Home Again

"You move me you move me
With your buildings and your eyes
Autumn woods and winter skies

You move me you move me
Open sea and city lights
Busy streets and dizzy heights

You call me you call me"

I've been back in Melbourne for 2 weeks now. The first few days were mildly depressing, brought about by a mixture of jetlag, homesickness and analysis and introspection that seemed quite pointless later. But soon enough, I felt like I was back home. Yes, HOME! After having just returned from Chennai, which, incidentally, is where my home is. I have this habit of using the term loosely, so loosely that home usually refers to wherever I'm going to spend that night. I'll leave you imagine the implications.

But Melbourne's different. Just being in the city gives me that strange comfortable feeling. I can't explain it. I can just walk around in the city streets and look at the tall buildings, and the funky little sculptures and statues that are seemingly everywhere, walk in the little side streets and the alleyways, with their almost-hidden cafes and bars, when i'm jogging along the riverbank and can see the vaguely familiar buildings in the distance, or even when I'm on the tram or the train, just listening to music and watching the people, I get that feeling that of comfort. It's not really a feeling of belonging, because this is obviously much stronger in Chennai than it is here. It's more a feeling of, for want of a better description, being free.

I don't know why I felt this sudden exhilirating feeling of freedom when I came back from India. I guess it was mainly due to the fact that it was a hectic trip. So much to do and so many people to see and so many parties to attend and so many drinks to be drunk. I hardly had any time to just chill. Well, it feels that way anyway.

Anyhoo, it feels good to be back in Melbourne, and I've slowly settled into the old routine. Chennai will always be home, but this city comes a close second. It's got enough memories, good and bad, enough opportunities, enough friends (if you can ever have enough), and well, like i just said, it makes me feel, uh, free...