A whole new world...but not quite alone out here

This is a piece that I’ve been meaning to write for quite some time...people keep asking me about how life is in UK and how does the reality blend in with the fantasy of a foreign land? Do I know the answers completely? Maybe not...not yet at least. But there are a whole bunch of experiences, a whole lot of stories that I want to put down into words...so that I can always go back and revisit the memories.

I figured if I started...I’d let my words take their own path. Turns out words have a way of choking out just like the average lump in your throat. Madness and wonder...notches in the woodwork...its words like these that make me realize how lucky I've been to have had this amazing experience...and none of it would have been complete without the people that touched my life over the past few months.

I landed here in UK around August end 2009...a lil awestruck, a lil nervous and super excited!!! My bro & bhabhi, who came to receive me at Heathrow spent the weekend trying to get me to 'break in' to the difference between here & India. So there I was...sufficiently informed, sufficiently aware that things are different, people are different, expect problems with getting settled into this life..etc etc. Turns out I landed smack in the middle of a huge gang of friends...my ex-ex-ex India roomie who became my current UK roomie....my old ITP pals (we had been planning & plotting for our whole ITP group to meet up in UK and start a chai tapri there ever since we can remember :P)...and my ex & ex-ex India roomies...all turned up on my doorstep to greet me. Can't forget the look on my bro's face..he had come to drop me off and give me some last bits of serious advice...as he saw the troops pouring in...he turned to me and said..."I think you might be ok here after all...you have more than enough company!!!"

And so it was that I had a huge bunch of friends..and it was summer time...that means time to hit the road and explore the country...we kicked off with Scotland...an amazing trip which taught me important lessons like the value of parking spots, the crucial need of 'facilities' & the true meaning of solo photos!!!

Next up on the list was Bournemouth beach...another amazing experience...it couldn't quite be captured in pics coz the 'beauty' was too special to be confined to a camera ;)

Then came several London trips...this is a customized tour that we perfected thanks to my friend SJ....MK to London Euston, samosas outside Euston station, tube to Embankment, walking from Embankment to Trafalgar square (foto stop at the fountain and the library steps), lolling in the gardens at James Park (another foto stop for greenery type poses), then heading to Buckingham palace (foto stop of course for change of guards), off to Westminster, tube to Tower Hill, checking out the street shows near London eye (random foto stops), walking along the Namaste London bridge (fotos with the shoes in hand pose), catching the ferry to Greenwich (silly fotos on the ferry..all solo fotos of course :D)...posing with the GMT clock and the GMT line....train to Southall for awesome Indian dinner...and then back to home sweet home....SJ will be in pain just reading this!!! :D

With October came the flurry of festivities like Dashera and Diwali....traditional day celebrations (aka more foto opportunities)...all of it made me feel like I was living in the best of both worlds!

November brought with it the onslaught of birthday parties...each day at the stroke of the midnight hour, a bonch of us would set out on the streets of MK armed with a cake, eggs & tomatoes to welcome the b'day boy/girl with due reverence :D....And this post would be gravely incomplete without the mention of the howlarious 'last weekend' dramas that had started to unfold. A weekend that created history...starting from Friday nite fenzy where SS displayed his unique vocal / joke-al skills...to the mega-hit weekend plan where Derby/London/Bletchley/Oxford all rejected for the love of La Hind restaurant in MK. The memories of the food that day still makes my stomach cower with fright :P

December....as I bid farewell to some friends and rejoiced in the arrival of others, I learnt how quickly time passes and how little we have to show for it. But it was truly the best time of the year....my first snowfall experience...and sharing it with someone special :) Even today, Bish teases me over my childish joy and exuberant screams of "Its snowing!!Its snowing!!Its snowing!!Its snowing!!Its snowing!!Its snowing!!Its snowing!!"...an amazing trip to Paris with Mots...where I fell in love with Europe and gave in to the magic of the land of love.... As the year drew to an end, I found myself gearing up for a whole bunch of new beginnings...

As the number of survivors in MK dwindled to a handful, there were 5 of us who had formed an amazing bond...me, Bish, SJ, Mots & SB...the five fokats! :P...we decided to use the rest of our time in UK to a series of fun trips & experiences...and off we went...Birmingham, Liverpool, Isle of Wight, Manchester, Lords, 'last' London, Northern Ireland...everywhere we went, we had the time of our lives. No hurdle, no hindrance could dampen our spirits as we soaked up the allure of this wonderful country.

Finally, it was time to bid adieu to UK...but the magic and the madness was in no mood to cease...even the last UK farewell was howlarious to the core...the 5 of us had turned up in our best cocktail attire for a formal dinner....and it was truly a most memorable evening :)

31 March 2010...as I bid farewell to UK, I left behind a piece of my soul....and a piece of my heart. The soul stayed in the land of my dreams...while the heart was mine to claim when he followed me to India by the night flight... :)