Get up quickly, babies, I said, and get ready. We have a road trip ahead of us, I said, trying to rouse the sleepy girls.
Road trip! They chirped, and quickly got out the bed to get ready. A flurry of activity followed as all of us got ready, finished the final packing, and descended down to the ground floor where my parents live, to bid them goodbye.
Won’t you have something to eat before you people leave, my mother asked, concern showing in her voice. Mothers, all over the world, I think, are always concerned about filling the bellies of their children with food.
No Mummy, we have to be going now, otherwise we will get late, I said, We have packed our breakfast and will have it on the way.
Bidding our goodbyes we hurriedly packed into our car, but not before we had kissed our dogs goodbye. And then we were off……
As soon as we were on to the open road, I and Vaishali looked at each other….So many things passed between us, unsaid, unspoken yet understood. The break from routine, the much deserved stress-buster, the return to the place where our story began, the excitement of meeting friends again, and visiting places which have a special meaning in our lives……the excitement was palpable!!
The traffic was minimal in the morning, and soon we were almost out of the city, saying goodbye to the tall buildings, the crowds and the bustle of the city, the stress of everyday working, the garbage dumps, and the boredom of routine. We looked forward to the ghats of Varanasi, to the verdant campus of BHU, the Banaras Hindu University, to which we owed our professional standing, and the coming together of friends who we would be meeting after a gap of more than two decades.
We had felt the same exhilaration when we had attended my Reunion, almost two years ago, but that did not diminish the fun, or the anticipation, or the thrill that came with it in any way.
The car sped along the empty roads, purring along like a gentle, tame beast. It was an early morning in December, and people were not stirring yet, and definitely not roaming around aimlessly on the roads which, I think, is the favourite pastime of people in India.
We made good time and soon were out of the city. ….
To be continued….
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Random Musings 