As the last ray of sun swept over the bronzed skyline of December 31st 2010, it struck me that the most happening decade of my life was coming to an end.....
Just ten years back I remember sweating over fat books and thousands of sample papers ,preparing for std.XII Boards and when I got through with it, the anxiety of not being able to get into a college started setting in. And then, that day at my Granny's place Baba called me up asking me to take the first train next morning back to Bokaro. We were going to Vellore the next day to get me admitted to Vellore Institute of Technology and out of nowhere I was pursuing Chemical Engineering.
The next four years were probably my most exciting four years ever. It is great how some people and a couple of incidents impact you and change you forever. I have had the good luck to meet such people and be their friend. I have always been shy while making friends and hence the very small number. While at college I added couple more people to my list, and we kinda became a family. First time out of home and living independently away from family, it was a totally new experience. Exciting!! In these four years, I discovered myself. I found out for the first time how much I enjoyed breaking rules. Along with my buddies, we used to cook up numerous mischiefs and then charge our brain cells trying not to get caught. Late night sneaky birthday parties, Holi celebrations at 3:00AM in the common bath, bursting crackers in hostel, setting up home theatres in our rooms, rain dances, Indo-Pak cricket matches, Durga puja tours, Bokaro Alleppey journeys and the list goes on... I miss those days!
We met and mixed with different people from various parts of the country and with all our experiences, I started seeing things in a different light. The typecasted mindset took a break and a very liberal me started emerging. "Rights" and "wrongs" lost their face value and got reasoned out. Giving someone the benefit of doubt seemed better than dishing out judgements. I started believing that I would rather like to try something and fail, than to not do it just because all say its difficult. I found the spirited me, and it was my most important finding this decade..... and then I found someone special, in my best friend, whom I went on to revere as my most significant half.
After four incredibly adventurous years we left college with a degree and lots of memories, to set foot on the corporate land. Cognizant Technology solutions became my first company to join and through the rest of the decade I stayed loyal to it. Various projects took me from Chennai to Kolkata, and then through New Jersey, Ohio and Nebraska, back to Kolkata.
My stay at Kolkata after just being recruited seemed a bit dull, after the active college years, but it did get me few more friends and numerous unforgettable memories. We had our fun and then I went on to check out the magical dreamland of the United States.
Going onsite (to America) was an obsession at that point for me. I had always dreamt of seeing the other half of the world and its people, but more than anything, I needed the money :D ! But when my plane landed on the snowy whitelands, I didn't find it anything different from my land in India(except the snow of course!). I dont know what I was expecting, but the place or its people did not come as a surprise to me (yes, they had the general two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears, two hands, two legs and one heart! ). Dadabhai drove in to my Candlewood Suites on the day I reached to spend his weekend and I got comfortable in USA. I made some very good friends and visited most of the United States (around 25 of the 50 states, not bad! ;) ).
I had loads of fun parasailing, rock climbing( not professionally!), long driving, bungee jumping and so on.I fell in love with the country, its long stretches of green grass, empty roads, clean air, deer and rabbits walking up to my doorsteps, geese cackling outside the office, undulating golf courses, fiery falls and colourful springs.
After my short, yet eventful stint, I returned to my country to start the most important project of my life, my marriage :) ! The wedding of my dreams was followed by a trip to the Paradise on earth!
I started beautiful new relationships and six months hence, with a full-family-fun-filled Christmas at Mandarmani, the decade came to an end.
And as the new day, new year, new decade started, I could hear the old one whisper in my ears.....
'All these days that we have spent,
through thousands of moments that came and went,
We've seen each other revel in smiles
and spent starry nights gazing skies....
I have heard your whispers,I have seen your dreams,
and come sad times, have shown you other realms...
I have read to you, the stories we wrote,
in the chill of the snow and the warmth of your coat...
We have those seconds etched in our minds
so here I am again to remind
Flow with me and I'll be there
as your friend forever to care and share'
Happy New Year!!!!! :)
