Saturday, May 22, 2010

Bidding Farewell to my Dream City - Namma Bengalooru

Saying goodbye to places is not new to me. There are towns, cities even countries I have bid farewell to...always wishing I could come back but always knowing I would never return. I have survived each of the heart wrenching moment. This time however, seems to be different. This is going to be the toughest goodbye of them all. Could it be because this is my dream city or is it because this is where I started my marital life or is it because each time I get off from the train / plane and step on Bangalore's soil it always feels like homecoming or maybe it could be for the reason that this is the city of my favorite cricketer. The reason could be any but the crux is I love this place...I love the city.

It is raining outside. I can hear the pattering of the raindrops and the growling thunder. The candle flickers each time a gust of wind caresses it...yes you guessed it right...there is a power cut and today I do not have the heart to curse it because today I am enjoying the beauty of a candle lit evening. I am not upset about drying the clothes, just out of the washing machine, in my living room because today I realize that I do not have many rainy evenings left in Bangalore... I may be gone before the monsoon arrives.

As I look back to the dawn I first came to Bangalore, some eight years ago, I can still visualize my husband and me sitting in an auto-rickshaw, chilled to the bone, heading towards our hotel. With chattering teeth we were asking for direction from passerby. The warmth that we received from them showed us that we were welcome to their city.

With passing years I have experienced the weather getting warmer and the people getting colder, the traffic becoming thicker and the density of trees becoming thinner. The influx of people from every stratum of society from all over India has dimmed the beauty and serenity of this city, however, in my heart I know that my love for this city will never diminish.

As I bid adieu to the "Garden City" I wish it may regain its lost beauty so that someone else coming to this city may relieve the wonderful time I spent here...