April 21, 2019

Changing Cities

What if globalization never happened?

What if cultural diversity is just a science fiction theme?

And, what if Jon Snow is actually the main reason that whitewalkers made it beyond the wall?

Will we all still be taking risks and moving out of our comfort zones?

Think about it!

But for now, in this time and era, these questions don't look like a matter of assent (except the GOT reference).

***

Bangalore, here I was standing at the center of the platform and looking at the direction from which I arrived. Yet another giant step taken, I thought. Almost a month of preparations and hustle, I knew this day would be imminent but still, this looks so unreal.

”Everything was similar yet new,
The same nation with a different view.
So much has been risked and so much has been compromised.
Leaving behind the luxury of having loved ones by my side.
With many promises and few broken hearts,
I commence forward with a new start.”

Am I at the right place, were my first thought after getting out of the station. So much hype, so much talk and what I've been welcomed with, the scorching sun. Where is that awesome weather that everyone jabbered about? Where is that beautiful climate that Bangalore is famous for? My mind was questioning its own imagination. Did I let those hearsay wire my thoughts and fool me or it is one of those unluckiest days of the year. Whatever it is, but something was not quite right. I directed the coolie to place my luggage in front of a snacks counter.

’Namma Bengaluru’ reads the placard in my front which translates to ’Our Bengaluru’, I googled. Everything was new to me the language, the culture, and even food. I looked at the menu and was astonised to see the different kinds of rice dishes they serve. I tried to order something but the language barrier made it tough. I was already feeling an outsider. But this isn't something that I was experiencing for the first time. I was familiar to these feelings. I have already overcome these thoughts in the past.

Though I was excited to explore new things I still had a fear of forgetting the old ones.

It feels like yesterday when I first moved to Mumbai with the same feeling that I was experiencing now. A new state and a different city. Everyone was a stranger, and every lane was unknown with no place to be called home. But it was only a matter of days when unknowingly I became a part of that city. From colleagues to having good friends and from office meeting to casual hangouts. The worries with which I started, soon became a lost thing in the past. I wasn't an outsider anymore.

But now, here I am to a totally different part of the country. Already missing those known lanes and familiar faces.

I believe this is what life is, a journey, and in this journey we travel places, we meet new people, we make new friends and with them, new memories. Everything is connected, and everyone is important. Work and life may drag us to new places but whatever we experience is worth a try.

Never fear change.

***