18 months in ‘Home away from Home’……………

San Do Hazaar chaar, sathra sethember, (17th Sep, 2004) celebrations in the Bangalore Airport. I was on voyage to one of the most exotic and after sought places in the world. London. This is a kaleidoscopic picture of my experience in this land of imperialism from that day.

First flight of my life to Mumbai was a little better than journey in a high tech bus just for the reason I was flying and was not on ground. After a three hour long wait in the international lounge at Mumbai, I boarded a better flight (AI) and realized it was better only in size and it flew out of the country. With approx 10hrs journey to reach London, I de-boarded the great flying machine, checked thru clearance with my two big dogs (called suitcases) and one bag. I moved on to Guildford by coach (known as bus to us) where I had to share accommodation with another Indian. The journey in the land of ‘Your Highness’ started from that day and is still on.

For a guy who liked the hustle bustle of Gandhi bazaar (Bangalore, India) and its ever hungry crowd, this posh, grave silent land was killing initially, but now I am used to it ( I had no options either!). Guildford, Surrey, the place I live is one of the posh localities in the UK, with every 15th car being a Ferrari, and every second or third car a Merc or BMW, it is a visual treat for all those fanatic crazy car lovers.

Communication!! Yes it was a problem initially, not with Britons, but with people I used live with. They were all from Hyderabad, India. It was/is fun because they speak in Telugu but I reply to them in Hindi, I speak better Hindi now than before. Initially understanding English by English was tough when people write and speak m8 (pronounced as mite, which actually means mate), (Un)fortunately now even I speak like that!! It is a land of diplomacy. A typical 5 minute conversation with an English will include an average of 3-4 ‘Pleases’ and 9-10 ‘Thank Yous’ with intermittent ‘Sorrys’. The three golden words in ‘English’ English dictionary.

Um… now the reason for me to come to the UK. Yes! To study for Masters. (MSc in HR). May sound quite weird for an engineer to master in HR; however the course was not just HR. It was also about learning various sections of UK law, pecuniary losses, constructive destruction and many more. Trying to learn to use strategies to wipe of the camouflage of most of complex ideas, words and phrases!! But anyways it has always been fun to study HR and I thoroughly enjoyed it, though there was a deadline for some assignment or course work everyday. It is all past now, because I graduated recently!

Blimey! Next part of this pack is the one that is most exciting. Girls!! Being honest, not that great, however the low jeans are far low than the required 5” from the naval, probably 7”. The other side of this is sad, teenage girls around 12 or 13 are the ones who create records in the UK of being the youngest mother. (Youngest mother of the UK is 11 years old). I ought to mention, my course mates…Wow! Breath taking similarity...it was all Chinese girls. Everyone looks the same. With so many analogous faces around, it is tough even now for me to identify them. Their tongue twisting names makes it even tougher to communicate with them. I should admit a few of them are really cute and hot!!!

UK, as a location is good both naturally and man made, everything here is automated, looks quite boring for a guy from India where most of the things are manual. It is only machines working and no humans around, however I should thank technology when once I had a conference call with my friends in the US, the UK, India, and Singapore, and It was great! Hats off to that great person who found something called mobile phone technology. The reality of virtual world of internet, interesting and emotional conference internet chats all have become an inseparable ingredient of my life now.

Of course there are things I miss. ‘Kannada’ my language, road side paani-puri n gobi. My people and the ease at which I could reach them n many more. Finally, I have learnt that the distance speaks, with every e-mail going from my mail box with a signature keep mailing or keep in touch, people who I just knew in India, I know them better now. Good to know that people open up when someone who they like is not near them and I have been experiencing it. I am actually feeling great about it. The world here in the UK continues as usual, however u guys ‘keep in touch and keep mailing’