A place where I belong!!!

I guess its been quite a while since my last blog. Too much work I suppose. Anyway, I had a chance to visit my native very recently and this blog is about the trip.

10 glorious days of fun. That was my only thought when I boarded the bus for Nagercoil.(For those of you who are poor in geography, Nagercoil is a place near Kanyakumari, the southern tip of our country.) I was looking forward to meeting all my relatives there.(I have 4 aunts living in the same area, so i guess u can imagine how many relatives I have.) The journey was quite uneventful, unless you dont count the frequent bickering of two college girls regarding who gets to have the window seat [:P]. I reached Nagercoil by 5:30AM the next day. The details of each day are as follows:

Day 1:

I took residence in one of my aunt's place. After a great breakfast, my cousin decided to drag me to SILAMBATTAM. Both of us came out of the theatre, clearly flummoxed as to why we spent Rs.20 on tickets.(Thats the maximum rate of tickets in theatres there, and thats considered the best in the locality.) With what remained of my mind, I managed to visit every aunt and announce that I was there. Also, I savoured the dishes of every household. The evening was spent by mindless chattering with my cousins. As night fell, I was able to drift of to sleep effortlessly, something I could never manage anywhere else.

Day 2:

Yay!!! Sunday!!! I had no work other than talking with all my long distance relatives who had nearly forgotten that I existed. The entire day was so much fun. Every aunt became nostalgic as they recounted childhood memories. I had lunch and dinner at 6 different places. I spent the night talking with my cousin about my college life and friends.

Day 3:

My grandfather suddenly took ill and was admitted to a hospital. Since everyone had office that day, I was left to take care of him. I enjoyed the evening by listening to an orchestra of a very large, noisy bunch of mynahs. I returned home at 9:00 PM and helped my aunt with the chores. After a great meal of fish,(Fish is the staple diet there. No meal is complete without a large helping of fish) I lay down in the terrace and started counting stars before being overpowered by a wave of deep sleep.

Days 4-7:

It was Pongal holidays for everyone. My grandfather prefered my company, so I was the day shift care-taker whereas my favourite uncle took care of the night-shift. The kids repeatedly visited the hospital, mostly to keep me company.Also, my grandfather told me a lot of personal stuff about him. What surprised me the most was his ability to recount incidents which occured when he was 9 years old without batting an eye-lid.(And we have a problem to recall what we did yesterday! Shame on us people!) His love for my late-grandmom left me thinking whether anyone else would be lucky enough to have such a life. Each day, I was treated to a new story of love, hard-work, unlimited joy and occassional sorrrow, much on the filmy line. Each day, I got a new inspiration.

Day 8:

Hurrah!!! Its my birthday!!! After attending numerous calls from friends, I went on to get blessings from all the elders. It is customary for us to give money when a young one falls at our feet and asks blessings. So I got a really hefty collection that day, thanks to the sheer number of people present. I went to Trivandrum to meet my "friends" from TCS. After spending about 4 hours with them, I came back home. After the tiring journey, I slept off just as my god-mother was exclaiming how happy she was that I spent one of my birthdays there.

Day 9:

Hospital duty again. By this time, every staff in the hospital knew my name and what I was doing. I was looking forward to hearing my grandfather narrate his experiences, but all was spoilt by constant visits by all aunts and uncles. With nothing much to do, I wandered off to check every nook and corner of the hospital. Luckily, I was saved from boredom by a very friendly (and really beautiful, hot, gorgeous-looking) nurse. We chatted for a couple of hours. I returned home at 6:00 PM. Then, it was play-time. I had a gala time with all my cousins. Just sitting and chatting, I remembered what I had been missing for 5 years. I vowed to spend atleast 10 days each year just like that. Before getting to bed, I was constantly reminded of the times we spent together as one big, happy family.

Day 10:

Time to say good-bye. I spent the entire day saying good-byes to all my relatives. This time, I made sure none of my relatives were left out. By the time the train started chugging out of the station, I remembered everything that had happened, every word of advice I received, every caring soul I spoke to and the unanimous wish from everyone that I remained so happy forever.

After so much happening in so short a span of time, I felt that I was leaving a part of myself in my home-town. I felt that this is the only place a belong. I felt that this is home!!!