HOME BOUND!

Welcome showers! Rains have become synonymous with my arrival in Bengaluru (Wish I could weave the same magic in Mumbai!) No one misses an opportunity to mention this when I talk to them. Does it mean that I and the rains are not welcome? Kidding! I am more than welcome.....I am home.

"Bugle Rock"....the historic botanical garden and landmark, which is the identity of "Basavanagudi"; is beckoning me. Post rains, the garden would be lush and breathing life and colour! Felt like jogging there. Most of my childhood was spent among the rocks and trees of Bugle Rock. Our adventures consisted of treks climbing atop the watch tower, and also on the huge rocks...the rocks seemed huge because we were tiny. There was this particular steep rock from which we used to slide down till our bottoms hurt or sometimes till it was badly bruised! There used to be hundreds of multi-coloured and patterned butterflies which we used to catch, we would spend hours together there. Sadly, there are almost no butterflies there today. I remember, once while jumping from one rock to another, I sprained my ankle. My brother and friends had to half lift me and half drag me back home.... those carefree days!

But, the morning in question, the chill, the warmth and coziness of my bed was more tempting than the jog around the gardens of Bugle Rock. Well, I am on a holiday, aren't I? So, I can bend some rules I have made for myself.

Here, in Bangalore, I don't have a picturesque window in my living room nor the company of my winged friends to start of my day and to enjoy my ME moment. Armed with my cuppa, I stand on the threshold of the main door and just watch. I can hear the "Venkateshwara suprabatham" being played somewhere. The neighbor Aunty is performing the morning 'Tulasi' pooja; again there is another Aunty who is cleaning the front yard of her house and putting rangoli there. Somewhere else, I can hear the bells ringing indicating the morning pooja is concluding, the vegetable vendors, the flower sellers..........familiarity, customs and roots! HOME!

Next day onwards, I did muster up enough strength to leave behind the comfy of my bed to see the beauty of the nature. The mist filled mornings, the spacious, wide and deserted streets. Sunrays filtering through the trees....the smell of wet grass, the smell of wet earth...gives me goose bumps. Even with all the developmental work that’s happening with the roads, traffic woes…etc., I never seem to grow out of this place. Maybe because I don’t stay here.

Recently, I read an article of Shobha De’s where she had mentioned the lecherous attitude of men in Delhi. I bet she has not encountered the men in Namma Bengaluru, who are no less lecherous than their Delhi counterparts! Well, the less said the better.

The only thing I hate here is the attitude of the rickshaw drivers. One will be lucky enough to get a ride if the destination coincides with the direction in which they are travelling. If it’s raining, it means fleecing time for them. Always trying to make money the easy way.

Next is the time I wait for- a time to bond with friends! Meeting them has become a ritual to my visits. I don’t need to go to a spa to rejuvenate, all I need is time out with my buddies and I am rejuvenated! Met some, then talked to some…..had a whale of a time.

Ten days is too short a time to spend at home.....and the heart weighs a ton when you have to say goodbye to your loved ones.

"It is not the goodbye that hurts, but the flashback that follows." The memories will linger with me for some more time.