Home Calling...
A trip which we (Me and Bro) had planned sometime back and since we had only a weeks time, had to forego most part of 'Durga Pujo' to be able to make it for the more grand 'Lakkhi Pujo' at home. Lotz of friends and relatives visiting during that time and Mom would not have spared me had I not stayed back for that although she was ok with me for delaying my visit at the expense of skipping 'Durga Pujo' at Kaku's place.
Reached Bhubaneswar in the early hours of 'Dashami'. As usual Dad had come to receive us and I got an opportunity to drive the very car I had learnt my driving...Got a flashback of my early driving dayz ...We reached home pretty soon and Mom was waiting at the gate...She was ecstatic and had already prepared food for us since we wanted to have food at home...'Luchi aar Aloo Kopi Bhaja' is what we had agreed for and which is precisely what she had prepared...Mouth watering stuff especially if itz cooked by Mom...!!
Itz only on rare occassions that all four of us are at home and so the whole family reunion was something everyone was looking forward to...We ate and then talked for a while but then I was too tired and slept off...!!
Woke up in the morning late and it was 'Bijoya Dashami'...time to convey ur 'Pranam' to elders and give your blessings to younger ones but since I had very few people around me who were younger...so it was mostly Take and less of Give !! :-)
The most important part of 'Bijoya' apart from visiting relatives is the food that you get...All kinds of sweets and delicacies to gorge on and we had a grand time...!!
Spent part of the evening in 'Thakur Dekha' as well...although we cudn't cover all the places as it was already too late but i did enjoy the late night drive around the city...
People out here enjoy every bit of life and everything they do doesn't always have a 'Purpose' tag attached to it which in other words means that they are very forthcoming and helpful by nature...so different from the cosmo life in Bangalore...Maybe my upbringing in a non-metro has something to do with it but I do cherish the simple way of living here.
The next 2 days went in catching up wid school friends and general preparation for 'Lakkhi Pujo' at home.Itz quite strange how some bonds never change and you always feel as if it was only yesterday that you had met up.That is exactly the feeling you get when you meet wid ur school friendz ('Chaddi Buddies' as we call them) even after a long time...Cudn't catch up wid many though as most of them were either busy wid their jobs elsewhere or were pursuing higher studies abroad...and only a few had made it home for 'Dusshera' and considering the fact dat I was meeting some of them after a gap of almost 4 yrs it seemed much like gud old school dayz again.
Topics for discussion were aplomb wid the most important subject being 'Whoz getting married and to whom?'...Just cudn't imagine how time flew and we had to part...Professional life has itz own demands and though we wanted to spend more time together it just wasn't possible although we did make a resolution to meet up again sometime in the near future...But all of us knew how difficult it would be...We were just hoping against hope...
Had mixed feelings when I came back home but it did give me a sense of belongingness I had for this place...A feeling which can never be described...
Back home though Mom was a li'l worried about our attachment to laptops and the fact that we were puttin in quality office time even when we were on a holiday...Although Dad has a slight craze for gadgets, Mom never fancied such stuff and was annoyed by this small 'creature' distancing her from spending quality time with her sons.
"Ei jodi shob shomoye dujone boshe laptop-e office-er kaaj korbe tahole chhutti keno niyecho" [If both of you are going to do official work from home on ur laptops then why have u taken holidays]...is wht she would blabber all along.
And we cudn't help but feel guilty at times for not listening to her...!!
The Pujo at home went well and now I had started counting my dayz ..."Do I really have to get back to that fast-track life where my job takes centerstage and everything else takes a backseat?"...thatz just one question among several others which crossed my mind. But you can't just shy away from the realities of life can u and although my heart din't want to go, my mind had already started shifting gears fuel-ed by the hope that I will be back soon for my Bro's marriage in Jan.
Time to pack up and I had to fill my luggage with lotz of sweets among others because you just can't return from home without them and this time I was catering to special requests...Cudn't imagine life again without 'Parota - Kasha Mangsho' and 'Payesh' and the 'Macher Jhaal' ofcourse.
Wish I could take you everywhere I go Mom...!!
Lotz of nostalgia too attached with this trip and probably my
tryst with them will soon reflect in my albums in Orkut and Picasa soon...Check out for those !!!
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