Phoren return… alli re alli!

If anyone were to ask me - how does it feel to be back in the motherland after 2 years?

I would say – There is no home like the one you’ve got because that home belongs to you.

I was supposed to land on the 3rd of October but due to unforeseen circumstances, I landed two days later. I remember people telling me how awful things are supposedly in Mumbai, what with the pollution, the garbage and not to forget the crowd! I was also warned about the Mumbai smell that would welcome me when my plane was landing. Sorry guys, either my sense of smell was off because all I got was a whiff of cabin crew.

I remember sitting and waiting anxiously for the plane to touch base and tears entering my eyes as my mind went back to the day I was leaving. I remember all the people who came and helped relieve me of my excess clothes, jewelry and shoes. And let’s not forget those who helped me pack 22 years of my life in two suitcases which had to weigh 46 kgs in all. Do not ask how many times my bags popped open and how much they actually weighed at the airport.

With a jolt I came back to earth when I heard the plane had landed safely. After collecting my luggage, I had my first argument with a fellow Indian who was trying to wiggle through customs by breaking the line. I knew I was back in India but this time the old me was gone. I will not say living abroad did not do me any good, because one thing I learned – if you’re gonna go down, go down with a fight. So I went up and patting him on the back said, “Excuse me, do you think all these people including me are fools to wait in a line at 4 in the morning?” He apologized and went back and joined the line. While I felt liberated I was a little shaky after that.

Got home by six and barely slept because there was so much to experience. I mean seeing the watchman to the neighbourhood dog who still slept outside our home; things did not seem to have changed, although change seems to have been the mandate of the government these last two years.

Has anyone been to the airport recently? They definitely have made an effort to make it look spectacular and I for one laude their efforts. The next few days were just a whole unraveling process of me drinking in everything Mumbai had to offer. To begin with, it is still impossible to catch a Santosh Nagar bus at whatever time of the day and no one told me the Golkuldham bus doesn’t travel outside Gokuldham anymore. I waited for the bus for a good 45 minutes till I got fed up and travelled by rickshaw. After that the train ticket ka line was hilariously huge but I finally got a ticket and headed for the 9:31 Goregaon local. Since then I have learned that a booklet can save you time. With my jeans rolled up, my bag in front of me, I got ready to jump into a moving train. Mind you I am not only out of shape but out of practice as well. I don’t think I did badly – third seat mila re… Chalel ka????? Hahaha.

I love our Mumbai trains. Forget about the body smells, the crowd, there is just something about entering our trains which just gets me smiling all the time. There was a day I was coming back by a Borivali fast and was hanging outside. The train was horribly slow till Bandra and then it just ran like the wind till Goregaon. I think I literally looked like one of those dogs you see on TV who sticks its head out of a moving car. With the wind on my cheeks I was grinning like an idiot and did not care that people were giving me the ‘what is wrong with this girl’ look.
People have changed as well. All the kids I knew have grown vertically while I grew sideways. The hawkers may have diminished but malls selling what the hawkers would sell at double the cost are all around us. Bargaining is another thing I missed. It was amazing travelling through South Mumbai and visiting Fort, Crawford Market and the Queen’s Necklace.

Most of all it is a blessed feeling to be back to the place I call home and the people I call family. The memory of my last two Christmas’s has left me wanting more. So for me this Christmas is going to be extra special because I will be putting in the extra effort needed to make it spectacular. It will not be a material Christmas like the West makes it out to be, but a CHRIST filled Christmas.
I hope this Christmas is as special to you as it will be for me.

From my family to yours - A Happy and Joyful Christmas.


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