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| Implicitly red, white and blue |
It goes without saying that I miss you
incredibly. I loved you. At random times, I find myself thinking about you
and what I left behind in your stars and my stripes.
incredibly. I loved you. At random times, I find myself thinking about you
and what I left behind in your stars and my stripes.
Yet this year, today would mean
something else. I can no longer look back and recall the blackout of 2003 as I
lay stranded in one of your Airports in Chicago. The year count that I have
been so meticulously maintaining with you, now no longer means the times that I have
spent with you, but rather the years that I have now spent not living in my
native country.
something else. I can no longer look back and recall the blackout of 2003 as I
lay stranded in one of your Airports in Chicago. The year count that I have
been so meticulously maintaining with you, now no longer means the times that I have
spent with you, but rather the years that I have now spent not living in my
native country.
Almost like a cat, I too have lived 9
lives in 9 years. Every year I invented a new goal and then ran furiously
behind it. Each year that I lived away from home had a flavor of its own. And in
the last year, I walked away from what I had just gotten used to calling ‘home’.
It is indeed explainable why but for that America, you have no time nor must
you care.
lives in 9 years. Every year I invented a new goal and then ran furiously
behind it. Each year that I lived away from home had a flavor of its own. And in
the last year, I walked away from what I had just gotten used to calling ‘home’.
It is indeed explainable why but for that America, you have no time nor must
you care.
I find it absolutely unbelievable how
quickly this past year went by. How quickly I changed cars, domains, continents, languages, friends, food
and apartments! The memories of my red Lotus lay painfully etched in the
extremely joyous sectors of my brain. The romance with her blackness flows warmly even now
in my blood veins. And in between these eight wheels rolled eight years of a fantastic
America.
quickly this past year went by. How quickly I changed cars, domains, continents, languages, friends, food
and apartments! The memories of my red Lotus lay painfully etched in the
extremely joyous sectors of my brain. The romance with her blackness flows warmly even now
in my blood veins. And in between these eight wheels rolled eight years of a fantastic
America.
This year count is now of course blurring.
Not to mention that it is fast approaching double digits. How can anyone expect
me as a person to be even remotely similar to what I was when I boarded a 747
for the first time, flying 18 hours across a sea and an ocean to a country of possibilities?
I spent a good portion of my time explaining how things were in India to my
American friends and exhibited steaks of Indian-ness as and when I deemed
necessary. Yet here in Germany, I find myself stating endlessly how awesome and
different you were to the drabness I sometimes find here. How conveniently have
I forgotten the cold winters you made me endure? How do I not recall anymore
the painful knee surgery, a sheared heart and a forgettable quarter life? How
could I possibly forget the stark reminders of being a foreigner by every
immigration officer that welcomed me?
Not to mention that it is fast approaching double digits. How can anyone expect
me as a person to be even remotely similar to what I was when I boarded a 747
for the first time, flying 18 hours across a sea and an ocean to a country of possibilities?
I spent a good portion of my time explaining how things were in India to my
American friends and exhibited steaks of Indian-ness as and when I deemed
necessary. Yet here in Germany, I find myself stating endlessly how awesome and
different you were to the drabness I sometimes find here. How conveniently have
I forgotten the cold winters you made me endure? How do I not recall anymore
the painful knee surgery, a sheared heart and a forgettable quarter life? How
could I possibly forget the stark reminders of being a foreigner by every
immigration officer that welcomed me?
It’s wondrous how magical things
become once you leave them behind. Before you, my love, I sang songs of my
small hometown of Nashik. I was shamelessly vocal about the liveliness of the
river and the people that it delivered water to. And perhaps, in a few years, I
wouldn’t be surprised if I was writing about the nectar like beer and the
beautiful vineyard covered rolling hills in southwest Germany. As cliches go, the
last nine years were undeniably my wonder years.
become once you leave them behind. Before you, my love, I sang songs of my
small hometown of Nashik. I was shamelessly vocal about the liveliness of the
river and the people that it delivered water to. And perhaps, in a few years, I
wouldn’t be surprised if I was writing about the nectar like beer and the
beautiful vineyard covered rolling hills in southwest Germany. As cliches go, the
last nine years were undeniably my wonder years.
And as pointless as this year count is
I find it a scale of things that happened and a measure what lies ahead. As I fast
approach definite adulthood, I find it humbling to know that it has been so
long since I left home. My personality in the last nine years has been
decidedly altered by your pioneering American spirit and my mistaken ambition.
I find it a scale of things that happened and a measure what lies ahead. As I fast
approach definite adulthood, I find it humbling to know that it has been so
long since I left home. My personality in the last nine years has been
decidedly altered by your pioneering American spirit and my mistaken ambition.
But perhaps, now this date marks an anniversary
of a different sort. It is now purely a measure of the dilution of me being
Indian. There are elements that no country can wipe out but there are plenty of
spots that you left open which I feel Germany is willing and quite able to
fill.
of a different sort. It is now purely a measure of the dilution of me being
Indian. There are elements that no country can wipe out but there are plenty of
spots that you left open which I feel Germany is willing and quite able to
fill.
I am certain that we will meet
again. But like getting back together with a long lost love, it just doesn’t feel
the same as finding her for the first time, sitting under a tree reading a
book. And for that reason alone, this anniversary is significant. To remind me
of not what I left behind but rather to gently show me of what I am about to achieve by leaving you behind.
again. But like getting back together with a long lost love, it just doesn’t feel
the same as finding her for the first time, sitting under a tree reading a
book. And for that reason alone, this anniversary is significant. To remind me
of not what I left behind but rather to gently show me of what I am about to achieve by leaving you behind.
