BLURRED VISION: GRATITUDE: Letters from a Grandfather to his future generations. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Dear Family and Friends:

Breaking: I have had a fortnight long break; I am back!

The break was originally occasioned by my falling sick again to my endemic ailment of lung infection. I had not recovered yet and had to embark on a trip to Chennai and Pondicherry aka Puducherry.

Therefore, it was with some trepidation that we undertook the long -planned trip. Yet the Gods be thanked, I got stronger by the day and have returned with the episode almost over. Fingers crossed; for I have been in mended state of health often in the last 4-5 months, only for another episode to ensue.

In Chennai we were put up with our old friends Manu and Krithi. Our stint in Vietnam gave us, apart from worldly gains, a clutch of great friends. Their having spent several years in Mumbai, further strengthened our friendship with the Krithivasans. They moved to Chennai few years ago.

We attended the marriage of Srinath, son of Bhama and VS Vasan, our old colleague n family friends of 40 years. I was rather fragile the night of the Reception; so much so that one of their nephews, Srikant, had to serve us dinner while we sat in a corner. The next morning was a lot better. Mr. M Singh of Facit showed up and led me to a bunch of old Facit colleagues: Bala, Chandrashekhar and Walker whom we had met the previous night. I was able to move around and make a few pictures of the proceedings.

The next day, escorted by Krithvasans, we moved on to Puducherry. Krthi revels in driving his Fortuner. We had a halt at Mahabalipuram Temples. I did not have the energy to walk in the sun; but the trio set out. Thence we drove to Puducherry. We had a decent lunch at an old French Style Hotel DuPruc. We checked into Club Mahindra’s Puducherry resort late afternoon. We were a little taken aback at how far the resort was from the town. I was given to understand that the resort was a Hotel in the city…. I forget who gave me the understanding.. Grrr..

By a benign coincidence, Manu Krithivasan has her parents in the area and they were at-home in Puducherry. No wonder, Krthi is so familiar with the town. Reminded me of the summer of 2012, when Avtar n Sylvia put us up near a lake in South Austria and his mother in law’s house was available to them nearby.

This one is a pretty Beach resort laid out in low rise fashion amidst a lot of foliage. The room was in sparse style; with the walls and floor left untiled. The bare look. But comfy it was. The dining experience is Gourmet + Gourmand. Having signed in for a ‘breakfast n dinner’ package, we must be pardoned if we went all out; rather tucked it all in. Good food, good service. A surprise, the Chef rolled out a trolley with a huge veg hamburger and gave away slices to who ever wanted : on the house even for a la cart customers.

That was some Tuesday!

Come Wednesday, after breakfast, Krithivasans picked us up and we went for darshan of the tallest Navagrah in the World. There is Lord Ganesha staring at Lord Shani and keeping Him in Check. The other ‘Planet-Gods’ sit on their thrones, in all their glory, not looking at each other. Fortunately photography was allowed.

We then trooped over to Auroville. This is a green heaven on earth created by Auroville, over the last 5 decades. Zillions of trees planted by them provide a cool n lush cover to what was a barren plateau before 1968. We had a simple vegetarian lunch at the Cafetera. We were then driven in a bus to the viewing point for a look at Matrimandir: the round, gold enveloped, sphere, which serves as a Meditation Center. Vast grounds around the Sphere are being landscaped. The whole vista reminded me of the Bahai Lotus Temple in Delhi: A pristine structure standing in the midst of acres n acres of landscape.

We went back to Temple Darshan: This time Maruti Temple, Lord Hanuman’s. Alas, no photos were allowed and we had to be content with a tiny picture that we bought at the counter. Manu located a better picture on Internet.

Tea was called at a ‘French’ style bakery n tea shop. We had an excellent cup of tea, albeit dip dip, but beautifully served and savoured.

We wound up the Wednesday, with a drive around the ‘French quarter” and along the Beach. I made a few pictures. The sun hid behind the clouds. Though the streets looked dark, the hidden Sun was comforting and picturesque in itself.

It had been a long day, and I particularly was glad to call it quits.

I had asked for the next day to be the day for R&R, but the ladies had conspired to visit a Ganesh Temple later that afternoon.

Thursday morning dawned cool n cloudy. Sukhjit and I ventured out to the beach. It is considered unsafe for water sports. So much so that Security keeps a register of who goes to the beach and when do they return. We had a nice long walk along the water line and made a few selfies and pictures of the surf breaking on the beach. Bright clouds n Sea but a hidden Sun were a pretty sight.

We had a simple lunch served in our room. I figured that if Sukhjit was going out, so might I. In any case some rest during the day had done me good.

We set out late afternoon for darshan of the Temple of Lord Ganesha in the middle of the town. Unfortunately no photography was allowed here too. The temple style reminded us of the temple in Ho Chi Minh City that we would visit each Sunday during our sojourn there. A few rupees led us to a special darshan; though there wasn’t any crowd at all.

Thence we went on to Aurobindo Ashtram and the grave-site of Aurobindo and the Mother. It was neat, serene and a quiet atmosphere prevailed. A longish grave under a large tree in the courtyard of the Ashram housed both of them. The calm meditative atmosphere invited me to sit down for a few minutes, in quiet solitude.

And the same craving for Tea; the same Tea house. Manu was keen on locating the Baker’s Street, which we did a day earlier. Today we found out their opening time (7 am !) and marked for the next day’s breakfast.

We had invited the Krithivasans to join us for dinner at the resort and they had very kindly joined in. It was a great meal and we parted late at night.

Krthi picked us up on Friday morning after check out. Sukhjit and I had had a light breakfast in the rooms. That did not stop us from a light repast at the Bakers’ Street. My search for Macroons came to fruition at that place. I picked up a few for Vicky and myself. We shared a couple of them at the breakfast table too.

Then the brisk journey to Chennai. Lunch halt at a Dhaba and home!

We had encountered some rain in Puducherry. It caught up with us in Chennai too. Despite that we went over to Vasan’s home to spend a little quality time with the family. We picked up some sweets at Shree Mithai. Shuba was a bit under the weather. Her daughter Shonita regaled us with some Tamil (wedding?) songs. Pleasant surprise that. despite being born n brought up in the USA, her Tamil singing was rather pure, devoid of any accent.

We said our good byes, after a drink and drove back home.

Next morning, Jet was on time and we got home in good shape. Better than what I had left in.

That was a nice trip! One destination from madam’s bucket list scratched off. Sri Lanka and Spain remain….

God willing…

We are grateful to Manu n Krithi for having gone to such length to enable this trip. Their energy and hospitality is amazing. We were fortunate to be at the receiving end. I must mention: they have set up a lovely home in Chennai packed with many beautiful artifacts. God Bless You both.

We are also grateful to the extended Vasan Family for the love n affection they bestow upon us. Also to the Facit alumni for the respect they show us at this remote.

Aha.. so the break did not really end last week…

I promise: back to business next week…

.....oooooOOOOOooooo.....

Photo Gallery follows.

Please forgive any caption errors.

Do please point out any errors.