Small Town Blues

This post is inspired by two events that happened in close succession...Two days back - friend from blog world says he loves my city 'cos he's studied here for five years. Today - friend from real world says he fell in love with my city during the very first visit, reason being he was bowled over by the greenery...

So I decided to take a good sharp look around to see what I find lacking in a city where I grew up and have now returned to after almost five years ... Maybe, I am taking the luxuries for granted???

Well, sadly even after close to 24 hours of deep thought, I still haven't come up with a lot of luxuries that the place offers !

1. Greenery : Yes, the city is green...green beyond the wildest imagination of someone who has never been here before. And that can charm a tourist...but in day to day life, will you rather choose between

a) Shops open late nite so that you can shop for essentials after work OR a star lit sky ('cos there is no pollution) ?

b) Monsoon rains (good to watch from the comfort of your hotel room) which clog the roads OR a road in which you don't have to swim?

The list is endless....I am a nature freak...but my city's infra is so poor that it takes away the joy of watching rains, sea and sky...

2. Cost of living : Yes, being a small city, cost of living is very less...But then again choices are equally limited. Even if you are willing to shell out money, you will not get a spanking new house on rent - unlike in metros, where houses are built with the intention of giving it out on rent, in my city, you will only find really old houses or claustrophobic flats (where you have to literally jump from bed to bathroom as there will not be any space to walk around in the room) available for rent...Same applies to movies - movie tickets are dirt cheap - just 35rs for a balcony ticket...but the seats are dirty and the crowd dirtier....and there is no other choice.

3. Close knit community : This is the other major advantage touted by many...Yes, it is good to know that if and when disaster strikes you, there is a whole bunch of resources you can reach out to....but the price to pay for this one-off occurrence is too steep : On a day to day basis, you are expected to forego the notion of privacy and individuality. Your deepest secrets are topics of open discussion ('cos in a small town there are always far too many people with way too less work). And the society is extremely homogeneous with the result that even slight deviations in behaviour and thought are not only not tolerated, but also cruelly suppressed. The result : A stunned society which fails to explore new horizons.

My verdict : There are certain things in life which is only worth nostalgic value - my city is one such. It nurtures you carefully when you are dependent - in childhood and in old age. But your independent youth is best spent elsewhere. (of course when it drizzles there, you can reminisce about the magic of monsoons, when you are stuck in a traffic jam, you can reminisce about the greenery back home, when you take your girl friend out, you can sigh about the prices...) And return home when you are too old to enjoy the fast paced life !!!