Two and a half years back I arrived in this city with a lucrative offer letter, lots of suitcases and a hope to leave this city within Few months. The offer letter doesnt look lucrative anymore, suitcases have been unpacked and the stuff well settled in the big cupboards and the HOPE has been destroyed by the Love this city showered on me.
No , the start wasn't good, the first 6 months were tormenting , full of tears, Ill health and a strong Will to go back , I wonder what changed.
Few say its easy to love this city, few say you get accustomed to the city and dont want to move out of the comfort zone while others say I am mistaking comfort with Love.
The first few months I cursed the food they served here, it hampered my health and made me miss my oil filled north Indian food, I would hate the traffic, the potholes,the frequently changing weather ,Unfriendly people , The Auto rickshaw drivers ,People who talked in Kannada and made me look like an Alien, The high cost of living , The 11 pm deadline and the fact that I was in SOUTH INDIA.
I would curse and crib Non- Stop . I know people who leave without trying , who still don't like it here and others who don't want to go back
What Changed for me??
I Tried .
I started trying all kind of south Indian food , became friends with lots of south Indians who are definitely not unfriendly, tried learning Kannada so as to make some sense , Learnt the tricks of trade with Auto rickshaw drivers, fell in love with the weather , the beautiful Rains and finally accepted this CITY.
It gave me much and didn't ask anything in return. Delhi takes away your innocence, Mumbai takes away your TIME. Bangalore just GIVES.
The reason you fall in love with this city is it gives you a lot and hardly takes away anything.
It gives you the freedom to relish your dreams, the freedom to wear anything and not feel out of place, the freedom to explore every opportunity you ever wanted to , freedom to live the interests you only thought off, the taste of independence and finally the freedom to be YOURSELF.
It gave me a well paid job , A Guru , helped me fulfill my little dreams ,A chance to challenge my limits ( refer to Running ) , Courage to Live life on my conditions. and gave back the lost innocence.
I have achieved a lot more than I thought , career wise everyone does some day , what matters is if you fulfill those little little dreams , if you live an effortless life , do things that comfort you.
I have got wet in this city in the middle of no-where , talked to strangers and made them friends , Cycled on the worst possible roads , Ran till my lungs gave up , worked for causes close to my heart , traveled with friends and on my own , made few people smile , stayed in silence for few days ( Refer AOL) , Shopped for grocery in Pajamas , Excelled the art of eating Rasam-Rice with my hand without people giving me those weird looks.
Small- small things, aren't they?? But I remember these and not the rating my Boss gave me last year.
Its all not Rosy though, I still miss those people up in North who comfort me with just one hug and their presence. Sometimes , it still makes me realize I don't belong here , but just sometimes.
Most of the time it embraces me with cool breeze , sumptous idlis and dosas , non interfering people and a hope that Dreams can be for real.
Its a beautiful beautiful city to live in , to cherish your freedom , to be Yourself.
So what are you waiting for?? Pack your bags , Me and my City will welcome you with a warm hug, cool breeze, hot Idlis and lots of HOPE.
No , the start wasn't good, the first 6 months were tormenting , full of tears, Ill health and a strong Will to go back , I wonder what changed.
Few say its easy to love this city, few say you get accustomed to the city and dont want to move out of the comfort zone while others say I am mistaking comfort with Love.
The first few months I cursed the food they served here, it hampered my health and made me miss my oil filled north Indian food, I would hate the traffic, the potholes,the frequently changing weather ,Unfriendly people , The Auto rickshaw drivers ,People who talked in Kannada and made me look like an Alien, The high cost of living , The 11 pm deadline and the fact that I was in SOUTH INDIA.
I would curse and crib Non- Stop . I know people who leave without trying , who still don't like it here and others who don't want to go back
What Changed for me??
I Tried .
I started trying all kind of south Indian food , became friends with lots of south Indians who are definitely not unfriendly, tried learning Kannada so as to make some sense , Learnt the tricks of trade with Auto rickshaw drivers, fell in love with the weather , the beautiful Rains and finally accepted this CITY.
It gave me much and didn't ask anything in return. Delhi takes away your innocence, Mumbai takes away your TIME. Bangalore just GIVES.
The reason you fall in love with this city is it gives you a lot and hardly takes away anything.
It gives you the freedom to relish your dreams, the freedom to wear anything and not feel out of place, the freedom to explore every opportunity you ever wanted to , freedom to live the interests you only thought off, the taste of independence and finally the freedom to be YOURSELF.
It gave me a well paid job , A Guru , helped me fulfill my little dreams ,A chance to challenge my limits ( refer to Running ) , Courage to Live life on my conditions. and gave back the lost innocence.
I have achieved a lot more than I thought , career wise everyone does some day , what matters is if you fulfill those little little dreams , if you live an effortless life , do things that comfort you.
I have got wet in this city in the middle of no-where , talked to strangers and made them friends , Cycled on the worst possible roads , Ran till my lungs gave up , worked for causes close to my heart , traveled with friends and on my own , made few people smile , stayed in silence for few days ( Refer AOL) , Shopped for grocery in Pajamas , Excelled the art of eating Rasam-Rice with my hand without people giving me those weird looks.
Small- small things, aren't they?? But I remember these and not the rating my Boss gave me last year.
Its all not Rosy though, I still miss those people up in North who comfort me with just one hug and their presence. Sometimes , it still makes me realize I don't belong here , but just sometimes.
Most of the time it embraces me with cool breeze , sumptous idlis and dosas , non interfering people and a hope that Dreams can be for real.
Its a beautiful beautiful city to live in , to cherish your freedom , to be Yourself.
So what are you waiting for?? Pack your bags , Me and my City will welcome you with a warm hug, cool breeze, hot Idlis and lots of HOPE.
This one is awesome...!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Himanshu, I am sure Bangalore has been nice with you too:)
DeleteSuperb Rashmi..I am missing a lot namma bengaluru..
DeleteFrank n Fair assessment
ReplyDeletePeople said it all ...So, If i could throw in my two cents - your penmanship is commendable, just as much as the city itself .... sincerely !
ReplyDelete