Here I am....

Take a deep breath.....hmmmmmmmmmmmmmph......(hold)....(hold)....(hold)....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah......the air feels strange. I can smell a slight tinge of pollution, a little bit of humidity. The sky seems hazy. I can see people everywhere. Walking on the road...tens of millions. Travelling in overcrowded buses...millions. Sitting inside a dingy little 3-wheeled motor like creatures (auto-rickshaws)...tens of thousands. Driving swanky and not so swanky cars...thousands. Welcome to my home country, India. My home town, Mumbai.

I have been here close to about 3 whole weeks and boy it hasn't changed one little bit. What am I saying?? Of course it has changed, there are new malls, new restaurants, new night clubs, new road construction, new residential complexes, new commercial properties, new multiplexes. But, the problems compounding the city are the same. Lots of traffic, very few parking spots, lack of road discipline, people driving expensive vehicles but still stopping to spit their pan-masala, corrupt politicians targetting innocent bread-earners under the pretext that they are not locals. At times, I do tend to think whether I did the right thing in deciding to come back from the US.

And then I see my mom, my dad, my dear (maternal) grandfather and grandmother, my sister, her husband, my dearest younger brother, my mom's home cooked wonderful food, the innumerable options for vegetarian food available the moment you step out of the house, cheap but excellent medical treatment available nearly at my beck-and-call, not having to rely solely on cars to get grocery, negotiating with the vegetable vendor to get the best available bargain. And most of all my new house which will be under my possession in the next month or so. And I think, it was worth it coming back from the US.

Yes, it has been completely, totally, absolutely, positively, one-hundred-percent worth it. I have lots of things to blog about, including the "ice-breaking" conversation I had with someone whom mom-and-dad would call "prospective marriage alliance", until then keep reading and keep smiling.