My Trip To India -Reminiscences"

I am back in Dubai after a fabulous 10 days in India .From the moment I stepped out from vestibule of the aircraft when it landed in Delhi , I had  felt the change .The faces ,the sounds and the smells .The people at the immigration were so different than the ones in Dubai –they had such familiar names pinned on their their shirts –Suresh Sharma who checked my passport looked at me and said “Dubai mein kyon ho .Hamare yahaan bahut school hai ,aap jaise logo ki zarrorat hai Sir” ,and smiled . He did not even know me –but that’s a Indian for you –complimentary at times  and abusive at others .!!He quickly stamped my passport as I exited .The hot  humid  air outside wrapped around me like a thick blanket  .I started to sweat  .It was quintessential Delhi as we wove our way through the chaotic traffic.My mother in law was waiting for me looking at every vehicle that came into her lane .It was nearly 11 pm !!.Welcome to India .!!

It was a whirlwind tour ,that took me up into the beautiful hills of Kandaghat to the beautiful home of my sister who has a summer house there .As I looked around me ,I saw huge ,tall and majestic pine trees .I could smell them .The mountains too made me feel what I sometimes forget – that i am very small and too insignificant and too intransigent in this universe .Mountains and nature  have lasted  millions of years .!!As always –sisters put forward their best foot to pamper their brothers .My sisters Kusum and Indu never lower the bar –they always raise it .Given their tastes and affluence –it was   like living  like a king for a few days .In Chandigarh and Kandaghat .

The celebrations continued at my in laws place at New Friends Colony ,Delhi.The lotus weed ("bheh" as we Punjabis call it ),paranthas and "kheer" which are perceived to be my favourite dishes were there for the eating .Pratique was born in a hospital  in New Friends .That was 21 years back .It brought back a flood of memories .The Community centre has been one of my favourite shopping and eating places .The dishes at Al Bake , Pebble Street ,Yum Yum Tree ,and Nathus , are legendary .The small barbeque just next to the Yum Yum Tree is out of the world .And the rasoogullas and golguppas of Nathus are mind blowing. I have been getting my clothes stitched  from Gargee Tailors in New Friends Colony for years  .Given my dimensions ,I never get a perfect fit in the mass factory produced shirts ,trousers or suits .And I always fall back on Gargee Tailors .Shyam ji made me 3 suits in super fast time .They are as always –excellently stitched.He always manages to make me look like what I want to look  .He will prod me to change a few things –“ Sir 2 inch ke coat lapel bahut kum hotein hai .2 1/2  inch  kar leejeeyeh” he said .A firm shake of the head and he backed off .Wonderful man .Understands me well .And a terrific salesman –always manages to sell me one suit or coat more than what I come with in my mind to his shop .!

Airports are so cut off from the reality in India .They (like 5 Star Hotels) are a striking contrast to what exists just as you enter or leave them .Once inside –you get a artificial feel that you are the chosen one .I observed people as they flitted around in the duty free shops and the coffee bars .All –or almost all !!-are well heeled and smelling nice .All of them are with smart phones and ipads and munching Hersheys and their hand baggage is ineveitably Samsonite and  Gucci leather bags .Some of the ladies carry Marc Jacobs ,Fendi ,Mouward ,and Judith Leiber !! And they flout them .And they are Indians .But most of them appear to be first generation rich .Their money shouts –it does not whisper .When they plonk themselves into a sofa seat ,they remove their sandals and display feet that  are cracked and black in the tiny crevices .These are feet that have walked the markets of Sarojini Nagar and Lajpat Nagar .The belong there .Nothing wrong .What is wrong is that they forget inside the airport that they belong there .Nothing wrong to forget that you belong there –its okay to get away from your own reality once in a while .What is wrong is that they start behaving like that with the staff that is not so rich –the trolley boys ,the stall attendants ,the airhostesses and stewards .They are the   “ Do you know who I am”?   kind of people .!!  I wish they ran into me in one of their put on acts –with me .!! I promise to tell them who they are .

Back in Dubai .Waiting for Sangeeta and Pratique .Sangeeta comes back on the 27^th and Pratique comes in on the 28^th .Am  as excited as a school boy going out on his first date .I haven’t forgotten that day .And I wont forget the coming days .! And I will never ever forget the cities of India that I have lived in and left behind  a bit of my body and mind .My greatest insecurity is , and regret will be, if i die in a foreign land .I love my India and its not the feeling of someone who has just returned from home .It is a part of my psyche every minute even when i am there .