Change in co - ordinates !

It was the summer of 2015. With immense anticipation of dwelling in various places and understanding their cultures, little did I know when it would really happen this time, my heart would be filled with an invincible void.

End of Bangalore chapter. The new venture seemed so irresistable, so exciting, but what I was leaving behind was an integral part of my own. Seven long years. I have a zillion experiences - to moon and back. I stepped in this land as a little girl right out of grad school, when Sasken happened to me. Ten girls in a batch of forty, nine were from the Southern part of India. This was a good thing I later realized. I cribbed some days about the change in food, arguing that rasam is not an edible thing, it is a synonym for a 'custom' and how on earth could people differentiate between rasam and sambhar, if at all. Not knowing curd could ever be eaten with rice, not knowing sambhar could be eaten everyday, just as daal. My friends were adorable. Patient. They were friends - they took nothing to their hearts. That was when I fell for this land. Their simplicity permeated my soul, and left me spellbound.  And I fell in love with the food here. I ate curd rice and admired it in front of them. And in fact I liked it. Winning the hearts of the world around me was more important, and curd rice ain't bad anyway! Everyone had a story to narrate, and I was no way letting curd rice or rasam draw lines between us. Distances, cultures and food are never a hindrance, as long as you could configure your brain that way. We are inherently programmed to feel superior about our own culture. But the boundaries remain undefined. They begin with the neighborhood house in your hometown, and extend to your neighborhood cities, states and then to the nations across. The next door aunt in your hometown has a completely different way (and taste) of cooking any cuisine you could probably think of, how on earth would the cook in a different state be inline with your choices. The expectation itself was irrational. The Bangalorean friends used to invite us on various occasions and their mums used to treat us with such love and hospitality, I wish I could explain. They used to give us flowers on departures. I failed to see guile in their eyes, what I saw was a world beyond the world-wide-web, and I fell for the place again, I re-iterate! Kannadigas are the nicest people I have ever met, I still mention it somedays. From induction trainings to picnics, we were bonded together, forever. We played TT for hours together in Sasken and darted back to our cubicles when the HRs grumbled at us. We grew, we evolved, marched the streets of Bangalore, changed workplaces, met new people, made new friends, studied hard, teased each other harder, learnt to manage time. Time flew. I learnt to take a closer look at the world. I learnt to discern - when to connect, when to disconnect, how much and with whom, when to be noisy, when to be silent. In my stay here for the first five years, I met girls of almost all kinds. All kinds. Good, so good, bad, whatt, ohmygod. All kinds. Such lifestyles in this big bustling city. And I learnt not to make an awe face at their tantalizing ideas, I learnt not to explode.

I learnt the technology I once coveted for, burnt my hands treading the path, but I wasn't complaining. My discretion threatened to abandon me, got me thinking if all my definitions were miserably incorrect. I brimmed with annoyance and marveled at my own capacity to be patient, dismissed the ideas of holding on, made mistakes, fought, laughed, giggled, punched, fell down, got up, ate, sang, wore nail colors, took pictures. I have had my share of sorrow and joy. I evolved. I did. And the wise men consistently encouraged me. Then one day, Qualcomm happened to me. Needless to say, the ecstatic scream of joy that followed next, is difficult to be framed in words. But then, this was a tough decision. There were a few more doors open. One in Gurgaon, close to my hometown and others in Bangalore itself. It took me some good time to decide that the co-ordinates must be changed. Change is the order of the day. Change is inevitable. And blah blah blah. But true. So damn true.

It was decided. Signed. But my mind refused to conceive the idea of moving the entire paraphernalia to a new city altogether. I had people in Hyderabad - relatives and friends. My own. Very own. I would get to dwell in a new city, see new people, visit new roads. Good thing. My mind knew it, wanted it, but refused to synchronize. I kept telling people I know not where I would finally join. They thought I were concealing. There were friends who refused to believe either. Pratibha wasn't around. She was in the UK for business needs, and kept calling every night, night after night, after knowing we would soon part. Love her for who she is. Sony almost got angry at me. Revisiting the times we had spent together, and with Geetha and Rashmi, it was an awful idea to part. We marveled at those evenings when we booked the badminton courts after office hours, went for swimming, or I should call it floating instead ! Those early morning get-up get-up calls for the aerobics classes and later devouring aaloo parathas with a teaspoon of butter! No, with a tablespoon of butter. Rashmi had left a couple of months ago, and there was already a void. We used to miss her this that !@#$%^ :) Sony stayed right next to my house. My dinners were arranged at her house ever since she became aware of the new co-ordinates. We remembered the endless hilarious conversations revolving around sentiyapadotcom in our night walks in the colony. Despite the ridiculous fact that she has spilled buckets of tea on my bedsheets and has blamed me each time SHE did it, and has crossed all defined limits of keeping her feet on my washed bundle of clothes kept on the bed over and over again, I find myself missing her. (After she has read this statement, my inbox will overflow with encrypted abuses). Thank you sweety, you have been a part of me. Geetha is a different kind. Lovable as she is, you could ask her for any help any time. She remains grounded both in the highs and lows (and doesn't comprehend jokes). Spectacular trait ! Jasneet was a little shocked too, and so was Vani. Vani is a pure soul. Respect. Selfless. I so admire her for who she is. Jasneet knew the whole of it when it was not even finalized, but when it happened, she groaned at the idea. She has her own ways of doing things, her own mood swings. She made collages and posted pictures in public as a token of remembrance. This was her platinum chance to put the pictures in which she looked good even if I looked like a UFO :D I told her I looked ugly, but in vain ! All this followed by a beautifully camouflaged dramatization. But the beatings evaded her :) I thought I could gift wrap her and take her with me. So sweet, my heart was almost sinking with all of these gestures from these partners in crime. A friend asked me to goto hell for taking such a decision and another one hanged the phone. My college friends here poured gallons of apnapan, as if I was going to another galaxy. I couldn't catch up with them though :( There were more episodes. I wanted to stay back. But I also wanted to move on. Move on to walk the new roads.

Sasken, LG, Radisys. From protocol stacks to mobile applications and back. It was so tough, it was tiring. But I have in my basket some extremely good features on a cutting edge technology. It was tough, but it was worth. Yes I think it was worth. It was a hot chocolate cake. It wasn't easy to work on the difficult side of things while doing MS (and doing good in MS) , but the difficult me kept asking for difficult things. There were easy cakes available, available with wine, and I was asked if I wanted one of those, but that did little to deter my single minded love for picking the tricky one. I am glad I did. And did it decent. And got nine plus grades is MS too. I used to tuck into my bed real late; and would remember those sleepless nights for long - doing assignments, reading MS lessons and pitching myself to rummage around the internet - walking through the transmission modes, DCI formats and RA types, MCS and RB allocation nuances, CQI and SINRs, transport blocks and codewords, new transmissions and re-transmissions. It was all so good. The HR director spoke good things while I bade her adieu. They do on farewell notes. 'I want to see you flying very high. Your place isn't here on the ground.' I was amused, and after about 5 seconds, I was no more amused. She wasn't either. I kept myself intact. But I was again amused later :D

I stay in Hyderabad now. The social networks have their own set of advantages (and disadvantages). Friends in Bangalore starting messaging cheesecakes, and friends in Hyderabad extended generous helping hands. A school friend of mine appeared from nowhere, and was a great great help. Adorable! Another school friend is coming back soon. School friends (and let me also mention college friends, lest they abuse me) are like your own family - every one knew everyone's parents, siblings, percentages, crushes, favorite food, everything. You talk after like eleven twelve years, and it is still okay to talk shit. And have that respected. You give and take advices, wrapped with thick coats of authority. Human nature ! I am infact looking forward to their company and conversations. And the new work place is full of known faces, as if nothing much has changed. The world is a small place. A beautiful place. The new roads look good. I'm so sure they'll blossom. The grey skies in Bangalore promised showers, but the moonlight here looks good too ! I'm still settling down, still on the high.Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor !