It's been four years since I have been staying with Hyderabad. The first two years was in business school, and now the next two years working. The words that characterized the first two years were :campus, friends, hostel life, exams, late night classes, placements etc- it was a very different life altogether.
For the next two years I have been working in the same city-Hyderabad. But the definition of this place has changed completely to me. My first job (which had been a dream for years)started in this city.
The first ordeal I chose for myself was to search a house...without brokers. I had no clue of any locality which could have been chosen.
Did a market research in office.Research objective was: Where do majority of my colleagues stay and why....and then this time for a change the market research gave a correct answer. I even got friends from college who were also placed in the same city and two of them in the same organisation , and then the house was searched (partly with a broker's help) and I started staying. So I got a house to stay...
The next great hurdle..what would i eat ? I did not like the packed dabba food out here.And how many times would you ask your friends to cook for you .I had never entered the kitchen in my life before. It might be hard to believe, but Bengali girls, if they stay in Bengal along with grandparents and on top of it if they are the only daughter of their parents, they all fall in the same category....
Tried cooking, downloaded recipes, but the first time I cooked, the whole stuff was jet black. After a tryst with cooking,I now manage to make things which are at least edible, if not delicious.
And then lot of things changed, I changed my house three times in two years and every year got the house without brokers! I don't have fast friends here, but somehow I have friends who are there with me for particular occasions. Cannot agree better with the Airtel's Har ek friend zaroori hota hai...
I have got a freaking out friend, a chicken friend(we cook chicken together), tea break friend, parlour friend, house searching friend.....:)
Shopping is something which I learnt to do completely alone...I sometimes cannot believe myself...I had never bought anything previously without my dear ones ascertaining my great choice!My shopping behavior has undergone a change...earlier it used to be Recreational shopping, for almost everything,barring one or two examples. But now it is entirely Problem solving shopping! Now the feeling of relief predominates the feeling of happiness at the end of shopping!
But the aspect which taught me the hard way to live alone is visiting the doctors... Rarely do you find people going to the doctor alone.
When I was in school, visiting the ophthalmologist was the best part, as he would give you an eye drop to dilate the pupils, which would make your vision blurred for 12 hours. So one day you have a genuine excuse of not studying! But when here in Hyderabad, I was given the same medicine, and then came out in the sun, I could not open my eyes! Covered my eyes with the dupatta, (thankfully I was wearing one), somehow managed to walk down and get an auto to take me back home.I am sure if anyone was watching my steps, might have thought I was drunk...
I now dont hesitate to go to a CCD or Mc D's alone...earlier I used to pack food and bring home, but now I sit and eat, and watch people...
Sometimes during weekends, I realise, that if not over the phone, I have not spoken a single word to someone face to face! It's difficult to believe especially for someone who received the comments of "very talkative" in junior classes!!
