Category Archives: india
Badge of Honor?!
To congratulate me on flying two (yes, two!) million miles on a particular carrier, the airline in question sent me a gift from Tiffany & Co. It was in a signature Tiffany-blue box and arrived unexpectedly on my doorstep recently. Honestly, it’s the only gift I have ever received from Tiffany & Co. So, how exciting, right?
In the box was a solid sterling silver baggage tag with a large “M” engraved on one side. “M” for Million, not for Maansi. 🙂
I’ve reached that stage in life when I don’t go saving gifts for future use or just storing such trinkets away for safe keeping. May as well use the darn things while I can!
So, off it went, promptly onto my computer bag like a badge of honor. But is that what it is?
Two million miles is a whole lot of miles! To put it in perspective, flying around the world means traveling almost 25000 miles. So, two million miles translates to 80 trips around the earth’s circumference. That is simply crazy!
It also represents too much time spent on airlines, that’s for sure. And too many nights away from home, too many times spent packing and unpacking and too many visits to airports and hotels.
Soon after I received this dubious badge of honor, sure enough, I was off on another trip. At the home airport, I met a friend who noticed this tag. He said, “Wow!“
Now, what do you think? Was he saying, “Wow, I’m impressed!” or was he saying “Wow, you poor thing!“?
I know what I would be saying. And meaning. 😦
:
“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ”
― Lin Yutang
And to that I say, yes sir, the yin and the yang…
:
Return to Bombay!
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
:
A short trip (what was truly a “flying visit”) back to Bombay/Mumbai a couple of weeks ago and it was like I had never left…
As soon as the plane lands, the familiar smell of Bombay rushes past all barriers towards you.
For whatever reason, there is a heavy layer of smoky haze across the city. And it stays that way for my entire stay (a whole two days!).
:
The noise, the crowds, the traffic, the dirt, the chaos…I had lived without all of this for six whole weeks!
These days no one stays unconnected for long, no matter where in the world they live. But it was certainly wonderful to re-connect with my friends there, in person.
But what did I really feel about going back?
Two thoughts were uppermost in my mind –
First, I am so very glad to be back in the US, to be home and living where I have spent most of my life. It took no time at all to get acclimated once I returned. In fact, I have a new appreciation for all that the country offers.
Second, I wouldn’t change my (almost) two years of living in Mumbai for anything! It was an incredible experience in “Incredible India” – yes, the good, bad and ugly, all together. The yin and the yang.
Some of you may not agree but I sincerely consider myself a lucky one – just thrilled to have had that adventure! It was eye-opening on so many fronts and will forever be an experience that is impossible to replicate.
Now, I am equally thrilled to start my new/old adventure – one where my connection to India is still strong, even if I’m not actually living there.
It’s actually kind of eerie the way things just fell into place…
“Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy, thank you for loving me and receiving my love in return. Thank you for the memories I will cherish forever. But most of all, thank you for showing me that there will come a time when I can eventually let you go. ”
― Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle
:
:
Photo credit:
Smoky Mumbai – By Satish Krishnamurthy [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 