Interminable journey

I went home last weekend to attend a family gathering. I had not informed folks back home and gave them all a surprise. I messaged Suri to pick me up from the airport; but he probably thought I was pulling a fast one and decided to let it pass. Chennai is safe, the cabbies are friendly and (damn) it’s my hometown.

It was wonderful to be with family, my aging father, my chatty sisters, happy brother and all my nieces and nephews. My trip was very short; reached there Saturday late evening and left on Sunday evening. There was a family lunch on Sunday and frankly nobody was expecting me; but I wanted to be there and so I did.

After a sumptuous lunch, lot of gossiping and bit of rest, I said my “byes” to family, five hours ahead of my flights’ scheduled departure. I jumped into a cab and set off to TVK Nagar (North Madras) where I spent the first twenty years of my life. It was wonderful to drive (or be driven) thro’ the roads of my childhood. I figured our (once) family jeweler (Mitalal) has moved into a bigger outlet, tea stall across my primary school still intact there, languishing Pugayilai Nadar (the guy chewing tobacco) shop, who was our grocer, 5-Star hairdressers (men’s saloon) where my dad used to take me for a “bob” cut when I was very little, bus terminus where, as a teenager I met and chatted with friends while waiting for my bus and Pillayar Kovil (Ganesh temple)…. that’s unquestionably my most favorite place.

Varasidhi Vinayagar Shiva Vishnu Aalayam, it used to be known as. I visited that temple every single day, to pray, thank, to crib, brood, reflect, to meet friends and to offer 108 rounds around the temple. My trips to the temple were packed with hopes; hoping for better marks, hoping for fights to end, hoping for a better life, hoping for arrival of my knight in shining armor just as I stepped out of the temple (am not joking). I wish I had met my old buddies that day who could relate to my nostalgia, but unfortunately didn’t. It was time to get back to the real world!