Goodbye Mumbai. Hello Chennai!!!

Familiarity. Certainty. Security. This is what my home is to me. Venturing out and living in another city was an adventure I wanted to embark. The first time I left Mumbai for a prolonged period of time was 2 years ago. TCS trains all its new joiners in Trivandrum for six weeks. I looked forward to that trip. I enjoyed the six weeks thoroughly. I was sad to return to the normal life in Mumbai again. At that point I did not know what was in store after 2 years.

I applied for a transfer. The process was taking its own sweet time so the D-day looked far away. Suddenly everything fell into place and I was moving out. This time, permanently. I wasn't thrilled. Fear and uncertainty dominated my mind. My heart was aching. I couldn't look directly into my mother's sad eyes. Travel to the airport was mechanical. The check-in and boarding was no different. The realization came when the flight took off and I saw my beloved Mumbai from the sky. I knew that this was my final tear-eyed good bye to the city that has been my home for more than 23 years.

Chennai has always been my second home. Actually its my birth place. It’s been a week since I have been living here and I am already complaining about people and traffic the way I used to in Mumbai. My friends insist that my accent has already changed, which I know is not true. The familiarity is beginning, certainty is returning and security is strengthening. With passage of time I am sure this will become my home.