An immigrant’s trip to home country
Long flights, swollen feet, tired eyes, jetlagged body,
Yet positive vibes wrap around me at the touchdown,
Exuberance of joy falling short of words to describe!
the precious twinkle on my parents’ eyes at the arrival,
Warm welcome from near and dear ones,
the ride back home rushes the memories
of leaving home for the first time,
nostalgia overpowers the chatter during the ride.
The faint smell of my home that I grew up so familiar,
My home, my sweet home, Not my home anymore!
I am a visitor, just a visitor now! Sigh!!
Every inch of it has stories and memories,
sweet and bitter, overwhelms my soul!
The secrets we kept, the promises we made,
The compromises we made, the skirmish we had!
Teenage and adolescent phases of me and
How I turned out now! A hell lot of introspection!!
Past midnight, after sumptuous home cooked meal,
family dozes off, me lost in thoughts of all good old memories,
Dunk in gratitude, joy and happiness, slowly drifts off into deep slumber!
Next day welcomes with hot piping filter coffee and warm idlis and sambhar,
Early morning beach road visits and several meets with family and friends,
Visiting our farm, the cows and calves, the chicks and their eggs,
puts me on time travel to my childhood days, my inner child jumps out!
A ceremony or a wedding of near ones!
Family gatherings on a daily basis,
An occasional guest shows up at lunchtime,
At least one family member asks,
what time is it there now!
Surrounded by people,
and their love, warmth and cheerfulness!
Lunch and dinner dates prebooked,
Gifts exchanged and endless talks
about stocks, politics and possible recession!
Food is how we celebrate here,
Quick Eat-outs on streets, fancy schmancy dinners!
Not to miss any new ones in town.
Swiggy or zomato, the kid gets to decide!
Thalis, buffets, wedding dinners, you name it, I had it!
Pickles, traditional sweets, seasonal fruits
Enjoyed gulping, gobbling and slurping Indian food to the brim,
Like there is no tomorrow!!
Shopping for here and to take back home,
Will that ever come to an end?
Sarees, salwars, pattu pawadas, lehengas,
of course gold and diamonds!
Endless trips to the boutiques and tailor shops,
Last minute adjustments, crazy fun trials with cousins,
Dressed up like a princess and dressed down to pjs in a jiffy!
Those late night talks, cracking jokes on the fly,
Giggles, chuckles, smiles end up into ghastly hysterical laughter,
Rummy, blackjack take merry-go-round most nights,
Sleepless yet energized like Duracell bunnies, we are!
Hot and sultry, sweat pearls drench me as if I walked in rain,
Occasional drizzle adds up the sultriness!
Comfort of maid, washerman, driver, watchman,
Uncertainty and anticipation of their arrival sucks!
Traffic jams and the terrible drivers,
Two wheelers cutting the lines,
Long waits at the signals, couple of miles
seems a long destination! Yet I enjoy every bit of my stay!!!
Temples, my grandparents’ home,
A glimpse of my school, college and university,
my usual hang out spots, my old home,
A flashback of my younger years reel out as I drive by,
A sense of belonging I get from those places,
You can take an Indian out of India,
But never India out of an Indian!
Days, weeks went by pretty fast,
vacation came to an end,
Those hard earned six weeks of leave!!
Time to say good bye to family and friends,
With my heart full of gratitude and new memories to cherish,
Here I board the flight back to my home away from my home!!
With hope that there is always next time to come back,
Until then I will miss you, love you!!