Well I always knew that the transition from Mumbai to Bangalore was always going to be challenging specially after spending 26 years in Mumbai. It was that one onsite chance that made me to stick to this decision.
Still initially I rejected the offer from the Bangalore firm. Then the HR called me up and explained everything regarding the opportunity. It was this call that turned up my mind somehow and I agreed to the offer. Only one week was left in my notice period. So everything happened in that one week.
The company was going to provide me with the initial accommodation and the travel arrangements. All of these details came just one day before the travel day.
It was one of the toughest decisions of my life to leave Mumbai, My family; my friends etc.....Will see how it works.......
I was not sure whether I will be able to survive in Bangalore or not. So I had a backup offer in hand in Mumbai, in case I fail to survive in Bangalore and come back.
Everything was set. I took off the Indigo flight and reached Bangalore in an hour and 45 mins or so. This was my first travel in flight. I had one when I was 2-3 years old so I don’t remember anything.
It was a nice experience of going through the check-in process, security checks, airport buses and finally the flight. To my surprise, I met one of my engineering friends in the flight.
We got down together and decided to board a common taxi and share the expense. Finding a taxi from Bangalore airport is another major task. People quote anything that comes to their mind.
Finally we boarded a Meru Taxi for 1000 Rs which will drop me to Koramangala first and then take my friend to his destination.
I arrived at my Service apartment arranged by the firm. The apartment was clean, neat and tidy. So I had to live here for another 15 days and then search for my own accommodation.
I would like to Thanks Google Maps for the awesome application and the details that it provides. I had done my entire research on the places around my office and accomodation.Whatever was shown in the Maps appeared to be absolutely correct.
On the first day, I went out in the evening to check out the company location and places to eat around. I also met one of my best engineering friends over here on the same day. We had a long chat.
The following hotels and shops served me for one and a half month and I was able to survive being a Jain in Bangalore.
- ShantiSagar restaurant : This was my lifeline in Bangalore. It was a veg hotel that served me Idly, Dosa, Pav Bhaji, Punjabi, fried rice, noodles, sandwiches etc.
- Uday sweets : This shop was a marwadi shop famous for Samosas. Almost every 3 days I took a samosa from this guy.
- Madurai Idli shop : Again a small hotel serving Idly, Dosa etc.
- Coconut vendors / Juice vendors: Coconuts and fresh juices are very cheap in Bangalore.
- Shree Thali : A small restaurant serving Thalis with vegetables, Kadhi, Papad and hot home like Rotis. I do not eat onions and garlic so I always ask the waiter to replace all my vegetable with Kadhi. I use to have this every 2 or 3 days.
- Roadside Dosa and Idlis.
I had almost roamed around the entire Koramangala area. The above places were the best bets for food and also economical.
I also found a Hanuman temple and a Ganesha temple nearby. Whenever I had no work, I moved to these temples. They were very quiet and peaceful.
After around a week in Bangalore I started to look for the PG. I saw almost around 5-6 PG in worse condition and too costly. Finally I finalized a PG for 3000/- per month and without food. It was a apartment where the owner was living on the ground floor, and the rest of the 2 floors were on rent and PG. This is one of the best businesses that I have seen so far. Almost 70-80K rent in a month.
During these days, I made a lot of friends. One of my good friends name was Krishnamoorthy. He was from my firm Icreate. A simple person who has a simple lifestyle. He always gave me a company for food and travel. He used to first ask whether you will get a Jain food or not. He was a bit slow but had a good brain and knowledge of things around the world. He always used to say "I have a 8085 processor". So I told him that with me around it will convert to a dual core processor.
After around 15 days My Visa docs got submitted and I am waiting for the SA visa to come as quickly as possible so that I return to Mumbai back and then travel to SA.
It has been a month in Bangalore. One of the things that I have missed the most is my Mom, my home food and my nephew Rushabh who is 1 and a 1/2 year old. Almost most of the days I try talking to him with little success. I felt this was the best time to play with him but again opportunities might not strike your door every day.
So far so good. Let’s see when the Visa arrives and when do I depart for SA.
This blog will come handy after few years to refresh the memories of my first real struggle with life. Life is always peaceful when you are at home. It turns out to be a battlefield when you are not at home.
