I - THEN AND NOW

Those days were nice. These times are good. I was in Kolkata then, now I am in Pune. Those days I used to walk through the lanes and bye lanes of Bowbazar, Central Kolkata searching for a better life. Now I walk along the broad streets of Hinjewadi. In those days, I was close to my parents, my sister, my grandparents & my love Kutu. Now I am close to my roommate Abhisek, my colleagues at Idea Cellular, and my building-mates and now I am 1800 km away from my parents, my room and my city. Then I used to lie down in my own bed at my room, look at the blue sky and dream big. Now I sit at my office dream to make it bigger in life. Those days I used to work for Digital Avenues. Now I work for Idea Cellular-IBM partnership.

Those days I had Gaurav as my closest friend. Now there are scarcity of close friends with whom, I could share my deepest thoughts. Weather in Kolkata was hot and humid during summer and monsoon and pleasant during winter. Weather in Pune is pleasant during winter, monsoon and scorching hot for the 2-3 months of summer. There was a lot of life around during those times but now lifelessness is all around.

There was poverty all around in those times. Now hardly poverty can be found near me. I am still the same in terms of wealth as I was then. People are rich here and very hard working, especially the Marathi women. There was value for money at Kolkata and you could hardly find torn notes. Now there is hardly any value for 10, 50, 100 notes and regularly we could find notes of these figure torn. Opportunity to make it big was less in Kolkata but here in Pune opportunity to make it big is more.

I could hardly ask for a lift from a two wheeler guy then, but now I often ask for it while I go to my office and luckily I get them. People at office then were very friendly and used to help at every step but now people are harsh, rude and alert. Work at Digital Avenues was fun then, but work now at Idea is like a burden thrust upon me. In those days I used to teach Rohan-Rishita at Park Circus – Theatre Road visit Park Circus now and then to meet Kutu. Now I do not have a proper place to visit. I used to Walk doen Rashbehari Avenue, Gariahat, Ballygunge with my Kutu hand in hand. Now I visit places very rare like Dange Chowk, Kalewadi Phata, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Pune University, Radhika, Deep Restaurant, Senapati Bapat Road, MANPA, Pune Station.

In those days Saturday mornings were lazy, laid back with bread, tea and shingara (samosa). Now Saturday mornings are fast and I visit Hinjewadi IT Park for better opportunity. Life hasn’t changed much now but it is the places, the people and the things around me that have changed. Waiting for a bigger break in life.

Visitors till this post: 32892 visitors