Hometown visit days
Came to my hometown in Haryana last week. Threw a silent early morning surprise for my parents—it was just 7 AM when I reached home. My parents were hardly surprised; instead, they were just laughing at the kind of things I always choose to do. (Relax, guys... only in a comedy way!)
Since then, my routine has been almost the same: recording music, writing more and more songs, doing house chores, having overnight oats, and so on. A few days ago, I went to watch the movie Mai Wapas Aaunga with my parents. It's so, so, so beautiful. It's a must-watch. Ultimate work by Imtiaz Ali. AGAIN!
Meanwhile, Cocktail 2 has been released, and one of the songs that caught my attention is "Mashooqa." Now I'm just preparing my vocals perfectly because I want to record a guitar cover of it as soon as I get back to Noida. I really want to hear how it'll sound with my voice. The song is full of strings, Latin vibes, guitars, and beachy moods! Before I watch the movie, I have to make a cover video of this song. :)
A day ago, my grandmother visited our house to stay with us for 2–3 days. I call her "Amma" (in Hindi). We never really had many moments together. She's someone who's always a little quiet, lo-fi, and keeps to herself. But this time, I got to talk to her about so many things. She opened her heart to us completely.
She's also worried about my night shift. Every afternoon when I wake up, she gets surprised and asks me how I manage to work through the nights, and whether my eyes are still okay after doing night shifts for so long.
How can I tell her that I'm almost depressed because of my night shift situation? I'm trying to get out of it as quickly as possible because now my body has started giving me answers to all the torture I've put it through.
ANYWAYS...
We had ice creams tonight after dinner. Amma's comfort ice cream flavour has always been vanilla, while mine has always been chocolate—and that too in a cone. My mother always asks if I'm ever bored of chocolate, and I simply say, "NO." Nobody can ever get bored of chocolate, and that's the constant answer I've always had.
I also went up to the terrace to water the plants, and out of nowhere, I got the energy to wash the terrace floor with the running water pipe. So I did—while watching the sunset, standing in the warm evening winds. It felt so fulfilling because I never get to do these little things in Noida. That place always feels like a cage on the 12th floor that just encloses me and never wants me to step outside. Here, in my hometown, it's exactly the opposite.
Talking about my music, I recorded a few cover songs on the Casio keyboard we have at home. It has some sound issues now, and the lower octave keys sound really bad. I have to record everything on the higher octaves, and it doesn't always sound the way I want it to. But I'm still trying to pull out as much as I can from that piano because playing and writing on a piano gives a completely different feeling than playing the guitar.
Along with that, I've written a few new songs on the piano over the last few days since I came home. I've had so many learnings during this time, especially about my parents. They're a whole new world to me every single time. Every conversation with them leaves me holding a new lesson in the palm of my hand.
I'm trying to write about all of it—turning those conversations into melodies and something that can be sung. Sometimes these ideas seem silly, and other times they feel too serious to even handle. There are almost 99% of the moments when you feel like discarding them completely.
But thanks to an Instagram reel I watched a few days ago about music and creativity.
The person in it said:
"Making music and living a creative artistic life is one of the hardest things because you're creating something that no one has ever heard before—something whose existence no one even knows about. And it takes a ton of guts to even think of creating something like that."
That one sentence completely changed the way I look at my artistry.
LIKE... FOREVER.
I used to look at my writing and creativity in such a harsh and judgmental way. But after hearing those words, it has never been the same. Now, I simply respect whatever comes into my mind. Whether I choose to keep it or not is a different decision altogether. But acknowledging it changes everything.
That's what's keeping me going in this phase of my life.
And the other strong pillar keeping me going is you—the person reading this.
You're not just some ordinary person scrolling through my Instagram stories or reels. You're someone who chooses to care about what I'm writing in these daily blogs. You're someone who genuinely enjoys watching me grow and witnessing all the serious, silly, beautiful, and imperfect things I put out on Instagram and YouTube.
So thank you so much for the immense respect you've always chosen to give me. A simple "Thank You" will never feel enough. I wish I could add more to it.
But let's save our favourite moments together for the day we actually get to meet someday.(You know I'm talking about my live musical concerts someday... yeah! ❤️)
Thanks. A LOT!
—Isha G.