Objects in the RearView Mirror!

After 25 hours at 30,000+ ft altitude watching B-grade movies, sleeping, snacking on some
delicious "Hindu" meals served by some really cute air-hostesses, the flight finally touched down on the Chatrapati Shivaji International airport at Mumbai. With great excitement I breezed through the immigration and customs to greet my family and relatives who had braved the humid night and persistent mosquitoes to receive their loved one. After cramping more than the comfortable number of people into the jeep, we set out for a 45 minute ride to home in the wee hours of morning.

Growing up, traffic in India never alarmed me - I thought it was the same all over the
world. But after lapping up more than 30,000 miles in US, it was a huge shock to see traffic in Mumbai . My life flashed before my eyes innumerable number of times, as the driver snaked between high-beam lit cars, and some single head light lit trucks. I noticed a beautiful contradiction in the traffic philosophy in India and US. In India, you can stick your vehicle into any intersection and the assumption is that the oncoming vehicle will stop to let you go, whereas in US under such circumstances the assumption is always that the oncoming vehicle will not stop. Once you clarify this subtle nuance and you measure the exact dimension of your vehicle down to mms, driving in India is not so hard. But wherever I went there was traffic galore. People seemed to have gotten rich in a hurry and had filled their narrow lanes with cheap affordable cars, but the MLA's seemed in no hurry to build new roads and flyover to accomdate this sudden surge in motorized vehicles. What is more shocking is the utter neglect shown to the fate of pedestrians. I realized, much to the chagrin of my friends, that I had developed a sudden respect for oncoming traffic as I would patiently wait minutes before walking across the asphalt. On one such occassion I followed my friends advice to brave traffic underneath the Gemini flyover, only to be almost beaten by a traffic cop. But seriously, why don't we care about pedestrians ?

The other thing which amazed me was the wealth possessed by teenagers. Rs 75/- a coffee
seemed like blasphemy to me cause I had grown up drinking road-side tea for a buck or two
with a biscuit costing 50 paise, and I am not that old !There was way too much dipsosable cash in the society, thanks to the IT revolution, and people were not ashamed to flaunt it. Courtesy of the corporate culture, western outlets (Sub-way, Mcdonalds etc) are making in-roads, but due to adverse dollar-rupee conversion ratio, they still maintain a very small patronising group. The fad for being westernised is getting bigger as people happily seem to be swapping their local identity for someone whom they would want to be. Cars of all foreign manufactures adorn the road - what the hell, I saw a Porsche Carrera outside The Park, Chennai (5 star hotel). But it seemed like the wealth was only increasing the divide between the haves and have-nots, and with 7% inflation there was no end insight.

The best thing about trips to India is the great food. You dont have to pay 100's of
rupees in some fancy restaurant when you can enjoy the most delicious ones for less than 10
on the footpath. Hygeine suddenly takes a backseat while eating out as I enjoy the germs as
much as the spices that make the stuff tasty. At most times, I found myself with the predicament "Pet Bhargaya, per Dil na Bhara". Having spent 6 years in hostel eating zoo
food, and then 4 years eating microwaved food, your sense of appreciation really kicks in as
you relish even the simplest of the dishes. Ladies in India, don't realise what an immense
talent they possess over the entire world, in terms of their cooking ability. Living in a
cosmopolitan city like LA, I have sample food from some countries whose name people might not even have heard of.....but no cuisine seems to be as rich and diverse as ours !!

Personally, it was a roller coaster ride. One evening, I was on a tremendous high seeing
my sister getting married to a gem of a guy, and meeting old friends and relatives only to
meet the same set of people the other day after my grandfather's expiry in a very shocked state. Life is a great equaliser, and having witnessed the first death in the close family circle, I have realised one important thing - Your life is not just precious to yourself, but its precious to all the people who love you.

But trips to India are always too short and always memorable. The emotions don't actually
sink in till you have checked in your baggages at the departure terminal and received your
boarding pass. As you esconce yourself into the tiny little window/aisle seat in the big
bird, the reality hits you. Amidst the ruckus of big mouthed co-passengers you reminisence
the entire trip and nostaligically look back at the day you landed at the airport and met
your family for the first time. And then like a movie in flashback, you trace your thoughts
through all the incidents that unfolded over the last 3-4 weeks. This fond feeling continues
till your exhausted eyes give up their battle and take you into your fantasy world. It's a
shame that these trips happen only once a year or two !!