Hello my dear MS-ians,
I am currently in Austin, Texas on a project assignment for my office. Life has been tough here. It's been months since I have written anything in MS. I have just logged in once in a while and read some posts.
This is the first time I am staying away from home, and that too in USA. Everything here is different, it's all alien for me. Though I am trying hard to adjust, it is difficult to get over loneliness. I had kind of expected this to happen and posted a blog called "Anecdotes of an Estranged Worker" (https://mouthshut.com/blog/fdccmnlmt/Anecdotes-of-an-Estranged-Worker) earlier, based on my imagination. Well, it has been tougher than I imagined. I am terribly homesick, I miss my family everyday, and I miss my beloved Kolkata. I have grown up and stayed my entire life in Kolkata, and I am accustomed to the hustle-bustles of the City of Joy. I have it in my veins actually. However, the area where I am living in Austin is remote and mostly uninhabitated. I walk down the street for hours but cannot find anyone else walking. Such lonely it is! So it's more tough for me.
Away from home, away from loved ones, I grew more attached to all the things I brought over with me from India. Be it my clothes, my specs, my watch, or even my shaving kit. They seemed to be my only connection to India. I am also attached this way to my umbrella, which I am using for the past one and a half years now. One day morning, while getting ready for office, I realised that I have lost it.
I tried to recollect. Last evening I had gone to a grocery store with an Indian colleague. I must have left it in his car then. I went to office and asked him about it. He said he will check his car. In the evening, he called me up and said it was not there in his car. I thought, how could it be? It felt strange and uneasy.
The next morning I sat down in my office desk and pressed myself to think hard. Then I remembered! I have left it in the grocery store itself! I put it in the shopping cart along with other items and left it just there. I went up to the colleague immediately and told him about this. I asked him if I can go back to the store and look for it. But he discouraged me. He said almost three days have passed, there is no chance of getting it back. It felt so bad. I was mad at my forgetfulness. The loss of my umbrella seemed to me like the loss of a real life friend. I felt like I am now more alone in this strange country.
I was unable to concentrate to my work. I was feeling cold inside. The first half passed like this. It was lunch time and I made up my mind. I was determined to give it a try. I called a cab and went straight to the grocery store. The grocery store was a chain of stores really and the cab driver took me to the wrong outlet. I stepped inside and realised it's the wrong store. I went up to the Customer Servive Center and showed them the address written on the bill of items I purchased the last day. They gave me the directions to the correct store where I needed to go. Luckily my cab driver was near, so I did not have to call another one and wait. I took the cab and went to the correct store this time. I went up to the Customer Service Center, with my heart pounding fast. I told them why I was there. The lady in the counter said, yes we do have a few forgotten umbrellas. She asked me to describe my one. After I gave her a description, she opened a couple of drawers on her side of the counter. She started showing me umbrellas, one after another. None of them were mine. I was about to lose hope. However, another man came to assist her. When he heard I was there a couple of days ago, he told the lady that it can be inside. He went inside the store and brought a cardboard box, filled with items people have left at their store and forgotten. He started to find umbrellas inside the box. Suddenly, there it was! He pulled out my dear black umbrella and I yelled, "Yes, that's the one!" I held it like a trophy and came back victorious to office. Yippie, I made it, man!
When I told my colleague about the incident, he said, "You spent 20$ cab fare to get this umbrella back! You could have got a new umbrella in 5 or 6$." I said, "Yes I know, but it wouldn't have been this one." All other friends who heard my story said the same thing. I said nothing, just smiled. It's not possible for others to understand the emotional distress I felt at its loss. It may appear funny to them!
When I told my wife about the incident, she was happy to note the cheerfulness in my voice. She also asked me, why did you become so depressed when you lost it? Why did you chase it? I replied, "I got this umbrella as a gift in our marriage from your family. It is special to me. It reminds me of our marriage. How can I afford to lose it?" She started giggling and happily exclaimed, "You are mad!"
Yes, I am happy that I am mad. It makes my life interesting and worth living!
Love you all,
Avishek
