City of Dreams, City of Strains

Arjun, a young professional was a resident of this city of towering buildings and buzzing activity where the high-rises touched the clouds and the concrete beats an insistent rhythm. Every morning, he got up as soon as his alarm clock sounded, a shrill note that jolted him into the realization of his unyielding schedule.

Arjun’s apartment, a small cube located in a gargantuan skyscraper, had a view of the metropolis: grey concrete, sleek glass, and shiny steel. The view was wild and oppressive, as the beauty of the city opened before me, and the expectations from its people. The same view was both thrilling and stifling to him at the same time, he often sat and gazed out at the sea of lights.

It became tiring and that exhaustion had become a familiar thing for them. Arjun had a job in finance and that is the industry that is most famous for being very demanding and very intense. His days were activities filled with meetings, reports, and unending schedules. There was no time for a person and left behind many beautiful dreams that Arjun had in mind about the life of the city and its culture.

Getting to work and back was even a war within itself. The city had extensive public transport but the buses/trains/taxis were always overcrowded. Every day, Arjun entered a full train with a stench of sweat and silence filled with tired conversation in the morning. The walk to his office became torture, an endurance test where he was confronted with humanity at its worst before the day could even start.

In the office, people had purpose and aspirations that came hand in hand with adrenaline and anticipation. People at the workplace seemed like robots; their expressions were dull as a result of extended periods of working with computers. The pressure was always felt, an aura that weighed heavily on every individual. Arjun had often tried to think how long he could go on this way, this meant this pressure to continually do more in a world that did not let him.

But there were glimpses of alchemy that lent a certain flavor to Arjun’s life in the city. He enjoyed the company of vendors who prepared breakfast and engaged in jovial discussions around his workplace environment. He was close friends with the barista at the corner café who always fixed his cup of coffee with a wink and a nod. These small human interactions were a blessing in an environment otherwise lacking warmth.

Arjun’s evenings can be pointed as rather quiet and opposite to the daily rush. He would go to his apartment where one could escape the pressures that the city had to offer. He felt that cooking helps him in the process of calming down and vice versa; that something gives him back control. Peeling carrots and chopping onions were soothing, a way of escaping the pressure and the blues of the big city.

But even in these moments of quiet, the beat of the city could be heard. The distant murmur of cars, an occasional scream, the quiet voice of people living next door – they all came into his mind, and he realized that he was not alone. The city was alive; its energy enveloped him like a force, its pulse resonating within him, but it also drained him.

Arjun was cooking dinner one day when he got a phone call from Ravi, with whom he had lost touch for the past few months; Ravi had relocated to a new town recently. Ravi had been bubbling with energy when narrating his new life, unlike the tired feel that reflected in Arjun’s stories. They discussed their schedules stating that in the countryside life is more relaxed compared to that of city life.

"Do you ever think about leaving?" Ravi asked, his tone curious.

Arjun allowed himself to scratch his head a little, to symbolize his deep reflection. Accept it, the city had offered him chances and the experience he could not find anywhere else. But it had also been exhausting him lately, watering him, taking a toll on him for what it demanded of him.

"Sometimes," Arjun admitted, "but the city has a way of pulling you in. There's always something new to chase, some new dream to pursue."

With this conversation coming to an end, Arjun took his seat to eat and contemplate his life in the vast city. Thus tiredness was the constant companion of this urban cyclist. But so were the moments of joy, people he had met, and dreams that were still alive.

The city was a place of contrasts, a world where fatigue and vigor are neighbors. For Arjun, it was a city of dreams and strains, a city to which he would carry on the flickering searchlight of work and sleep, within the steady throb of the great metropolis.