Why It's Important To Move To An Unknown City Alone
12:59 AMWhy It's Important To Move To An Unknown City Alone
My Personal Experience
In
September, 2015 I finished a health project with National Health Mission, Haryana funded
by US-AID (In Chandigarh). My role was to document and monitor the progress of the project. I had to visit 19 villages of Haryana and meet women, Health
workers & Panchayat Pradhans and interview them. I
enjoyed this 6 months short pilot project which was based on women and child
health.
I already had option to join another job immediately after the project but I
wanted to take some time off and I did the same. Till December 2015, I
traveled around Himachal, participated in photography exhibition, participated
in some photography campaigns started by a newspaper for sanitation and spent
quality time with my family.
4
months “Me Time “taught me a lot. I got answers to
all my questions that I had related to my career. Finally I decided to move to
South India , I didn’t have any contact but I all knew is I want to explore my country and this time it was South India.
Hard work pays off!!
I
tried at my level best to find the best opportunity , I used to spend lot of time on internet because that
was the only connection I had at that point of time. Bangalore was the best option if I wanted to
travel south India. More than 100 mails were being sent some were not offering
good amount of salary and other just needed interns or volunteers.
Finally
I got a confirmation mail from a organization named Unnati and within a week I
was in Bangalore. My new year (January 2016) started on a good note. I didn’t know anyone in Bangalore, so I had
to start from the scratch. I had to show my skills through my work and cope up
with the new environment. While I was working I also had to explore the city
make new friends as well and it comes to me naturally to mingle with people and
get used to of new place. Although , I didn’t get the
salary I expected but I managed my finances wisely and saved money to travel South India .
After I shifted to
Bangalore girls used to ask me , how did I do this without any contacts. Well, let me
tell you all lovely girls it’s not that difficult , all you need to have is some skills and
qualification to compliment your skills. Learn to present yourself, so if you
want to move to any other city or town and change your job make your profile strong so that people notice your
query mails and offer you job. Do not give up easily , try harder and smarter.
New City & New Experiences
Bangalore accepted me with open arms and so did I (will share more stories soon). I stayed in a two room apartment all
alone, miles away from Himachal (from my family and friends). This really
taught me lot. Everything was new for me in Bangalore and I enjoyed every bit
of it.
In south India food, culture and language everything was different but I enjoyed it. Fortunately I landed in the right place where I get
to meet people from different states and professions. I had to shoot cultural
events which was exciting to do.Whenever I got time after office hours or on Sundays I explored Bangalore. Bangalore was love at first sight for me.
Going out alone, exploring the city on my own , making new friends and getting used to of a new and completely different environment made me much more confident than I was earlier.
I got the opportunity to shoot many cultural events .
I interviewed hundreds of students
of the institute , also got a chance to interview people like T M Krishna (Magsaysay Awardees 2016 in music) , Padma Bhushan Awardee Pandit
Venkatesh Kumar & Padma Shri &
Padma Bhushan Smt Sudha
Ragunathan etc. From
all these people I all could learn is to stay humble and grounded .
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Pandit Venkatesh Kumar |
Why “Me Time” Is Important !!
I
Came to Bangalore with 2 bags & and so many dreams. After one and half year
each day I could fulfil my dreams which were possible to achieve. I could read a lot of books and the very
famous writers like Ruskin bond, Nirmal Verma , Sylvia Plath, Khushwant Singh,
Amrita Pritam and the list goes on. . When
I read “A Room Of One’s Own” (by Virgina
Woolf) I realized that all of us want to have our own space where we can do the things that makes us a better person. I am fortunate
enough that I have my own space.
In
this one and half year I explored all
the states of South India. Travelling to unknown towns , cities and
villages taught me lot . I had to communicate with people who don't know Hindi or sometimes English as well but later we became friends.
All I can say is we have one common language and that is "SMILE". I could learn about the culture and tradition in South India. I unfolded my own myths about South India. After reading, writing and doing yoga & exercise I was mentally and physically healthy.
All I can say is we have one common language and that is "SMILE". I could learn about the culture and tradition in South India. I unfolded my own myths about South India. After reading, writing and doing yoga & exercise I was mentally and physically healthy.
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Kanyakumari |
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Made a new friend during my visit to Kochi , Kerala |
Munnar |
You Will Miss Home
There are times when you miss home badly but for good reasons. You start admiring small things that your parents used to do for you. Staying away from home will make you feel grateful for everything that you have in your life. You realize that you would have not learnt anything if you would have not stepped out of your comfort zone.
Learning - Never Ending Process !!
Today
if I look back, all I remember is the good time that I got to spend with people whom I didn’t
even know when I moved to Bangalore. I
can count the things which I could learn just because I moved to an
unknown city all alone and the list is long .
A
girl from the mountains didn’t know that she would learn and make memories for lifetime. All she knew is what makes her feel good. It indeed was an enriching
experience. The purpose of sharing this with you all is to tell you that
nothing is impossible and sometimes you have to take unknown path. When
you come out of your comfort zone magic happens.
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