Thanks for everything!
One sound, one single sound
One kiss, one single kiss
Faces outside the window pane
However did it come to this?

Ah! Pink Floyd exceptional as ever... (Ref: Yet another movie)

I know its been long. Very long. Perhaps too long. I look back at the entry before this one- July 9th. Its been more than 2 months! All of July was spent penning down "Loneliness to Solitude"- my first novel... Half of August was spent in frantic preparations for the US journey... And begining with my 23rd birthday, on August 15th, I have been in Champaign.

Lets wind back... On July 9th, I was waiting for my visa interview. I was just back from a south India trip. I wrote something to soothe Krishna, who was in the US then, from the pangs of missing Bombay. I wrote of Bombay and its rains. I put up pictures of Bandra flooding with water. I wrote of how much I love the city... And I ended the blog saying these pithy words-

"I have lived almost 23 years in this great city, romancing every bit of its unique and baffling beauty. Last year during my intership I met a girl in Rome who asked me "Which is your favourite city in the world- Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Nice, Venice or Rome?". I said Bombay. Thanks to the schol I craved so much for, the next 2 years will be spent in the US. Next 2 years... may be 4! My visa interview is scheduled for the 13th. I am dazed by the thought of staying away from Bombay for so long... 4 years is unbelievably long! Four years ago I wasnt even an IITian! I wonder what will keep me company. May be words such as these, and pictures such as those."

These words have turned out to be too prophetic for my liking. Exactly one month has gone by, since I threw that kiss at my friends and family, standing outside the window panes of Sahar airport departure gate C. That evening my younger brother was helping me pack stuff in... He was recalling all the stupid jokes we used to create and laugh at. JK got me to meet Sushree (who will perhaps be my first bhabhi), just in case I dont get to attend his wedding. It's easy for my bro to guess when I am sad, but that day even Sushree could guess that I wasnt happy leaving... Then at the airport, the glass doors slid by, past those waving hands and smiling faces. I think I faintly heard someone shout 'We love you dog', and then there was no recognizable sound. Just an enormous void... Of time, of distance, of uncertainty, of future. It is still unbelievable... However did it come to this?

The US is nothing like India, and UIUC is nothing like IIT. I wont write now about how I like it here... Or how I hate it here. I am just writing this as a dedication to my friends back in India. (I wont dedicate anything to my parents or bro- this blog is too trivial a thing to dedicate to family) 2 years are seeming like 20. Guys, I miss each and every one of you. Some of my farewell pics are there below... I might have seen them at least 15 times over the past month and I have still not had enough. Thanks for all the fun, people... Thanks for everything!

Let me end with one more of Pink Floyd- High Hopes.

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun

Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway
Do they still meet there by the Cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before times took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
When friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide
At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever











I think Zod took this one :)


And finally... That pineapple cake! :)