Farewell to Austin

"Jaage hain der tak humen, kuch der sone do
Thodi si raat aur hai, subah to hone do.
Aadhe adhure khwab jo, poore na ho sake
Ek baar phir se neend mein, woh khwab bone do." - Guru

.....as the night passes on, I am repeatedly listening to this song to decipher its quintessence so as to write in my blog. I temporarily settle with this that it is basically a compactly worded morning’s lament of any typical grad student. But still I like it immensely, and so it has been my companion for a large part of today.

It was a very typical weekend day at Austin for me today. Everybody else busy with work, me shirking all work coz “it’s a Saturday dude”, some bit of cooking and cleaning, lots of physical activity, mails, orkutting, catching up with dear friends through messenger, HEB visit, spending time with myself……I have spent many weekends like this, so even before the day comes I know or have planned out what each hour will look like. The earlier days had always been depressing and spoilt my mood, but gradually I settled into them.

But the last part of today was not a routine. It was the most unexpected incident for me….a farewell party by Austin-ites. Well….there are a lot of mixed feelings with it. I was elated and overwhelmed to see everyone plan this surprise, cook great food, get me a tennis racquet (the first racquet I own, and I worship any of the kind), and organize the whole affair so well. My happiness is beyond words……but it also means an official adieu from Austin.

Austin has been a great time! I would have begged to differ had it been last year this time. I came here with no expectations but just the belief that everything settles down by itself and new friends are made. But I must say that it took me much longer than I wanted to settle down here. I became more and more reclusive, unfriendly and reserved as days passed. I just thought of how my friends back home spend time together and envy them. And this anti-social behavior, for which I hated myself but could not help, prolonged the process of adjustment to new things.

Gradually Austin grew on me. I opened a bit, began to think of others in good light, found things which would interest me, began to talk, started finding more positives than negatives, began to think of it as home, and then….it is time to leave.

But among all the apprehensions about yet another lonesome streak to come in a new place, there is a sense of relief….a feeling of belongingness to this place. I am grateful to all the people around me who have been so caring and nice, who have shared some memorable trips, who have been loads of fun, who have always been there to lend a helping hand, and who will be friends forever. I really hope such people exist everywhere.