Smile and Wave !!

I have been wanting to "pen" this one down for ages. I was simply worried that it might not be right or correct to write this post. But I could not move on either, hence the long delay since my last post almost 6 months ago.  Finally i have decided to write this post down, first I need to get it out of my system and second, unless I write this, I wont move on and I so want to post more. It is said international experience changes a person. Exposure to other cultures and communities and people who live differently, in different environments makes one more mature. You see the wider scope of things, the problems other people face, their beliefs and perceptions. But does this really happen? It did happen to me, I guess, I started counting my blessings for having been born and brought up in India and for being borne into a Hindu family. This was achieved after a lot of comparison between what we have in India and the conditions/ situations / environment faced by the people I ...

About a month and a half ago. I returned from Harare. My stint was over and there was no chance of me going back to Harare. At least not with the same employer. It felt really wonderful to be back. Familiar sights, smells, roads, buildings etc. But a lot had changed. And I do not mean just the roads and buildings and the scenery, but myself. Since 2009, I have consistently been staying away from home. Delhi, Shimla, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Bangalore and finally Harare. Coming home after such a long time for an extended stay is a unsettling experience. As days went by I realised with great distraught that I had forgotten old haunts, shortcuts, roads, out of the way pubs and eateries. I was suddenly unaware of what to buy where and information did not come readily. It took a lot of prodding and head scratching to remember all of my accumulated knowledge of Goa. I had to travel many roads anew to rebuild the linkages in my head. Does this happen to everyone? I mean its so embarras...