allide nam mane... illi bande summane!

The bubbles have all fizzled out, and the bottle's gone dry!

There were moments of celebrations and moments to cry!

Now its all hindsight, as the time continues to flow;

The memories nevertheless are still aglow!

Much as I wud've wanted to express my visit on the lighter vein, I have preferred to do it someother time. Let me get you all a little bit mushy, as I myself am so at this very moment! Well the trip back home was all that I expected it to be, and a lot more! The journey to, and fro was just perfect to the "T". The marriage went on well, enjoyed a lot! My sister-in-law's just good! And no marks for guessing who the center of attraction was at the wedding ;). I did lose a few pounds running around, which obviously made my mom happy! The highlights also being that I met several of my online friends! Kishan and I went out for breakfast! I feasted well on all the delicacies as much as I could. Met Pramod and Amaresh finally! gotto talk over the phone to a lot of other online friends! With that brief summary of the trip, the most important thing to write about would ofcourse be of my place!

Contrary to what a lot of them would claim, I still find it the good ol' bangalore! Yeah sure, the traffic has soared, there is an influx of people from all over the country into it, and the culture has diversified a lot, and has also begun degrading! But then, that was never Bangalore! Amidst all this onslaught, the spirit still lives on! I cannot comment on how long it will continue to do so, but I do not give up hope!

My little kid friends, still run to me the same way they used to, and still fight on who gets to sit on my lap, or ride on my stomach, while I tell them stories of 4 headed monsters and huge lions! Its still the same ol' neighbor who still continues to spoil me with her delicacies, the morning vendor of flowers, who doesn't forget to enquire about me! My troupe of friends who still fight over what restaurant to go to and ransack! The good ol' restaurants that still panic looking at us mischief makers! The taste of vidyarthi bhavan Masala dosa, of the upahaara mandir ildies and vada sambhar! The delicious chats on the footpath! Over and above all, the real people of bangalore! Their sorrows, their concerns, their joys and happiness... it is all still the same! Maybe this picture of mine is a short lived one, like my trip! Maybe I am still trying to see what good is left out of all this sudden globalization and ultra-modernization! But for sure, I know that Bangalore will survive all this, and still flourish with its inherent feel good factor! It has to!

I had wanted the trip to Bangalore to answer some questions for me, but the irony of the whole thing was that I never got any time to think! Nevertheless, I knew one thing right from the moment of leaving Bangalore the very first time to US, that was my home, my homeland, my motherland! I belong there and there shall I rest! This trip was a short one, I know there shall be one that will take me back for good to where I belong, the time is all that has to arrive.