Bhopal Chronicles

So here we are at the end of another chapter. I came here 8 months ago, with a lot of apprehensions in mind. I hadn't lived with family since I was 15 years old, so I was a lil scared. though I was glad that I'd be by myself  without a social circle harassing me and demanding my time and attention.

 

Little did I know that I'd miss my friends and the otherwise annoying acquaintances so badly. This did not mean I had enough time to read and pursue hobbies. I spent most of my time loitering with momma and going mad at these local markets where you get the most exquisite of stuff. If I were to rate my stay on a scale of ten, it would be a 7.5 (Poona - 9/10    Hyd 6/10. Other places do not need a mention.)

 

Here are some snippets from my stay -

 

Shopping - This place has no Shoppers' Stop for your air-conditioned shopping pleasure. But those lanes at Chowk Bazaar, Peer Gate. Lakherpura and New Market can rob you of your family fortune and leave you asking for more. The stuff here is dirt cheap if compared with bigger towns. Handicrafts,  footwear, garments, tapestry, home décor - you name it and you get it (in such variety that the inability to buy them all is frustrating!)

 

Food - There is this lil place called Swad Bhandar where you get the yummiest samosas and mirchi bajjis and jalebis and gulab jamuns in the world! A sumptuous brunch-ish breakfast for 4 will cost you 50 bucks. Yes fifty INR. The chaat, pani-puri, local flavors of soup, alllll the bhajiyas and makke di rotis and chhola bhatura and puri bhaaji and juice and lassi… oh God! Oh I don’t mean it is road-side food all the way! The palaces turned into hotels - Jehan Numa, Noor-Us-Subah, Imperial Sabre - they are kickass too! Just by the way, I am a vegetarian and they say I haven't lived in Bhopal if I havent tasted the nawabi kebabs. So you can imagine.

 

Friends - One and only Sebin. I bumped into him somewhere like we were destined to meet and he was my thread to sanity. Not a single soul I had here to socialize with. We've done not many crazy things if I were to compare with my Poona/Hyd etc days but my memories with him are some of the fondest. Oh him being a bassist in a local rock band also came handy. He kept me up-to-date with all the developments in the world of rock!

 

Studies - well the idea was to chillax and take GMAT. It turned out to be a bad idea. Let's not talk about it anymore.

 

Work - Worked at a start-up and got doomed financially. Learnt the most key-skills of my professional life in that period though. Also learnt that working with a bunch of smartass people at Google is bloody different  than working (read: much more challenging) with a bunch of demotivated, disinterested, passionless people!

 

Blog - I started blogging about 3 years ago and did not write more than 5 posts in a year. Then I created a new blog - this one that you are reading - when I came to Bhopal. And I managed about 135 posts in 7 months. Not bad huh? And I made some new acquaintances over blogosphere and came really close to some people whom I had known earlier. This blog was my lone source of time pass and venting out when I felt my Mom could not take anymore of my nonsense.

 

Now that I am moving on, I know not much will change in my blog - it will be the usual ranting about friends, family, myself, politics etc. But this is a nice time to thank each one of you who have frequented my blog, posted nice comments and welcomed by thoughts.

 

I am moving to a secret location - taking a 24 hour train ride (yipee! I love'em!) and landing in a new world to make a new start - for no particular reason. Just because I feel like it. So this is my last post until say 8th or 9th of this month.
 

So I will see you people soon! Keep those comments flowing. :)