The call letter was received on such a short notice that it became evident that I shall fly to Manipal as Indian Railways was not willing to accommodate me in any of the trains going south! Even as the family weighed the pros and cons of going by airplane to such a far off place, the air fares also kept on shooting with every passing minute. Eventually, I could book a place for me from Delhi to Mangalore via Mumbai for over 13500/- bucks, to be borne by me!
Anyways, I was excited as this would be the first time that I would be defying gravity! Before eventually I did that, I was flooded with barrage of advices from well-meaning 'experienced' flyers, right from fastening the seat-belt to chanting of Gayatri Mantra during take-off, from flying etiquette to asking for 'extra' glass of juice without paying! Poor me! It was like a bride-to-be nodding to every piece of 'time-tested' technique of winning over the groom!
January 02, 2010 was an immensely cold and foggy morning in New Delhi. It was a struggle to reach the airport. As was expected, the flight got delayed due to inclement weather. While it was supposed to leave Delhi by 06:30 AM, it was only by 11:00 AM that I bid adieu to the turf. An elderly Maulana from Saharanpur seated next to me helped me with my seat-belt. I could not fully enjoy the journey to Mumbai because the mind was preoccupied with the worry that I was surely going to miss the connecting flight to Mangalore due to late take-off from Delhi!
As expected the flight to Mangalore had already departed by the time we touched ground at Mumbai! "Ab English bolni padegi", I said to myself and inquired about my fate from an artificially beautiful ground staff of the airline. Meanwhile, I realized I was not alone in this. An elderly couple and a petite girl with a big black bag. I remember noticing her name and phone number scribbled on the bag! (Remember old movies with the protagonist traveling for the first time out of his village with a 'trunk' decorated with his name, father's name, complete address! Ha ha ha....) Upon interaction, we realized that both of us were headed to SIBM*! The name on the bag was Charu! And the elderly couple were from Mangalore. They ended up as our guardians! Lovely people! Charu and I visited them on a Saturday evening! We are still in touch!
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| IT JUST KEEPS COMING BACK! (JUHU BEACH, MUMBAI) |
That we would get to fly out of Mumbai only the next morning gave us an evening at the Juhu beach! Having written a lot of poetry regarding its moods it was actually my first encounter with the sea! The inhibitions inherent in the first meeting prevented me from frolicking in the waves! People comfortable in Hindustani may be better able to appreciate this. A translation follows, however.
अगर मैं वक़्त होता सनम, तेरे हाथों से निकल जाता!
बुलाने पर कभी तेरे मैं चाह कर भी ना आ पाता!
मगर मैं सागर हूँ क्या करूँ? मेरी सीरत कुछ ऐसी है!
साहिल लाख नहीं चाहे, मैं रह-रह के भिगोता हूँ!
(If only I would have been time, I would have flown by! Even if you would have called, I would not have come back! But, I am Ocean, my nature is such! Even if the shore stays aloof and detached, I keep on coming back time and again and drenching it with love.)
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| AAJ MAIN UPAR, AASMA NEECHE........ON THE WAY TO MANGALORE! |
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| CAUGHT IT! NOTICE THE SHADOW ON GROUND!!! |
The next day we flew to Mangalore. Uncle-Aunt were gracious enough to cramp for space inside their own car as they offered us lift from Bajpe Airport to Mangalore. While taking leave, Charu and I promised to visit them. We boarded a bus to Manipal. The landscape was dotted with greenery, the surroundings were serene. Everything about the place was laid-back, in sharp contrast to the urban cacophony characteristic of Delhi! One more thing worth mentioning here is the jacket that seemed like 'insufficient funds' in Delhi had become an NPA! The sun that was on 'Loss Of Pay' leaves in North, was actually working tirelessly here in South! After six days of tutoring by some of the very eminent faculties on various facets of banking, Saturday, January 09, 2010 was an outing to Mangalore to the residence of Pushpa Aunt and Kulkarni Uncle! What yummy Coconut and Pudina Chutney with Uttapam!!! Uncle told me of several relatives who had served the Bank in various capacities! I am family with them. Only yesterday over phone, I elicited a promise from Aunt to serve me the same Chutney when I visit them again! May God bless them!!!
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| AARTHI, AMOGH, CHARU, UNCLE AND AUNT |
January 10, 2010, Sunday was the Syndians day out! We hired a KSRTC bus and went on a whirlwind tour of nearby places like Annegude, Mookambika, Murdeswara, Someswara and Marvante! (I wonder whether I got the names right!?) I will let the pictures do the talking. Have a look:
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| SOUTHERN SPICE! SYNDIANS ENJOYING THEIR DAY OUT |
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| NEAR ANNEGUDE VINAYAKA TEMPLE: SYNDIANS ALL THE WAY! |
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| MUSICAL DEVOTION: YESUDAS AT MOOKAMBIKA |
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| THE MAJESTIC MURDESWARA | |
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| VIKAS, VARTIKA, TANU, SUPRIYA, ASHISH, RIZWANA AND VITHALA |
On the last day of Induction Training, January 16, 2010, a few of us sneaked to Sri Krishna Temple, Udupi and Malpe Beach. A closely knit group by now, for time being at least, this was the last hurrah to Manipal.
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| GIANT AND PIGMY TOGETHER! CHARU NEAR A CHARIOT AT SRI KRISHNA TEMPLE, UDUPI |
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| THE JOY OF ANONYMITY IN THE STREETS OF UDUPI! |
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| GOODBYE! SUN SETS AT MALPE ON 16.01.2010 |
Posted in different parts of the country, even as we communicate over phone with each other, the conversations often veer towards the Madness of Manipal! We would want to come again, and again and again!
I will be honest. The possibility of getting posted in every nook and corner of India was one of the prime reasons for my gleefully accepting the appointment as a Probationary Officer, divorcing a rather peaceful (actually 2000 times!) and satisfying career as a Management Faculty.
I have since childhood romanticized the idea of visiting uncharted terrain, unknown territories, and unexplored frontiers. The offer for appointment in SyndicateBank was my ticket to serendipity! Actually, I am sometimes astounded by the variety that India has to offer, in terms of topography, people, culture, languages, religions, cuisines, customs, traditions and what not! When some pessimists claim that we have achieved little after so many years of independence, my reply is that the idea of India is in itself an achievement, that we co-exist is an achievement, that we govern ourselves through rule of law is an achievement! In fact, so diverse is the Indian milieu, that the usage of the term 'country' or 'nation' for India is a misnomer.
The current post marks the beginning of new label: 'Oh Syndian Ye Hai India'. THE SYNDIAN invites fellow Syndians to contribute their own travel experiences afforded to them due to proximity to their place of posting or LFC/ LTC facility that the Institution provides. You can send your travelogue (preferably with photographs) to me at syndashish@gmail.com along with a brief profile about yourself. They shall find place in subsequent posts on THE SYNDIAN under the captioned label. My next travelogue: ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMRITSAR!!!
*There has been only tangential reference to SIBM in the current post. A separate post exclusively on SIBM will come shortly.
Jai Hind! Jai Synd!
