Sunday, August 18, 2013

Anachronism

I am typically one of those, who emphasize a lot on the beginning line of an article. While that renders a readers attention to the entire article, it makes the job of publishing a composition exceptionally difficult for the writer. This theory kind of explains all the blogs drafts that silently reside in my blog account, unpublished.

So for this blog-post I thought of actually explaining my pain in the beginning lines itself. Kind of takes off the pressure. Though now that I am done with it, it creeps me out about what I am going to do for my next blog post.

This post marks a lot of things.
As you might have already noticed I love to travel, which is why I call my blog "Wanderlust".

I have read a lot of people's view of how one should never settle till they have found their true calling. The whole idea is very challenging and kind of intrigues me. As a matter of fact I always practice it. In the last forty months of professional activities I have relocated five times, traveled all across the European continent, changed jobs, took up a second job as a content writer free lancer (this actually paid me more than my primary job), learned to play the guitar, made new friends and most importantly launched this blog!

The last few months had been very exciting. I had been very active professionally, had expanded my social network largely. Life had been very comfortable (alias my bank account was well fed at the end of every month!). However like I said, I wanted to unsettle it all and go off on a new adventure again.

Higher studies had been in the back of my mind for a long time. I always knew that sooner or later I would return to academics for a higher degree. The way engineering colleges have been mushrooming across the country it was already very difficult to get a new job or grow in the current one. A Masters degree was my window to a better world. But it involved a lot of sacrifice. I had to let go of my job, sacrifice the comfort and privacy of my cozy apartment and most significantly forget the "taken for granted" pleasures of getting a pay-check at the end of every month. I was in-fact trading my life for regular assignments, home works and exams. However thinking of the projected long term benefits I decided to give it a try.

So I packed my bags, sold my stuff and left Bangalore. 40 months of Bangalore surely weaved many happy memories. The city had been good and generous to me. I made friends who became family for me. Moving away from all the laughter and intelligentsia was one of the hardest decisions that I have ever had to take.

My next stop was home. Chandannagar was where I was born and raised, so naturally it yields an extreme attachment to my psyche. The city never disappoints me. The quaint streets are now bullied by flashing glow-boards and a bevy of traffic. A lot of new shops and residential apartments have come up. Chandannagar was never home to apartments and flats. However with the large scale cross pollination happening, a lot have changed and we have learned to accept the new blend in the landscape.

Cracking into insane laughter with friends I had grown up with, going out for late night aimless drives on the national highways and hopelessly trying to figure out our future kept me pretty much occupied throughout the two weeks. Touch basing all the favorite haunts in the city, meeting up every person I know, tasting every delicacy the city has to offer, accompanying mother to all the religious temples and meeting professors who recommended me... I did it all.

The last time I had left home was in March 2010. I was naive and the new world of living all alone was an adventurous thought that I clung on to. It excited me and totally smothered all feelings of home-leaving. However a lot has happened since then. The thrills of living alone or the sheer excitement of traveling to a new foreign country does not excite me any more. I have lived it through over the last 3 years. So this time, when I was actually leaving home, there was no excitement that could mask my sorrow.

I would not be back in a long time. It was a long journey ahead. The next time I would possibly go back home would possibly be in another couple of years. A lot would change. Friends would get married to people I had never met. Maybe they would bring in new life into this world too. My city would change all over again. The traffic would possibly become worse. A lot of people would possibly die too. 

However for me time would stand still. My brain would still cling on to the last mental image of the city I had preserved from my last visit home. I am certain, my city would always embrace the anachronism, that would be me!