Sometimes, it’s the smallest decision that can change your life forever. And here I am, taking the biggest decision of my life so far. I’m moving base to Dubai and I want to travel the world from there. I’m going to start again from scratch and see what I can do with myself, test my limits, see how far I can push myself. Why Dubai, most of you will ask me. You’ll also want to know why and how I’m leaving Madras, the place I love the most, and what’s making me do it. This is an answer not only to you, but also to be. I need to know why I made this decision and what I plan to do after.
Dubai is a city in turmoil. Jobs are being lost everyday; people are leaving the city and returning home. The city has virtually come to a stand still. It is in this that I see opportunity, inspired by my father who is never short of ideas. Dubai is also well connected to every part of the world and makes travelling every easy and convenient.
Madras for me will always be the place I love. But at the moment, I’ve run out of opportunities and things to do. I’ve done everything here, sold second hand mobile phones, ran a software company, computerized all the co-operative housing societies in Tamil Nadu, ran a telecom carrier, dabbled in the stock markets and commodities, ran a real estate consultancy firm, did plotting of land and developed property apart from running a three star hotel and a service apartment complex in Bangalore even sold textile and chairs! And now it’s getting monotonous. I admit, I’m having a lot of fun and meeting a lot of new people, some of whom have become friends whose company I will cherish for the rest of my life. But the time has come for me to go out and see the world, take things as they are and learn to survive within a system, unlike how I live here in Chennai, outside of the system.
I will miss Madras a lot, mostly my friends and then my family. I will miss those evenings in Ambassador Pallava and mid night steaks at Vestin Park. Weekends won’t be the same without dancing like a maniac, but most off all I’ll miss my Logan. Those long drives for breakfast in Mahabs or for lunch in Pondy. Driving around aimlessly around the city showing people I love the city as I know it. I will miss getting things done on the phone. Sitting in my car waiting for the LMC at the Fruit Shop on Harleys Road, or my routine head massages. I tell myself that I can do the same things wherever I am in the world, but I’m lying to myself. Madras can’t be replaced, and it will forever remain the same in my eyes.
However, getting out of here gives me a chance to see things differently and take up a challenge for myself. Can I create something and recreate myself for the better. I’ll stay out of the comforts of Chennai till I can, and it could take anything between a couple of years and five. I’m going to travel around quite a bit while I’m based in Dubai, Mauritius and Malaysia being my first targets. After that, and I’m going to have to earn enough to do all of this, which I tell myself I will, I’ll go to London to see Chelsea playing at Stamford Bridge. Then I want to spend a day sitting on a bench on wall street while New York walks to work. A trip to Vegas is also in my list of things to do. I want to do a whole tour of the far east, right from Shangai , Bangkok, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta. Maybe even Tokyo, I’ve always wanted to drive atop the rainbow bridge there. I want to see Europe as well, Paris and Rome, and then travel up north to places like Milan, Bolgana, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Venice-Padua , but mostly the little towns where men sit on one side and the women on the other and pass glances across the tables. Northern Italy and its little towns are famous for their fashion. Southern Italy, on the other hand, inherits things and reminds people from the days of the mafia; something that I really want to experience. They also say that the mud in southern Italy is red because of all the blood that’s been shed there. Amsterdam and Prague are two more places on my to see list, both for extremely different reasons. Moscow and other parts of the erstwhile U.S.S.R are also places that I want to visit for reason of work and pleasure. And who can miss out on Africa? Like I’ve mentioned before in this blog, it is my opinion that Africa is the next Asia and I want to see most of it before it becomes completely commercial, which it will during the next boom cycle.
It’s a song I’ve hummed so many times before I’ve left Madras. Sometimes I’ve even called people and sang it to them. But this time, as I’m singing it in my head, it really makes sense; I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again, oh baby, I hate to go…
