Packing, moving, unpacking

Shifting residence can be exhausting, though exciting too. Packing, moving, unpacking. Bangalore is the sixth city I moved to: Bhopal, Indore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Hyderabad are the earlier ones. In each city itself, I have moved at least twice. That's nothing compared to some government staff who have moved many times than this.

What I found was when I move from one city to another, I am more organised. Probably because of an awareness that I can rush back to the old house to pick up something that I have left behind.

We moved on the 30th to the new house. Someone told me that we should enter the new house before noon or after 1.30 pm. I guessed right: that was the inauspicious time period of Rahu Kalam.

I recalled how earlier we never cared for such things. We fixed the day, when the boss gave leave, and moved when the truck (or the camel cart, once in Ahmedabad, when I didn't have much to move) arrived. Now, probably because we have grown older, and we have been influenced by elders, we decided to keep that time period in mind.

It was 9 am. The small tempo-truck my friend, Suresh, had arranged to come to our house by then, hadn't come. It was 10. Still no sign. Finally, the driver arrived around 10.30, but no sign of the labourers to load the things on to the truck. Seeing the number of things we had to shift, the driver exclaimed: "O, that's all! I and my assistant will load them fast." Within five minutes the professional "loaders" arrived. Relief!

By 11.05 am, loading was over, and we moved. In about 15 minutes we reached the new house, around 4 km away. When the driver saw that he couldn't take the vehicle very close to the house (it's an apartment), unlike the earlier (independent) house, he began his protestation.

I asked him: "What can I do? I can't stop people who are working at the apartment complex. I am not the builder."

But his problem was something different. It will take longer to unload and put the things in the house (when compared to the loading time.) Which means, he will have to stay longer. Which means, he loses his "precious" time. Which means, he will lose another customer. Which means, I should compensate him by paying more money.

He looked like getting ready for a long argument session. But since I got the hint (not just the money, but also probably his plans to ruin my peace of mind), in a flash I offered to pay him a little more; and with a pat on his back, I got him moving. There was every sign he was taken by surprise.

You are momentarily immobilised, and lost in a thought-vacuum, when you reach your goal ahead of time! That's probably what happened to him. He had just a complacent smile to offer.

By noon, all the things were in. Hope that was a good sign! We were back for one more round, and by 2.30 pm, we were through. The driver and the labourers were gone. March 30: the first day in the new house. We were the first to move in. Though our flat is ready, work is still on in the complex.

The evening and night were spent for unpacking and putting things in place. And then, a scare. A few things, like the small wet grinder, were missing. But as usual, in due course, they were located deep inside some carton!