Finally on my own..

All the excitement that I had been holding on to for days, the day was finally coming to reality.. Though it did not start quite the way I thought it would but it definitely gave me goose bumps the way it ended or rather I should say the way it continued to date..

Though I was able to handle the 'last good bye to friends' scene at Nagpur pretty well but not the 'I miss you' scene at hyderabad very well.. With proper pre-planning I was able to contain myself at the bus stop and left with a smile on every one's faces..

And then in the bus, the thinking Swati came to life all of a sudden and started re-calling all the wonderful moments spent in Nagpur. The early tuition days when I used to run from one class to another, the most rocking four years of VNIT where every day was fun and every night was even more fun and last but not the least the PSL days which though short but had occupied the most significant part of my brain right then.. And strangely it was not the memories of these places that were haunting me but the people associated with these places that were coming back to me. Though most of the people were not even there in Nagpur then but had left their unending impressions on my memories at Nagpur and ultimately the most beautiful phase of my life..

My first step into Hyderabad and I was surrounded by auto waale bhaiyyas and in the typical nawabi tone one of them said "utte main naai aayega na, madam.." and I got the "Man, I am in Hyderabad" feel. Next I go home, paying 400 bucks to the chor auto waala combined with a nice farewell fight and that is when I decided not to use meter autos there after. I take my 4 heavy suitcases inside (man, I really do have a lot of clothes) and then fall down on the sofa to get some breath. And that is when the Hyderabad Times copy on the table caught my eye, that was the second realisation of "Man, I am in Hyderabad"! The day went well with me and my sis sharing the latest crucial updates on personal lives and utilising the last few hours of my freedom watching hangover and twilight. Finally, still not out of the twilight-feeling I went to sleep hoping for a new beginning to a lot many things. And then without alarm I woke up at 6.30 am when the chirping of birds was replaced by the kook-doo-koo of cock! And that was the third realisation of "Man, I am in Hyderabad".

Enough of that feeling, by now it is well ingrained in me. And considering, that for the first time I am relishing on the home made Sankranti sweets, I do not think anything else can intensify the feeling any further.

So speaking about the new city and the new job, there is so much to say..

Experience at Oracle:

1. Infrastructure is grand. From reception to conference room, from sports facilities to gym, even from roads to parking slots, everything is as one dreams of or must have seen on television.

2. Professional life is very well organised, less work hours, more work and a lot more responsibilities and as oracle says, every individual is a self managed team :)

3. The free pantry includes tea, coffee, soup, milk with sugar, milk without sugar, milk powder, dip tea sachets and even cold drinks!!! Haha..

Experience at Hyderabad:

1. Call it regionalism or chauvinism.. I do not care, but I love being surrounded by people talking in telugu, enjoy vicco advertisement in telugu at INOX, listen to telugu songs on radio and see wall posters of Telugu movies. I finally feel like I am at home!

2. The city might not be famous for night life or rather it might not have a night life as such but considering that I am from Nagpur and finally getting my independence I am able to enjoy a much better night life.

3. The first day I drove my vehicle back from station, I fell in love with one thing.. Yes, the roads in the city. No speed breakers, no pot holes, no bumps and no signals.. Just plain, wide roads with a fast moving traffic. So all you need to do is to raise it and keep a hand on breaks :) And the best part is the traffic cops here concentrate on regulating traffic rather than inflow of income!

A lot said and written, something that I cannot deny or try to over shadow by the excitement of my new life is the fact that I am missing my friends back home terribly. I am staying in a well furnished, posh guest house room. If I walk out of the door I have a CCD, a pizza hut and a KFC. And every time I look at these places, it makes me miss them even more. It is not that the people here are bad or difficult to get along with. But only time will help I guess. I am trying to accept this as a law of nature. Whenever I have moved further to the next phase of life, there has always been someone who makes me reconsider my decision and creates a strong impulsion of turning back even if that means turning back from success or progress. Then the thought "how important is professional success" peeps its ugly face and laughs on me. But unable to take any drastic steps, I prefer to go by the flow. I would rather regret for not having done something than for doing something wrong. And in the process I left behind my best friend while leaving junior college, another while leaving VNIT and another while leaving Persistent.. All I am looking forward to, is to find one such friend in Hyderabad.. The earlier I find that ray of light, the faster I will be able to get over this nostalgia..