(5/5) En Route to Countless Smiles: Final Destination - Bargarh!

After lunch, Sandeep and I set off for Bargarh, his hometown, in Nikhil’s car, as he too was from the same place.

With Nikhil's quirky music choices and his skilled, fast-paced driving, we managed to cover the distance in much less time than expected.

In the evening, I requested Sandeep to take me through our old school, childhood homes, and the familiar places in the city where we had spent about seven years during my early years.

As part of a personal ritual, I always make it a point to revisit places where we once lived, studied or spent meaningful time.

It keeps me grounded, reminding me that we found happiness even with limited resources. It’s a way of reflecting on how far we’ve come—a reason to celebrate and be grateful!

The cherry on top was reconnecting with Sandeep’s parents, whom I've personally known for over past two decades. Meeting them felt like a true homecoming experience!

Meanwhile Vidya, another school friend of mine, has her house about 3-4 kilometers away from where I was staying. She was away in Bangalore pursuing an IT job with a top MNC at the time.

Since I was in town, I decided to visit her family. Additionally, her elder brother had recently welcomed a baby girl, about three months ago, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to drop by and congratulate them!

I wasn’t sure if it was the right time to visit, especially since Vidya was away and I had only met her family once or twice before. However, after exchanging some texts with Vidya, she encouraged me to go ahead with my plan.

Given that it was Nuakhai, a major Sambalpuri festival in Western Odisha celebrating the new harvest, she suggested I wait until morning to confirm if everyone was at home.

The festival, meaning 'new eating,' involves worshipping new crops and sharing the first rice with family.

Somehow, next day in the morning, Vidya gave me the green signal to visit her home around 11 AM and also shared her mom’s mobile number.

The next challenge was figuring out the logistics, as there were no easy communication options or local cab services from where I was staying to her place.

This is when Nikhil stepped in! He had called earlier to invite us for Ganesh Puja Pandal hopping in his area and offered to pick us up from home. I took this opportunity to suggest that he drop me off at Vidya’s place for a while.

I then called Vidya's mom, introduced myself and she extended a warm invitation, as Vidya had already informed her about my visit. I was still wondering what I would talk about when I met them.

Nikhil arrived promptly with his car to pick up me and Sandeep as promised. Even though my mom had suggested bringing a dress set for the 3-month-old baby girl, but due to time constraints, I could only manage to get a few boxes of sweets from a popular snack shop.

When we reached Vidya’s neighborhood, I invited Nikhil and Sandeep to join me, but they hesitated.

Nevertheless, that wasn’t going to stop me from proceeding with my visit! They headed out for pandal hopping nearby and asked me to call them when I was finished with my visit.

For the next half an hour, I found myself in a new territory. It was a unique experience meeting a friend’s family in their home while the friend was away for work in a different city.

The icebreaker, however, was their 3-month-old baby girl, who became the center of our conversation. I managed to connect easily, drawing parallels with the little one in our nearby families and leveraging the familiarity I had from past connections.

We added Vidya to the video call, and she became a key part of the conversation, helping with my introduction. Later, her family kindly offered me snacks, though I was already full from breakfast and could barely eat.

The family's humor, situational awareness, and warm hospitality truly made my day. This spontaneous visit, which wasn't even part of my original plan, turned out to be the highlight of my trip.

As I left with a smile and an invitation to return, I couldn’t help but thank the universe for giving me the confidence to show up unexpectedly, share some joy, and leave with a heart full of gratitude.

After bidding a respectful farewell, I called Sandeep to come pick me up. We visited a few pandals and also stopped by Nikhil’s family.

From there, we headed back to Sandeep’s home for lunch, picking up his younger brother along the way. He was a third-year medical student returning home to join in the festive celebrations.

As the evening arrived, it was time for me to pack up. My bus back home was met with a delightful send-off from 7-8 batchmates and Sandeep’s family at the bus stand. This unexpected and heartwarming gesture filled me with gratitude.

Life is so random yet beautifully surprising! What could have been a mundane week turned into an incredibly memorable six days, even if a bit sleep-deprived, full of meaningful experiences.

This trip was a surreal experience, leaving me with only gratitude to express. Though it was a plan I had in mind for a long time, it took its own course to come to fruition.

Thanks to the generous hosting of so many people, I managed to experience it all on a tight budget, which is especially important to me at this stage of life.

Throughout my journey across four districts, I encountered multiple families and friends, from childhood acquaintances to those who recently shared the same classroom.

In between I've received calls from many well wishes from the same floor our office is, to enquire if I'm doing well healthwise, for my continued absence throughout the week. I’m thankful to them & my family for their continued trust and support!

There are moments in life when you pause and wonder, "How did this even happen?" That’s possibly the Magic of the Universe! #Gratitude

P.S

Though this is inspired by a real-life story, due care is exercised by modifying the names, details & incidents to protect privacy.