To that evening of joy!

The shrill morning alarm sent unruly jolts through my dizzy self as I stirred, opened my sleepy eyes and cast a glance around the room, from the drawing room to the dining table to the kitchen counter. Some food still spread out, half finished glasses of whisky, cushions muddled on the sofa, and footprints still visible on the floor.

I had a big smile on my bloated face, and my puffy eyes lit up at the mess around me. It was evidence of the good time I'd had the evening before.

I almost broke into laughter seeing that empty bottle of Jacob's Creek. Had I really finished it? Yes, you read that right, sophistication has finally caught up with me too. It happens in good company, and it's infectious.

You know what, happiness isn't always in direct proportion to the effort spent chasing it, I think.

That is how it was for me last evening. We didn't play loud music, didn't dance, didn't laugh at anyone's expense. We let the countless restaurants nearby, all hungry for a sale, stay hungry a little longer. We put on the apron and cooked things up on the stove ourselves, sat at the dining table, sometimes stood beside the chef in the kitchen and lent a hand. From politics to movies to sports to health, we talked about everything, all of it seasoned with humour. The food came out finger licking good, it had to. Anything touched by love comes out good. The best part of it all was watching Bigg Boss together, the host dishing out his lessons on screen while we sat there dishing out our own opinions just as strongly. That kind of passion comes naturally when you work in a corporate world; you don't just relate to one contestant, you map half your colleagues onto the whole cast. It all ended with a ride in Nisha's brand new Bimmer, fresh off the lot and generously shared with all of us, the thrill of that zip is going to stay with me a while.

It was a picnic at home, and the little one around had fun too. She carried her own water bottle and politely corrected me on the difference between purple and pink, quite unlike my boss, and my heart silently wished her all the happiness in the world.

That was fun, this is fun. Sharing is that one good thing in life because of which we are all here in this world, isn't it? Watching a show together, picking food off each other's plates, recounting some joys, experiences and sorrows of life. Sharing a song, a line you just read, a movie that left you speechless, a joke that broke you up laughing.

Sharing makes the good moments, doesn't it? And what do we truly carry with us when we leave this world, or rather, what do we truly leave behind?

The moments we created, lived and shared, I guess.