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I left India in October of 1992. Things weren’t very advanced back then. Life was simple, people weren’t very modest and the quality of education was also moderate. I left my country with no high ambitions. As a young boy, only in his teens, what else can anyone expect?

I had the glitter of youth in his eyes and I wanted to explore a different culture, different city, and modest surroundings. What else would you expect from a young 16-year-old boy after all? Those were the times when youth was at a peak and I was being controlled by that. Those were the times when the bitter reality of this hard life hadn’t crossed my path yet.

But, after all those mistakes I made in the early days living in Odessa, I never knew that the city will become so close to my heart. I have been living here for a very long time! Someday, I will die here as well, under the pleasant roof of this city, in the arms of my loved ones and the air of my beloved Odessa. For me, I worship Odessa just like the way the dead love the grave. For me, leaving Odessa for a merely more luxurious, easy, and comfortable life would seem like cheating and a serious betrayal. I would never leave this land at any cost. The land where I have laughed and cheered in my young days. Leaving it would be a betrayal to those young days as well.

As mentioned in my books, “Odessa-My City, My Home” and “My fantastic voyage to Odessa”, Odessa seemed to me like a dreamy city. There was something in its air that made me addicted to it. There was something with its people that made me never want to leave the place. There is an immense love that I received from Odessa.From my financial crises to my career difficulties, it seems like everything got back on track just because I was lucky enough to be a resident of Odessa. I know it sounds cliché but Odessa does have a magical charm in it that makes to stay here. Despite all the challenges I faced here, extreme hardships, and many gloomy days, I decided to stay right where I was!

Odessa is the city of my best days. It has blessed me with a loving life partner, an amazing son, and an astounding life and what else do we need from this life?