Before I get into the actual story, I would like
to accept the fact that I couldn't write any new poems for now though I want to
fill this blog with my poems. This is more of a narration of a chapter from my
life than a story. I'm presenting it in a non-linear fashion just to make it interesting.
Today is January 7th, 2009, at around 2100 Hrs,
in Bangalore City, India. I'm standing at Shanthi Nagar Bus Terminus. I'm very
exhausted after work. I'm carrying a big maroon color suitcase and a rolled
quilt. I don't have a reservation ticket and looking for a vacant bus that will
take me to Chennai, my hometown. I'm yearning to leave this place as soon as I
can. Finally, I found a bus run by the Tamil Nadu State Government that had a
seat available. The Bus Conductor helped me to board the bus with all my
belongings. I'm so relieved that I could find a Bus before it is too late at
night. The Bus left the terminus at around 2200 Hrs. I'm just sitting and gazing
through the windows, holding the rolled quilt vertically in my seat's aisle.
The lights of the city started diminishing slowly as the bus travelled towards
the outskirts and my mind started traversing through the events that led me to
this journey.
It is an end of a journey that began on November
17, 2008. I was selected for employment with an IT Company that has a
multi-color flower as it's Insignia. The interview happened in one of the
reputed engineering colleges in Chennai and about 200 candidates applied for
the position. I was one of five candidates that cleared all rounds of the
interview. The HR personnel, who selected us, gave us a brief description of
our job responsibilities. She told us that it is a five year contract and we
will be provided with an Integrated MS degree from Birla Institute of
Technology and Science, Pilani. We were asked to deposit a sum of one lakh
rupees for executing the bond which will be refunded after the course of our
contract. She said, "If you people are not interested, don't waste anymore
of my time. Please get out!". I wasn't really bothered about her
professionalism during that time. I just wanted a job.
It is around 0000 Hrs at midnight.
Cold air, from outside, rushes through the window forcefully. I pulled a
blanket from my suitcase and made myself insulated from the cold air. The lights
are all turned off inside the bus and there's a TV playing some movie. I'm not
really interested in watching it so I turned myself away towards the window.
I accepted the "generous"
offer to work and study together. I was told that I will be paid about 7500
Indian Rupees every month which will be incremented every year provided I perform
well, not just in my work but in my academics as well. My work location was
Bangalore. I have visited Bangalore a few times before but I never had a chance
to explore the city to the fullest. I felt so excited as I saw this as an
opportunity to be in a different city and experience new things. But things
were very different. Survival became a big challenge. The money, the company paid
me, was not sufficient. I had to take money from my parents every month which
they cannot afford. I was not able to have a proper meal. I had to travel about
25 miles every day to and from work. I had to be there for about two months to
complete my training and finally, was told that my work location will be
Chennai. Never in my life but then, felt the goodness of the city where I was
living for about eighteen years, the city which I thought so boring. I was so
happy to go back. I was told that I should wait until the weekend to move back
to Chennai but I did not want to spend another day there. I expedited the
process and got approval to start immediately.
My phone's alarm went off. It is
around 0400 Hrs and the bus has just entered the border of the city. I called
up my dad. He took some time to answer as he was sleeping. I told him that I will
be reaching the bus terminus in an hour. He said that he will come and receive
me. I felt the warmth of the place as if it is welcoming me back. It is always
good to be back home no matter how great the place we visit.
