I want to be a better wife, daughter, sister and employee. I want to work on myself.

If we were having chai together, what would you tell me? What are your hopes for 2024? Or what would you want to leave behind in 2023?

This post is inspired by a feature that I have often read on Tulika’s blog. She calls it – ‘If we were having coffee together…‘

Conversations over chai is my take on sharing a bit of life, reflections, learnings and gratitude with you. By now, you all know that chai is my favorite beverage and I hope we get to have chai together one day.

So here’s signing off 2023 with the hope that 2024 will bring better things for everyone including you and me.

18 thoughts on “Conversations over chai #1”

  1. Wow! That’s an eventful and enriching year!! Nothing like staycation at home… it’s so relaxing, rejuvenating, if you enjoy your own company!!
    You knit and crochet!! How cool… my sister does that too… she started in during covid… do check out her insta page @jaipurknitss
    2023 was a year of self-discovery for me, and I’m hopeful that 2024 brings continued growth and new horizons. Wishing you a happy 2024, Parul, may you find new reasons to smile and shine!! Cheers!

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  2. I just followed you on insta. Love your wearable crochet items. So happy to see you making so many artistic things.
    After reading your post I actually felt like catching up with you over a cup of chai.
    I too am at home, enjoying a quiet time (well as quiet as it can be with a kid), gardening and doing my favorite things. The year end holidays feel so well deserved.
    I wish you and VT a very happy new year.

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  3. It’s so nice to read your conversation over chai while I was sipping my chai. 🙂 You had a wonderful and enriching year. How amazing is that! I love your crochet pieces, Parul. You only started crocheting in 2023?
    Wish you and VT a very happy 2024! ❤ 🙂

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  4. Aw, thanks for the shoutout. Sorry I’m so late here. But I truly enjoy coffee/chai posts. They’re the truest form of blogging, the way it was meant to be.
    It’s been a while since we had people to stay over and you made me want to host friends and family. There’s such joy in having a table full of people and lounging over post-dinner coffees.
    Also I loved the top you crocheted.
    Hope we remain connected through 2024.

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  5. I love your crochet items, Parul. I haven’t checked out your knitted items. Will soon check those out,too.
    It sure looks like a busy 2023 you had, right?
    May 2024 bring you all that you wish for: time to write, more relaxed days at home and with your loved ones, and a healthy and happy you!

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  6. If I was having a chai-pe-charcha sort of thing with you I would say 2023 was a year as usual for me. Ups and downs, like everyone’s life. Professionally, not a very good year, but I and Sarah still pulled through and finished goals that were pending for the last 6-7 years. So, it is strange to look back and see oneself not doing well professionally and financially, but still completing goals (which does eat into the budget). Also, this would be the first year where I and Sarah decided to brush aside relatives who tried to pull us down through their negativity. We purposely decided to focus only on our couple-goals and stick to our guns, one goal at a time. In 2024, we take this journey forward, that’s all. Both me and Sarah try to live in the present, we plan ahead but without keeping high expectations. This way if things don’t work out there are fewer regrets and disappointments.

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    1. Hi Sharukh – so so happy to hear from you after so long. Hope Sarah and you are better. Sticking together as a couple matters more than anything. So do what works best for you both. I agree with keeping expectations lower so disappointments are fewer. Take care and thank you for stopping by.

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  7. It was lovely reading your sweet memories of 2023. I am also a lazy person but my laziness makes it better for me when I am a guest instead of a host. I love being hosted and I am a very easy going guest. This is the first time I am letting this out in the open. Until now, only my husband has been privy to my take on being a guest vs a host. My mind is going about exploring my reasons and telling me to do a blog post on this idea 😀
    There is another angle to the above thought and that is I do not like stepping out of my home. I like being at home a little too much. Ab guest bhi banna hai aur ghar se bahar bhi nahin nikalna hai – ye to thoda complicated scenario hai.
    ‘What are my hopes for 2024?’ – To discuss this we will have to meet upon real chai and not a virtual one 🙂

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  9. Pingback: Please don’t be my guest #MundaneMonday – The Bespectacled Mother

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