So Long! Farewell!

Koh-i-Noor. The mountain of light.

As the Boeing 737-800 lifted up from Begumpet airport, it seemed oddly appropriate that a diamond coming from this very city centuries ago would have a name that would describe the city itself so beautifully today. The roads were glowing like lines of fire, the buildings like sparkling jewels. Further to the right, the Hussain Sagar shimmered under the moonless sky, with the Necklace Road's multi coloured reflection along its edge. The Buddha statue was only just visible.

"See how bright this looks? When you reach Kolkata, it will look like a dead city with dim lights", said the elderly gentleman who sat between me and the window. That brought me back to the present, and reminded me once again that it was not a dream. I was really going back to Kolkata. Since I left home on 13th July 2005, I have been waiting for this day, when I will be going back to Kolkata again. Not on a week long vacation but on a transfer. It finally happened now, a year and a half later.

It was not that I hated Hyderabad or even Chennai. On the contrary I loved both these cities. Yet somehow I felt I did not belong there. Everyone saw that the poster on my cubicle wall said "Focus on your goal". Nobody knew that every day, every night, every moment of my existence in Hyderabad was aimed at only one goal: getting transferred to Kolkata, the City of Joy.

Twice it loomed within reach, and twice it evaded me. I was scared to believe it was true this time, lest I had to face disappointment again, but it has finally happened.

And yet, as I left this city, didn't I feel a slight pang of sorrow somewhere? Over the last few days in Hyderabad, I have been reminiscing about some of the great moments that I have spent in this city, and some of the things that I did. It was an eventful time. There was a lot that I would have liked to do, but couldn’t do due to lack of time and companions.

Hyderabad was a milestone in my life. This was my first posting location on my first job; I did my first project here, learnt to stay alone, started cooking, took up blogging and digital photography, and became familiar with the dark side of the corporate world the hard way. I also had a lot of good moments, about which I wrote here from time to time. The first view of the ocean (Chennai), the first view of the Buddha on the Hussain Sagar, close encounters with the Veiled Rebecca and the Jacob diamond, coming face to face with a 3-dimensional Superman in the IMAX, watching night fall over the Golkonda Fort as history was recreated with light and sound were only some of them. I wanted to visit Ajanta-Ellora from here, and tour some places in South India. These remained unfinished tasks, to be completed at a later time.

But I am glad to leave. I hope Kolkata will be at least as welcoming for me as Chennai and Hyderabad were. I know the first few days will pass in a whirlwind of activities as I settle down in a new place. Or to be precise, an old place alienated by 18 months of unfamiliarity. Then I will start enjoying the next chapter of my life.

And "A Joyful Experience" will also enter a new chapter: the chapter beyond Hyderabad.