Return To The Land Of Machis

Two years of Hyderabad – my life was a riot there. I was enjoying in every possible. I felt that my life was like a donut – creamy, sweet, fluffy, yum, exotic and appealing, with a large hole in the middle.

I don’t know how things conspired for me for situations to turn against me; it was all in the wink of an eye, that I was to leave Hyderabad, with all my dear ones there. I must confess that I did shed some tears, that I was leaving a city that taught me what life was. But I had forced promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and those were the miles that I had already covered, and I was going in reverse.

Back to Chennai, the land where I grew up, lived my like a demi-God, in and around Madras Christian College and St. Joseph’s Hr. Sec. School. This demanded an entire change of perspectives – my idea of a road-ride was no longer Banjara Hills, but NH-45. Shopping meant Spencer Plaza and Burma Bazaar and not City Center or GVK. My one-stop movie place is Satyam and not Prasad’s . No more go-karts and no more scenic drive to the airport. No more late-night hangouts and sleepover at my friends’ places. MAD-HYD is distant to me now and so is Google Hyd.

Even then, it feels great to get back to Chennai – no place like home they say. It feels great to dine as a family, and to be back irritating my brother. My friends, who were in school, are now proud employees of multi-nationals. The wave of nostalgia that sweeps my when I get to Koyambedu CMBT, or Chennai Central or East Tambaram, cannot be cached in words. The joy of showing the true colors of my gluttony in a roadside joint in here can never be close to the 7-star buffets.

All this said and done, I miss Hyderabad too. Every branded attire that I wear, the fact that I can understand Hindi movies, pub etiquette, American accent, spiked-up hair, sport shoes, five-star dining, all the things that I have at my home now from Hyderabad, and all the photographs that I have, will continue to remind me of the days that I know for a fact that I will never get back. Hyderabad is not nostalgic for me – it is a class apart, a life apart. If I have to take names to thank, the list can go on, but I wish to conclude with one - God.

I am in a place where I belong to, I am (100 – pi)% happy, with the pi being the Hyderabad factor. It is small when compared to 100 but it is still infinite and special. No one knows how I can compensate for that missing piece in its entirety. Hyderabad was like being in a romantic relationship - heavenly days, treasured moments and a few bittersweet memories. But what to do… I guess I was born single, and born to be single. (Only in this respect, not anything beyond that… )