We reached Coimbatore station at 2-30 pm. As we thought the train the train was half an hour early and so we were sure that it would take Shobha chichi a lot of time to come. Moreover, there was no STD booth and my mobile credit was very less. This did not help us very much. I then tried to get used to the surroundings, it were foreign and I could notice the fact from the smell which I was not accustomed. It was a wholly different climate too. There was a lot of humidity due to which the heat was increased.
Shobha chichi (in Malayalam it means sister) finally came and after having a breakfast, we left for Kollengode. I was excited to meet Lila chichi, Radha chichi, Amma, Vishnu and Soman cheta (means brother). I wondered if Vishnu was the same naughty self I had met three years ago. While I was thus wondering, a jolt of pain dragged me out of the world of daydreams. I sat up thinking why it was so. Then I realized with a groan that I was sitting in a Kerala bus which was very tough. The roads were bad and due to which there was discomfort. Also the amount of passengers that were coming stunned me. However there were beautiful sceneries and that made me happy. The cloudy sky along with the green fields and the mountains made a beautiful picturesque.
After a couple of hours of back-breaking journey, we reached the bus-stand. And lo! To see Vishnu and Soman cheta waiting for us was like a wonderful homecoming. They talked about power-cuts but I was not worried about them. After all I was expecting this because this was Kerala! We reached the Geetha Niwas, and to welcome us were Lila chichi, Radha chichi and Amma. It felt so nice to see them all again.
I then started seeing the routine of the three sisters and because f their jolliness in work, I decided to call them the Three Musketeers. Arthos was Lila chichi, Aramis was Amma and Porthos was Radha chichi. D’Artagnan was Soman cheta. The 4 of them managed the household very well .Vishnu- I started thinking of him as a fidgety boy. I did not like him much but he was staying with us and so had to tolerate him. An over-lively boy, he always used to do some mischief which I did not use to like. There were frequent fights between him and me over petty issues like changing channels and things such as that etc. Slowly and gradually I understood that I was an elder brother and elders should always be considerate to younger people in such matters. I then did not interfere much and did not angry when he changed the channel I was watching.
Another reason was that there were some of Poo’s books which included Sherlock Holmes, Black Beauty and Enid Blyton omnibus.
These books reminded me of the beautiful childhood I had .
Also I saw that how happy Amma was with her two sisters. My conscience felt heavy as I realized that I would be separating her from then. I felt that I had done something wrong. I felt that I was imposing something on her. All her life it was she who had done the entire hard work and had obeyed my slightest whims. Could I not obey her slight wish? I started to feel ashamed of myself, started thinking I was a selfish person.
Then a thought occurred to my mind. Biladi kaka and kaki were going to Holland for six months. Then it would be very difficult for Tata and Amma to stay alone in Kerala. That’s the reason we were going to bring Amma and Tata back to Ahmedabad. But would they be happy there? Caught in the turmoil of such thoughts, my mind knew no peace. This period was until one fine day I opened the internet to some research about my email. And that’s when through Skype I talked to Poo, my elder sister. These conservations with her were a great blessing to me because of these conversations I was able to know some peace of mind and bring back my high spirits. ‘Darling’ was what she used to tell me. This used to make me blush and it also helped to regain my spirits. I would really like to thank her for spending her precious time for me. She truly was what the term ’elder’ meant.
I tried to learn cycling but could not because of lethargy on part of Vishnu and myself. Then I tried to council Tata and was partly successful. We used to go to the temple in our society and then sitting there, he would talk about his problems while I would try to solve them by talking. I am always proud of my persuasion and talking skills and that I used to a great extent in solving problems.
I also watched National Geographic Channel and was deeply grieved by the condition of our mother earth. It is we only that are polluting the environment and destroying it. We are also getting its repercussions. U.S.A recorded an amazing 138 storms the day Katrina struck and left thousands homeless. The plastic which we are using is turning into a killer by killing hundreds of birds and fishes. As a result fisheries all over the world have been adversely affected. If this continues a day will come in which humans shall fight each other for basic needs. The present condition of the earth is also very pathetic. We must do something very fast before Mother Earth is destroyed and we be the victims and the accusers of it.
We went to Palakkad district and met Poo’s grandpa and grandma. We also went to our relatives place whose name was Apu mama. There we received news that the politician Karunanidhi had given them free T.V sets in return of his support. It is also being done to each person of the T.N region. These can be called as shameless politicians. Instead of giving people free electricity or water they were giving free TV sets and expect the people to vote for them. Incredible people!
I also saw the marriage of Apu mama’s daughter in CD. It was a 5 day affair which was considered to be normal in a Kerala marriage. The CD was of 2 hours but it was really enough to make me sleepy. I silently swore that I would never during my marriage make the ceremony more than 2 hours long.
Like this time passed and I really loved Geetha Niwas as a home. The warmth the people showed made it really cosy. But soon time came for us to leave its hospitality and visit Ooty. I had heard a lot about it and had planned everything early in advance .We were to stay in comfortable cottages in the cold weather which was a relief from the heat in the lower parts .
The next is the trip to ooty. So please, help me make this better.
