Saturday 7 November 2009

Home Sweet Home Sour

I was home.
That is my excuse.
I know I was ‘planning’ on blogging daily.
But I went home.
I think it is a very excusable excuse.

I had to ‘renew’ my visa.
For those who do not know, I am an NRI (Non Resident Indian – for the ones who have always had trouble with abbreviations). Well I am not exactly an NRI because I am residing in India currently but technically I am not.
I was born and brought up in a country were being born and brought up in the country does not make you a citizen. That is pretty weird according to me.
I was in this country for 16 years of my life. This country is still what I ‘significantly’ refer to as home. And sometimes I feel foreign in both India AND this country. I guess that is what qualifies you as an NRI – feel foreign everywhere.

Well the point is not that.
The point is that the point is actually forgotten.

Let me try beginning again.
I have a residence visa of this country and had to have it renewed so that I can continue to be an NRI.
I took a ticket home.
I got a health check up done to rule out infection by a particular ‘notorious’ virus – which is apparently mandatory for a residence visa (I wonder why!).
I got a passport size photo taken.
I got my visa renewed.
I took a ticket back to India (which is also home, I guess).

So now after a week at home I have learnt that:
I am still an NRI residing in India – which is still confusing.
I am not infected – yet. (applause please)
I still have the skill to look like a stranger in my passport size photos.
Food is all I need to be happy.
I can gain the weight I lost in five years in five days.
People change.
Cities change faster than people.
And most importantly:
Home is sweet when you arrive and sour when you depart – still.

Next time I am home I’ll be a doctor – I think that is cool and more importantly… scary.

9 comments:

akd said...

yes buddy, people change and cities change faster...so we need to change to survive.

Veda said...

Hey, been long since I came here..Nice theme btw..I have a similar look one on my phone, but its darker hence at times depressing..

Do you enjoy the compulsive confessor?(http://thecompulsiveconfessor.blogspot.com/)just in case you didn't know, shes the Indian version of Carrie Bradshaw, supposedly. Penguin even made a book out of her blog. Overrated. The whole thing. But that's besides the point- Do 'you' like her? And yes, this question does have a motive :)

"Well the point is not that.
The point is that the point is actually forgotten." - :)

Another Blogger said...

@ Asit Dhal: We don't need change to survive, we need to change to keep ourselves entertained - and Mother Nature makes sure we are having one hell of a show!

@ Mon Espace: I share the opinion that the new theme is kind of depressing, but I would rather use the adjective 'nostalgic'.

I do remember reading a post by the compulsive confessor quite a while ago, thanks to one of our mutual friends who likes her posts. He seemed to think my posts resemble hers on some level which I unfortunately failed to identify. I did hear about the book too. But my limited resources have successfully prevented me from reading it.
My opinion of the little I have read of her blog would be - it is humorous, young, lively but does not have content I relate to.

You have perked my sleeping monster named 'curiosity' with your secret 'motive'. Waiting for you to put it back to sleep before it creates havoc. (^_^)

Veda said...

:)..Your posts do resemble hers at some odd vague level..Not content wise, but the way you phrase things...I was hoping you wouldnt answer in the negative..That wouldve put me in a fix :P

Bindu said...

You staying in the Middle East, are you now? :D

Asif said...

Hey, this is my first time visit here...really liked the way you phare the things.
Looking forward to visit here regularly.:)

Anonymous said...

Sweet and Sour...
Cool and Scary...

nice.

keep blogging! ☺

~Elessar

teena12a said...

hey..interestingly put and yes the point lost in the words :-)
congrats on being a doc finally!
keep blogging :)

Another Blogger said...

@Bindu: Home is kind of there and I am in my motherland.
@Asif and Elessar: Thank you Thank you. Keep reading.
@Teena: Great to see you here. Sam told me you read my blog - I am honored :) And it feels great to be a Doc - FINALLY!

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