Many topics have come and gone in my mind. Time is flying and the situations in which I am around are rolling one after the other. I don't want any of those feeling to go off without notice. Somehow I need to keep up with the time and keep writing.
After encountering the deadly snow storm of Kansas, I somehow reached New York. New York is altogether one more separate topic. New York in Christmas time was awesome, it was totally filled with energy. I threw myself into the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt and then into the flight from Frankfurt to Bangalore. The journey was tiring, with very little sleep on the those comfortable seats(just like BST bus). Now this strange thing that should be true with almost everyone. Always you would expect some good looking female should come on the seat beside yours. Till someone arrives you would be damn curious about who is gonna take that seat. This is true for bus, train, and plane. Ultimately what happens is kind of always certain that, it would be taken by either some old uncle, grandma, or another male software engineer, unless and until you are damn lucky and your time is so good that all the nine planets have got aligned in a straight line. So the obvious thing happened with me. When the plane touched the Indian land some kind of happiness aroused inside me. After all it has been really long time almost a year. I was just waiting to get on to the Bangalore land. When the plane door was opened I could feel the smell of the city. Even after a year it hasn't got changed, it won't ever probably. The taxi wala didn't knew the road to my home and I hadn't forgot the road either.
As I was passing through the roads a lot of memories were going as a flash back in my mind. I could see nothing had got changed, everything remained the same, even the ditch near my home. I reached 4:20 am and was totally tired, but was not in a position to sleep. I went on talking, talking and talking with my Mom and brother as if I hadn't spoken for years. Even they didn't had a good sleep, but they were also excited to have me back. The next day my Dad was flying all the way from North India, Punjab to see his son after a year. After really a long time we all four had dinner on a same table. The challenge for me the next day was to drive to airport to pick up my Dad. After driving really powerful cars of 200-300bhp, I was pushing really hard the accelerator pedal of our car. Moreover the traffic and the driving on the left side of the road the quite opposite of US. Though I felt a bit of hurdle to move around in traffic, but then I have driven 10 years in India and just a year in US. I was more than excited to drive my Pulsar. I was all the time driving car, so my pulsar was looking at me with side eyes. So I had to come take it for a ride, you know what, it responded me with the same roar when I turned its accelerator. I was back on the Indian tracks in total action in a day. I haven't forgotten anything, driving, riding, swimming is all like walking. All of these you have to learn once in life.
After coming from US, even if you want it or not there are few things which you feel implicitly. Everything looks small, the roads, the cars, the airport, the cubicles, the shops, the buildings, and everywhere so many people, the dust, up and downs on road. You try to walk on the left side of the pathways. You would the pull the doors in office to open, but they are to be pushed in order to open whereas in US it is standard that to enter you have to pull and to exit you have to push. You would be more used to English films and channels where in you would have the update information but nothing much about the latest Hindi, Kannada songs. So when you are changing channels on the TV, it would somewhat get stopped at HBO or Star Movies, VH1 and also you would recognize the songs. The English accent would have got a bit different. When we went for shopping I was converting the price to dollars ;) (This is not attitude, OK!, the thing I was buying was cheaper in US). These are things that you feel naturally, but whatever be it, the happiness you get being in India is something non-replaceable with anything.
I went to my cousin's place to celebrate new year. It was total fun and there were all young people and so many of my relatives. Suddenly you would have become a highlight. Everyone asks these set of questions, How was US, Where all did you go, How did you feel, Did you used cook, What did you get me, where are the chocolates, you have become fat, Are you going back. Somewhere inside I was really feeling bad. In the period of one year I couldn't speak to so many people who I know, so many of my relative, so many of my close friends. Many things have happened in their life about which I am not updated with. My cousin is Mom now, four of my friends got married, I couldn't even attend, I don't remember the names of their finances, some have changed their companies and I don't know where they are now, one of my friend went to Germany, other was busy preparing CAT, few of them are in US, but couldn't meet them there. When you are in the other side of the earth and in total opposite times you would really miss many things. When I was watching TV, even then I felt in a year I have missed so many things that have happened here. But really Brand India is great now and fast encompassing around the world. The stock exchange, the Indian bull has ran to great heights, some 110 shared have risen 1000 times, which means if you had invested 1 lakh, it would have become 10 crore. Every channel has Shah Rukh Khan with his six packs because of his brand establishment. It seems India is the flourishing with new opportunities and energy.
Even in office everyone comes to your cubicle. I went on telling my experiences and places I went in US. Of course even on the project I was in limelight. But it is like this say when Tendulkar hits a century he would remain in limelight for some days, all news channels and all the people in hair cut saloons speak about him. Or say some new movie is released those actors in the film will be in total limelight spotlight what not. Then as the time moves on the glamor dies down. People forget and Man the nature to get adapted with the environment. So after some time the nasha of US goes off. You would become one of the sheep among the herd and move on.....
PS: But I don't agree with the last sentence.
