year 2009

Year 2009 -good bye.

You have been the most amazing year of my 22 years on this planet.I give an honest account.

Lats year this time I was dancing away the night at my neighbours new year party .It was fun but not really what I wanted.I wanted something else then ,someone other than the neighbours or my family members.The first few months went off with one minor and another major hiccoup in my long distance relationship.

Down South:

In May we planned to go south.We-Ritika ,sudeshna and me.Actually they had an exam -The entrance for the Madras School of Economics and I had convinced my father that I was going for a holiday with my friends -or so I thought.On the day of the departure my father realized to his horror that I was actually gonna go for a holiday with just 2 other girls .Naturally he burst out in his usual sarcastic way.I was just feeling depressed and angry with my friends for not having told me earlier that in all probability there would be no sight seeing in Madras and I was to be sitting in some cyber cafe to check the train ticket status for the next part of the journey.They had plans to meet their freinds and relatives in bengaluru too ,so basically the "3 friends together having fun " part were only the 3-4 days in ooty in the 10 day schedule.I got a phone call from a fellow who was the world to me in those days,at that point of time.A little bit of pep talk from him and i was shinning bright,a happy eager traveller.

We passed almost two days in unbearable heat of the peak summer season across the eastern plains of the Great Indian terrain in an overcrowded ,dirty and rickety Train to Chennai.Then we headed to a guest house.The next morning I did something I'd never done before.I went travelling alone in a new city without any other person known to me .The thrill of being on my own wothout parents or even friends was great.But to say that i was independent would be wrong.The guest house caretaker walked with me to the bus stand( I just asked him for directions).Some old Uncle in the Bus cum Van like vehicle gave me directions to the tourism department office(this came free I didnt even ask for directions).Again after walking a couple of minutes I asked for further directions .This time I was ridding pillion on a middle aged tamilian's scooter to my destination.( Fancy getting a lift instead of directions!).Chennaites just love to help around tourists, i thought.Once in the tourist bus I wondered when I'd get to hear some beloved Hindi words after an hours had elapsed sitting in the bus with tamil,telugu words constantly hitting my ears .Then suddenly a little kid spoke out in Hindi.I almost jumped of my seat In excitement.He was Vamshi.And soon I was talking in Hindi to Vamshi's sister Kirthi and Mother Vijaya .They were Gultis living in Madhya Pradesh.Soon I became a part of their group and they were adressing me out as "baby come here" whenever I was a little behind or away from them.I visited temples ,saree shops ,snake park-a reptilian zoo ,an auditorium and the beautiful marina beach tagging along with them.A family away from my family.Was this gods way of ensuring that I wasnt aloneThe Next destination was ooty.no actually it was first a train to Mettupaliyam


This quiet little hill station was the first thing i saw that morning.We had already entered the station and most passengers had left bythe time we woke up.Thankfully it was the last station and the train was in no hurry.
From here we travelled on a winding road to ooty-when despite my earnest request the engine driver of the scottish little toy train didnt permit us to have a seat in his engine cabin .The ooty story is long and memorable so il continue it in another blog post.


The next destination after ooty was bengaluru.Il not harp much on this part because it is here that i decided to part way with my friends for 1.5 days and spend it with my maternal uncle's family.From the relations point of view oit was a good decision but from the friends point of view it wasnt.In a way I ditched sudeshna by leaving her in the hotel in the belief that she had enough relations to take care of her there and i certainly wasnt a part of her plans so I could just move out .Now I think may be staying back woudve been a better idea.Firstly because we had come together and it was kinda rude and secondly coz my maternal uncle's wife wasnt the same woman I was so fond of as a child.She had started hating human society for what all downturns she had gone through in life.Her son was too busy shifting postions between his T.V. and computer to notice my existence.Not that she was rude .She was just not the happy person I knew once.She did take me out .I had icecreams in the rain ,bought a kind of bag i wanted for a very long time ,saw U.B. City and had an eggy muffin thanks to the dominating -i always right attitude of my aunt .The next morning I cooked up a nice story about friends waiting In M.G road and sneaked out to be on my own.Free again!.I breathed a healthy breath in the gheelishious more than 80 year old MTR restaurant.Then a warded off a stalker and almost fell asleep in the Lal bagh gardens before scampering off to a museum-technological ,to spend some time .At 6 the guards shooed me from the museum and i was left with no alternaive but to call a friend who worked in some office near bye.I spend the next 2 hours hanging around with him on Brigade Road.We went to church and searched around streets for some cookies he wanted me to have.In between I had the yummy ice cream corner chocolate fudge and killed time in an open air CCD .This brought me to the end of my bengaluru trip nad before i realized i was heading back home.