The Road Less Travelled
Reader's Digest India|December 2017

I ran away from home, only to find myself

Srikaran Masabathula
The Road Less Travelled
I WAS THE ONLY ONE at the deserted bus stop. I looked at my watch, it was 3.15 a.m. Lighting a cigarette, I waited—the bus would arrive in 15 minutes. I had no idea where my life was headed; what my parents would make of the letter I had left behind for them. All I knew was that I was going to travel down the east coast and up to Goa. Just a few hours earlier, I had shoved some clothes into a backpack, along with a couple of notebooks, a little money and a thick bedsheet. Just in case. Then, I walked out of my home in Perraju Peta, Kakinada [Andhra Pradesh].

I had returned home for the summer from the US, where I was doing an undergraduate degree. My grades had been poor and my family was convinced I was not working hard enough. They wanted me to pursue a career in software; I wanted to find my passion. They expected answers, long-term plans, where I had none. The possibility of spending decades attached to a desk doing something I hated was as scary as the thought of failing my loving parents. I was on antidepressants, but they don’t make you happy, they just make you numb. I knew that if I wanted things to change, I had to do something. You can’t walk the same path every day and expect different results. I had two options: either listen to my parents and be discontented for the rest of my life, or take a shot at what I really wanted to do. I chose the open road.

Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin December 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin December 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

READER'S DIGEST INDIA DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Reader's Digest India

From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi

Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
Who Wants Coffee?
Reader's Digest India

Who Wants Coffee?

It’s bitter—but beloved around the world

time-read
2 dak  |
October 2024
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
Reader's Digest India

Prevent The Pain Of Shingles

You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps

time-read
3 dak  |
October 2024
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Reader's Digest India

The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart

Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
ME & MY SHELF
Reader's Digest India

ME & MY SHELF

Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.

time-read
3 dak  |
October 2024
SWITCHED
Reader's Digest India

SWITCHED

In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.

time-read
10+ dak  |
October 2024
ECHOES OF THE PAST
Reader's Digest India

ECHOES OF THE PAST

A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC

time-read
6 dak  |
October 2024
Fathers of the Bride
Reader's Digest India

Fathers of the Bride

A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood

time-read
8 dak  |
October 2024
Fiction's Foresight
Reader's Digest India

Fiction's Foresight

British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?

time-read
7 dak  |
October 2024
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
Reader's Digest India

It Happens ONLY IN INDIA

The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.

time-read
2 dak  |
October 2024