Back from a very good trip to Aamchi Mumbai for Christmas and New Year. The journey to Bombay was anything but.
The Hell-Ride
A regular 19 hour bus ride compounded to 24 hours and that too in an ST bus. Last minute ticket booking did not help the cause one bit. Left Bangalore on December 24 via Majestic for a 4PM start through Karnataka and Maharashtra. While I was booking the ticket, I knew that I would not be travelling via the comfortable Volvo but little did I know that the 'downgrade' would be this nasty. A little while past 3:45PM, after an uneasiness to locate the bus to Bombay, I stumbled upon an old lady to ask whether the bus had arrived. To my heartbreak, she pointed to the bus behind me and said, "Yeh raha Mumbai ka bus". An old ST bus crammed with people and luggages. I get to my seat, the very last row of the bus, which unfortunately seated 6 well-built men, including me (and when I say well-built, one was a Yokozuna, you can imagine the thrill-ride I had bargained for).
NH-7 was completely under-construction for road-widening and fly-overs and I am sure some one from the bus is suffering from lung-congestion as I write this. Dust-filled roads caused the windows to be locked and while it was hot enough for the thinnest person to start sweating, it didn't help when old used socks started showing their true colours, rather their true smell. In between the many halts, the closed windows and the dust storm, the bus finally made its way into Maharashtra in the wee hours of Christmas morning.
At Satara, I couldn't wait to empty my bladder and also to take a dump. Took a crap in possibly the dirtiest shit-hole you will find on earth. Ya, it was that bad. Further unloading of passengers in Pune made the ride a bit more comfortable but it couldn't quite compensate for the roller-coaster of a ride through the middle of the night.
Home Sweet Home
Reached home on Christmas day afternoon and after a hearty meal prepared by mommy dearest, I took a nap which was one of the most comfortable ones that I have taken in a long time. No deadlines to work with, no early morning phone calls, no Yokozuna leaning on the shoulders. Wow.
Took off for our once-in-a-month temple trip to Chembur and then to see relatives whom I hadn't seen in a very long time. It was nice to catch up with folks and hear the same questions about "when are you going back to the USA?" or "when is Kirti coming back?".
3 Idiots
Thanks to Shetty saab, Amma, Appa and I caught with up a night show of 3 Idiots. While all 3 of us enjoyed the movie thoroughly, for me, it didn't quite match the funny-ness of the Munnabhai series. As Shetty saab had rightly pointed out earlier, the movie did have a character just like me, Chatur Ramalingam. Not quite 100% but definitely shades of me.
New Year in Vasind
Met with parents-in-laws over 2 days and went on a temple tour with them as well. Feel a lot more comfortable with them now than in the previous 4+ years. Good sign, isn't it.
While it may not have been a conventional New Year party, it definitely did not feel anything less. Went to Vasind for a night of prayers as it was an auspicious moment. I had never seen my Guru so drunk..drunk with devotion that he sang and danced his way into the night, praising the Lord. A moment that shall stay with me for a long time. Not once did I feel bored or left out in Vasind. Good times.
Avatar
Caught a show of James Cameroon's Avatar with Mayank a day before my trip back. Great movie and a great experience. Made a trip to VESIT, yes VESIT of all the places and re-lived some of the good ol' days of Engineering. The place has changed significantly but still retained some of the 1998-2002 like atmosphere. Surreal. Shetty saab joined us later for dinner and some ru-ba-ru and ended up knowing our 'bhavishya' from a 'jyotishi' at the hotel we were having dinner at.
Wound up my trip yesterday and made a comfortable 19 hour ride on an AC Volvo to Bangalore. Lots of good times and lots of good fun.
The Hell-Ride
A regular 19 hour bus ride compounded to 24 hours and that too in an ST bus. Last minute ticket booking did not help the cause one bit. Left Bangalore on December 24 via Majestic for a 4PM start through Karnataka and Maharashtra. While I was booking the ticket, I knew that I would not be travelling via the comfortable Volvo but little did I know that the 'downgrade' would be this nasty. A little while past 3:45PM, after an uneasiness to locate the bus to Bombay, I stumbled upon an old lady to ask whether the bus had arrived. To my heartbreak, she pointed to the bus behind me and said, "Yeh raha Mumbai ka bus". An old ST bus crammed with people and luggages. I get to my seat, the very last row of the bus, which unfortunately seated 6 well-built men, including me (and when I say well-built, one was a Yokozuna, you can imagine the thrill-ride I had bargained for).
NH-7 was completely under-construction for road-widening and fly-overs and I am sure some one from the bus is suffering from lung-congestion as I write this. Dust-filled roads caused the windows to be locked and while it was hot enough for the thinnest person to start sweating, it didn't help when old used socks started showing their true colours, rather their true smell. In between the many halts, the closed windows and the dust storm, the bus finally made its way into Maharashtra in the wee hours of Christmas morning.
At Satara, I couldn't wait to empty my bladder and also to take a dump. Took a crap in possibly the dirtiest shit-hole you will find on earth. Ya, it was that bad. Further unloading of passengers in Pune made the ride a bit more comfortable but it couldn't quite compensate for the roller-coaster of a ride through the middle of the night.
Home Sweet Home
Reached home on Christmas day afternoon and after a hearty meal prepared by mommy dearest, I took a nap which was one of the most comfortable ones that I have taken in a long time. No deadlines to work with, no early morning phone calls, no Yokozuna leaning on the shoulders. Wow.
Took off for our once-in-a-month temple trip to Chembur and then to see relatives whom I hadn't seen in a very long time. It was nice to catch up with folks and hear the same questions about "when are you going back to the USA?" or "when is Kirti coming back?".
3 Idiots
Thanks to Shetty saab, Amma, Appa and I caught with up a night show of 3 Idiots. While all 3 of us enjoyed the movie thoroughly, for me, it didn't quite match the funny-ness of the Munnabhai series. As Shetty saab had rightly pointed out earlier, the movie did have a character just like me, Chatur Ramalingam. Not quite 100% but definitely shades of me.
New Year in Vasind
Met with parents-in-laws over 2 days and went on a temple tour with them as well. Feel a lot more comfortable with them now than in the previous 4+ years. Good sign, isn't it.
While it may not have been a conventional New Year party, it definitely did not feel anything less. Went to Vasind for a night of prayers as it was an auspicious moment. I had never seen my Guru so drunk..drunk with devotion that he sang and danced his way into the night, praising the Lord. A moment that shall stay with me for a long time. Not once did I feel bored or left out in Vasind. Good times.
Avatar
Caught a show of James Cameroon's Avatar with Mayank a day before my trip back. Great movie and a great experience. Made a trip to VESIT, yes VESIT of all the places and re-lived some of the good ol' days of Engineering. The place has changed significantly but still retained some of the 1998-2002 like atmosphere. Surreal. Shetty saab joined us later for dinner and some ru-ba-ru and ended up knowing our 'bhavishya' from a 'jyotishi' at the hotel we were having dinner at.
Wound up my trip yesterday and made a comfortable 19 hour ride on an AC Volvo to Bangalore. Lots of good times and lots of good fun.
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