It didn't happen overnight - this transition of referring to Hyderabad as 'the new city where I shifted' to calling it as 'home'.
There were no startling realisations or sudden breakthroughs. No misty-eyed wonders or dramatic dawning of truths.
It all happened gradually. Step by step. Day by day. Until one day it settled calmly in my heart. Not with weight but with a feather-light touch.
It happened first when the only word I could understand was 'Bagunara?', meaning, 'Are you fine?', and I could understand this only because almost everyone whom I met in the first month in Hyderabad asked this of me whenever we crossed paths. The vegetable vendor, the milk-supplier, the caretaker of our apartments, the grocery-shop owner - everyone asked this and while the answer 'Bagunthi', meaning 'I am good' came automatically the first few times, I realised that after a while I had come to mean it.
It happened when the neighbor, an aged and strict lady who spoke a little bit of Hindi scolded me for venturing out on morning walks before the sun came out. 'Do not go alone!' carried a world of angry warning and care.
It happened when we left for an outstation trip and returned to a feeling of familiarity and comfort. Opening the door of the house and stepping in brought out a contented sigh. And before we realized, we came to say after returning from every trip - 'Ghar GHAR hota hai.' (Home is indeed home).
It happened when the ladies of my apartment, while speaking in telugu, immediately switched to Hindi by mutual understanding whenever I joined them and made me feel included.
It happened over the regular hang-outs - Sharath City Mall, Chutneys restaurant and Udupi Hotel where we created moments and memories.
It happened with my trysts with varied kinds of auto-drivers, all well-intentioned but having quirky personalities. Some of them stood out, like the one today who, although in a traffic jam and having to trail behind a lady struggling with her scooter, didn't lose his cool and rather asked her very politely whether she needs any help.
It happened whenever I came across a reel of Hyderabad and immediately shared it on my status, feeling proud and sentimental.
The transition from a 'new city' to 'home' didn't happen all of a sudden. It happened like the dew that settles on a leaf and takes its own time to spread its earthy perfume around - at leisure, calmly but certainly.
The kind of transition that happens but once in life and leaves its mark forever.
