Smile and Wave !!

About a month and a half ago. I returned from Harare. My stint was over and there was no chance of me going back to Harare. At least not with the same employer. It felt really wonderful to be back. Familiar sights, smells, roads, buildings etc. But a lot had changed. And I do not mean just the roads and buildings and the scenery, but myself. Since 2009, I have consistently been staying away from home. Delhi, Shimla, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Bangalore and finally Harare. Coming home after such a long time for an extended stay is a unsettling experience. As days went by I realised with great distraught that I had forgotten old haunts, shortcuts, roads, out of the way pubs and eateries. I was suddenly unaware of what to buy where and information did not come readily. It took a lot of prodding and head scratching to remember all of my accumulated knowledge of Goa. I had to travel many roads anew to rebuild the linkages in my head. Does this happen to everyone? I mean its so embarras...

A much delayed post. But it could not be helped. To write anything, even a post, one needs to be in the right mood, have time ones hands, finally have access to an internet connection, working personal computer etc not necessarily in that order. A little over a month back, I had the opportunity to go to Goa. Home sweet home, there is no place like home etc etc all those sentences came flooding back to me as i sat in the plane from Delhi to Goa. The occasion was Diwali and all the family, my family that is, was coming together. That included my brother, mom and dad, my in laws, my sister in law and my wife. It was wonderful to have the family all together. Makes one realize exactly what and how much one misses when staying alone.  To count the material stuff; well good fresh fish for one, I stuffed myself literally, home made food, having beer or drinks, the beach, the warm humid climate etc. Bliss! But it was the non material or qualitative stuff that mattered t...