London- Bangalore-Coonoor- Oh my!

We arrived in London from Italy (Venice) on January 22 and after spending overnight made our way to Sheffield and to Rotherham where Chuchi & Mahadevan live, They have been our hosts for over 3 decades and warm and loving. The day was cold and damp but the familiar warmth of them and the comfy home was welcome. Looking from her kitchen window the still-green back garden seemed as if summer never left. The willow tree that was a mere sapling some 15 20 years ago has grown to be a massive tree dominating the landscape. The hedges separating property seemed at least 20 feet high but neatly trimmed as if a giraffe had been hired to even the top! I remember we had such a restful night sleep. Unfortunately as in many families there were some unhappy splinters-- Krishna separating from Nikki, both wonderful persons.

We could not imagine them both separated but were gratified that three wonderful girls were raised: Emma, Laura and Sophie. We did meet Sophie but could not meet E & L since they were tied up with their exams at the University. Both have boyfriends and Emma is engaged! He is studying cosmology just as E is! I was eager to meet them and share my own interest in the subject. There are so many exciting discoveries in this field made possible by new instrumentation and miracles still being revealed by the Hubble telescope. What sweet kids they are! Over the weekend Meera and her boyfriend Mark visited. Meera is a FB friend and have been following her exploits-- marathon racing for one-- and their respective careers. And on the last day before leaving, Krish made a lightning stop. In between, Chuchi and Mahadevan took us on shopping trips when we purchased stuff, bought a bigger suitcase and prepared us for the next journey to India.

 After a wonderful stay at Rotherham, England, we made our way on January 27 to Sheffield and on a train to London St Pancras. It was a cold day and colder still when we arrived in St Pancras. A short cab ride from there to the Heathrow Express to take us to our airport hotel Holiday Inn became needlessly complicated. Without easy elevators/lifts  down to the station platform and armed with wrong information on which terminal to get off (was instructed to get off at Terminal 1 stop) and flabbergasted that a cab
ride to the hotel was a flat 35 pounds, a mere 5 km away, we arrived tired, angry and little bit dispirited since the travel thus far was quite smooth. The hotel was OK--a Holiday Inn-- but in a final twist they provided rooms far at the back and with the crazy custom of having unnecessary steps along the corridor, made hauling our now heavy luggage a chore. But we we rested, went across the street to the M&S eatery got some sandwiches, a bottle of wine and called it a night. The next morning was the scheduled flight to Bangalore (BLR) and there was the expected crowd but not a full flight. The on-boarding was orderly, and I was pleasantly surprised. Indians now seasoned world travellers and themselves boasting some very nice airports are more familiar with world travel and the norms. If only their road habits in big cities improved.

We took some open seats middle row (This was Boeing 777) at the bulkhead thinking that there would be more peace and harmony. But these days the bulk head on either side was given to mothers with babies and there was some caterwauling all night. The mother to the left of us was positively sick and teary and with deep circles around her eyes and barf-bag on the ready. Felt very sorry for her since she seemed just barely out of her 20s.

Bangalore aka Bengaluru

Kittu was there at the airport 5 am and must have motored down before 3 am. Kittu was always the can-do of all the brothers. Of the 4 of us he was the quietest and showed his quiet competence in myriads of ways. He has been the prime mover of interactions with the school our father had attended as a kid where we bequeathed a scholarship fund for improving the academics and infrastructure. Last autumn when he visited he was struck by TB, lost a lot of weight and was happy to see him recover quite well. Ratna was waiting at the flat, with her 99-year old father still looking sprightly. Ratna fed us with great Dosas, filtered coffee, fruits... we were in seventh heaven but also badly in need of sleep.

The next day Ratna and Ann went shopping... and shopping .... and shopping. They must have hit Commercial street and the Metro but they came back spirited.

Balu and Padmini came over that evening and that was a blast. Balu the oldest, looks like the youngest, of the brothers always has a positive attitude. He has been through a lot of tribulations. His near-death experience back in 1996 and slowly recovering from that to start a successful business enterprise. His company CBAS prospering to the point where he hired talented staff. After 15+ years he had a lot of success to show. We went to his new apartment at Yellahanka which is a swanky, 4-bedroom condominium located closer to the airport. The Bangalore traffic roars with all its glory as we navigated to that place. Speaking of getting around, Ratna showed off her two-wheeler and we proudly posed on that. Seems sleek. A far cry from the 70s when India could boast only 2 scooter brands: Lambretta and Vespa and 1 car brand: The Ambassador. Now there are a plethora of vehicles. Each is sleek, made for Indian toads and have great horns!

We visited with Balu and Padmini for dinner on Day 2 and were again very, very well fed. Balu's plans on moving to the new flat was on hold until they furnished it with requisite furniture and lighting.

On the last day of our stay Kittu and I got the much sought haircut and head massage I like to get when in Bangalore. Instead of the old haunt we got the treatment at Jal Vayu Vihar which had these pretty head masseuses and a haircutter. We had a wonderful massage,  with olive oil. The girls were from Nepal.. seemed like a number of hair cutteries attracted them.

Time flew and it was time to leave February 2. We had arranged and rearranged our luggage and contents. The increased shopping had required me to unload a bunch of things back at Kittu's place. The Dhobi and Istri person had such a superb job on washing and ironing my clothes and was ready for the big reunion at Coonoor with Vijay and Girija. Here we were at the 24th day of our journey from Charlotte and while we were really, really tired, we looked eagerly forward to the trip to Coonoor. There a reunion of the school batches from 1964 and 1965, respectively, my graduating class and Snitchies were due to meet.

Bangalore to Coimbatore to Coonoor

 My youngest brother, Vijay, and wife Girija, have retired to a "hill-station" called Coonoor, close to Ooty and situated about 6,000 feet above sea level. the trip required us to fly to Coimbatore and then to drive to Coonoor. As a young boy our Dad was stationed in Coimbatore in 1956, training young cadets and we got an occasion to visit Ooty. I remember the drive from Coimbatore being treacherous, without guard rails. Most notably there was a region called Tiger Hill Estates where then wild tigers did cavort. Tigers are a beautiful species but were slowly decimated in India starting with massive hunts the erstwhile Rajahs would conduct and of course the practice was followed by the ruling British for many years.

Vijay met us at Coimbatore airport and we were quickly whisked away. The roads were far better than I remembered but surprise much better than in BLR, in the State of Karnataka.The distance is about 85 km but with altitude changing from seal level to 6000 feet the weather started turning cooler and the roads windier. Hairpin bends they call them, where the road makes almost a 180 degree turn, heading uphill (or downhill). Your gears and brakes must be functioning well. There were several signs cautioning that drivers must yield to "Elephants Crossing" or "Wild Bisons Crossing". There were numerous rhesus monkeys along the route. They were brave and swift, getting out at the last minute to oncoming traffic. Speaking of traffic: although much less heart-stopping, driving on Indian roads means the passenger is willing to accept extraordinary risks. The driver (yes, hire a driver. Do NOT drive by yourself if you are from the West) utilizes every square inch of the road, both on his side and the other side, to extract any advantage to get ahead. And on hairpin bends this could be frightening. For not knowing what is around the bend (and yes they do use the horns heavily) mean that you are taking that risk that there may be a heavy truck or for heavens sakes elephants crossing and what do they care about horns. Lighter mountain air, car motion sickness,  risk exposure.. oh, my!.