I am back in India after 5 long years. In fact for all practical purposes after 14 long years. And boy has it changed - you bet BIG TIME. It seems like India has bifurcated into two parts - Metros and small interior towns. And the gap between the two has seemed to widen so much that I am not sure if there is any resemblance left at all. India in Metro is crowded yet vibrant, polluted yet bustling with energy, creative, and rich with tech gen who are just finding ways to spend the newly found money. I have not seen that many designer show rooms in US and Europe as I have seen here in India. The hotels on NH in Delhi close to airport cost as much as $450 a night. There are great eating joints with classy ambiance.
People are working hard as it is highly competitive work environment and almost every one wants to have a bigger and bigger title.
As you move along the roads you see all these newly constructed high rise especially in the suburbs where these construction sites are gutting more and more of the farmlands. There are few trees here and there with inches of dust on them. They seem to be bearing the brunt of the development and seem to be disappearing fast. A few that are left give such a sullen look as if requesting to be laid in peace.
You also see chawls (or slums) just outside the big cities. With mountain loads of trash around them. I could see small kids playing on the heap of trash. Looking at them made me feel guilty about the $20 breakfast I had in the morning.
The small towns are still sleepy and slow paced. You can see bullock carts and camel carts on the road. The streets are still crowded due to the sheer number of people on the road. The farms still exudes the old charm however the layer of dust is everywhere. I did not see even one clear morning where you could see sun rising. There is a perennial layer of smog on the horizon.
This time, I came with an intention of going and visiting all the places which touched my life in some form or the other while I was growing up. I also wanted to meet my old friends and family - cannot explain the reason but I had an urge to see everyone.
With this intention I started my journey from Saharanpur (my maternal grandfather's house) which is around 130 km away from Meerut. I had a great time at there . My mama used to take me to all these small cool places around the city on his bike - one of my favorite was this canal just outside the city. When I called Mama and told him that I am coming I was so touched that he went all across the city to collect my favorite food. He took me on his motor bike to the same canal along with my 3 yr old son in the front (where I used to sit as a kid).
I really went there to see my Nani (my mom's mom) with whom I am very attached to. She raised me till I was three and thereafter I spent all my school vacations at Saharanpur till I was 12. I have so many memories associated with that house. Among many things I remember my Nani buying me a toy vanity set with mirror, she making dolls for me out of the wool, and she giving me money out of her pocket expense to go and eat my favorite things on the street. I remember those endless long summers spent in making mango chutneys and papads and achaars (pickles). Some of those pickle jars are still lying there in the almirahs.
I spent most of my childhood on the third floor which is now empty (after my grandfather passed away). To me that floor is where all my memories are scattered. Right from the nook where my grandmother used to pray to the store house where I used to hide. That store house used to have huge trunks and I loved looking inside them with great curiosity as if there was some big treasure. I used to look at all the old things m grandmother had in them. The places that seemed so big when I was a kid just seemed so small this time. Right from the rooftop at my maternal grandparents house to the room in which at one point of time at least 7 of us seem to sleep with 4 beds. This time it was empty with just one bed which is almost 60 years old. Still the room seemed so tiny. There was also this old pantry kind of shelf which is at least as old as me as I always just saw it there in the same corner. I left the place with a feeling of closure. Not sure if I am ever going back there or not. But does not matter. I will always cherish my time there and I also felt that by taking my son back there he got the blessings of my grandparents.
(To be continued)
