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The globetrotter in me has decided to take a break.

Its time for a new adventure, a different approach and an altered way of life.

For the next two years, I am shifting base from my home in the urban metropolis Mumbai to a rural district in Gujarat – Kheda. I’m embracing this change with a mission in mind. I have become a part of the Gandhi Fellowship Programme. The programme helps youngsters like me enter the development sector to strive towards making a difference and empowering the backward sections of our country.

Our project – Rural Education.

Some might say I have walked into this scene blindly. With no experience, no concrete plans for the future and having never lived away from home. To those people I would like to say, have a little faith and join me in my journey (through this blog) from the City of Dreams to making some dreams come true.

For now, I have said my Good Byes.

Good Bye to my city and my beloved college.

Good Bye to my friends.

Good Bye to my protective father, my mother (and her silly jokes) and my brother who now has a room all to himself.

As I write this piece, seated in the 12955 Mumbai to Jaipur Super-Fast Express on my way to the Pink City (for my training course), I am surrounded by the usual scene one would find in an Indian long-distance train. Families and their home-cooked meals, children jumping from berth to berth and every passenger over 15 glued to the screens of their smartphones.

Four year olds playing at a seat next to mine: “Stone .. Paper .. Shijur”
The vernacular pronunciation of the word ‘scissor’ has given me my first taste of North India. (South Bombay kids will get this.) A journey like this, even without getting out of the train can expose you to a variety of cultures just by the people who board at every station. Every passenger brings with them their own sense of style, language and sensitivity.

A group of men, all strangers before they met on train are now having a partly-hushed, partly-loud conversation about ‘Modiji’ – a common topic for conversation run up to the 2019 election while their wives and the older folk snooze occasionally, keeping an eye on the children. My father sits across from me, taking some business calls.

I am a silent observer, with no judgements just taking it all in.

Every character in my story from here will be a brand new one. I know no one and nothing. Every scene in my life henceforth is going to be a surprise even for me.
And that brings me some excitement.

Stay tuned for more.

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