July 27, 2016 – Farewell Bangalore, Karnataka, India

What a place! What a lovely time spent here! And what an amazing group of people I met here!

Bangalore was, is, and will be near and dear to my heart.
It was the first big city that I had the privilege of saying my city or my home.
For a kid who grew up in a small place near Nagpur, Maharashtra, coming to Bangalore and getting used to the grind of the hustle bustle of the big city was a huge change. But, I had an amazing support system – my family and my friends, who made sure I do not feel under-confident of myself when presented before the people from the Big City or metropolitan areas; And, I am so glad that I lived here.

Living in Bangalore taught me many things. I remember when I joined Cognizant, there were some times when I doubted myself and thought I had made a mistake.
It might not be clear why I am saying that right now, so let me give a little brief about what was really going on during 2013-2014 when I was still waiting for my Cognizant joining date.

While waiting for Cognizant joining date, there was a lucrative opportunity to be a contractual lecturer at my Alma Mater SGGSIE&T. I was all excited and consulted my seniors too about the interview and how to prepare for it. The reason I was attracted to this position was the pay was really good and my expenses would be cut short and I would get more time to prepare for my masters, and let’s face, I would have been able to continue my sports activities, correct? It was a no-brainer for me.
But, the fate had different plans for me! Isn’t it always?
I think, I didn’t make the cut during the first round of selections. There was a total of 30 openings for the lecturer position, but they announced only 20, and I had no clue whether I would make the cut in 30 or not. And, unfortunately, Cognizant joining date was just a week away. I didn’t want to risk joining late and have FOMO, so, I decided to go ahead with Cognizant. I had a hard time rejecting the person on the other end of the line when they called that I made the cut at SGGS. It was one of the worst feelings in the world, to let go off something or someone which you truly wanted and loved. But, it had to be done and in a good way, without offending anyone.

Now, when I look back at that particular phone call, it feels like life comes back to a full circle. There is no way to know how my life would have turned out if I had accepted that position at SGGS. I might have had either ended up teaching at SGGS throughout my life or would have come to the US earlier than I wanted or anticipated.
But, one thing for sure, I would have missed all the amazing people that I have met during my time at Bangalore. I wouldn’t have made so many memories and never had met my Bangalore friends who genuinely cared for me.
Turned out, in the end, it worked out well for me. Going through the grind at Bangalore taught me many things. And, please take these things with the grain of the salt. This is what I felt, which might contradict with most of you, and I totally get that!
– Within a couple years, I realized that I cannot do what I was doing at Bangalore for the foreseeable future and earn some meagre amount doing that.
– I realized that I was no longer attracted to Bangalore the way I was when I first came to the city. In 2014, it had traffic but not this much. In 2014, it was hot but not this much, and I was patient, but by 2017, I guess, I had fed up with the monotonous life and decided to quit Bangalore and India for good!
– I realized this is not what I wanted to do my entire life. The property prices were skyrocketing and my bank balance was still as is, which needed to be stopped.

And, soon after realizing all these things, it was time to make small changes in life to achieve what I was destined for, what I craved for, and what I truly deserved.
I started reading immensely. I started watching American TV series without subtitles, so that I know how to present myself during the visa officer, 3-4 years down the line. It was hard to find time for personality development with the full time job, group of friends, and a girlfriend, who was supportive enough to help me through tough times emotionally, mentally, and sometimes financially and I would be always grateful to her. That’s when I realized getting up early and getting my studying done was the best option for me and I was glad I could do that.

There are not enough words to express my gratitude towards Bangalore. Obviously, it was hard to bid goodbye to this beautiful city, but, as always, I had to overcome this to progress in life and career. After returning from Goa, the realization suddenly settled in that I would be leaving India soon without any plan when I will return. As I was coping up with this, there were many other things I had to take care, which acted as distractions to not feel emotionally overwhelmed during this time in my life.

The last day was welcomed with so many chores to finish and so many people to say goodbyes. I knew I needed a bike for a day to save some time. I was roaming around the some area that’s when I saw this ginormous statue of one and only Thalaiva. I had to capture it. I think they had Kabali movie released during that time.

On this day, I made a point that I drop my sister, Minu Tai, to her current and my former workplace – Cognizant at Manyata Tech Park. It gave me a chance to reminisce all the good old memories and feel that breeze of freshly cut grass for one last time.
I captured this after seeing off my sister in the morning.

After seeing her off, it was time to head home and get done with my remaining packing and man, it was a lot. I never knew, I had accumulated so many things during my time at Bangalore. As you can see, I had two big bags, which I bought for my journey to the US, the small cabin bag and two laptop bags and a guitar. I found it amazing that I could carry all this stuff from Bangalore to my place single handedly, which seems like an impossible task for me now.

After spending the entire day in packing and taking care of some formalities, it was my last chance to spend some more time with my sister. I picked her up from her work place and went to a nearby restaurant as I had my train scheduled for the same night. We had a lovely dinner. I remember her ordering her favorite dahi pakode, which I found interesting. We were the only ones during that time at the restaurant as 7 PM is an early time for dinner in India. We bade our goodbyes with the hope that we would soon see each other.

As the night drew closer, I was getting restless and had my roommate Daya by my side. He came to drop me off at the Railway Station and I appreciated his gesture. I clicked this when it was about time for the train to leave the station and for me to bid my goodbyes to the lovely city of Bangalore.

What followed that was a long night. I remember taking care of my stuff until I woke up the next morning. I was both happy and sad. Happy that I was taking this huge step in life and sad because I was leaving Bangalore. Anyway, it was a bag of mixed emotions.

After the train reached Nagpur Railway Station, it was time to head to my hometown – Patansaongi. I hailed an auto rickshaw for that, I guess, and was so jubilant when I saw this sign. This sign has been there for quite some time and always reminds me that home is just a few minutes away!

Bye, Bangalore! I am not sure when we will see each other!