Very true, though. After hopping around in Chicago, Frankfurt and Dubai, I was exhausted, nevertheless, but that excitement was still alive when I reached Bangalore and I rejuvenated myself as soon as I landed. Hell, I wasn't even jet lagged. Well, I wasn't jet lagged when I landed back too [:P]
For REGULAR followers of my blog, you should know what I'm talking about, for the rest, Duh! Look up the previous blog. Its just that I couldn't or should I say didn't write about how my trip was, till I realised that I was about to break my resolution of wanting to write a blog in at least each of the remainder months. :D
I landed in Bangalore, from Dubai. We entered through the west coast of India, obviously.The moment the plane was in Indian airspace, I didn't feel emotional, neither did I hear 'Yeh jo des hai tera'. I guess I was too engrossed in my novel. But, it sure was a great feeling to see that unmistakable gulf of khambat and the gulf of kutch on the screen. I smiled. INDIA.
There was a small, essential (I thought, few of them didn't) swine flu test as soon as I landed, and one person was not co-operating well enough. Maybe he was a big shot. (As if they can't get swine flu :P) The tests done, I came out of the airport, with my luggages not screened for what they'd have in them. There it was. Fresh Air! (I hate A/C by the way). There was something else familiar. Noise. Horns. I smiled, again.
A taxi guy came up to me, took me to his office as soon as I came out, finished the formalities with the lady there, (which seemed to take a long time, no complaints! ;)) while I just stood there recognising the familiar cars, whizzing past, without caring for the pedestrians. It didn't look scary to me, considering that it is totally opposite here, somehow, it really didn't look scary.
The cab drivers were in some confusion and were adding to the already haphazard arrangement. They were abusing a driver who hadn't come back with a BIG car. They looked at me twice thinking that I wouldn't understand Kannada, (nothing new) but all this made it seem so pleasant to me, that I smiled again. :)
There was a similar system of a checkpoint that we have at the university here. You swipe a card and it opens up. Unfortunately, there was some problem, (No complaints, again :)) and after 5 minutes, a guy walks up to it, lifts the bar off from both sides of the checkpost and lets us pass. I didn't find it hilarious, I didn't find it a lapse in security, I thought how would have they dealt with this in US!
Anyways, I reached home, after around an hour of landing, and it was very soothing to hear the cacophony around, rather than sitting grim in an A/C car.
The one thing that struck me the most about Bangalore and my home was that, the climate was so pleasant. It felt like a natural A/C. So cool and pleasant. Spoke with a few friends of mine, a few relatives, all felt good. It was home for God's sake! HOME! :) :)
To get into an everyday detailing into what I did would be a little too much. :P The first few minutes of driving, I was a little apprehensive, but then, it was all normal. Met (almost) all my friends, my ex and current bandmates, two of us even jammed for a few minutes, and both of us were so happy that the equation still remained the same. Watched a couple of movies here and there, went to the malls a few times, everything seemed good. The only thing I was feeling weird was that I was on vacation, in a place that I have lived most of my life.
Met my colleagues at IISc, met my professors, it was all a feeling that I was here, I did this, I had gone here and there. I don't know how to put it in words, in any language.
Probably the biggest blunder that happened, and was not committed was the missing out of the trip(s) that were planned. One trip was not confirmed, and it struck to the both of us that there isn't much time, the day before I left. ;) The other trip, with the big group that I'd been going around when in Bangalore, was cancelled purely because of me. What I could see then was that it'd be very hectic for me to come back and leave. What I couldn't see was that it'd easily take an year or more of waiting on both sides to merely see each other, forget a trip. A realisation, that occured to me, much later, on landing here.
Anyways, all that happens is for a reason, and is for the good. The short trip to home. A trip of 26 days. Even if I'd stayed for a coupla months, I guess I'd have felt the same.
As for the "changes" that many people try to look at and compare between the two places, I'd plainly say, after an year in the US, or should I say, after an year of stay in the clean, pollution free, efficient, 'dream-realising' US, I'd rather prefer to stay in a place that has pollution, mismanaged traffic, bad roads, smelly food, commotion, friends and family. Home is just HOME.
