Sunday, March 6, 2011

From Chandni Chowk to China


(Getting to post it a little late)

OK, I am not from Chandni Chowk exactly (but 200 kms from there), and not going to China to be precise (just a nearby SAR), but the title seemed interesting. I will be leaving India in another hour and 20 mins. And then, for whole 43 days, its gonna be a strange land, different people, and a different world.

I am in the midst of that strange, eerie feeling you get when undergoing any big change. Don't know whether everyone gets it, but for me it kinda gets uncomfortable, thinking about issues as trivial as 'Whether I would be able to figure out my way out of the airport' :P

I have been postponing this trip for long now, for reasons unknown to me. Somehow the prospect of my first overseas travel is not being able to excite me enough as well. I am clueless whether I should take this trip as a welcome honeymoon, a challenge, or just another assignment in a different location. My friends say my mind is a cobweb, or rather a multitasking processor where n number of things are going on in the background. So it is this time around, and there are several thoughts fighting with each other. You would think why I am making this such a big deal. Just go through the list and answer yourself whether I am overdoing it. Ha!

The predicaments:
1. Being in a foreign land, away from desh ki mitti (seriously, getting this feeling as well!)
2. I don't speak their language, don't eat their food, and at the expense of being called a racist, they don't have eyes!!
3. Can I count for company on the 4 Indian people I know there? Or in the absence of company I am going to rot in office or my hotel?
4. Will I be able to live up to the high expectations my dear friend Krina has loaded me with and fully leverage her excel sheet (she has provided me with a comprehensive 'places to visit' guide for HK - m telin u, its bloody brilliant- she is stuck in the wrong job), or would I be a subject of leg pulling for the rest of the year by my office gang (they take having fun in HK very seriously)?
5. Would I be able to pull off some crazy acts and be on level footing with my friend Mr. 'Stud' Bajpai? (What does he think of himself? #@!@@$)
6. Would I be able to cheer for India in the world cup? Seriously hoping they have some Indian addas there!
7. Would my office gang do a lot of parties here in India while I am away. Guys, if you are reading this, beware..don't go to a lot of happening places. 'Sabr ka fal meetha hota hai'

OK, coming to the more serious ones.

8. Is this trip really an opportunity in disguise? If yes, would I be able to make the most of it? Would it be a step forward towards my dream?
9. Would this trip be the change that I needed. Developments in the past few weeks haven't been really great- would I finally take my mind off things and come back ao be larger than life?
10. Would I be able to figure out what I want? And will I act to implement one of the answers?

And last but not the least, am I forgetting to carry something?

I guess no journey was successful with so much negativity to start with. So here is what I think I am going to do: Blank my mind, and take things as they come. Anyways, seeing the goras on the international airport is getting me lil excited :) And the best feeling was, to hold the US and HK dollar in my hand. So it must not be that bad I guess.
Ohh, the boarding announcement is here. Signing off, Adios!

5 comments:

  1. LOL I can soo feel it and relate to it. All these thoughts are still so fresh within me, even after 4.5 yrs and it takes me back to the day when I was leaving India to go to a completely strange, new world “US of A”.
    Dude - Feel lucky you have company's money and a hope of coming back right after few weeks, I had no money, no hope, no idea!!!
    All I know is all our bumpy rides help us grow as better person, and will give you a good laugh when you look back...
    Hope it makes you feel better....
    Good Luck Have Fun!! Enjoy to the fullest!!!!
    You can call me if you need tips from my HK Trip ... :)
    P.S. My help will be specific to Shopping relevant concerns only ;) :P !! LOL

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  2. @Niks: I am Blushing already... Thanks for compliments :)

    i know what you are feeling. My HK trip was my first ever trip alone. I was totally scared having never lived away from my family. You wont believe i cried in the plane while saying bye to NS on the phone. But it turned out to be great. I had awesome company and the work load was not overburdening.

    Make most of the free time u have ... HK is fun place to be ... and hopefully this turns out to be positive experience for you professionally too ... Enjoy

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  4. As a fellow writer, I admire the frankness with which you have admitted your limitations and encourage your effort to look thorugh the positive window to see this as a welcoming change...

    May be, a blog 43 days down the line will throw some light on whether these concerns were called for!

    Any which way, in hindsight, this blog should provide you fun read, whichever way the trip pans out :)

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  5. By now you must have settled in the chinki land...
    Well, now it seems "Stud" Bajpai, has to take a backfoot as here comes our real hero "Banker Niks"!! You know exactly what I mean!! ;)

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