Hyderabad Memories

This was my last weekend to Hyderabad, at least as a part of this company. This is the place I fell in love with two years back when I did my summers, this is the company I fell in love with, and this is the company where I just fell in love…

So, it has been an eventful and memorable journey, but finally I decided to put an end to it, I decided enough is enough, and I quit: not necessarily for a ‘better’ offer, not necessarily because I was unhappy with the work, and not necessarily because I was disillusioned. I never nurtured high expectations from the corporate world, I know at the end of the day they are pretty much the same and wherever I go, it will just be a way to make a living till I finally fulfill my dreams of being an author. So once, you have separated your passion from your profession, you really don’t care where you go, as long as you make a decent living, you are respected, and you find good people to work with. And, in this company I had all that and more! May be too much, and so I just had to move on…

Hyderabad overwhelmed me with memories: memories of the good old times, memories of drunken nights, memories of old friends, some of whom are no longer around, and memories of stolen kisses. It was the same AHM, the same luxuries in the guest house followed by a boring evening in a five star hotel followed by the real thing: free food and alcohol (this time I didn’t have the heart to have either). I had a shock because I received an R&R for a project I hardly worked on. I think it was more a gracious gesture on the part of the company to let me know that they like me, especially now that I am leaving. Later in the night, I had a chat with the one person I have known for three years, who had hired me, and who I looked up to, and I was told that if I ever feel like coming back, they would always be ready to welcome me. I almost broke down then: in the last few months, I had developed a lot of grudges, but suddenly it all seemed so small, and I just wanted to take back my resignation. But in the end, better sense prevailed.

I also met my long-lost school friend, I brushed away tears as I said goodbye to my best friend in the company, and for the last time, I exchanged pleasantries with the people who has been an integral part of my everyday life the last one year.
And yes, I also met Chetan Bhagat, who was invited for a ‘motivational speech’. I don’t know if it ‘motivated’ people, but it was definitely entertaining, and all I could think of was if this guy can make Rs. 3 lakhs an hour for dishing out bullshit and become one of the 100 most influential people by Times magazine writing strictly average books, so can I.

So Mr. Bhagat, you are right! We should do what we love to do. And here I come!!