My father was a corporate employee who worked as a sales representative for all through his career, and thus my family had relatively frequent relocations particularly at his prime time.
That is the reason why I cannot answer immediately whenever someone asks me my hometown. However, of course, Fukuoka is the city where I spent the longest in my childhood.
I do not have many good memories in my young time. Only the exception is the times when I was a little girl in kindergarten and primary school(s); at the age of around 3-8 and 11-12. We lived places in the heart of the city such as Ohori Park and Momochi areas where outsiders were commonly welcomed without conditions because most of the community members were not the local Fukuokan.
On the other hand, my time during junior highschool and highschool was literally in the darkness. My father built his humble house in the rural town located at the suburban Fukuoka, which my mother lives now, where not many new people would flow in at that time. As an outsider child, I faced difficulty in adjusting and mixing with the local kids. I lost a great deal of confidence in those three years of my junior-high, and further, I could hardly make a friend in my high school as well. Naturally, I started chasing my dream of growing up soon and coming out of the small world called Fukuoka as fast as possible.
Even after I had started living in Pune, India, I would never feel like to visit Fukuoka unless until there was a necessity. Situations forced me to change my attitude when my father had passed away in 2011. Since then, I am staying in Fukuoka after every few months to be with my mother who lives alone in the humble home my father built as aforesaid.
Gradually, my old suffocations revisited and tortured me whenever I had had to stay in Fukuoka. Yes, I never liked the city, I hated in fact. I didn't have friends to feel pleasant to meet; even now, I do not have many old friends to keep in touch.
I felt painful, depressed, and wanted to escape. Then, there was a sudden light on me, an inner message that suggested to search for the international communities in Fukuoka, particularly people who were related to India.
As I started following my voice, I met a couple of "business" people initially who were not interested in developing a friendship but only in expanding their "networks." In recent years, however, I am gradually building the right kind of company with whom I could be as myself, laugh each other and talk freely without being afraid of potentially spoiling their "business."
For me, Fukuoka has become an entirely different place from the one I used to know. I have new friends, who are local, international or related to India, and new reasons to "love" Fukuoka. Finally, here is a lesson learned: After all, it's "me" or "you" who decides the place to be, and in my case, it's again goddess INDIA who saved me.
My thoughts after eye-witnessing the wonderful annual Indian event "Namaste Fukuoka 2017."
