Bangalore

An interesting phase rather a very important phase of my life started here. Certain things you won’t value when you have it, the moment you get away from it you will realize what you have missed. I dedicate this blog to one of the most beautiful cities 'Bangalore'.


After all the mandatory struggles one should face to get a job if he happened to study in a college that has no campus interviews, I got placed into a small company in Chennai which belongs to the research group of IIT Madras. Neither had I thought that I'm not a part of these big MNCs nor my parents bothered. Life started with extra ordinary dreams, with a vision of doing masters at the top research institute one day.

Days went smooth, I learned new stuffs at work, some golden opportunities to work with some real professionals, Java became heart beats, GUIs were like paintings and coding was cricketing. Days that went along wonderfully with hot pack lunch, long hour phone talks, cricket, carom and beaches in the weekend, first day movie shows, night outs, G2Gs and what else? There wasn't much difference to my college days except that I had more money to spend, magical it was for a little more than a year until the day I decided to quit the work.

The reasons were plenty, I shall not picture myself as a strong decision maker, when I wanted to quit I still wanted to continue. Reasons again were plenty but the end of the day I quit, I then belonged to Bangalore, one of the proudest companies for any parents took me in.

Like one out of two engineers in India I started my journey to Bangalore. Never got time to realize what I was doing, what I was going to miss, before I thought I should move I was already in Bangalore.

Day 1, when I know that all I had here so far will be available only once in a while, that too for a short period, no rough ideas on when I will be back here again permanently was running all over my mind all through the bus travel. I told myself that I'm not going to stay in Bangalore a day more than a year.

Bangalore, everything I saw was not new but strange. I was not born with sliver spoons, but my spoons were always clean and I got them whenever I was in need of them. I always had some one to help me out; mostly it was mom and dad. In fact I never was in need of something; they never let me ask for something. Probably the only guy who DID not know ironing, self shaving, washing his own clothes and the list had so many add-ons.

College mate and a close friend, his friends and their friends took good care and the arrangements were just perfect to get through the initial days. I joined the new company and work was to begin the next week, with absolutely no work at office, days looked longer than they actually were.

I then traveled Chennai every week; rain or shine I was in Chennai during weekends. Though the 831UDs were not doing justice to the money they charged, dad booked the tickets in the so called only affordable comfortable bus every week and I made sure that I reached Chennai before the logical end of Friday every single time.

One funny weekend, I wasn't able to travel Chennai due to the political issues between Karnataka and TamilNadu regarding Hogenakkal, I had to wash my clothes on my own to sustain the next week. I started washing at 7 in the evening with the guidance of mom over phone, when I finished it was 11, damn the politics. Hilarious it is today!!!

Days passed by, I was no more a new entry to the place, had to adjust the language, slang, people, food and work in no time. I was slow, I cursed myself for one such decision to move out of Chennai and I was fighting with the reality defending myself and my inabilities all the time.

Slowly, it wasn't forced, I, my body, mind everything started accepting these changes, I then traveled Chennai once in two weeks and spent every other week with the new friends around. I explored Forum, BTM, multiplexes, PVRs and so many other places, started liking the place day by day. Hmmm, pretty good chicks too, Bangalore is not that bad, I changed my perception. Traveling got reduced further.

Bangalore then started to teach me few things without my knowledge, started changing me with some pace, personally it taught me how to manage myself, how to be on my own, people handling, health consciousness, affection and more importantly sharing. It was not even an imagination that I will share my room with some X, my rest room with some Y. I very well knew that staying alone was the only option left for me. With the compulsion of few good men around I extended my stay with them for a while then I did find it interesting and fun. I continued.

It created a space for myself, gave me the silence and time needed to think and act on my own, made me realize my responsibilities, the phase that showered the importance of patience, the place that clearly spotted what I'm and what I should be. It tried to change the boy in me to the man my family wanted. Bangalore became responsible for certain changes which I always had assumptions that I'm born with.

Change is something that happens to both your mind and body, that triggers something on both your dead and living cells, something that your carbon di oxide should tell this outside world what it felt inside. Just the feeling to change is not change. Change is not a feeling, it is reality, it doesn't happen without a reason, without a force or without a desire.

I believe that every person must be alone sometime in his life, when you study or when you work doesn't really matter, every person should stay away from all the protection and warmth of his family for a brief time, to discover himself, to understand what a family is, what relationships mean to us, the unknown sacrifices of your loved ones for your happiness, for your painless life and to understand the unconditional love what that have made you love yourself.

Bangalore, as I said I did not stay a day more than a year. Professionally it is responsible for some significant learnings, provided considerable technical challenges and an opportunity to travel and explore the world. The learning phase has not end, I could see that I learn things in detail here in this part of the world, the fundamentals what Bangalore taught was very firm to understand any lesson. I let myself get along with this learning phase as long as I enjoy learning. I owe you so much Bangalore, I now wish to stay more, but not a day more than a year, my Chennai is already missing me!!!

Cheers!!!