Back home. Back in paradise. Back as an Indian and not a tourist. Wow, it feels great. 24 hours a day seems so less...to do all I want to (and to think there used to be times i wondered why a day couldnt be 16 hours!!). I dont seem to miss anything...I dont even seem to remember the 3 1/2 years spent away. It just feels like I have always been here. I have melted into the system earlier than I thought. In the last 48 hours, came face to face with frustrating babudom when an Air India offcial at LA imposed a hefty fine of $266 for overweight baggage, paid a small token of appreciation to a porter-boy working at Jet Airways to save me the fine at Bombay Airport, back home after getting psyched out seeing all the crazy driving now I am honking away to glory, the car just in the same condition i left it - barely a few thousand kms added to it, i almosy hit a few crazy bikers, but despite that 30000 miles of orderly American left-wheel automatic driving seems to have evaporated totally from memory!
I thought it immensely patriotic of me to fly Air-India. But how stupid of me to even bother trying it out despite all the warnings I got from friends!! Their officials still seem to be stuck in the license-raj era of no competition and I cried and begged with them for my baggage and of my returning for good but to no avail. I told them straight in the face I would never fly Air India again and how Singapore Airlines would never do this to me...they didnt seem to care but a gal working there felt sorry for me and cut down the fine...time to privatise these b#$%tards! As always whenever I landed in tvm I have been met with pouring rain...this time wuz no different...but despite the rains the humidity just increases with each year...and despite what I saw from above on the flight...unlike other places every inch of kerala looked green, much like europe...i think its not our fault...lets blame it on global warming!!! I have had 4 showers already in the last 24 hours...it feels so fresh coming out of the bathroom but in half an hour I start thinking about another bath!
My dad is on his wits end since I made this decision...he is sending many of his students who wrote the CS exams my way and there are many more ppl i will be forced to meet...but hearing them out has been very helpful...my mom, ever-cool and jolly wuz joking that bcoz of me in his "oonilum orakkathilum ithu maatrame chintha olle". The basement, my favorite place in the house, where i fine-tuned my cricket, and table-tennis skills has been rented out...my bedroom has been turned into a guest-room and an a/c and geyser fitted there...all my novels in our library have been taken out and replaced by dads books, the 6 year old computer has aged further and looks like a relic and not been replaced and crashes the moment i open a few windows..looks like nobody ever expected me to come back!!!
Trivandrum is changing, there is an obvious emphasis on developing infrastructure, but our people seem not to have changed...maybe something like the saksharatha claSSes of the 80's and 90's will help...civic sense needs to be drilled into their heads. Well, despite all this I am grinning from ear to ear after a long long time...it feels great to have a sense of belonging and to be amongst my own people. After 2 months, nobody even needed to tell me...I woke up at 8 and went to church...i absolutely felt no jet-lag...it wuz hilarious to see my mom stare at me open-mouthed!!! I have a week at home and two days at my native place before I leave to delhi for the most gruelling year of my life...wonder how many of my friends I will get to meet...even watching Ananthabhadram looks doubtful!!! I had 30 mins before I head out to meet another CS-aspirant and since all my friends read this blog decided to post in a quickie...my sis made the most telling comment about this blog when she remarked even she would henceforth be forced to following my life thru this site and not thru fone calls for which I have no patience!!! One thing, I know for sure, Civil Service or no civil service, I want to live in Trivandrum for the rest of my life.
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14 comments:
It is good and fun to hear that you are begining to settle in. I understand the 4 bath feeling :)
I was in TVM for a couple of years. I agree, the city does not change. Which now I feel is a good thing :) I am not sure I want to see Pizza huts , Walmarts and other eye sores showing up :)
I do however hope the city becomes safer and easier for females. Eve teasing and MCP behaviour is one thing that could go away for good.
Good luck on your exams and preps. Wonder why you have to go to Delhi for that !
Hey Jiby,
Nice to read ur post. Glad to know that u are settling down. I went to KV pattom so for my sake please visit Savera and have a samosa.
-thanu
this post struck me somewhere man.. but whenever i go home, go tvm, like for a week or so, my schedule wud be so hectic, fully allotted to meeting relatives and friends, all in that small one week that after four or five days there, i wish very much to come back.. bt after reaching here, i think i shud've stayed more.. i guess the sub-way at palayam has been made and the area has been changed a lot!! last time i went there in june, i felt the city changed completely!!
From your comment on my blog I surmised that you are back in mera bharat mahaan!! Best of luck with the CS preparation :)
madhu, i too think tvm will not change beyond a limit coz most of the ppl belong to the fixed-income group which is nice, u dont get to see too much flaunting of wealth or any poverty and slums. tvm ppl are a bit harsh on women...though there are more working women than men...but lets hope attitudes change. the overwhelming advice i got from other aspirants was to go to delhi as good coaching would save me time which is the main constraint i face now.
thanu, oh thats nice to hear...we had a tiff while at school with a few KV Pattom boys but finally patched up. oh i absolutley love savera too and their chicken puffs...but i think i heard it closed down!!!
jithu, most of the changes are awesome man...but sorry to tell u man the underpass at palayam wasnt planned properly...it has worsened the traffic scenario...but then the road from bakery junction to palayam and the MG Road are all going to be made 4 lane...and thats the big change i am waiting for!!! there is increasing talk of a metro system too...but all these allegations of corruption and banning of bihari laborers will throw a spanner into the works.
silverine, yup am here and am excited as hell...havent even been to mera bharat mahan north of bombay...i am looking forward to kicking off my studies and doing a lot of travelling too!
Hey Jiby,
Good to know that you reached safely and are enjoying. I'm really happy for you.
Please keep writing yaar as your blog makes me feel as if I'm in India myself.
Have fun,
Bipin
gr8 to hear that u r back safe ;) so shall we expect more blogs with facts and figures!
Hmm...
So the Native has returned..
i keep feelin like im watching Hyderabad Blues/ Swades while readin thru ur blog!
Hope u are not asking questions to the traffic cops like "where's the "exit" on this freeway ??"
Whn u make ur movie remember all these sidelights :-))
Comin 2 b'lore by any chance?btw i guess i'll be home nxt weekend ; will giv u a call..Do send ur contact no:s by mail
cheers
flaash
welcome home jiby!!
enjoy ur small vacation before you hit the books!
cheerio
anish
All the best with your CS preparation. One thing I regret never having done.
Pattom Savera closed down?? :_(. Used to be one of our occasional hangout places...
From the comments above, I understand u r in the making of a movie. do consider me for a don’s role :_) like that of Sanju Bhai in Vaasthav. Please do remember to cast a hummer alongside :_))
Savera closed... Ayyo..
then go to Kalavera, somewhere b/w Thampanur and Statue.
U had tiff with our school guys? Do u remember any names as we seem to be the same batch.
-thanu
bipin, yup man will keep blogging... forget abt noistalgia man, be prepared for a real tough time when you are back, think of all the good things that can happen here and not the discomforts...it gets tougher to return with each passing year you spent in the us!!
anish, nagu...thanks guys....its been a
flaash, will give u call man!
vinod cheta, thanks...not to go without saying ur blog will be an integral part of my coaching.
geo, thanu...new places keep cropping up...while we old-timers talk fondly of savera and kalavara ppl who are here talk of all the latest eateries and hanging out there! thanu, dont rememeber any of their names...wuz like 8 years back!
Welcome back home buddy, you would have to make a long distance call if you had to reach me in Frankfurt, since I was back home long time ago :). My stint in Germany was only for about 2 weeks. 1
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