My bachelorhood experience....

For practically my entire life, I have been living with my family. I always used to wonder how it is like to stay in a PG or a hostel, how everyone adjusts their lifestyles, yet, enjoys every moment. And, most of all, WHAT actually makes this experience so memorable for everyone.

Like its said, you have to experience it, to understand it. My wishes also came true last year, when I moved to Hyderabad due to a job change. Hardly did I know at that time, that this move would not only be the experience of my life, but also lead to the begining of a great friendship, with a guy whom I knew from my days in college.

It is usually said that when things have to happen, they WILL happen, and thats exactly what happened with me. I was looking out for a job change from my first company in Bangalore. During those days, I, like any other person was giving a number of interviews. One day, Abhijeet ( a friend from my college days as well) calls me up to tell me that a common friend of ours, Ayan, had come down to Bangalore, and if I would be interested in catching up with them. Interestingly, I agreed, even though I had not met up with Abhijeet in the 5 years that I had spent in Bangalore. Ayan was in a hurry that day, and had to leave for hyderabad, so we met up for a while, recalled the good old college days over a couple of cups of tea, and after that I dropped him half way off to the bus station. Just before he got into the auto, we happened to exchange numbers, which conveniently gained a spot in my "Probably never gonna call again" phonebook records.

A couple of days later, to my astonishment, I receive an offer from Datamonitor, who have their only India office in hyderabad. So, I recall Ayan's number from my "Probably never gonna call again" phonebook records, and give him a buzz. To my surprise, Ayan was also staying in the same area, where my company was located, and he would also help me get an accomodation in the Men's hostel he was residing in. Everything was set, and a week before i was leaving for Hyderabad, Ayan calls me up to tell me that his current roommate is leaving, and if I would like to be his new roommate. I could not believe what I had just heard, and i readily agreed to his proposal.

The first month in Hyderabad, turned out to be more adventurous than I had planned or even thought of. Lack of places with good food and getting hospitalised probably become the highlights according to anyone. But, for me, it was the great frequency that I shared with Ayan, that made my stay in Hyderabad so damn memorable for me. Well for one, we shared practically the same taste in music and food. Listening to music on a laptop was always problemmatic for us, because it would go on hibernate mode after a while, and we would have to stop lazying around and log in again and again. Thus, we decided that we would transfer all the good songs from his laptop to my phone which had a good memory space, and listen it from there. We also bought computer speakers so that we could connect them to the phone via the 3mm jack and get a "FEEL" of the music. Well, with regard to food, i just cant forget Calcutta cabin. It was our haven, everytime we started craving for some Bong food. Our regularity was rewarded by the fact that the owner actually let us customise the items in her "NON CUSTOMISABLE" thaali as well. Even the gods could not deter our spirits to get good food, and we used to go in shorts, fully drenced from head to toe, just to enjoy a good meal.

Within the first month itself, Ayan and I started sharing an immensely strong bond. Our movie spree’s that included watching movies in theaters till 1pm in the night was a regular, while our passion for travelling was another strong factor, linking our thoughts.

These, were very short lived though, as fate had other plans for him. He managed to pass an SBI examination, without any preparation at all, and got relocated to some remote village in Punjab. This incident was again going to alter my bachelorhood experience. In an act of desperation, to find good friends, with whom I could gel well, I turned to the most likely source… My COLLEAGUES.

The TT table located at the entrance of the company’s leased floor, was my haven. Known as the “INITIATOR” of the TT games everyday, I soon became popular among a lot of people who were interested in playing table tennis. But, beyond this popularity, was the answer to what I was looking out for.. friends with whom I could spend a lot of time… Roopak, Vinay, Varun and Pranay.

Since Roopak, Vinay and Varun stayed at the same duplex apartment, their home soon became the perfect spot for weekend slosh parties, indoor football and cricket games. Sitting at the balcony practically every weekend, having some non-productive, yet interesting discussions… I would keep pondering on how many days these wonderful days would last. Sitting at the balcony of the penthouse apartment, sipping to alcohol, while the slight breeze would render the entire weeks hot atmosphere a memory alone, varun would slowly utter…… “kahaan milega yeh sab”……….. Truly…. Those words seem to be etched into my memory till date, and I can’t help but remember how much fun we have had every single weekend.

It is always said that the friends you choose, can determine you’re the path you will choose in future. Well, according to me, I had chosen the best path. Be it the time I spent with Ayan, or with Roopak, Vinay and Varun, those days were probably the best that I have ever had. A famous saying goes as ‘You don’t forget things that you want to remember; and you don’t remember things that you cannot forget”. Ironic isn’t it… Memories are all that we seem to have as every day passes by in our lives… and both parts of this saying apply to every memory that we have…. My Hyderabad… and bachelorhood experience has been earmarked by the wonderful memories spent with these good friends of mine… and everyday I keep repeating these words …. “kahi nahi milega who sab”………