Vacationing family
Yes thats mine. They have left for a nice long vacation to Kerala,Chennai and Bangalore today. And for the first time in 23 years I'm not going with them. I think I have grown up. Strange but you never realise this until you miss out on small pleasures in life. It's the end of an era. I'm out of the loop now. I will not vacation with my folks anymore. Because am working and I cannot take holidays whenever I want to.
I remember the first few years of taking a trip down south, with my mother and great grandmother and then in later years with my grandmother. Train timings were always confirmed a month in advance because of my mother who's hyper behaviour drove us nuts (still does) and my father on the other extreme moved around like jazz music(still does).
My brother never packs until the last minute and I always have something small but consequential left until the last minute.
My father has never packed, will never do.
I pack for my mother beacuse she is hyperventilating.
Then comes the train tea/coffee and train omelette and home food packed for train. The ultimate mission of all the women in my family is to convert a train into a fully functional home.
Incidentally the men in my family always make it a point to turn nostalgic about filter coffee when they sip train coffee. They also get dirty looks form their respective spouses.
There are chips, biscuits, soft drinks, omelettes (train) banana chips, sweets and finally an upset stomach because eating and sleeping in various positions leads to indigestion.
Then the co-passengers, uncomfortable in the beginning but by midday they have become your whole new world. You even know which college they went to, where they met their wives, how many jobs they changed.
The kids (I believe now) are an indispensible part of my train journeys. No matter what time of the year it may be...they are there. Dirty little feet, dirty faces, eager to talk to you but dont know where to make a start. When they finally do make a start they never stop.....
They want to know everything about you....silly things. Then they are eager to show you their antics..that are scary at times. Then watching the parents blush in embarrasment at the things they say and do is another trip altogether.....
Rest in the next
I remember the first few years of taking a trip down south, with my mother and great grandmother and then in later years with my grandmother. Train timings were always confirmed a month in advance because of my mother who's hyper behaviour drove us nuts (still does) and my father on the other extreme moved around like jazz music(still does).
My brother never packs until the last minute and I always have something small but consequential left until the last minute.
My father has never packed, will never do.
I pack for my mother beacuse she is hyperventilating.
Then comes the train tea/coffee and train omelette and home food packed for train. The ultimate mission of all the women in my family is to convert a train into a fully functional home.
Incidentally the men in my family always make it a point to turn nostalgic about filter coffee when they sip train coffee. They also get dirty looks form their respective spouses.
There are chips, biscuits, soft drinks, omelettes (train) banana chips, sweets and finally an upset stomach because eating and sleeping in various positions leads to indigestion.
Then the co-passengers, uncomfortable in the beginning but by midday they have become your whole new world. You even know which college they went to, where they met their wives, how many jobs they changed.
The kids (I believe now) are an indispensible part of my train journeys. No matter what time of the year it may be...they are there. Dirty little feet, dirty faces, eager to talk to you but dont know where to make a start. When they finally do make a start they never stop.....
They want to know everything about you....silly things. Then they are eager to show you their antics..that are scary at times. Then watching the parents blush in embarrasment at the things they say and do is another trip altogether.....
Rest in the next
