Anand wanted me to write about his concert outing and I insisted he should. So for this post he wrote for his mother.
Below are his words writing for him mom :)
Please reach with extra love…
Concert outings are very rare in our family. Well, I mean, in Anand's point of view. Almost everywhere we go, Anand always has his noise cancelling headphones on, whether it's listening to music, or going to places that are extremely loud, such as movie theaters, party events, or nightclubs, to name a few. But what surprised me the most was when Anand had some exciting news: on July 12th, 2025, Anand purchased tickets to see a pop punk band from the United Kingdom, South Arcade, who were on an American Tour live, performing at the Middle East Restaurant in Cambridge. There was an obstacle that Anand had to address: the day and date that South Arcade would perform was on Wednesday, October 15th, which was a work day for him. Around September, Anand requested time-off on both Wednesday and Thursday, since the concert would start at 6:30pm. Another obstacle was taking a train back home. The last train leaving from South Station to Franklin was at 11:55pm, but neither me or Dad would be awake at that time, so we asked Anand to keep us posted whenever possible. After taking the Green Line to Boston, the Red Line from South Station to Andrew (where Anand walked around South Bay Center), Anand has two plans, one to take the Orange Line to Assembly Row, and another to Wellington (then walk to the Gateway Center and Encore Casino). Anand says he's "spent hours studying roads on Google Maps," and he was right.
The day of the concert finally came, and Anand couldn't stop thinking about it. Dad and I were at work, Ajey was home, but neither of us could drop Anand at the station, so he booked a GATRA ride. Anand kept in touch with us when he was on the train, at South Station, then at the Middle East Restaurant. Anand agreed to take a lot of pictures of the band and the concert, but he also knew what to expect. Loudness, people inadvertently bumping into each other, and huge crowds were, as he said, "totally normal at concerts." When the concert ended at 9:35pm, Anand facetimed me and Dad while we were watching TV, and he was yelling with joy, saying he had a amazing night of his life. Drenched in sweat, Anand improvised and took the Red Line from Central to South Station, then safely boarded a train to Franklin, coming home around 11:32pm.
This has been a huge experience, more so than taking the subway to Boston and boarding a ferry to Hingham Shipyard. Willingly attending a concert by himself at a nightclub became an even BIGGER step forward. Next adventure: first Comic-Con experience in Providence, Rhode Island.
