My hometown or is it?

August, I think it went missing from my calendar. Running form pillar to post, the final arrangements and packing for the big trip was planned and executed. Five suitcases lined the hallway as we delegated home security tasks to trusted family and soon we were aboard SQ15.
After a tiresome journey handling 2 kids and a husband, I disembarked to what I remember as home. I felt a strange tickle in the throat and knew that it was indeed my hometown, but yet nothing I remembered existed on the streets lining the tall apartments that had sprouted everywhere.
After a 2 hour journey from the airport, I entered the house. All through the way, I was troubled about the lack of identity I had with Bengaluru, the city, I proudly called mine. Determined not to lose hope, I dismissed thoughts about northern Bangalore being stricken by the apartment fever. With renewed hope, I started exploring my familiar paths when we ventured outside to the many eateries that have sprouted wings, but much to my dismay, all the lovely single family homes with lush green garden were replaced with giant apartment complexes with monster driveways. Bengaluru was a concrete jungle and thats how I remember Mumbai, though my fondness for Mumbai is very strong too.
A trip to the vegetable vendor with Rs 50 in hand, fetched me supplies for a week in my days, but the current situation, Rs 50 doesn’t even fetch me vegetables for a dish. Waiters earned an average Rs 50 a day, today, they earn Rs 50 per meal per table. Cost of living has gone through the roof. While the westerns have wised up on their lifestyle, everyone in India seems to have made their investments in the evils that were shooed away from here.
I still remember the look on my husband’s face when I promised him finger licking good food at restaurants I had frequented, only to find that they were long gone. Not to forget, the innumerable one-ways we have to maneuver to get there in peak traffic. It is than that I began to wonder if it really was my home town at all.
Nothing I knew existed the way I remembered, every street had nuances of new life that the influx of MNC’s had inculcated on their appearance in the city. It amused me to read the maintain distance behind BTS buses; only to notice that the auto behind stood at hairs length. Traveling to any place, even 2 kilometers away, took well over 20 minutes. There were 6 cars lined up in a two lane road. At some point, I stopped promising a time to friends and family as there was no predicting how long the commute would take. I was always prepared with extra food, clothes and snacks for kids as road closers happened on a whim and the detours meant an additional hour.
Nothing that existed in mind still held any importance in my hometown. Now, I can only say, those were the days.
After an equally exhausting 24 hour flight back with the kids, I must admit, I missed this home just as much and all the familiarity it brought with it just made me feel like I was back in my home and this felt more like my home town.
Am I being hypocritical? I don’t know, but changes in life happen faster than you can fathom.