A Loner In A New City

             People vouch for solitude . There may be very few takers for the depressing  mode of loneliness.  And even less when the brunt of loneliness has been impinged upon then against their will and interest. Let the situation take a twist and consider the protagonist being a person who has been assigned to a new work place in a city completely alien to him / her .

                              The situation is no  surprise nor is it implausible. It is something you and I and the many thousands of those in the working age group need to face, sometime or the other.


              It happens that in a new city, you need to start working from the basic necessaties ; the famous trio of food, clothing and shelter . In this
modern era yet another fact deserves mentioning . . Travel . Even when the situation remains that every other employed person owns a mode of transport
, it is not less common the number of people who dwell on the other facet of the same coin. Infact depending on a bus or an autorickshaw seems a far
better option these days  to be candid ; owing to the heavy traffic and the " Now where shall I park my car ?! " phobia running in big cities.


              But if you thought embellishing the luxury of a mode of travel where you need not be at the helm is divine well, it is not so ; atleast on the very
first day of setting out on that adventure ! You need to desperately memorise the subtle details of the fresh sights, scenaries and the signboards lest you are bound to end up reaching an entirely different
destination . I happen to be unfortunate enough ( or stupid enough ) to perform my alight two stops past my destination and several stops prior to the place I stay during the to and fro journeys on the very first day of my life in a new city !


               Next comes the yearning to find out a decent place to have good food , a recharge shop , a street to let out your shopping genes on a spree , an ATM
counter and still more depending on the personality you are .


            Now let us take the case of a woman protagonist . I myself have been assigned the post of a medical officer for a period of one year at a hospital in a well established and luxury splurging city and the job demands me travelling alone at odd hours . Would you believe it ? People even in this era cant help but raise the brow of curiosity when they come across a lady travelling all by herself after the dusk. They stare and stare as if they expect us to buckle ourselves up for a " chikni  chameli "
show then and there ! But take it or not , women , these days are too passionate that they have out grown such innenduos  they are forced to
encounter along the way.


              Holding onto near and dear ones in each and every undertaking for lack or courage of fear of safety is old story . To survive the race and to earn
our daily bread , we need to shed the inhibitions and stand up for ourselves. Even if that demands taking risks and fighting at any cost.


               Stating that man's inquisitiveness towards exploring new places is voracious would be an understatement . Simply because of the fact that we have an eye for anything interesting, exotic and fresh which  tickle our aesthetic sense and we set out to imbibe every ounce of the visual treat the place
has to offer.

            So if you are a loner by choice or one against your will, calm down and breathe out . For being independent is not that bad an experience after all . And the spurt of excitement you experience in
adjusting to the tunes of a new place is unmatchable . Discard that veneer of apprehension for the little blunders you come up with turn out to be topics to laugh your heart out later. So go on and live it out !

                                                         ~ Maliny

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