City of Dreams to City of Joy
I still remember vividly my first day in Kolkata. I set foot in this city along with a friend 22 months ago with great trepidation. We were greeted with thundering clouds, lashing rains, flooded roads and a lonely hotel. We felt lost, lonely, and extremely low.
From then till now many things changed. We found a cozy, accessible flat that we grew to call our ‘Home’; we found a family in our teams at work who never let us feel lost again; we found a family in each other when we ranted about workplace stress at home to each other and compose ourselves for yet another day. 2 girls living in a new city can be scary at first but we grew to enjoy it. Yes, we missed our hometowns, our families, our friends back home – but we learnt to make friends in this city. Our adorable cook who took care of us and made our life so easy, the society which invited us so warmly to different festivals, office colleagues who offered help and support at all times – it was a boon.
Time and again I have realized how judgmental we are as humans. During internship I fell in love with Indore in a couple of months, after comparing it unfairly with Mumbai for the first 2 weeks. Kolkata took longer – primarily due to its stark difference with Mumbai. I come from The City of Dreams where everyone is rushing, customer always comes first, day begins early and night ends late, city that’s always alive and buzzing at all times of the day. This was City of Joy where everyone is perfectly satisfied with their lives, day begins late, ends early, customer is secondary, and the only thing that’s rushing is the traffic which is always in a dangerous, in disciplined form – a sleepy lazy city. The journey physically and mentally was taxing. I never thought that parting from this city would be tough. But I grew to like this city as well – with all its idiosyncrasies. But it wasn’t till the news of my transfer reached me, that I realized how much I had grown to like the city really. Because, the city, your work, your routine becomes your way of life without you giving much thought to it and you don’t realize when you fall in love with the city and its ways. And yet again I realized how willingly a city and its people accept you if only you are willing to be accepted.
Today, having moved away from Kolkata, I am sitting immersed in Nostalgia of my life of the last 2 years – my home, the office, the roads, my routine, the food, my cook and obviously my friends and colleagues. I realize how in spite of all the tough times, struggles, bad days – I still survived merrily in a city that was completely opposite of where I had lived my entire life before. And I feel happy that there is another city in India which, even years and years hence if I do get a chance to visit, will not be alien to me. A city which in my heart will continue to be as close as my home. And an experience, that I will forever cherish.
From then till now many things changed. We found a cozy, accessible flat that we grew to call our ‘Home’; we found a family in our teams at work who never let us feel lost again; we found a family in each other when we ranted about workplace stress at home to each other and compose ourselves for yet another day. 2 girls living in a new city can be scary at first but we grew to enjoy it. Yes, we missed our hometowns, our families, our friends back home – but we learnt to make friends in this city. Our adorable cook who took care of us and made our life so easy, the society which invited us so warmly to different festivals, office colleagues who offered help and support at all times – it was a boon.
Time and again I have realized how judgmental we are as humans. During internship I fell in love with Indore in a couple of months, after comparing it unfairly with Mumbai for the first 2 weeks. Kolkata took longer – primarily due to its stark difference with Mumbai. I come from The City of Dreams where everyone is rushing, customer always comes first, day begins early and night ends late, city that’s always alive and buzzing at all times of the day. This was City of Joy where everyone is perfectly satisfied with their lives, day begins late, ends early, customer is secondary, and the only thing that’s rushing is the traffic which is always in a dangerous, in disciplined form – a sleepy lazy city. The journey physically and mentally was taxing. I never thought that parting from this city would be tough. But I grew to like this city as well – with all its idiosyncrasies. But it wasn’t till the news of my transfer reached me, that I realized how much I had grown to like the city really. Because, the city, your work, your routine becomes your way of life without you giving much thought to it and you don’t realize when you fall in love with the city and its ways. And yet again I realized how willingly a city and its people accept you if only you are willing to be accepted.
Today, having moved away from Kolkata, I am sitting immersed in Nostalgia of my life of the last 2 years – my home, the office, the roads, my routine, the food, my cook and obviously my friends and colleagues. I realize how in spite of all the tough times, struggles, bad days – I still survived merrily in a city that was completely opposite of where I had lived my entire life before. And I feel happy that there is another city in India which, even years and years hence if I do get a chance to visit, will not be alien to me. A city which in my heart will continue to be as close as my home. And an experience, that I will forever cherish.
A beautiful piece of experience ! 😊
ReplyDelete