Me and Minneapolis

Minneapolis - the city of dreams! Atleast, that's what I had thought of it, when I set for it on 23rd July, 2001 from my motherland. With dreams in eyes, anxiety, hope, ambitions, nervousness, I boarded the Jet Airways flight from Hyderabad and subsequently the KLM flight at Mumbai. I was not alone. There were 23 more, just like me, may be at varying equations of emotions, but in the same boat and off we were to this unknown and fascinating dreamland.

I was all awake with my eyes wide open awaiting to land on this marvelous city - also known as part of twin cities (along with St. Paul). A trivial aspect being that I hail from one such city - Hyderabad, also a part of another twin cities (Secunderabad being the counterpart). The journey had begun... A journey full of memories pertaining to a city - A city that has seen so much along with me, a city that has seen ups and downs in my life alike, a city that has given friends and foes alike, a city where I gained knowledge, where I shared knowledge, a city which instilled hopes, a city whose beauty I still look with aesthetic appreciation, a city whose picture cannot be drawn with a few words!

200, Union Street - the street where UMN's Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering is located. Union Street - The street where I remember throwing snowballs at my friends, the street where my friends and I are walking towards Chipotle during lunch time, the street where my friends and I used to look people walk from Starbucks while gulping coffee, (I remember my friends always taking Mocha and I ordering a Caramel Macchiato - the days of glory!), the street that brings in a plethora of pleasant memories in mind.

2-209, Dept. of CSci. - the room where TAs proffer help to students. 2-209 - The room where I have helped students with their Java assignments, the room where I have argued with my TAs for grades, the room where I remember taking Algorithms classes online upon missing the same due to flu, the room adjacent to my TA office.

Andrew House - the place where I stayed for almost 2 years.

Friends - Lakeri, Nitin, Vijay, Prasanna, Abhishek, Ishank, Haque, Rezwan, Bashi - whose friendship I would cherish for my entire life.

Mall of America - the place where I shopped the most before any trip to India.

Minnehaha Falls - one of the most exotic locations.


UMN - the University which bestowed me with Master's degree.

This was a glimpse into my perspective of Minneapolis - The place I bid farewell to for a living, the place which taught me to move ahead in life, come whatever may be, the place with which I would always maintain this unknown, unsaid, special bond.

Well, this is me, an emotional :-) and Minneapolis, the city of bonds.