Wanderings -1

Chennai.


Already been to Delhi,Indore and Tirupati so far since February.Was in Bangalore last year for Aero India.And was in Delhi for PLASTINDIA to the exact date
from last year.A year gone past.Feels like yesterday;feels like a year away;feels like forever away.SMS Beep as i type this.Its my word of the day service.Today's word-Sojourn SOH-jurn Intransitive Verb: To stay as a temporary resident or to dwell
for a time.
How appropriate.
2 months of 2006 gone by. Delhi flashes past.Meeting Maz-San,the usual industry contacts.The
turmoil when a truck goes missing.The sheer energy of those 6 tradeshow days.Wearing blazers
everyday.First time in my life I have spent so much on myself at a go.On clothes that
too;still will stretch them for along time I guess.Visiting familiar bookshops in
Delhi;meeting personal heroes,hearing about other heroes.Making plans;Hash and Punjabi by
Nature with Hi-Ren 2 days after hanging out with his bunch at Embassy.Visiting the National
Stamp Museum;walk around this hall and you will have walked through all the positive facets
of India.And the negative facet too: we just do not know how to market ourselves.Back to
bookshops.Surprising tendency of self to eerily locate particular sections automatically
even in strange bookshops.Went to Gurgaon and met up with KV and family.Went to Noida once too.Brilliant townships
with a landscape reminiscent of Americana ,specially int nhe case of Gurgaon.Major road
works happenning.The poverty remains the same.And the same retail chains everywhere.So much that you cannot distinguish Mehrauli from
Mulund and GK1 from GK77.On to Indore.Ask for an alarm for 0330.Wake up automatically at 0324;phone rings at 0325.A voice
asks,'Wake up Alarm Sir?' I reply yes.Am brushing my teeth when it r ings again 0330.Same voice:'Good Morning Sir,your wake up
alarm'.Sigh.IGI in the morning.A lot of traffic at the Palam roundabout.Check-in sufficiently
quick.Breakfast in the 9W lounge.Lounge inhabited by Laptop toting,laptop operating types at
0430 in the morning.I have corn flakes,cold milk,a bit of bread and something else I cannot
remember what.Then try id-ing tarmac silhouttes.The AAI Daks are moved to a corner.Proceed for security check,Step out on to the tarmac as a February Breeze flutters the
Windsock.It is good to be back at an airport again.Lots of A320s,ATRs,B737s in varied
liveries abound.Mine is an ATR-42.I feel like a beauty pageant judge.
Of the swimnsuit round no less.

Take off and the flt are good.And then I am in Indore.Cute little airport.

Visit Nani;then go the shop and get back to watching the world go by.Meet a couple of customers.Catch up with Dida and the kids that evening at Mama's place.We make plans for Omkareshwar the next day.Last time I went there was in 1989 .Sonal hadnt arrived yet.So it was me,Mum and Dad along with the Indoris.Sparse crowd that day in Omkareshwar.We go boating.Flat bottomed boats.The reason for this becomes evident as they go over a bit of rocks .Water is cool.I refuse to t ake the holy dip.Then we get back to the city.Drop Dida ,Srish and Hanuman home.Go see Nani again.Feel depressed at seeing her frailness.Then Bed and sleep.
Reach BOM the next morning.
More later.
This update comes to you via the RED WI-FI service at t he Oriental Inn Chennai and the D-Link card purchased yesterday from Spencer Plaza.
Whee.
Liberation.