From
Palampur to cyber city
Leaving home is never easy. It is in fact a mixed bag. There is a wrench of sadness at having to part with your little world of books, desk, bath and the bed (especially the co-conspirator of your secret dreams the pillow, you rest your head on!) that have inadvertently become integral to your daily routine. You also have a heart-tugging feeling about going away from your near and dear ones as also your bosom friends with whom you share jokes and hearty laughs, occasional beer and some naughty gossip. Also, a shadow of nostalgia darkens your brow on imagining how you will miss your morning walks under the avuncular, reassuring, benign eye of the Himalaya (nursing a frown of anger this prolonged monsoon), wafts of gentle breeze of serene deodars and ‘broomy’, bristly pines, the soothing green carpet-spread of the tea-gardens, long musical ‘good-morning’ whistle of the Himalayan Thrush, and the enchanting, gala ‘lightfest’ of heavenly hues in the east welcoming the entry of the lord-of-the-skies, the sun.
On
the other hand there is an element of excitement and adventure (that resides in
every human heart) that a travel to distant shores engenders. In addition, you
have the feel of anticipated joy already welling up inside you at the prospect
of spending time with your kin and lending them a little helping hand: our
overworking daughters and sons and their spouses - poor folks them all! - who
their MNCs are paying well but ensuring every single paisa vasool through the
skin of their teeth, leading, I dare say, somewhat unidimensional lives. (Where
do they have time to hear warblers sing, or see the festival of lights set off
by the setting sun, or savour the honeyed symphony of a Shakespearean quote?) Further,
the transition from a small, cacophonous hill-town like mine - gone berserk
with untrammeled, insane urbanization - with death-spewing monster machines
busy turning the poetry, music, and aesthetic of hill, river and tree into a
ghastly desert jungle of concrete - to a big, swanky city pulsating with
vigour, with everything at the door just a button touch away, is a respite in
itself. There is also a happy, welcome break from the daily rigmarole (‘ghinne-minne’
as we say in Pahari) of collecting milk, rushing to the gaswalla’s and the
kachrewalla’s gaadi - both jarringly loud with their loudspeakers… and so on.
Being away from home also means good riddance from the wife-ordained errands
for sabzis, bread and eggs and to the grocerywalla for usual daal-bhaat needs
of ‘paapi pet’: our urbanized, spoiled-for-taste, bourgeois tummies. A
padlocked home also brings relief from unwelcome guests who drop by unannounced
mostly at an odd hour, and then indulge in listless, meandering chatter, or
worse, singing a ‘bhaktiful’ ‘Hanuman chalisa’ in praise of their ‘deity politician’.
Lastly, a notoriously unmendable hedonist like me footloose in a big city, (vainly) also eyes a chance of stumbling upon some greener pasture; a balmy, platonic oasis:
of some vague, indefinable kind.
It was with such an untidy, knotty jumble of thought-currents holy and profane, part nostalgic part sanguine, that I landed on this city. And trust me. It is so incredibly pleasant and breezy with the sun as gentle and soothing as ‘Madonna'’s kiss on your cheek. Away from the cares and the chores of domesticity, this village boy from Palampur is going to love the Nizam’s city of Hyderabad (until homesickness takes over) with Proust’s ‘Swann In Love’ on his lap, laptop in front, and the dancing peacocks in the green wilderness outdoors. Feeling jealous? Ok. But please do wish me good luck too!
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Hills have their unique charm but cities like Hyderabad too have their specific features and one can't make proper comparison without having a visit to these places. I too had had an opportunity to spend time at Hyderabad too and can appreciate the pangs of home sickness. It is indeed a great opportunity to have an exposure to a new environment n to learn things. Anyway, have nice time and visit Salarjang Museum if u find time. Good luck🤞.
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ReplyDeleteI just feel like naming you The Shakespeare of Today's Era! U have so beautifully scripted the small town vs metro city. Your writing is captivating. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteDo taste Hyderabadi cuisine,so much talked about
ReplyDeleteDo taste Hyderabadi cuisine specially biryani
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