Start of a Journey

18th Noveber 2007

I've been meaning to start this for a couple of days now.. but with all the pre-travel blues, this is the first time I am actually free enough to just sit and write.

Currently 5pm, Nov 18th at the Pittsburgh international airport.. waiting for the delta flight to JFK. All my initial concerns turned out to be baseless, the baggages got checked in fine.. had to do a minor adjustment, transferring some stuff to the carry-on. Thankfully, I did not have to take the heartbreaking decision of choosing which gift to leave behind!

Sitting at the terminal, I feel an unusual floating sensation. Wafts from my earlier identity seeping in.. thoughts and events that had turned so bleak and insignificant through these three long years, are claiming their identity once more. The indian grad student at cmu seems to gradually dissolve as the foreign staying son of proud parents comes into focus.

At this moment I'm acutely feeling how roots grow at a place. Over these years, I've become completely accustomed to calling this city my home. Now it feels like I'm moving away from home, away to a another home. All that might change in the first few days, but i'm making no assumptions.

I have read blogs recounting the experiences of visiting India. But all were westerner's view of our 'exotic' country. I'm about to embark on a journey to rediscover. Stay tuned to to follow me through the myrad expression that is India, my home.