Our love for our hometown is well-known, but for me, it holds a special place because my hometown Jamnagar, not only gave me a new beginning but much-needed acclaim.  

My hometown Jamnagar is surrounded by around 40 islands and many unexplored yet. Photo by Preet Gor on Unsplash

Our love for the motherland seems obvious and cultivated in us since our childhood days. I grew up in the small city of Jamnagar in Gujarat state. My city is at the west end of the state and surrounded by many seashores. My hometown Jamnagar is also known as “Choti- Kashi”, for many temples nestled in and around Jamnagar. One of the famous temples, “Bala-Hanuman” got a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the continuous chanting of the Ram mantra for the past 56 years without- break. 

Hometown-where our heart is

I grew up in a small middle-class family, but it does not mean I have not enjoyed worldly things. My father was in a Bank and served for almost 40 years working for the same bank. My mother is a housewife and a religious person. So, I grew up enjoying spirituality and living a rich life, the same time. I still remember visiting temples each Sunday and performing rituals with my mother and family members. I still remember, every Diwali season, my father pampered me with expensive clothes; my father still brings those expensive gifts sometimes in a year. 

I studied in Satya Sai School up to 7 standards, and Satya Sai School is famous and one of the best schools for study in Jamnagar. I was average in studies but good in sports. I played hockey in my school days and won many certificates for playing at state-level competitions. After completing my tenth standard from Jamnagar, I enrolled in an engineering college at Pune.

At the age of sixteen, I left my hometown for higher studies. I stayed in a hostel surrounded by a few good and bad boys. It was not a good decision. I enrolled in a college which was not recognized by the government. That decision went wrong too. One article came up in a magazine about the plus points of studying in a particular college; because that one college teaches the most practically than any other recognized college in the town. Sounds funny when I recall that I finished my first year in that particular college as I was very young and was not aware of higher education.  

Once my first year in an unrecognized college got over, I decided to enroll in a recognized college for better future job prospects. I somehow managed an admission to one of the reputed engineering colleges in the city. But, my fate decided otherwise. I was faced with so many problems one after- another. I spent- initial days saluting senior students and getting along with new life. As seen in many movies, I also faced ragging like many other students. Frustration took me to skip lectures and find space in movie halls. 

I became a bad boy for my family soon after then. A letter came from my college about me, asking for revocation. I skipped most of the lectures and the exams around the corner, with no option but to quit. My father called on to come in person accompanied by me. My father asked me, “Do you want to continue your studies?” I replied, in “nod.” I quickly made a SWOT analysis and decided to move ahead with life and skip studies. 

I came back to my hometown; and spent some time with my family before deciding what to do next. After spending six months in my hometown Jamnagar, I soon decided to pursue my entrepreneurial dream and moved to Bangalore(Bengaluru-now). 

My entrepreneur dream

I moved to Bengaluru in 1995-96 to start my own business at seventeen. I bought one apartment for rent at Vijayanagar near Mysore road. I started a home office; I ventured into the distribution business to start my entrepreneur dream. I soon started getting good orders and repeat customer orders. I came across many well-known business people; therefore, I learned so many tricks and techniques of business. 

My social life took by storm because of the kind of life Bengaluru offered me to socialize. I made many friends, and I learned new trends to be on top of things. I am thankful to all those who helped me in my down. I learned and became successful today because of their blessings and love. Bengaluru offered me a much-needed social and identity boost which I lost just a year ago. I am also thankful to Bengaluru for making me a successful entrepreneur. When I look back to my decision of skipping studies and starting a business seems to be the best decision I made in my life.  

When you are just getting where you want to be, obstacles come in the middle and take you away from your accomplishments, rightly said by someone. I met with an accident on a highway while riding-back home one day in Bengaluru. That accident changed my life forever. I survived without any stitches, but I became mentally ill. I had to close my business establishment, and I had to move back to my hometown. My parents were worried about me, and they told me to head right back home, as any parent would do. 

Then I started a gift-store

I landed back in Jamnagar then and started a gift store. I started taking medicines to come out of mental illness. I spent most of my time- in the store busy attending to customers and arranging new products. Initially, I used to sell audio CDs and greetings, but then I started selling many other gifting products also. I soon then became successful, and my earnings zoomed. I never looked back from there again. 

Concern for my mental illness took a toll on me. Time passed by like passing an ocean, but my mental illness stayed strong. Nevertheless, I decided to counter strongly. I took my time to overcome illness and spent most of my time resting. The Medicine course made me sleepy all day and gloomy. But I kept on moving with my life. I thought there might be light at the end of the tunnel, and it happened the same way I thought. 

I soon started to come out of my mental illness, and I kept myself busy in the business to stay away from negativity. It took time to come out of mental illness. But I managed to come out of mental illness. I got married in the meanwhile, and I started my family. After a few years of marriage, God bestowed me with a Son and then a Daughter. I thank my wife for lending me a helping hand and taking care of me during my low time. I thank my mother and father for giving me the time to come out of my mental illness. 

Today, while I write about my experiences of staying in my hometown for the past twenty-three years, I find happiness within. I feel grateful to God for showering me with blessings and making me feel special. My hometown gave me life and much-needed acclaim.

In my heart, Jamnagar holds a special place.

Ever since- I grew up -I heard- stories of successful persons. And how they left their hometowns to grab opportunities to become successful entrepreneurs. I wondered if the same would come true for me without leaving my hometown. It came true, I guess for me. I am successful and happy because of my hometown Jamnagar.

My hometown gave me care and love when I needed it the most. I thank my family, friends, customers, vendors, and well-wishers for their never-ending support throughout my life. 

I want to send a special thank you note; to my hometown Jamnagar through this essay. For, caring like a son, nurturing me to grow as a person, and guiding me to become a successful business person.

Always true; our motherland nurtures us like their own sons and daughters. We can repay by keeping our city clean and junk-free so that we all can live a better disease-free life.

How do you feel? If someone throws empty bottles or cans on you? Imagine what it feels like to our motherland? We always gather and stand united whenever the need arises, but for the wrong reasons. Have we ever tried to gather in large numbers to clean our city? No, just for the sake of a photoshoot or once in a while. Exceptions happened in the last few years, but that is very small compared to our large communities like India. 

Let us all take an oath to keep our city clean by not throwing empty bottles and cans on streets or roads. If we can do small tasks every day, to keep our surroundings clean, our motherland will be the happiest. 

By SANKET SOMAIYA

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