The End in the Beginning

Hello, all!

HaPpY nEw YeAr!!!! : )

Consider it a new year resolution if you will... but here I am, back from the blog-wilderness! On today's menu is a whirlwind random recap of the past eight months of my increasingly awesome UK sojourn...

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Kshitija Rane, MSc

In January, 2009, I optimistically blogged about my expectations from the new year:

"2009 could well be a watershed year for me. Hopefully, in ten months' time, I will have completed my post-graduation. Needless to say, they are going to be, possibly, the most challenging ten months of my life. But the accomplishment and peace of mind that awaits me at the end of this journey makes it all worthwhile."

Here we are, on the other side of those ten months and I'm surprised by the accuracy of my own predictions. I began this arduous journey in September 2008, besieged by self-doubt and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I even attempted to abort this mission right at the outset. But my wise parents made sure that I stayed on course till the very end. Encouragement from friends back home coupled with the therapeutic company of new-found friends here further powered my support system. With all this support as fuel, I made my way along the long and winding road to post-graduation.

Vivid seasons flipped by... a windy autumn, a chilly winter, a sunny springtime, and a colourful summer. Assignments and progress tests passed by in a blur. The Group Project made rich additions to my set of experiences and friends. Mamma came by for a breezy, morale-boosting two-week visit. Gruelling exams turned life upside down. Vacations sped by all too quickly. The final MSc project and dissertation writing turned my brain to mulch, requiring large investments of sleepless nights and many, many mugs of coffee. But it was all worth it, because it contributed to taking me one rung higher on the academic ladder... a rung named "MSc in Advanced Wed Application Programming". I am now finally a post-graduate.


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My Daddy's Strongest!

Most of you probably already know about the gruesome accident my father was in, last August. I credit his miraculous escape to all the goodwill he has collected throughout his life, helping people with all kinds of big and small things, sharing his vast store of knowledge and expertise selflessly, and generally making a positive difference to the lives of people all around us.
I also admire and appreciate Mamma's superlative handling of that situation. Her calm and steady manner helped blunt my apprehensions. It also slightly eased the inescapable guilt I felt over my inability to help them both in any way.
I often jokingly ask my father if he is superhuman, given the insane number of things he gets done in a single day. After I saw a picture of the post-accident wreckage of our car, I have come to the conclusion that it must be true! But superhuman or not, I am MOST grateful for his continued presence in my life.

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Kitchen Queen... or at least Handmaiden

While still at university, I often felt that I existed in two universes: the unwieldy academic universe and the real world universe. While I had to put most of my focus and energy into my studies, I needed to also take care of myself, eat and sleep well (or relatively well), and do chores like groceries, laundry, hoovering, and such. A pleasant side-effect of this was that I finally learnt to cook! Most of you know (and have probably experienced first-hand) that Mamma is a phenomenal cook. While I may not have inherited her culinary genius (yet!), I did manage to implement recipes she wrote for me before I came here. If I were to grade my kitchen skills honestly, I would say that I used to be a -3, and now I am a +3. Personally, I consider this my next biggest achievement after my post-graduation itself : )


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Battle-ready Quarter Centurion

I turned 25 three months ago... stepping into exciting 'mid-twenties' territory. It was a landmark birthday that I had to celebrate all by myself. I did manage to entertain myself throughout the day with a nice mix of movies, music, pizza, and cheesecake. Tons of good wishes and blessings from family and friends, spectacular cheesecake, and a really long and indulgent conversation with Mamma made the day almost perfect.


All through 2009, even as my mid-twenties arrived, I found myself doing many grown-up things. First, I learned to subsist on my own. Then, towards the end of my time at university, I looked for, and found, a new place to rent. I then made the big move from university to my new place in the London suburbs. Then, I spent a considerable amount of time looking for a job. Recently, I even applied for my post-study work visa. Phew!

I did thankfully manage to find a job, which is by far one of the most wonderful grown-up things one can do. The opportunity came along thanks to me being in the right place at the right time. But I was pleased to realise that I ultimately got the job because of the combination of my work experience, the content of my brand new Masters degree, and my willingness to learn. It suddenly made everything, all the blood, sweat, and tears I had put into this last one year, totally and utterly worthwhile.

When I look back on all of this, it almost feels like an out-of-body experience, as if these are someone else's actions I'm looking back on. But I did indeed accomplish these things. It is indeed me who is living this nice, new, grown-up life.

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Mumbaikar and Semi-Londoner

I don't live IN London. But I live quite close to it... and this idea thrills me. This city is gorgeous. Every nook and cranny, every corner you turn, every building you lay eyes on... there is subtle and obvious beauty, grandeur, and history everywhere and in everything. It is one of the most famous and fascinating cities in the world, and now I get to live near it.


It was a huge gamble moving here, mind you. It would have been more prudent (and significantly cheaper) to stay back in familiar Colchester. Yet, in the spirit of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' and powered by my parents' unflinching support, I threw myself out of my comfort zone and brought myself to within touching distance of London. The first two months were not pretty. The lack of any good opportunities or even reassuring faces around brought back the same self-doubt and despair. My conviction in moving to London began to slowly fade. I was even prepared to wrap up and head home. Then, my awesome job came along and changed everything. I am finally on the way to the life I want to build for myself. My world makes sense again. The London 'thrill' is now real again.

Having just raved about lovely London, I have a simultaneous confession to make... I miss Mumbai! It is true that no matter where you go, you always belong to your home town and your home town always belongs to you. I miss my parents, my family and friends, my home, the entire Girgaon area (so much of which I have no clue about but still love!), the seaside and Marine Drive, Churchgate, the little of Mahim/Dadar that I have come to know well, and so much more! Every now and again, I can't help be nostalgic about all that I have left behind. There are so many things here that have influenced the early days of Mumbai, back when it used to be Bombay... red double-decked buses, for example. In fact, almost everyone here knows it as Bombay and knows that it's home to Bollywood, the great Indian movie machine. When I tell people I'm from Mumbai, there's a always a glimmer of recognition, and then they usually exclaim, "Oh, you're from Bombay!", to which I reply proudly, "Yes, I am."

Little Mumbaikar

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The End in the Beginning

I started this blog to write about my new life at the University of Essex. I lived that life to the fullest. In the end of that life was wrapped the beginning of my new one. It is then only fair that my new 'cool new life' gets a blog of its own. And this will be its home:

http://kshitijarane.wordpress.com/

I still have so much to share with everyone. There are little trips I still have to rave about... at least three significant weddings to still gush about... and so many other little and big random things. My new blog will now be the destination for all of that.

On that note, I shall wrap up this would-be whirlwind recap and say adieu. I'll leave you with lines from a cool Beatles song, 'With a little help from my friends'. While they're singing about singing, I find it relevant about my writing. In the course of writing this blog, I have often rambled, cribbed, and even ranted, but you all have still read and appreciated it. That is why I have absolutely loved writing this blog, knowing that all of you, my family, friends, and family friends, are with me on this journey... and I am immensely grateful : )

What would you do if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
and I'll try not to sing out of key.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.


Love,
Kay