New girl in the city

Making a transition from Content writing back to Engineering wasn't easy, to say the least. What made it even more daunting (for my parents) and exciting (for me) was that my current job as a Systems Engineer required me to relocate to Bengaluru for the training period of 3 months.(Who knows! I might get deployed here too!) Forget about 3 months, I was an absolute fresher in terms of living alone and I wasn't really sure whether I'd be able to even manage.

The Hanuman Temple near Iskcon

There really wasn't much apprehension regarding the city because it's still , well, India. I figured I could get by with English and Hindi.(And for those who actually think it's easy for me, as a Malayali, to get by - Boy have you got it wrong!).

The View from my terrace :)

Pardon the stereotype, but a rural area replete with the borewell and cows was what I really thought Bengaluru would be. I knew very well in advance that it was a tech hub and a very well-planned city, but my perception was set. I was officially transferring from a city to a "gaav" in my own head. But when I landed a fortnight back I was taken by surprise with the kind of amenities and services available. I can quiet confidently say now that, Bengaluru is as welcoming and pleasant as Mumbai, if not more.

One of the random monuments in Bangalore

Yes, I still travel by overcrowded buses and then there's the traffic and a lot of other things I can crib about. But this blog really isn't about that. In Bengaluru, I was lucky to meet really inspiring and awesome people. One of them is my room mate. I don't think I'd have survived this long, hadn't it been for her. Being from Maharashtra herself, she is a brilliant room mate, friend and an extremely balanced and fiery person. The other names on my list include all the people I've met in training - seniors and colleagues. Well, nothing is perfect and there were those initial dafrrys of homesickness. I craved for Mumbai food (yes the Vada Pav) and missed my family. But, after the hiccups, the independence was exhilarating and so was the responsibility.

Yummy Tchoupatolis during our Roomies Day Out

I eventually got accustomed to the bland-but-nutritious food of the hostel, the being-on-my-own-for-everything feeling and the complete freedom. I blended in, like the million others, who come here everyday for their jobs. Hell, I've even started learning Kannada!(to the amusement of all the ticket conductors and my friends, here). And now, the city isn't so brand new... and neither am I :)