I had 2-3 articles in progress for the 7th issue. However, I chose to go a bit personal today. So this time, I am not asking you to share. This is between us.
Two weeks ago, I was sitting at the Hawker centre of the west coast of Singapore, enjoying $2 dosa with tomato chutney. I was reflecting on my journey so far. 4 years ago, when shifting to Singapore from Ahmedabad, I expected difficulties to adjust to a new place, that too a foreign country. Uprooting oneself, especially when you have a family, is no picnic. Ahmedabad was our home for seven years before we moved to Singapore. It was hard for us to leave the place that we made home.
How do you make a place home? It is the little things or knowledge that you have about the place that makes it all different. Knowing the best cafe in town, or the cheapest restaurants that have the best food or the confidence (or lack of it) on the transport system that you don’t have to plan a travel. All changes when you shift to a new town.
It took us months to get comfortable. However, the ease of living was the highlight of the island nation. The hawker centre where I was eating Dosa, had Korean, western, Chinese and Japanese food. This wasn’t a special store. All over Singapore, Hawker centres provided cheap and best food. The choice you have is overwhelming. I never got tired of the university canteen though I had lunch there for the last four years. Chicken rice, Basil leaf pork, Yongh Toh Foo, Fried Hawkin mee, Indian food, Thai curry, Ayem Penyet, Kastu .. you name it, all were there for less than $5. The public transport was cheap and effective. We never thought of which bus to catch or which MRT (the metro in Singapore) to take to go to any place. And wherever you go, there will be at least one Hawker centre. Every neighbourhood has parks for kids and exercising pits. For runners, there were beautiful trails throughout the island.
After four years, we are uprooting ourselves again. We moved to Cambridge, UK, early this month. New job, new town, new weather. The shift is exciting as well as overwhelming. There is so much to learn and explore. The things you have taken for granted were no longer valid. Over the top, there is a currency conversion, and I was not sure whether I am spending too much or less. Eating out is no longer a sustainable option and public transport is costly. I may change the attitude later, but it will take months to get comfortable.
Today I was walking on the banks of the River Cam, and I noticed some people were looking at me strangely. Suddenly I feared! Did I forget to put on the mask? Will I be arrested or fined? It was the opposite !. People were probably thinking why I am wearing the mask! No one was wearing them, especially outside. This was unthinkable in Singapore. I was feeling naked when I was starting from home without a mask.
Life here, though early to say, reminded me of my school days. Ever since I started going to college, I stopped carrying a lunch box. Here it had a tremendous comeback. Next is the bicycle. I never used one after high school. I bought one last week as it is the most used vehicle here.
I thought globalization had killed everything local. But I stand corrected. Some things are unique to each place. And it is probably impossible if you try to find the same comfort or pleasures of your previous city. If every place is the same, then where is the fun! Uprooting can be tedious, at the same time, it is exciting.
I will occasionally share my adventures in the new place. Meantime share if you have experienced similar uprooting.
#07 Uprooting yourself
You probably wrote all my thoughts. After moving to Japan, that too in a pandemic, I realized why people call it 'uprooting'. The familiarity and stability of life in Ahmadabad, especially in terms of friends and social circle, is completely lost. I often think that this 'moving' life from one country to another is not for me. Perhaps, it is partially because of never ending pandemic here and partially because Japan is a unique country where every foreigner resident has experienced loneliness. Getting familiar to the new surroundings definitely eases you out but it is the friends and social circle that is important, no matter where you live. Moving around in India was never a trouble.
I never had a chance to root anywhere to get uprooted. By the time I finished 10th, I had studied in four different schools, then to Bangalore, then to Mumbai, then to Dubai, then to Bahrain, Then to Kuwait, and then back to Kerala. Humans were hunter-gatherers, now we move from place to place searching for a living. People used to ask me, where are you going to settle? I say life is a journey, why should one settle???