Homecoming🏡

I’m finally back in Bhubaneswar after a long stint of Singapore’s skyline and a good deal of masked hellos. Stepping into the monsoon heat, the morning breeze of BBSR air and the familiar scents of fresh rain soaked soil hit me like a flashback. WhatsApp hugs turn into real hugs with Mom – the smile with the greeting of 'Suniya' (in Odia, that's - my good son) at the door every time. Dad is usually by the sofa, keeping a tight watch on unpredictable stock market ahead and my bro if home is still deep in happy slumber.

Family life feels comforting all the same, even if my iphone stubbornly shows the drop in wifi speed.This is the real culture shock with tech. My 5G wifi @home works wonders with streaming & Playstation gaming, yet I could practically feel the gap every time I bragged about Singapore’s lightning-fast coverage. Instead of streaming Netflix on my bed in SG, after dinner we all gather at the living room couch and talk. Yeah, talk. That's such a comfortable feeling, just to be around family - mostly juggling between the topics about my marriage, my bro's music career, traces of covid in SG, masks etc. Then everybody slowly get into their pre-sleep routines. I get comfy with my Playstation remote. Sometimes I continued the conversations with my mom. Real heart talk. No AI required.

Catching up with old buddies

Stepping out of home, I met Amit and Gyan at Taj Bhubaneswar after ages—and within five minutes, it felt like no time had passed. We parked ourselves in the club room, ordered some drinks and food, and let the nostalgia pour in (along with the drinks). Talk drifted back to our engineering days: last-minute submissions, epic hostel breaks, girlfriends and all the chaotic fun we had as hostel mates. Somewhere between the laughter and the ice cubes clinking, I realised—growing up is optional, but this friendship isn’t.

Home is where all the memories magically fuse into a feeling of warmth, protection and unconditional love.

Late at night, I sneak out of my room for some late night snacks or water.. I could hear a slow faint voice in the living room. Lights are off, yet I see the recognizable silhouette of my brother on the sofa, quietly whispering to his girlfriend...and the mosquito zapper in the other hand haha. The troubles one has to go through to get some quiet alone time after the family has settled for some sleep. The world is still spinning: there’s chatter about AI writing novels, surgeons using robots, and yet none of that matters when you are at Bhubaneswar.. It’s dizzying to think that just a few years ago we were stuck in lockdowns, and now we’re talking about redefining what’s possible. Honestly, the biggest bandwidth boost for me isn’t gigabit internet but the warmth of this home – no matter how flashy the tech, these analog memories of Bhubaneswar nights won’t buffer. I soak it all in, pen these scenes into my mind, and finally fall asleep under the familiar monsoon sky(inside the apartment ofcourse, lol), feeling grateful for home and oddly ready (if a little anxious) for the high-speed life that awaits back in Singapore.