Change And Me.

Hello, my name is Aarushi, the month is November 2018 and the city is Bangalore.

A few months back a restlessness set into our daily lives when my husband started itching for some change in his life. Talks began of the possibilities, but to be honest I did not think much of them and me, unlike him was reasonably content in the inertia of my existence. Soon enough though an opportunity presented itself, ripe for the taking and my determined husband began chasing it. Everything was great, we were moving forward as one must but it did, require us to move (wait a second, let me Google) 2,174.6 Kms from Delhi to Bangalore although I was not one to panic just yet with regards to the two birds in the bush.

The opportunity turned into our reality with one phone call and once the celebrations waned off the panic set in. We now had to cover all that distance with our bag and baggage and set up shop in a new city. I have lived away from family before and have been quite well adjusted for the most part but this was different. We were moving as a unit and somehow the dynamic of how that would work made me clammy and nervous. My husband feigned confidence or was confident; who can really say now. I threw myself into planning and prepping for the big move and after trying to think of every little thing we might need and planning for it, we managed to haul our stuff to Bangalore. Yes, movers and packers mostly did the packing but it was exhausting to see them go at it; packing my hair dryer as if it was the Kohinoor.

Still, no matter how dramatic the number of kilometers between the two cities seemed, it took only a mere three-hour flight and we landed in Bangalore ending the Delhi chapter. If I were to be completely candid from the moment I stepped out at the airport the differences from what was left behind to where we were seemed almost garish and soon there were too many to keep track of. I found myself nitpicking at everything and somehow glorifying everything we were familiar with, I was not comfortable.

After a week or two of toiling we managed to find a nice house and for it a nice couch, the packer army also came to gently dump our stuff and we finally moved in. The turmoil was over and excitement of making the place of our own took over and with every new addition to the house a gradual comfort slid in. We were marking our territory in a new city and have to admit it was too much fun, the only collateral damage though was the mega hits to our bank accounts. Everyday we met new people and with each day passing strangers became acquaintances and as time passed I could even call them friends, without stretching it. It made me realize that if you yourself are non-weird, no matter where you are people generally gravitate to show kindness as a first response.

It’s been two months to the move now and I can say with a little confidence that we have managed to build a little love nest for ourselves with reasonably well-adjusted work lives. I have come a great distance metaphorically and literally from that first moment of panic, in Delhi and realized we fear change for the outcomes it manifests and seek comfort in familiarity of things we have come to know and understand. I was unsure about how I would be, how we would be in a new city and unsure of the people we would meet; just to find out that we grossly underestimate ourselves and our ability to cope with circumstances and that people are fundamentally the same everywhere. Anxiousness was the highest before the move and now that I have moved past it I feel I am better for it. Sometimes we need to embrace new place, new things just so we can shed our old self for a new and improved version of ourselves cause really That’s what evolving is all about.