“Life was topsy-turvy and meaningless. I quit my job in Pune and went back to Latur to find solace with my family. They were supportive but I still felt down and out. It was a long intense relationship for which I had changed myself completely to adapt to my boyfriend’s conservative family. It was in vain; we decided to part ways. So there I was - heartbroken, lonely and unhappy with my career as a HR professional. Maybe this is how most of us lead our lives, following the rut and end up being unhappy with ourselves. My friend Bhakti’s journey was no different except the heartbreak part. She was already happily married with a son when we met. Her husband was in IT and posted to Hyderabad. She too was struggling, albeit on a different front. Staying away from her husband for months together and not being able to care for her son gave her sleepless nights. Both of us were fighting our lonely battles, probably the reason we connected instantly. We were alike and still different! We were both creative; we loved cooking and books. We were at the crossroads of our lives. The idea of our joint venture, a book café, cropped up naturally. Within two months of meeting each other, our book café went live. Those were fun days. We compared rates for new crockery for the café, made endless trips to timber merchants for new furniture, visited local markets for coffee beans and tea leaves and saved every penny as cash flow was sporadic. We invested all our savings and borrowed from family and friends. My wounds healed and Bhakti discovered a way to meaningfully build her career around her son. We found that every decision took us to a higher level of trial and error. Now, I have no time to pine for my ex-boyfriend. I have started meeting people with new wisdom and confidence that my life too is important. Bhakti knows that this venture will give her more freedom in future to do what she feels is worthwhile. We will probably pursue other interests together such as me composing music for and singing Bhakti’s poems or adding baking to our culinary skills or diversifying to include special meals for the diet-conscious. Whatever we do we will do it together. We love every moment of our togetherness and our Book Cafe. We are a work in progress!”