I completed a year in Kolkata this month, and I'm still asking myself this question - why the hell did I leave Bombay for Kolkata???
This only answer I can give myself is that that was the plan destiny had for me!
Well, I'm not one to credit all of life's successes or blame all failures on destiny. I'm very much the 'your-life-is-a-result-of-the-choices-you-make' kind of person. But I can't, from personal experience, deny that destiny does chart the course of your life to a great extent by putting you in a situation and presenting you with options that you must choose between. I too had a choice - to stay on in Bombay or move to Kolkata, and I chose the latter.
I did have my reasons at that point in time. I had been living really far from home (by 'home' I mean my family and not so much my hometown) for 10 years. I was actively looking for a job change and it just so happened that I got an offer from Kolkata that was both lucrative as well as offered a great scope for learning. And I figured that moving to Kolkata would give me a good opportunity to be closer to my family (my parents are in Patna & my sister was in Kolkata) as well as the person I was seeing then.
BUT life is full of ironies. My sister moved to the UK a few months after I moved to Kolkata and I broke up with the person I was seeing subsequently. I'd seen the break-up coming for a while and I've never regretted it for a bit. As they say, life always has something better in store. My sister has moved back to India and is currently in Kolkata, and I have A in my life.
I won't write much about A except say that there must be very few people in this world who are able to put others before themselves. A is one of them. Thanks to him, I now understand the meaning of 'unconditional love'. And if someone ever wants to know how to be a good human being, they need only take a page out of his book.
So yeah, Kolkata hasn't been all that bad. The city doesn't have as much to offer as Bombay did. Much to my dislike, life has slowed down a lot after moving here. I find the people too interfering & close-minded. To make things worse, I don't like my job anymore. But I have gained some things that I wouldn't have had I not moved to this city. Things, good or bad, seek you out, and that is why I think destiny has played a big role. However, I think it will soon be time to move on, though not leaving the things I have gained here behind.
So...next is what??
7 comments:
You're right. I stayed in kolkata for about a year way back in 2003. I liked the city even though it was kind of slow. But nothing compares to mumbai not even my beloved delhi. And NOTHING compares to bandra. I just wish i had had the opportunity to move to mumbai earlier, perhaps in my 20s.
@Mumbai Diva - Since I moved out of Mumbai, I've been wishing I hadn't! But at that point of time I wanted a change. I hope I can go back but will do so only if I can go back to livinh in Bandra :)
Everything happens for good!!! I really strongly believe that.. actually change good to reason.. everything happens for a reason.. change of job - maybe it happened for you to meet that one person!!!! It did happen to me... i too met "A" at workplace.. in a field totally unrelated to what i was doing or am doing now!!! lol!!
Destiny it is!
The weird part is.. earlier i used to very emphatic about liking delhi about other cities.. but now i feel i have a different take out from each city.. each city has given me something that no other city can!!! Really!!!!
@Moonshine - I too believe that everything happens for a reason, and on hindsight, for good. The job change HAS contributed a lot to my learning, and maybe it happened also b/c I was destined to meet 'A'. A friend gave me his reference the moment I told him I got an offer from Kol & was considering it, and I started speaking to A to figure out the work scene in Kol & in the company I'm at. This definitely wouldn't have happened had I not considered moving to Kol :)
And I also agree that every city you live in gives you something that no other city can. Every city I have lived in has contributed to my development as a person one way or the other.
congrats on A. I am just wondering whether I can say 'I told you so'. Except I am sure that I did though I had a similar experience. Anyway, alls well that ends well as the Thomsons say
@The Knife - You'd like to say 'I told you so' about my job? Well, go right ahead :) Fact remains a fact, no matter what. And thank you :)
No, no not your job. I think I'd told you that don't worry if your reason for shifting cities has gone... you will end up finding someone much better... only thing is I am not sure if I had
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