I am a product of Kolkata. From my childhood I have inculcated values and virtues according to the social entourage in which I was born. Well if I start to mention those values and norms then I think I won't be able to convey the real message of this article because the list is pretty long. But to acknowledge some of the main values which I have been taught are to be humble, caring, sharing and helping and be cool headed in every situation which I will be facing in life. In my abode to be honest to adapt these values in everyday life is easy as my peers are also brought up in the same environment as me. Their way of seeing life from the eyes of these virtues are more or less similar to mine. So altogether, life is pretty balanced and I get a feeling of happiness in me thinking that this place is what I can call 'MINE'.

In 2004 my life took a pretty odd turn when I got the news from my parents that I had to shift to the capital, Delhi due to my father's work. Well when I first thought about it, it was really exciting as I was about to live in an entirely new city and also I heard that Delhi is the hub of everything which is taking place in India. So I left my beloved family farm and headed towards my new destination with the utmost enthusiasm. In this article I won't be penning down anything about my school days as I feel that facet of my life didn't affect me in any way or the other so I will be directly moving on to the post school period.

In my college life, I want to state a fact which can be seen as a very appealing and attractive characteristic for any kid who is of my age. When I leave my apartment which is situated in Gurgaon (Haryana-Delhi border), I have two entire states at my disposal where I can wander around like a vagabond all day. These both states just turned out to be the way I thought them to be. Flashing malls, discos, center of political arena, complex communication system and all the latest commodities which are hitting the market could be seen here. They are like those places where any aspiring student would one day aim of going and living his dream in. Reading till here anyone would have thought that I will be in love with this place as how I am giving such a glittery description of everything surrounding me. But, on the contrary, it is place where I can't bear anymore after living 7 years, and the main acumen of this surmise in me is because of the people who are inhabiting the place. Now when I talk about people, both the states, Delhi and Haryana don't have their own population in much numbers who are called Delhites and Haryanvis respectively, but the atmosphere here is a result of extreme globalization and cosmopolitanism. People from all over the world came and settled down in these two places as these are one of the most rapidly developing states in India (funny part is these states are called developing states but can't even provide water and electricity properly).

So, to talk about the people who are living in this place, well to say the least about them, all the values which I have been taught back in Kolkata are absolutely not at work here with anyone. The crowd here is harsh, selfish, manipulative, opportunists and have a tendency to show violent behavior over petty issues. When I say the camaraderie here is a cosmopolitan one, so what I think is that more than half of the population who have migrated just like me, were not the kind of people whose characteristics I just inked above. I believe that when a person comes out from his own culture and lands in a multicultural association there is a basic value novelty which takes place. I found and am still finding it extremely difficult to stick to my value system which I have drilled in myself all these years. The more I try to be myself, the more the civilians here restrict me in that process. I feel as if the atmosphere here has a hostile touch to it which brings out the worst in a person. Here power and money has more respect and relevance than any values and norms which I knew about. I don't know about anyone else, but from my individualistic perspective values, respect and being a nice human being first of all bears more importance than being powerful and wealthy without any ethics.
So, the harsh reality which is now in existence is that, my life here is not as rosy as I thought it would be. Lately I have been feeling homesick a lot too much as I miss Kolkata and its people and culture and everything about it like anything. I realized that not all places can be called your own except the place where you set foot for the first time. I miss that place where I can call everything 'MINE' again.

About Author / Additional Info:
Ayushman Basu
ayushman.basu@gmail.com