The journey here - I

So, the journey has begun finally. Should I say it’s been a long wait. Frankly I’ve never ‘waited’ to go to U.S of A. But I’ve definitely wanted to go places, in, around or far away from India. I’ve 3 weeks to live the few dreams I’ve stored away in a safe corner somewhere.

So, I started off to home from office quite late. Delayed attending a meeting with our director called to call upon us to bring the new hires to the ‘social fabric’ of our team. Shankar came over to drop me off at the airport. I called up Mota, Sunni, Dhingra while on the way. Mota, who is leaving our froggy paradise the next to find his identity, his purpose, his calling in a ½ BHK somewhere in the airport road. Sunni who is getting married on the 5th may to Ranjita, his love, and then leaving Tawakkal’s too. Dhingra who has left Bangalore for good, become the brand manager of Peter England for North India. Then met Pondi at the airport, who will be moving to Boston soon. Shankar by the way, is getting engaged on 24th to Roopa. I enjoyed her going mushy lovey-dovey for shanky over the PC phone, not realizing she was on speakers! And while on the way on the auto talked to Shanky about the problems at work, in life and in my sinuses. Once at the airport, talked to Papa, Sasurji, Sasu/Buku and Rekha. Called Shweta but seemingly she had forgotten her cell at home again.

Met Sri on the flight. I asked, so what book are you carrying for the long journey ahead. He says none. I say why. He says I was thinking we will do some talking. Now, I am socially quite active. But while traveling somehow I prefer to be incommunicado. Reason being this is the only time I get to do a little introspection. I remember in my last long delhi-bangalore train journey of 36 hours, I spoke for a sum total of 3 minutes. But Sri was going to attempt intelligent conversation with me in that mode. We began with cribbing about Bangalore as all software engineers, and I was in good luck, because I had been reading Peter Colaco’s Bangalore - a century of tales from cantonment and city. We then moved on to our professional futures, our marriages and Cisco managers. This guy can actually make me go on talking even when I don’t want to! Only one other person can lay claim to this asset. The flight from Bangalore to Chennai was otherwise uneventful.

Chennai was 30 degrees at 9 in the night! Quickly checked in, and then called up JC and Priya after begging for change from one and all. One good soul actually gave away the only 1 rupee coin he had! And another stopped short a phone call to help. Such wonderful people and we curse Indians for their heartlessness. Finally managed to gather some 6 bucks and split them 2:1 between JC and Priya.

Post the measly dinner of patties and my much needed medicines, the talks actually turned to debate with Sri! Well he started it. He broached my close-to-heart topic, communal discord. Most of our gods are just kings or great leaders or just heroes. How many people worship one of the trinity compared to innumerable people with affinity for Ram and Krishna. So one day, people of the Gandhi clan, Manmohan Singh (the liberator who got us over our foreign debt), Rajnikant, Khushboo, Tendulkar stand as much chance at Godhood as does Satya Sai Baba, who declares he is the next Visnu incarnate after Ram and Krishna. The unified code of law, do we need hindu/muslim personal laws. Aryans/Dravidians, were the Veda’s just plagiarized from Dravidian literature by the Aryans. India is in a bad state, it’s a chaos… Well, that’s when I got into the debate mode. And when Sri brought up Gujarat, I went on on a monologue about what I know from first person accounts of my friends and family in Baroda. The big divide is very much palpable now in most Gujju cities. Can we do anything about it? I said I try to reduce the acerbity in the hindus I meet back home, but that’s about it. Sri wants change and soon. He’s got a friend who gave up a Microsoft job to join Civil services here. Now that’s some India Today material. So the debate went on mostly centred around why the religions we have now are what they are. The laid back and assimilating hindu’s, the staunch and quite masculine muslims, the convert! Convert! proselytizing Christians. Blah blah blah… for over an hour and a half. By the end, as happens with most of my debates, I started blabbering about the flight, the free local calls from the waiting lounge, and how I spent good time hunting for change downstairs, will they serve food on flight … All this to end the debate and soothe frayed nerves, more mine than his! He is one cool headed guy. Listens good deal, and brings back the debates flying tangentially to the crux quite effectively.

Well, anyways, so boarded the flight… I was actually trying to be more suave than I am normally, which is next to gauche. I feigned an accent when asking for directions and wishing good evening to the german attendant. If u know me, u know how I said this ‘Fifty-three G, where would it be… Thank you, good evening’. I then reproached myself and found 53 G and Sri. Sri went off to sleep almost immediately, and read thru some chapters of Peter Colaco’s. I guess by the time it reaches its owner, the book would be all but in tatters. But then a gift is a gift, regardless of how used it is! Isn’t it? Then started writing this piece, interrupted pleasantly by the attendant for some good Red wine (Isle was the brand) and would you believe it, Lemon Rice!! Well well, guess the germans just wanted to make us all Indians feel at home. But will someone tell them, most non-tambs hate Lemon Rice! And that too with good wine! Well forgive them God, or Rajni. So I guess I am done with the piece, and with the wine and water in and with my laptop on my tummy, my bladder is complaining. So good bye till later…