India Trip Wrap-up

- Allahabad is growing, and no more remains the sleepy town i spent my vacations in. Civil Lines is too crowded these days, most of the chaat hangouts there are not that good anymore, and the cinema halls are falling into disrepair, thanks to VCD/DVD rentals. i didn't get to go to the 'sangam' (the confluence of three rivers, and a pilgrimage site) this time around, but my cousins tell me that there are proper four-lane highways there now. the 'dahi-vada' (fried savories in yoghurt) at medical campus is another thing i didn't get to try this time, but well, hopefully that will never change.
- my cousin brother's wedding in allahabad was like all indian weddings, a whole lot of pomp, glamor and fun for all parties involved. it was a pretty long-drawn affair too, over some 6 days but since it allowed half of the Mittra clan to get together and make merry every night, it was all good!
- this might sound quite chauvinistic and all.. but i had all these family friends and other strange people (i'll call them 'aunties') like almost throw their daughters/nieces/granddaughters at me during the wedding!! yes, and the reason for that is that i am the next in line in the Mittra clan for the ritual sacrifice!! yup, that's right.. i am supposed to be the next in line to go down that aisle, but i did pull a damper on all my relatives' plans when i told them that wasn't happening for another three years at least!

- Kolkata is growing too, growing old that is. much as i love cal.. (by the way, i am going to insist on calling it cal.. deal with it!) i am losing patience with it. flyovers & bypasses zigzag over the city, and yet the traffic never diminishes. traffic jams, road blockades, pollution, filthy roads, stupid drivers, even more stupid politicians.. God, cal makes it so hard for one to love it!
- you like people for their qualities, but you love them for their defects.. i have never heard a truer statement to describe calcutta. so despite all the cribbing and all.. cal is still cal.. and some things will never change. the moronic crowds at the kolkata book fair, the overeager ushers at roadside restaurants, the know-it-all uncles sitting in the buses, the mad pandemonium that is Howrah station, the tastebud-confusing aroma of 'jhaal-muri', the quiet walks through calcutta suburbia.. i wouldn't give it up for anything!
- cal trips for me have always been all about two very different things.. on one hand going home and vegetating, watching tv, eating like crazy and tutoring my little cousin.. and on the other going out with friends, and watching movies, shopping and eating out. this time was no different again..

- Mumbai still rocks! some things never change! didn't get to travel much due to the brief nature of my sojourn there this time around, but whatever i saw i liked. the traffic i could do without, but its good to see them switching to concrete roads like here in the US. strangely enough, i didn't get to see too many of the 'beautiful people'.. but that's probably cos i wasn't there over the weekend!

well, that pretty much wraps up my trip to india.. a whole concoction of memories and experiences.. i have a lot to reminisce about from this trip, thank you very much to everyone i met for making it even better! :-)