The hardest decision that I ever made was to trust my parents when they forced me to take the class 12th board exams despite my mental illness.
I had been mentally ill in 2017. And I was admitted to NIMHANS(National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences), Bangalore for 2-3 months and came back to Howrah.
And I was so depressed that I couldn’t get out of bed or take a bath properly.
Plus I was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder(BPAD).
And I think it was one of those days when my parents were really worried about me.
So they forced me to take the practicals and board exams of class 12.
I remember when our car reached the school I was feeling very scared. I thought that I couldn’t take the practicals. And yet my parents forced me to go to school and take them.
I performed pretty badly but passed. And I remember I couldn’t answer some of the viva questions.
And in the board exams I performed okay.
I passed my class 12th board exams in 2018 without dropping any year.
And for this I am grateful to my parents.
If they hadn’t forced me to take the exams I wouldn’t be here completing my MBA graduation.
If they hadn’t been there for me, I might have dropped out of school. But it was because of them that I was able to take the exams and pass out of school.
So this was my hardest decision I’d even had to make. To trust someone else more than how much I trusted myself.
The author shares his experience at the Passenger concert Bangalore 2025. It was intimate, cozy and lovely.
I attended the Passenger concert in Bangalore yesterday.
I still can’t believe it.
I attended the concert only to listen to “Let Her Go” and nothing else because that’s the only song I knew of Passenger.
And it was so awesome, probably one of those days you can’t forget in your entire life.
But there were some difficulties along the way.
For example, the security people won’t let me take my backpack inside the venue.
And I almost got angry.
But my sister asked me to send the bag through the Uncle Delivery app, so that I could attend the concert.
I had never used Uncle Delivery but I was surprised to see it was so easy.
After a few minutes of walking here and there, I entered the concert around 8:15 pm I guess.
And the concert hadn’t begun.
So I was able to see the beginning of the concert and the full concert.
It was an experience you couldn’t forget.
It was not as good as the KK concert that I attended many years ago, nor was it as high in energy as the Martin Garrix concert I attended last year I think so.
But the concert felt intimate and sad in a good way.
And if I had to give the concert a rating it would definitely be a 4.9 out of 5 because they didn’t let me take my backpack inside.
And if you ask me what I learnt from this experience, I would say I learnt to follow my heart.
One of the songs Michael Rosenberg (Passenger) sang was about dreams.
And I think it was a good song and a song that is appropriate for Indian audiences.
Because in India we are encouraged to follow what society wants of us and not to follow our dreams.
Anyways, another thing I learnt from this experience is to take responsibility for my actions.
If I had been more cautious I wouldn’t have brought my backpack to the concert even if the terms and conditions mentioned a big backpack and my backpack was reasonably small.
So a lot of people had come to the concert. Couples, single people, groups of friends, etc. And I felt very good when I saw them.
One of the couples in front of me seemed so lovely.
The girl looked like she was ill and the boy held her close.
It was so lovely.
The people were so happy.
The weather was so good, no rain, moderate temperature.
And that’s all that matters.
When I was listening to the “Let Her Go” song, I was recalling my memories of my friends. And it was lovely.
And if you ask me what advice I have for people who want to attend a Passenger concert later in the future, I would say just relax and enjoy the concert. It’ll be an intimate experience. So make sure to bring your friends also.
And what review would I like to write for Passenger?
Here’s what I’d say-
“I loved the concert. It was intimate and cozy and lovely. I will remember it for the rest of my life. I didn’t know most of the songs except “Let Her Go” and I feel very satisfied that I witnessed Michael Rosenberg sing “Let Her Go”. The security didn’t let me take my backpack inside though. I mean at least they should have checked the bag and allowed me to take it inside. But I loved the concert. I’d give a 4.9/5 rating.”
I’m listening to this beautiful song Don’t know what she’s thinking Don’t know how she feels about me Don’t know if we’ll ever be together
I’m listening to this beautiful song Don’t know if I should ask her Don’t know if I should ask her about us Don’t know if I should ask her about our future
I’m listening to this beautiful song Don’t know if we should stay friends Don’t know if our destinies are intertwined Don’t know if we are meant for each other
I’m listening to this beautiful song Don’t know if I should write poems anymore Don’t know if she’ll understand me Don’t know if God exists
I’m listening to this beautiful song Don’t know if… Don’t know how to feel Don’t know how to not listen to this beautiful song
Well I already feel anxious after reading this prompt…
And I feel like I don’t want to think about it.
All I want to do is avoid making this plan even though I know that making a plan is important.
Because I feel anxious and I want to stop feeling anxious.
But jokes aside, here’s my perfect plan-
Keep enough stock of food
Save money every month
Have an emergency fund
Make a household budget
Have investments
And at the same time stay sane
Maybe this is not the most perfect plan but it is a plan.
Many people won’t even make a plan.
But I did.
And regarding the last point “And at the same time stay sane”, it should come on top because without a calm mind you will make deadly mistakes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people suffered a lot due to improper planning.
And many didn’t even have a plan.
And again regarding the staying sane part, I have anxiety and bipolar disorder and personality disorders.
And I got discharged from NIMHANS, which is the most reputed mental health hospital in Asia, my family was able to sustain me and themselves because we had a plan.
I stayed in NIMHANS for 3.5months approx.
And I feel we were lucky to have a plan.
So this is my perfect emergency preparedness plan with an imperfect sequence of activities and a somewhat informal writing style.
