Visit to India May-June 1998

Here I’m again, with a narration of a different kind. Now, this is not about a Theme park. Nothing about life in the US, either. I wanted to share my experiences of the India visit that I undertook in May 1998.

It’s been over a year now, that I have resided in the United States. I was so preoccupied with getting accustomed to life in the US, for the first few months, that I didn’t feel homesick then. As life became smooth, my thoughts wandered back home. Every time I cast an upward glance into the skies and saw a plane hovering above, I started yearning to be part of the homebound journey on that plane. My friends’ tale of their visits to India only added fuel to the burning flame of passion within me. But it was only a matter of time before I could also enjoy the ardor of returning home. It was in March 1998 that I started preparations for a visit to India, by checking the flight rates. The earliest that I could plan for a visit was in May, keeping the tight project deadlines in view. (My manager was gracious enough to permit my friend and me to take a month-long vacation together, at a mutually convenient date) Even though the flight fares during May was forbiddingly high, we felt morally obligated to complete the project before embarking on a visit to India. After carefully deciding our itinerary to optimize the fare, we finally booked the tickets sometime during the middle of March. Then came the most exciting phase of being in the US… The countdown to the departure date! The days started ticking away as we zealously shopped and packed our bags. We seemed to be running out of time as we started recording everything in sight on our camcorders, to be shown back home. (Various theme parks in Orlando being the most important) My excitement began to build up over the days as my parents also started the countdown. Barring a few hiccups with the project deadline, the D-Day finally drew very close! On the eve prior to the departure date, we bid farewell to our office colleagues, with a promise of bringing them souvenirs from our India trip.

I was to leave for India early in the morning on the 9 th May. Completing the packing for the last time (The rigid rules for the baggage on international flights always leads to multiple attempts at packing & unpacking) and verifying the check-list for the journey, lead us late into the previous night. This physical strain coupled with the mounting excitement gave me very little sleep that night. I had arranged for my uncle to drop us off at the airport the next morning. After loading the bags into his car, we left for the airport at 6am. As we neared the airport, I glanced at my watch and my heart skipped a beat. There were only 30 minutes for our flight departure and we were yet to check in our bags! The Delta Airlines official at the gates warned us that we better hurry. With our throats getting dry, we finally managed to check in our bags and proceed to the departure terminal. I vowed not to repeat this in future. The Delta Airlines flight to JFK Airport took off on time at 7.25am. We were finally heading home!

We reached the JFK airport at 12.15pm. The directions to reach the international terminals were disconcerting…uncommon at such a big international airport! After a lot of inquiries, we were finally informed that we were to take an airport bus to reach the Lufthansa terminal. The airport bus was overcrowded. To add to the already prevailing chaos inside the bus, the handle of one of my bags broke and I had to carry it by the side straps all the way to the Lufthansa counter. I was slightly apprehensive about the weight of the cabin baggage since I was carrying a VCR and a camcorder. However, the lady at the Lufthansa counter put my fears to rest. Then, we proceeded to the waiting lounge for the long wait, before our departure. The Lufthansa flight was to leave only at 5pm and so, we spent the time having food and making new friends with other people on board. As always, the Lufthansa flight started on time. We found ourselves in the company of a friendly German professor of oceanography. The journey to Frankfurt didn’t seem that long, as we solicited the professor to answer many of our questions about Germany. Our flight touched down at Frankfurt on time, at 6.15am the next day. We prepared for another long wait (6 hrs), before we could board the flight to India. As we sat in the waiting lounge, we saw a horde of Indians on their way to different cities in India. Though the meals on the Frankfurt flight were good, they were not spaced right…which left us hunting for food soon after we finished the formalities to board the flight to India. After a vigorous search for vegetarian food, we chanced on a shop, which sold bananas and chocolate biscuits. Our hunger was insatiable still, but the bananas and biscuits were enough to sustain our hunger till the next meal on our India flight. At 10.30am, we were airborne on our flight to India! The meals were sumptuous and we spent a good part of our journey sleeping. As we neared India, the anxiety of clearing customs and immigration started to build within me. As I was taking a VCR and some other electronic goods, I was slightly nervous notwithstanding the assurances by many friends that the customs check would be a mere formality. As I landed at Madras International Airport, I was greeted by the high humidity accompanied by beads of sweat all over, though it was 11.10pm! I was very happy to see my uncle at the Immigration counter and he made our immigration clearance a breeze. The strict admission regulations at the airport (because of the bomb blasts at Coimbatore) forbid me from having a glance at my parents. The customs check was still pending and I was increasingly feeling tense, as I waited for my bags to arrive on the airlines’ conveyor belt. I was happy to see the bags intact with no signs of external damage. My experiences with Lufthansa have been very good apropos the baggage handling. As I neared the Customs clearance gate, a Customs Officer interrogated me whether I was carrying gold or silver. I replied in the negative and that was that. He allowed me to pass through the ‘Green Channel’. I could not conceal my delight and for an instant, thought I would give myself away. However, nothing of that sort happened and I proceeded to meet my eagerly waiting parents, at 1am. It was a pleasant reunion with my parents while I hugged them as never before in my life. Then, we proceeded on to the van that my parents had arranged from the airport to my aunt’s place, where we were to stay till the next night. I was faced with a barrage of questions from my mother on the way to my aunt’s place…of course, about life in the US! I was too elated to spend time over dinner. I spent the remainder of the night narrating pieces of my experiences in the US. The US story continued till the early hours of the next day, when we decided to get some sleep. The schedule for the next day was visiting a few important relatives in Madras whom I had skipped, before I left for the US last year.

Experiences in India:

Early the next morning, we hired an auto to complete our visits for the day. Meeting a few unexpected relatives came as a bonus. It was dusk when we returned to my aunt’s place. The long exposure to the Daylight savings in the US caused me to question about the darkness so early in the evening (7pm). As we were preparing to leave for Bangalore by Bangalore Mail, I glanced at the TV news and the scrolling flash news on the TV screen caught me by surprise! Guess what? Yes, you’re right…India’s nuclear tests! As the news-reader narrated the reactions of the world to the nuclear tests with grim prospects of economic sanctions against India, my initial feelings of euphoria subsided and I began to brood over the impact this would bear on my stay in the US (if and) when I returned. At 9pm, I left for Madras Central Railway Station with my parents, headed for Bangalore. It was sultry in the train compartment, but lack of sleep the previous night, helped us ignore the heat and we fell asleep like a log almost immediately.

As the humidity changed to a mild cool breeze the next morning (May 12 th ), we knew we were nearing Bangalore. The train reached Bangalore half an hour late. As we dismounted our baggage from the train, my friend Deepu arrived there and welcomed me with a pat on my shoulders. He had got his car to take us home. Escaping the constant queries from the taxi drivers for hiring a taxi, we reached home at 6.45am. As we passed the main roads of Bangalore along the way, I noticed that the city had not changed much during the time. Construction of the new fly-over from Mysore Road to the TownHall had begun, and was quite conspicuous. The only other noticeable changes were the construction of various new houses and renovations to many others, in my street. The reminder of the day was spent in visiting a close family friend and hobnobbing with my college classmate.

I visited many other friends and completed various chores during the course of the week, all the while exercising utmost restraint not to use my bike (Hero Honda Splendor) for travelling in the city. Many friends in the US advised me against using the bike in India, after experiencing disciplined traffic in the US for so long. However, after a few days, I realized the futility of reaching all places by auto, with the auto drivers refusing to ply to nearby locations while we waited in the hot sun waving at the next available auto. Bangalore was unusually hot at this time of the year and the menace of mosquitoes had increased. The ubiquitous power outages only caused more misery. On the 18 th May, I decided to venture out with my bike in defiance of all my inhibitions. To my surprise, I found that I was still in good touch and successfully maneuvered the bike through the busy streets of J.P.Nagar with ease. Lack of discipline on the roads now seemed strange rather than obvious. Failure of the vehicles on the side streets to yield to the main road traffic made me restive in the beginning but very soon, I adapted to the Bangalore roads. Visiting my friends became much easier with use of the bike. Smoke pollution was rampant as ever with no signs of improvement or deterioration as compared to last year.

The friends I visited were all too happy to see me and we generally spent most of the time discussing life in the US accompanied with explanations of my photo album. I also had to disburse time to buy a new television, as the old BPL TV was not compatible with the VCR that I had carried from the US. The cornucopia of television brands exhibited in the showrooms made the selection process very arduous.

One impressive demonstration by a sales representative transformed my choice from Panasonic to Samsung. Since we have the same brand at home in the US, this choice convinced me easily. Once the TV was installed, I spent time with my parents viewing the video cassettes that I had taken from the US. A few unexpected guests at home were also impressed with the video coverage. One particular footage titled ‘A day in America’, highlighting all the extravagance in the US earned a lot of accolades.

I spent the next few days planning a visit to my relatives in Tamil Nadu along with a sojourn to a few temples. After much deliberation, we decided to complete the tour by hiring a car. My roommate had arranged for his brother’s thread ceremony on the May 22 nd and insisted on my presence along with my parents. So, a visit to Madras was inevitable and we merged the Madras visit with our itinerary.

On the 21 st of May, we left for Madras by car at 9.30pm. I sat in the front seat of the big Ambassador car beside the driver. My first instincts were to fasten the seat belt, but after a vain search, I realized that the seat belt was missing though the seat fastener was intact! The callousness of the Indian drivers towards the safety considerations slowly dawned on me! As our car touched the National Highway (Old Madras Road), I immediately began to compare it with the freeways in the US. The car driver deftly wove through the chaotic highway traffic, unmindful of the presence of the opposite traffic in our lane, the dazzling glare of the lorry headlights (sometimes only one headlight…you were left guessing which one?) and the ceaseless crossing of stray animals across the road.

We reached Madras on the May 22 nd at an unearthly hour (3.30am). My aunt was however prepared for it as we had informed her much earlier. After gathering some sleep, we reached the place where my roommate’s brother’s thread ceremony was held. On the way, we managed to squeeze some time to visit yet another relative. The scorching heat so early in the morning made us question the timing of our tour. Our stay at the thread ceremony function was short, despite protests from my roommate. After a hurried lunch at the function, we started for Kumbakonam to visit our family deity temple. The car journey began to get sticky as the hot afternoon sun displayed its’ fury. However there was no respite from the summer heat until sundown. Consumption of tender coconut water and palms along the way, provided temporal relief. Travelling by car proved to be a windfall, as I could unflinchingly shed my shirt for most part of the journey to get relief from the sweltering heat. I donned my shirt only as I approached Bangalore. We approached Kumbakonam at around 5.30pm. After a brief stopover at my aunt’s place, we proceeded to the temple. After a satisfying ‘darshan’ of the Lord, we started for Karaikudi to meet some more relatives. In tune with our estimation, we reached Karaikudi late in the night but again didn’t surprise anyone because of our prior notification.

Since we had to leave early the next day to Coimbatore, we chatted into the wee hours of the morning. For the first time in our trip, we could not depart as planned, because the previous day’s exhaustion forced extra hours of sleep on us. It was around noon when we started for Coimbatore. The journey now was more pleasant, supplemented with the sight of a beautiful peacock crossing the road in front of our car.

As we entered Coimbatore, we were stopped by a platoon of armed military who rummaged through our baggage for bombs (as if our tired looks weren’t sufficient!). It seemed a pity that an erstwhile peaceful Coimbatore had transformed into a nightmare for the citizens. Towards the evening, we stopped for food at a renowned restaurant but to our dismay, found later that the quality of food had deteriorated since our last visit to Coimbatore. Then, we moved on to my uncle’s house where we spent the night.

Early the next morning, we started for Guruvayur. Once again, we had to undergo the rituals of being scrutinised by the police and military across the state borders. (Tamilnadu and Kerala) We reached the temple at around 10.30am. There was a spiraling queue at the entrance because of some special occasion. This caused a delay for the ‘darshan’ and it was noon when we left for Bangalore. The homebound journey was more enjoyable with the weather being very pleasant. By evening, bolts of lightning flashed across the horizon, accompanied by roars of thunder. Very soon afterward, it started raining. Our driver was undeterred however, and we reached Bangalore at the expected time.

One glance at the calendar the next day…and I began to get a sinking feeling when I thought about the date of my departure back to the US. This is probably the worst part of being in the US! For the next few days, I was indisposed because of a viral infection. The flow of visitors to my house continued however. As soon as I recovered, I grabbed the opportunity of tasting two wedding meals. My aunt came to stay at my house for a week with her family, and that provided some relief. As the end of May drew nearer, it was time to go shopping! There was seldom enough time to visit other friends. A few of my classmates were gracious enough to see me at my house.

Due to lack of time, I was forced to decline many invitations from my friends for lunch and dinner…and I felt sorry for it. In between all the tight schedules, I managed to squeeze some time to see 3 Tamil movies at home with my parents. Of course, the movies ran late into the night while my mother fought to stay awake, as she goes to bed early. I felt guilty for disturbing her sleep but there was no way out. By the way, the 3 Tamil movies were “Jeans”, “Kadhalaa Kadhalaa” and “Aahaa”.

I put my camcorder to full use, taking pictures of relatives and friends as they came. My parents’ daily activities were also nicely captured. I’m sure this will be a treasure of my life. The last few days in Bangalore went into transferring these camcorder recordings onto the VHS cassettes. Finally, it was time to leave Bangalore.

We were to leave for Madras by Madras mail on the June 4 th at 10pm. A few very close friends stayed with me all day and eventually, bid me a tearful farewell. My classmate Deepu again offered to take me to the railway station by his car, and I was too happy to avoid the menace of the auto drivers. As my train roared out of Bangalore, I had one last glance at my beloved city for this year. Back in Madras, it was again too hot to venture out on visits. So, I was content to visit only my grandmother and then get back to my aunt’s place before the heat got the better of me. As the sun disappeared over the horizon, I was swept over by emotions when I thought about the imminent separation from my parents. My friend had arranged for a van to drop us at the airport. The van was scheduled to pick me at 9.30pm. When the van got delayed, there was anxiety all around but finally it did come at 9.45pm. When we reached the airport, it was 10.15pm and checking-in had already begun for my flight. Security personnel at the airport denied access to non-passengers to enter the airport. I was annoyed initially, since this security presented a jail-like appearance to the airport. But I recuperated when I realized that the increased security was a blessing in disguise, because my parents and me were on the verge of tears when I proceeded into the airport. As I pushed my baggage cart into the airport, I silently bid adieu to my parents while I fought to control my feelings.

As my flight departed from Madras at 1.00am on the June 6 th , I became nostalgic and continued to stay so until after a week. My journey back to the US was uneventful, but for a slightly uncomfortable landing at JFK. When I arrived at Orlando, it was 9.15pm and my friend was waiting at the airport to receive me.

Now that I am back in the US, the visit to India seems like a reverie…and I have begun gaping at the skies once again, envying all the lucky people racing back home!