VACATION MUSINGS

A 3 month vacation exists only in dreams for any engg student and even i was quite surprised{and elated too!}when i heard of it. But now its part of my life. Like any other vacation even this time my parents had audacious plans ,only that it saw light for the 1st time in many yrs. V planned a trip 2 N.India with granny and few rels but i did not even have the slightest idea that it was gonna b a purely pilgrimage trip though i shud have envisaged that coz with granny around it is given. I was done with my 2nd yr eggjams on may 11 and had 2 park myself at a diff place daily in chennai{ i mean have hazaar rels so daily a different house} till 20th.Then began a long and ardous train journey 2 delhi.After scanning the entire compartment i found out that there was no F 18-22 so all the more boring!But i managed to complete "Da vinci code" {ya a bit late } during the journey.
Delhi was soooper.Evry house boasted of 4-5 cars and it was quite evident that they led quite a flamboyant lifestyle.Replete with sparkling roads, sensational gals,sprawling malls etc Delhi did not seem like the India v know.For a while i thot i shud have opted for IIT DELHI!!! After the usual sight seeing in Delhi{double meaning also 2 b added} and stuff v started off 2 Haridwar.It was a kinda package tour with 100 ppl in 4 buses and much 2 my displeasure it was full of 60+ "mamis" and naamam sporting "mamas". I never knew it was gonna b an out and out iyengar trip. I had great hopes of finding some good company for "kadalai" but all my hopes came down crashing and i had 2 bear the non stop pestering of those oldies. For the next 7 days or so it was only "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" , Carnatic music and other typical iyengarish activities.I thougt my walkman wud save me frm that but my sis who is an ardent music buff brought in the same things saving a few non carnatic cassettes which lightened up the scene somewat.Even the food was jus abt ok but i pardoned the organisers after i learnt how difficult it was 2 go to Badrinath.
Comin to the trip it was amazing 2 say the least. Those serpentine ghatroads with the Ganges flowing deep down in the valley was breathtaking .My heart was filled with child like joy {donno y!!} when i saw real snow for the 1st time and it was an exhilarating experience.The badrinath temple amidst snow clad peaks was awesome and i was thankful 2 my parents as it turned out 2 b a "pilgrimage cum pleasure " trip.The Ganga was biting cold even in the peak summer .After purifying my body and soul with innumerable ganga snaans at Haridwar ,Rishikesh ,Devaprayag etc v went back 2 Delhi. I was hell bent on visiting the Taj but my granny was dead against! Her take was that it was a "tulaka samadhi"{muslim's grave} and the devout Hindu that she is ,she refused 2 budge an inch frm her stance and i lost out another opportunity. The irony is that this was my 3rd tip 2 Delhi without a glimpse of Taj :(. V went to Mathura,Brundavan,Gokul {again "dhaarmik sthaan"!} and came 2 the fag end of our trip.
It was back 2 Hyd on jun 3rd after a memorable trip and my only crib was not goin 2 agra and kedarnath,{which is a non vishnu temple and ob my granny was against}. I was ready for a fresh foray into the big bad world and i was a total "aawara" in hyd. I watched, hold ur breath ,13 movies and my mom obviously was quite indignant and had 2 face her wrath after umpteen untold visits 2 the theatre! Visiting the net cafe became an almost daily affair and at one point of time i ran out of dough due 2 my lifestyle! But it was good 2 b at home enjoyin mom's delicacies and catching up with frnds and stuff. I did miss lunch and dinner on many occassions and was severely reprimanded for that. Also my sis was preparing for JEE so cud not watch much TV at home and that kept me outdoors for most of the time. The only positive outcome was the reading habit which i restarted after a 3 yr hiatus.I did manage 2 read 3-4 books which is quite decent by my standards as I am quite infamous for my reading pace!
All said and done it was a good 3 months . Now it is back 2 sq one in my hostel and i had 2 do a lot of cleaning and stuff yest. Classes will commence in full swing by 5th and it will b a good 4 months before i go back 2 "home sweet home". I do miss HYDERABAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!