So there I was at the Pune airport, waiting in the car park. Me and Monica had reached quite early, didn't want the previous days events to repeat. We had picked up some sandwhiches on the way to kill our hunger. My eyes were getting heavier by the minute and I had no clue how to stay awake. I had barely slept the previous night. We ate our breakfast quietly, talking to each other occasionally. I could feel the sadness in Monica's eyes. The pang of separation is such that it can make the toughest of people melt away. We had no clue when we would be meeting next, which was always the case. Luckily enough i had managed to make more frequent trips to Pune in the recent past. But still, meeting once evry alternate month just dosen't seem to be enough anyway. She asked me to check the flight timings again, just to be sure. We soon realized that we had over 2 hours to go. We walked around the landscaped airport, sat on the garden bench, soaking in the early morning sun, the cool breeze, and each others company. It felt nice to be with her, talking to her in person rather than on the phone, listening to her voice, watching her eyes wander around, watch her hands wave through the air as she gestured towards something distant.
When we were about an hour away from the departure time, I suggested Monica to leave, she was almost dozing off herself. I saw her off, with a weird heaviness of the heart, and started making my way to the already buzzzing airport. I stopped just before the entry check point to look around. As I had expected, Monica hadn't left after all, she was there, still waiting just outside the airport, looking my way, waving to me. I waved back at her and motioned her to leave. I went in and checked in my extremely heavy baggage. My flight was luckily on time, and I had no mood of waiting any longer to depart.
As I oarded the flight, I soon found my seat by the window, with no one beside me on either of the two adjacent seats. The flight time was expected to be one hour. My eyes were burning by now, and I yearned for some good sleep. I pulled down the shade and decided to doze off, which off course didn't happen because of the constant noise flowing out of the PA system; hostesses describing the safety procedures, the Captain introducing himself and the climate outside, it just went on and on. I decided to skip the sleep and took out a book that i was carrying, Mohan rakesh's Lingering Shadows. before I knew it, we were given instructions to tie back our seat belts for landing.
Hello Hyderabad. I was finally here. I stepped out of the airplane, on to a smart artificial room-like staircase. It was a bright sunny sunday afternoon. As I waited for my baggage at teh conveyor belt, I looked around to look at the people waiting with me. I was somehow hoping for some kind of an alienness in all these new people. I was looking for signs of them being very different than I was. I was hoping to catch their language, figure out their expressions, demarcate myself from them already, but none of that happened. I collected my baggage and made my way out. I had been told that there would be a driver at the airport with my name and the company's name on a placard. I spotted the well dressed man as soon as I came out. He was a tall, thin, darkish man, well dressed in a white uniform, with a smart cap. I waved to him and he moved towards me to greet me with a warm smile. I had often seen drivers waiting for their guests at the Delhi airport, with placards in their hands. It always fascinated me to be received in this fashion. I was finally experiencing it, and it honestly felt nice. The driver took the cart from me and directed me to a white Octavia standng near the parking. Before I got in, I lit a cigarrette and settled in. I soaked in the the first sights of this oldest Nizam city and wondered how my life here would be like. We reached the company guest house in little under half an hour. Sleep, Monica, the new job, the flight, everything was buzzing thriugh my head when I entered my room. It was a nice huge room, with a huge bed, a television facing the bed, huge wardrobe's and and AC. My bags had already been kept in the room, and I was ready to drop dead. But before I did that, I just sat on the edge of the bed, reflecting on how far I'd come. It felt like just the other day when I passed out of college, with lotsa dreams and a a song on my lips, and here I was, in an unknown city, in a new place, away from all my friends, hoping for a new and better life and work. I asked the guesthouse attendant for lunch, which was over by the time I reached. So before i decided to die, I thought I might as well roam about in the neighborhood looking for some good hyderabadi biryani. I soon found a nice little place called hyderabad house. Guys, trust me, though the biryani was great, it was extremely spicy. I for one am totally averse to spices and had to gobble down the food pretty quickly. I returned to my guesthouse without losing my way, and was soon dreaming in my sleep. I must have slept for clsoe to 5-6 hours. I woke up late in the evening with a slightly heavy head. I went out again, thinking, planning, how and when would I be able to find a place to stay, decide on a place to eat, travel back to Pune/Delhi. I called Monica and we spoke all the while that I looked for a place to have dinner.
I joined office the next morning. I had been told that it was very close to the guest house. I had decided to walk to the office, but I woke up to heavy rains. I finished my breakfast and called for an auto. The dude actually took 40 bucks for an exact 7 minute ride. I hated the fellow but had no choice. I reached office before anyone else had come. The guard let me in and I found a place to sit. Soon, other folks started pouring in and I was in the midst of a thousand questions. It turned out that everyone had been told of my joining and they were looking forward to having me around. Since I had already spoken to a few of them as a part of the interview, I got along pretty well. I was told that one of my new colleagues was looking for a room partner to share the flat he had. So there, my staying worries were taken care of. I'll be shifting in with Neeraj today. his place is just about 5 mins. away from office, the mess is right across the road, the house itself is right in the midst of a good market.
It's now been almost 2 weeks since I've been here. Folks call every alternate day, my colleagues are nice and very supportive. I've been around town a bit and have had the time to taste the local cuisine, watch a movie in the local PVR, and have some good laughs. Guess I'm pretty much in the groove of things now. Staying alone hasn't been much of a problem so far, I wash my own clothes, stay late in office, eat out everyday, and things are slowly beginning to settle in.
So that's it for now guys. Will keep blogging as new events keep happening. Till then, Hyderabad ahoy...
Cheers...
When we were about an hour away from the departure time, I suggested Monica to leave, she was almost dozing off herself. I saw her off, with a weird heaviness of the heart, and started making my way to the already buzzzing airport. I stopped just before the entry check point to look around. As I had expected, Monica hadn't left after all, she was there, still waiting just outside the airport, looking my way, waving to me. I waved back at her and motioned her to leave. I went in and checked in my extremely heavy baggage. My flight was luckily on time, and I had no mood of waiting any longer to depart.
As I oarded the flight, I soon found my seat by the window, with no one beside me on either of the two adjacent seats. The flight time was expected to be one hour. My eyes were burning by now, and I yearned for some good sleep. I pulled down the shade and decided to doze off, which off course didn't happen because of the constant noise flowing out of the PA system; hostesses describing the safety procedures, the Captain introducing himself and the climate outside, it just went on and on. I decided to skip the sleep and took out a book that i was carrying, Mohan rakesh's Lingering Shadows. before I knew it, we were given instructions to tie back our seat belts for landing.
Hello Hyderabad. I was finally here. I stepped out of the airplane, on to a smart artificial room-like staircase. It was a bright sunny sunday afternoon. As I waited for my baggage at teh conveyor belt, I looked around to look at the people waiting with me. I was somehow hoping for some kind of an alienness in all these new people. I was looking for signs of them being very different than I was. I was hoping to catch their language, figure out their expressions, demarcate myself from them already, but none of that happened. I collected my baggage and made my way out. I had been told that there would be a driver at the airport with my name and the company's name on a placard. I spotted the well dressed man as soon as I came out. He was a tall, thin, darkish man, well dressed in a white uniform, with a smart cap. I waved to him and he moved towards me to greet me with a warm smile. I had often seen drivers waiting for their guests at the Delhi airport, with placards in their hands. It always fascinated me to be received in this fashion. I was finally experiencing it, and it honestly felt nice. The driver took the cart from me and directed me to a white Octavia standng near the parking. Before I got in, I lit a cigarrette and settled in. I soaked in the the first sights of this oldest Nizam city and wondered how my life here would be like. We reached the company guest house in little under half an hour. Sleep, Monica, the new job, the flight, everything was buzzing thriugh my head when I entered my room. It was a nice huge room, with a huge bed, a television facing the bed, huge wardrobe's and and AC. My bags had already been kept in the room, and I was ready to drop dead. But before I did that, I just sat on the edge of the bed, reflecting on how far I'd come. It felt like just the other day when I passed out of college, with lotsa dreams and a a song on my lips, and here I was, in an unknown city, in a new place, away from all my friends, hoping for a new and better life and work. I asked the guesthouse attendant for lunch, which was over by the time I reached. So before i decided to die, I thought I might as well roam about in the neighborhood looking for some good hyderabadi biryani. I soon found a nice little place called hyderabad house. Guys, trust me, though the biryani was great, it was extremely spicy. I for one am totally averse to spices and had to gobble down the food pretty quickly. I returned to my guesthouse without losing my way, and was soon dreaming in my sleep. I must have slept for clsoe to 5-6 hours. I woke up late in the evening with a slightly heavy head. I went out again, thinking, planning, how and when would I be able to find a place to stay, decide on a place to eat, travel back to Pune/Delhi. I called Monica and we spoke all the while that I looked for a place to have dinner.
I joined office the next morning. I had been told that it was very close to the guest house. I had decided to walk to the office, but I woke up to heavy rains. I finished my breakfast and called for an auto. The dude actually took 40 bucks for an exact 7 minute ride. I hated the fellow but had no choice. I reached office before anyone else had come. The guard let me in and I found a place to sit. Soon, other folks started pouring in and I was in the midst of a thousand questions. It turned out that everyone had been told of my joining and they were looking forward to having me around. Since I had already spoken to a few of them as a part of the interview, I got along pretty well. I was told that one of my new colleagues was looking for a room partner to share the flat he had. So there, my staying worries were taken care of. I'll be shifting in with Neeraj today. his place is just about 5 mins. away from office, the mess is right across the road, the house itself is right in the midst of a good market.
It's now been almost 2 weeks since I've been here. Folks call every alternate day, my colleagues are nice and very supportive. I've been around town a bit and have had the time to taste the local cuisine, watch a movie in the local PVR, and have some good laughs. Guess I'm pretty much in the groove of things now. Staying alone hasn't been much of a problem so far, I wash my own clothes, stay late in office, eat out everyday, and things are slowly beginning to settle in.
So that's it for now guys. Will keep blogging as new events keep happening. Till then, Hyderabad ahoy...
Cheers...
1 comment:
Dude...this was a fab read. Cudnt help reminiscing about the evening b4 u left...and that how much I really miss u :( Guess that's why we shud make the most of the moments we have with us, coz 1 day u just have the memories to hold in ur hands...do come back soon coz this buddy's waiting to relive all the adventures together...c ya GJ :)
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