Relocation-pangs and Relocation-euphoria
You could call it providence or co-incidence, the last two weeks have been witness to a fair amount of discussions related to relocation-pangs and relocation-euphoria.
It all started with my Dad informing me about their transfer from Delhi to Goa ! My first reaction was 'Wow ... That's great !'... A sense of bubbly happiness crept into me at the prospect of getting an opportunity to spend weekends in Goa with my parents ! But a bubble can't last longer than a couple of seconds.
As days passed, the excitement gave way to relocation anxieties generally associated with transfers. How will we move lock, stock and barrel from Delhi to Goa ? OMG, there are so many household items that need to be packed and handled with care ! The transporters say that it will take 4 days for the goods to reach Goa ! God only knows how much time will it take to unpack the items and get settled in Goa ! I hope I don't miss out anything while packing ! There are so many formalities to be completed - handover of responsibilities, payment of bills ! ... and all this in a matter of two-three weeks !
Transfers are a part and parcel of working in public sector banks and they occur at regular intervals of 3 years usually ! Even after having gone through atleast a dozen transfers, one doesn't get used to it. Every new transfer is a new challenge - a challenge to adapt and keep moving in life - leaving behind nostalgic memories of the old location and nurturing a hope that life in the new location will be equally good ! This time around I am seriously missing being part of the transfer delirium in Delhi !
I thought - maybe the invisible forces that govern life had different plans for me. And yes they did ! Soon rumours started floating around in office that our entire work-unit would relocate to a new building - Suma Center - on Karve Road. The rumour was officially confirmed this week.
While the physical movement will occur over the weekend, people are mentally preparing themselves to adapt to the new surroundings ! As part of this mental adaptability, almost everyone in the team visited the new building to find out what the work-place offers and how it compares with the current work-place. The relocation impacts people in a variety of ways.
- For bachelor workalohics - the relocation means that they have to lookout for rented room close to the new building
- For people used to recreational facilities at the main center - the relocation means just plain dissappointment (atleast till the time recreational facilities get installed in the new building)
- For people living in northern (Bund Garden, Khadki, Aundh) , western (Erandwana, Gokhale Nagar) and eastern (Koregaon Park, Ghorpuri) parts of Pune - it means crossing the dreaded Nal Stop chowk before entering office
- For people living in southern (Bibvewadi, Gultekdi) parts of Pune - it means saving up on travelling time and avoiding Nal Stop :)
Given the impact the relocation, it is not surprising that lunch table discussions these days often revolve around the new premises and almost everyone has his/her own comment regarding
- the availability of parking
- the recreational facilities it offers
- the caterer who will serve lunch out there
- the conveyance problems associated with it
- the time for which we will stick there before moving to another facility :)
While I was still trying to gather my thoughts on why people suffer relocation anxieties - my brother sent me a message on IM - "I recently made a shift - my hotel room has been changed - Next time you ring up ask for extension 216 instead of 205."
This is the pattern of life. Change, constant change !
posted by Chetan @ 9:49 AM permalink
2 comments
2 Comments:
Transfers to a new place were fun. Every 2 years my Dad would get posted a new Army location. Sometimes we would land in nowhere and sometimes in hustle-bustle of a major city. As kids, we always looked forward to going to new places. Making new friends and parting from old ones. I disliked packing a lot. Only because all the junk that I had collected and stored over the 2 years, would be thrown out by my father without any hesitation. He seemed to have developed a knack as to what was worth and what wasn't. Each posting ensured that the maid servant got the rickety-old mixie or TV. Once everything was loaded up in truck, and a bottle of rum promised to truckers if they got everything intact at the destination. Sometimes I am surprised how a bottle of rum is the best insurance you can ever imagine. Then the farewell where all Officers, Aunties and kiddos would come to station to see you off, with marigold mallas for my Dad and see us off. It was fun to travel in first class coaches while they were there - a world in their own.
BTW, PSPL's new office in Karve road? Ummm, me not in favor. I am sure they can't get a baddy court in there. And I guess you won't be coming to Delhi soon since your Dad's getting posted, but have fun in Goa.
Aditya, I agree with ur views on transfer and packing. Packing and cleaning up the old place, also engulfed my mind with nostalgic feelings. I will miss them this time around.
Regarding the Delhi posting, I think the best part of it was Noida Sector-15A. What a beautiful and clean locality ! I will miss it and everything else it had to offer - like proximity to Atta and CentreStage mall.
Regarding the new office - just wanted to point that this one is actually one more leased location and not the one that PSPL is constructing. There is still time for the new one to come up and someone told me that it will also have a baddy court and a gym ! Hope for the best :) !
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