Home sweet home

On Friday, I was on cloud 9. I was going home after almost 4 months. I had missed the train in 5 minutes last time and I didn’t want to let that happen again. We had a meeting in the morning, where they virtually tore us apart. Why do people have such wonderful expectations and then I need to slog to meet their ridiculous expectations. I was smiling, through out. Nothing on earth could spoil my home going mood. Post lunch, I waited for 4:45 and slipped away. Preeti was there to give me company. I was planning to skip dinner and she was planning to buy bun in bake point. VS gave us lift just near the bakepoint, and I didn’t want Preeti to starve because of me. Her PG was in Domlur and VS took the trouble of dropping us near New Shanthi Sagar. I got 2 set idlis parceled while, she packed and came. We took an auto, the auto guy took a round about route to reach cantonment. We reached 1:30 hours in advance and with 30 bucks extra rate. Kachiguda had not yet arrived, the whole platform was full of goltis. Preeti having spent 4 yrs in Warangal, spoke fluent telgu as well and she translated some amusing things as ppl passed by. One guy was lamenting, that his gal needed 3 dresses for 1 day. Around 6:15, Madhu came and we still could not find any place to sit. We deposited the bags with him and the family he was speaking to and walked from one end to another end of the platform. Walking is any day better than standing still at one place.

At 7:25, the train came and only after I went to my coach, I remembered that P had the bed sheet. I went once to collect the sheet and once again to eat the dinner with her. When I returned to my UB, I found that the TT had already finished checking and had arranged for RAC guys to occupy my berth. Towards 11 TC woke me up and demanded my identity proof. He was asking, where I had been, after RAC seats had been allotted.

I had worn my jerkins and pulled the cover over myself. Around 12:53, I woke up to find that the guy in the neighbouring UB had switched off the fans and he was reading pdf in his notebook. Man, I felt stuffy and bent down to switch on the fan. After some time, I felt, he had switched off the fan again. I didn’t want to fight with him and left it at that. Sometime, I felt some disturbance and found, that he was doing something with mobile. Gosh I lost all my sleep. When I woke up close to 4 am, he was not there in his berth and I got down and when I reached junction, I found dad was not there. Preeti’s dad was there. I felt bad. I didn’t want to wait for viji. He said, he wanted to meet me at the station. I called him up and said that I am going home, since my bus comes only once an hour. Ok, he said then, he will come home and meet me. Fine I said.

On the way, in the bus. I was smiling throughout. The driver, started speaking to me. Man, how much people remember even after 9 years. Reached the road from Mathur. I remembered my driving classes in this road. I remembered praying to god, while I sat behind dad as he dropped me to college. Somehow, traveling in this road, always filled me with a sense of being at home. The bus, rushed past KV my school. I alighted at the roundana. The moment I went home, I found that, I had to do lots cleaning. Mom and I shifted the position of the cupboard and it was 8 when I finished part of the cleaning. Mom had to rush to office and she had not made me any breakfast. I was so irritated. I made wheat dosas and tomato chutney. For lunch, I made ladysfinger sambar and manathakkali keera kootu that more like a poriyal. I was still sweating in the kitchen, when around 12:15, I heard the knock on the door, I was thinking mom and I opened to door to find, it was Viji. Man, I was surprised, he had said, that he would drop in at 2 pm and he was here now it self. He said, when he went for water wash, there were 2 more cars in front and he didn’t have the patience to wait and had come here. Well whatever, we spoke for almost 1-1.5 hours. At last, I bid him to eat and he agreed to eat a little, since, he had to eat at home as well. All the while, while viji was at home, my opposite neighbour was staring past our window in his lungi. Just as we finished lunch, mom came home and she had got a whole lot of things. Then I gave company for mom’s lunch as well and slept off in the noon.

Our plan was to go to Swami’s house in the evening. My plan was to go to aunty’s house in the noon, even before than get matching blouse for all mom’s sarees. But thanks to my short nap, all plans were cancelled. I was in a dilemma to meet aunty or swamy first. When mom called up swamy’s number in the evening, she got the msg that he would be coming back only after 7 pm. There is neither road nor street lights to chithunavayal and hence, I dropped the plans for meeting swamy after 7 pm and decided to only meet aunty. The next day I had been planning to meet periyamma, so everything had to be done that evening. Around 6:30 – 7 I started to go to poolangudi and found, the bus came within minutes. I boarded and reached the mosque street and walked home. To my surprise, swamy was sitting there in aunty’s verandah. Man I was overjoyed, we spoke for hours. He agreed to have dinner and he had dinner and sweets. Since swamy was there, I could not take care of my grandpa. I decided to come the next day morning and spend time with bedridden grandpa. I told swamy that now, I that I had got admission as I had wished a year earlier, I have lost interest in doing my PG. he said, I should not stop, what I had started. Fine I said. Around 10, uncle offered to drop me home.

The next day, I had planned to clean up the terrace. But found that mom had started to make chappathis and she had to rush to office at 7:30 for Sunday duty. Man I was annoyed. I had whole lots of clothes to dry and make chapathis and clean up the terrace as well and still go meet thaatha. By the time I finished and had breakfast, I got super lazy. I lay sprawled on the chair in front of the TV, eating anything and everything within reach. Mom came, and her plan was that I should be at the busstand at 4:50 to go to Kamalapuram – my periyamma’s place. At 5, periyamma started calling. Since she called twice, I made up my mind, not to go there. So cranky of me. I watched TV the whole day from 8:35 am till 9 pm in the hall. Mom said, that, she is never going to make any plans based on me. Fine I agreed. On Monday, we had dahlia for breakfast and went for getting the groceries. On the way, there were 3-4 people to stop by and talk in the hot sun. Man, mom would hardly cook, if she was alone. She felt it was too costly to even spend on milk. Man, I really don’t know, what is she doing. Thaatha kadai anna, who was my math teacher’s younger brother offered me "colour", which I refused. On the way back, I thought, let me at least buy bananas from him, so that he gets some profit. I was surprised, when he refused the money, even after much insistence. Well, we came home, had murungakka, kathrika, maanga sambar, kothavaranga usili, murunga keera poriyal, freshly cut maanga oorukai on tender plantain leaf. We had moong dal payasam. It was ambrosia, but somehow, I felt so bad that sugi and cheenu were not there with us, only mom and myself, that I could not spend time with thaatha or periyamma and my cousins.

Time flew by on Monday and I found to my dismay that I had to leave at 6 pm. One thing that continued to disturb me was the fact that 3 lush green neem trees surrounding the the quarters were half dead. They used to be so pleasing and serene to look at through the hall room window and the bath room window. All the 3 neem trees leaves were half dead. Mom said, that is because, rose aunty uncle and my opposite door neighbours akka died recently. Well, even swamy said, they will get back to full life after chithrai. Well, hope it does.

I managed to board the bus to junction at 6:25, my train was at 8:25. I had one short gal Shukkanthi for company. There was one more mallu gal in HAL in the same bus. In the bus, again, there was some uncle, who proclaimed to ppl that I was S’s daughter who had accident while studying. Man, ppl always remember. I used to be so embarrassed when, in 5th standard, everywhere I went in oft, ppl referred to me as the gal who climbed the water tank even after months and years. Now as the gal who fell down after so many years. Well whatever, it was good that Shukkanthi was there to talk, I didn’t call up dad. I didn’t tell him that I am going. I boarded the train and collapsed on the UB. A kid was continuously wailing. I was praying to god, to calm the child. Around 11 pm, some guy in the coach, started shouting at the kid’s parents and it erupted into a kinda fist fight. Every one woke up and the lights were switched on and, it was a mess. Around 2 am, the guy was still complaining and there went my sleep. I was just praying that ppl should calm off. Surprisingly, the kid had long since stopped wailing, but the grown ups didn’t leave their grumbling. Okie whatever. This morning, I didn’t want to walk 1.8 km from cantonment till guttahalli at 5:29 am and decided, I will rather go to majestic and board the bus there. Reached home at 6:45 am. I took bath and knocked my house owner and upper floor neighbour’s door to give them A2B ladoo and mysore pak. But they didn’t open. Probably coz, I was knocking at 8 am. I finished my pranayam in the terrace, breakfast and rushed as usual to board the office bus at 8:15. So surprising, back home, ppl just poke their noses everywhere. Here, even if you want to give them something, ppl hardly open the doors. Man, unsolicited enquiries bother a bit, but solitude tortures even more.