Building a home away from home

No Boundaries

Most cities across the country have a cosmopolitan crowd. And needless to say

Kannadigas are scattered across the country. It’s work that takes them across to distant lands, forcing them to leave their home and loved ones behind.

Metrolife caught up with a few Kannadigas living in other cities and asked them about  their experiences and what they miss the most. Vinayak Dixit, an engineer who has been staying in Pune for the last four years, wasn’t willing to relocate at first.

“In the beginning, I was homesick and missed my friends and family very much. Food was a major problem because they served only chapatis and rice was scarce,” he says. Later, he started liking the City for various reasons.

“In Pune, travelling is easy. The lifestyle, weather, everything is same as Bangalore. In fact, the cost of living is less when compared to Bangalore. There are a lot of places where one can go – hills for trekking, old forts for sightseeing and big malls for shopping,” he exclaims.  

Now, he has found his circle of friends and they go for trips quite often. “Sometimes, we meet up in a friend’s house and watch Kannada movies,” he beams. Kiran Patil, who has also been staying in Pune for the last two years, is longing to return to Bangalore.

“I dislike the food and feel people are not as friendly when compared to Bangalore. But a few good friends helped me overcome the difficulties. I still miss home, home food, dosa, idli and my friends,” he gushes.

The dry weather and spicy food in Hyderabad haunts Santosh, who has been staying in the City for civil services coaching. “Adjusting to the City was not a problem for me as I was in Mumbai and Delhi earlier working in a company. I miss nice dosas and chitranna which I had in Bangalore during my college days,” he says and adds, “though the cost of living is cheap here, drainage and traffic management are very bad.

I can't see a single Kannada movie here. Tamil and Telugu movies dominate the theatres,” Santosh feels.Charan Gowda, assistant manager (Projects) in Bharti Realty Ltd has been staying in Ludhiana for the last eight months. He is quite happy as he has a greater responsibility and he is learning new things there.

“Initially, I faced language problem, but, now I can manage with Hindi. I am learning Punjabi too,” he smiles. Was he able to make friends?  “Yes, of course,” he quips.
“I have earned a group of helpful colleagues. We go for team outings. The people are very nice and kind-hearted,” he says. But he dislikes roti and dal.

He adds, “It is not bad to stay outside the City, because we may not know how our
future or career can change. We should get a feel of the culture, lifestyle and food of other states as well. We understand value of relationship and friendship when we are out of the comfort zone.”