Japan - A travelogue

People go to Japan for many reasons. Some of the reasons I can think of include

1. The wonderful food - Like the sushi or Kobe beef or the great sea food found around Japan

2. Sake and all the other alcohol available in the world

3. The language - The great Japanese language

4. The culture – The elaborate tea ceremonies. The art of Sumo wrestling and so much more

5. And the list goes on

I must admit that none of these reasons appealed to me. I neither enjoy alcohol nor do I eat non-vegetarian food. The culture was too remote and the language was as alien as anything in the universe. But I was curious.

With the visa easily obtained and the tickets booked, we couldn’t wait to get there. I tried to plan everything in advance given our zero knowledge of Japan or the language and the fact that we were doing this on our own when every website warned us that Japan can be intimidating for first time visitors. Most recommendations seemed to say that the first visit should be exploratory with just dipping our toes and then a more detailed trip should be planned. We deliberately decided to do it on our own and not through a package tour though a package tour offered us the luxury of vegetarian food through the day. We got our Japan rail passes, our Tokyo subway tickets, our Keisei Skyline tickets and our eSIM card and were ready to tackle Japan like old timers.

Early the next morning, we headed off to the nearest station and were promptly told that none of our passes would work there because it was a private line. So we bought fresh tickets to get to Tokyo Station. We stood in line to get our JR Passes and reservations for Osaka in a couple of days. You may ask why we stood in line in high tech Japan, when we already had our passes but that was something that mystified me. It was to check our passports to ensure we were tourists and not Japanese as these 50,000 yen Japan Rail Passes were specially meant for tourists. But surely, there must be a tech way to do this too, than standing in a queue for a half hour.

We then walked to the Tokyo Palace and the Hie Shrine to get our first glimpse of the “real” Japan. The real Japan was filled with tourists! We headed off to Ueno park where there were rumours of the Cherry Blossoms having bloomed. We arrived just in time to see a young man proposing to his girl under the only tree that had blossomed. Of course everyone wanted a photo of the tree and it was invariably crowded. Having seen the only Cherry Blossom there and feeling slightly underwhelmed we headed off to Andhra Kitchen for a long awaited lunch. It was run by a guy from Dehradun who had spent 10 years in Novotel, Hyderabad.

Hie Shrine entrance

 

Cherry Blossom at Ueno park

We then headed off to Asakusa for a cruise. As we approached Asakusa, we saw something that really took our breath away. With the Tokyo Skytree in the background, there was a replica of the Amar Jyothi that we have in Hyderabad. In the same glaring gold. The only difference was that this was lying down unlike the Amar Jyothi of Hyderabad. Another striking similarity with Hyderabad was that in Japan there are very few places with public dustbins or garbage collection points. We are supposed to take our garbage home. Now doesn’t that remind you of Hyderabad, when GHMC briliiantly decided to take away all public bins and encourage home collections. Only if we had the discipline of the Japanese and the cleanliness!!!

The rainbow bridge on Sumida

A lying down Amar Jyoti with Tokyo Skytree in the background

After securing our tickets, we went off to see the Asakusa Shrine. The tourist crowds I had seen earlier were clearly outnumbered. There was hardly any place to walk, with people jostling for space while others were busy smiling into their selfies and scowling at the crowds. We waded through the crowds to see a monk lost in chanting in the shrine. We walked back slowly with an ice cream for company as it was getting to be quite warm. We headed back to the cruise and headed out into the Sumida river. It was a nice long cruise but we had forgotten to ask for a captain who spoke English. The captain and the crew’s Japanese was lost on us. As we turned around he mentioned the famous Rainbow bridge, and I guess that is what it was. The waters were surprisingly clean for such a big and busy city.

The Asakusa Shrine

The Tokyo Skytree

We got out and headed off to the Tokyo Skytree. Here too the crowds for tickets, like the cruise were so overwhelming that they encouraged us to buy the tickets online on our phone and come back at the reporting time. The Tokyo Skytree at night was an amazing sight. The night lights of Tokyo and the river we had just cruised down were so clearly visible. But the haze beyond 2-3 kms was so thick, we couldn’t see Mt Fuji. We had our dinner there just after coming down from the Tokyo Skytree and trekked home after a short train ride. The streets at night were a visual delight. It was just past 9 pm when we hit the bed.

A view of Tokyo from the Skytree

 With one day behind us, I understood Japan a little better. The next day, though I was still sleepy, we headed off to Kamakura to see the great Buddha. Kamakura is a really nice quaint town and though there is nothing much to do, it feels good to be in towns like these. From there we headed off to Hakone. From Oduwara, we took a bus up to Hakonemachi-ko. This is one trip I was really looking forward to, as it encompassed everything from a beautiful bus ride, to an iconic train journey with a ferry and a ropeway in the middle. To top it all I was looking forward to a view of Mt Fuji from the ropeway. Ever since I was a child Mt Fuji and Kilimanjaro held a mystical hold over my imagination. I had seen Kilimanjaro and I really wanted to see Mt Fuji. As luck would have it, we couldn’t get a good view of Mt Fuji because of the weather. The ropeway was closed because of the high winds and though we took the cruise and did the complete circle on bus and train, we missed the ropeway and the view. We headed back to Tokyo on the bullet train and it was our first experience of riding the Shinkansen. It was all that it was meant to be and yet a little underwhelming. I had heard that a cup of coffee wouldn’t spill on the Shinkansen, even when it was at top speed but I didn’t get the confidence to try it. It was smooth even at 300 kmph though. I had my speedometer on my phone and was able to manage to get a photo at 296 as the speed seemed to vary constantly. We arrived in Tokyo and headed back home. The next day was going to be a more relaxed start as we had a train at 10:00 am to Osaka. It was a long 3 hour ride. What was unbelievable was the frequency of the trains. There were so many bullet trains running on that circuit and yet the platforms were quite busy with so many travelers. I don’t know if it was because of the tourist season or if it was always like that. I didn’t expect that as I had heard of Japan’s dwindling population. Suddenly on our right we caught sight of Mt Fuji in the distance. Though we were doing close to 300 kmph, time seemed to stand still as we took pictures and marveled at the revered mountain. We reached Osaka and walked to our apartment next to the train station and left our luggage there to head out in to the city.

The bullet train

296 kmph on the train

Mt Fuji in the distance

We had a quick lunch at an Indian restaurant and headed off to a shrine and then to Osaka Castle. I loved the Osaka castle. The vast expanse of the castle was so peaceful and serene, that I decided to sit outside and just enjoy the weather. There was something very peaceful and quiet, despite innumerable people and I just enjoyed sitting there. To me this was one of the highlights of my trip.

A view of the Osaka castle

 We headed back home and the next day headed off to Hiroshima. The ease of traveling in the Shinkansen was just amazing. We covered a distance of 325 kms in just over an hour. It was very comfortable with no fuss and just a matter of routine. I was getting used to Japan! We went to Miyajima island and that is when we saw the crowds of tourists swelling and jostling for space, with queues becoming ever longer. Every place that I went to was so peaceful, even with so many people milling around. I could just sit in a corner looking over the ocean and get lost to the world for hours on end. We headed back to the city and the atomic peace park via the scenic route, taking a slow tram to the city. When I saw the bombed out building in Hiroshima that stood as a stark reminder of a dark past, it was just a little too overwhelming. I stood there quietly before heading into the tourist centre which held a small memorial museum. The weather too started turning chilly suddenly as if anticipating the mood of the moment. Winds from the sea were blowing really hard. We headed to an Indian restaurant past huge crowds of tourists only to find that a busload of Indian tourists had occupied the entire restaurant. We hunted for a place that had something vegetarian till we found a cafe where we had a quick lunch. We probably spent more time hunting for vegetarian food than anything else in Japan. I somehow assumed it would be a lot easier because I was told that the vegan trend in Japan had really taken off.

Hiroshima - A rememberance

Near the epicenter of the nuclear bomb

Miyajima island

We walked around the busy streets of Hiroshima as it got colder till we decided to head back home to Osaka. The next day we headed to Kyoto. It was Saturday and this was a real eye opener. The bamboo forest was packed with tourists, leaving us hardly any place to walk. The photo ops were many but every frame had people photo bombing us, by accident, as there was hardly any place to stand. After the bamboo forest, we headed off to Kinkakuji shrine. The bus stop was so crowded that the first bus could only accommodate a few of us. As we waited for the next bus, a group of Russians (I am guessing) ahead of us, were busy planning on how to board the bus to ensure they all got in. I had had enough and we started walking and flagged down the next taxi to take us to the temple. The temple too was crowded and so was every place we visited that Saturday in Kyoto. The evening we had planned to do a Geisha tea ceremony. What we didn’t expect was that it would require a booking well in advance. So we were denied the opportunity. And the roads were so crowded that every bus was running more than a half hour behind schedule. Traffic was jammed and the bus stops were packed. I decided to try to ride the bus the in the wrong direction to see if we could find a metro station. Though we made it a few stops the bus again was jammed in traffic. With the disappointment of missing the Geisha tea ceremony and the traffic the entire day felt like it was a bust, though the bamboo forest was really a great start. We slowly waded through traffic and headed back to Osaka and called it a night after dinner at a nearby Indian Garhwali restaurant.

The bamboo forest

 

The Golden Shrine at Kinkakuji

Cherry Blossoms at Daigoji

Sunday was reserved for Nara. Just like Kamakura, Nara was a quaint little town that seemed to have lost it’s soul to tourists. The deer at the park were more than willing to cosy up to us, if we fed it. We left the beaten trail and went into a small cafe. We asked for anything vegetarian and after a lot of giggling and translating, we found something to eat. Another customer, a Japanese, was happy to talk to us about his town. He suggested that we don’t go to overpriced souvenir shops and go to a local super market that had some good souvenirs. So after lunch we headed there and bought a few things before heading home to Osaka. The next evening was our flight back to India via KL.

The morning of the last day, we went back to Kyoto, for some shopping and the rock garden. From there came back to downtown Osaka for a last look before we headed to Tokyo and then Narita airport. It was a smooth end to a nicely planned trip. The Cherry Blossoms, the Shinkansen, Osaka Castle, Kumakura and a glimpse of Mt Fuji from a distance will be a few of the memories that I will cherish forever.

And as a footnote, leave all your misconceptions of Japan behind, if you find yourself traveling to Japan. They say the Japanese are a serious people. Just remember, they are the ones who celebrate anime and Hello Kitty.

Who else would paint their trains with Hello Kitty!

Now if you found this travelogue boring, you know exactly how I felt in Japan! Not true, but just wanted to say it!

Chardham yatra

Going to Gangotri has always been on top of my to do list. It wasn’t so much of a religious pilgrimage but a fascination with mountains and glaciers. So when Thomas Cook offered a helicopter tour luxury package of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, we jumped right on it. We had been to Dehradun in 2023 and had been thinking of doing daily trips to these places using Dehradun as a base. What Thomas Cook was offering was night stay near each of these places and transport between these places by a helicopter. It was a very quick 5 day trip and seemed to be perfect.

Then came the caveats. The hotels would be the best that the location could offer. Given that these places are not open through out the year, these would be decent hotels but would not be top of the line or even what we would expect in a 3 star hotel in any city in India. The second caveat that the entire itinerary depended on the weather and if the weather was bad, they would have to skip one or more of the four places. But it was their priority to ensure that we would cover all four places or they would refund a portion of the fare. Weather can be unpredictable in the Himalayas and since safety was the first priority, this too was non negotiable. After all with a helicopter, we can’t take chances. And a road trip would be so much more unpredictable. Then came the third caveat which turned the whole thing upside down. They expected each passenger to weigh in at less than 75kgs and to not carry more than 5 kgs of clothes and luggage. I was tipping the scale at home at 86-87 kgs and there was no way I would lose 10-12 kgs in a few months. And how does one pack only 5 kgs. It was going to be cold and we needed woolens and 5 kgs just seemed impossible. But it was what it was and we booked the trip.

There were four of us and though I was the strongest (heaviest), the combined weight of the 4 of us was below 300 kgs. But they were quite adamant that each person had to be weighed separately. The flight to Dehradun too wasn’t cheap as that was our base from which we would go on this trip. We were told that we had to arrive a day before and plan our return as late as possible (at least after 6 pm) on the last day. We chose late September and early October for our trip because we expected that the monsoon would have retreated by then. Given the unpredictability of the monsoon, we put in some best effort guesses and chose our dates carefully. End of September seemed to be a good bet with the retreat of the monsoons and the cold weather not biting too hard yet.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. All these sayings threatened to come to life as we approached September. Viral fevers, Chikunguniya and a whole lot of other things came to haunt us. Chikunguniya brought joint pains and doctors warned us that the cold weather of the hills would only make it more severe. When we didn’t cow in to these threats, good news too came to see if we would alter our plans. Roshni’s wedding suddenly got fixed and a whole lot of work fell upon Raj and Madhuri, who were travelling with us. They had warned us months ago, that nothing will stop them from this trip other than Roshni’s wedding getting fixed. The Gods seemed to have every intent to stop us from going. In early September we had no clue that Roshni would get a match but before mid September, a wonderful young man, from a beautiful family, was introduced and the match seemed to be made in heaven. Raj and Madhuri rose to the occasion and finished as much of the work as they could before the trip and we took off to Dehradun.

At the wonderful Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa, we were treated to a beautiful day of food and luxury. As the evening rolled by Thomas Cook’s representatives came to brief us on the plans for the next day. They brought weighing machines too. There we met our fellow travellers. Each chopper could carry 6 people apart from the pilot and luggage. They gave us all the dos and don’ts and then finally said that if the weather gods are pleased, we will have a good trip. They also advised us to relax and let things happen, as we would not have much control over the next few days.

That’s when the caveats really started rolling in. They weighed us and to everyone’s surprise, the electronic scales showed each of us around 3-4 kgs more than we thought we were. Of course we were in full gear but I tipped the scale at nearly 91 kgs. It was absurd. Isn’t weight supposed to decrease with altitude? Then they gave us bags that we had to use for the trip. Our newly bought rugged rucksacks were of no use. They said that they had no clue when we would take off the next day but asked us to have breakfast and be ready by 10:30. They told us not to check out of the hotel, come what may. Then they told us that the day’s helicopter had still not come in because of bad weather. Apparently the pilgrims were stuck where they were.

Day 1

So the next morning, we got up and had breakfast and spent the day waiting. At noon we still hadn’t heard from them. But the hotel wanted us to check out. Thomas Cook handed us over to the flying company called Heritage Aviation. If you are the investigative kind, you should look into the structure and ownership of Heritage Aviation! So we got the hotel to talk to the aviation company and they decided to move us to another Hyatt. Cars were arranged and we arrived at the Hyatt at Rajour Road but guess what they didn’t have any rooms. It was nearly 1:30 pm and I suggested we have lunch at the mall next door. The company guys didn’t want us to go because they were supposed to arrange lunch for us. It was nearly 2 and we decided to have lunch at the Hyatt at our own expense. Just as we ordered food, we got a call that a cab had come to take us to another hotel. We told them to take our luggage and we would get a cab later. We found that the mall next door had a recently released Telugu movie (Devaraa) playing and booked it for later that evening. We knew we would not take off that day. The food took a long time coming but it was well worth the wait. The Amritsari Kulchas were awesome.

We took a cab to the new hotel, checked in and came back to the mall to watch Devaraa. We were now in the calm space that they had asked us to be in. We were just going with the flow.

Later that evening we were told to be ready by 5:30 am the next morning and that we would be rushed to Yamunotri.

Day 2

A view of the mountains from the helicopter

 

We reached the helipad by 7 am and weighed in and got our luggage checked in. We had a little bit of extra stuff, which they said they would keep in their cloak room. And surprise surprise, they didn’t charge me anything extra though I weighed in at 88 kgs. My weight was offset by the others in my group. As each helicopter took off, we waited our turn with increasing frustration. Finally our turn came and we were whisked away to the chopper on a buggy and bundled into the chopper. We took off just after 8 am and were on our way to Yamunotri. The weather had cleared up and it was beautiful ride over Mussoorie and quite close to the Yamunotri glacier. We were quickly deboarded and the next group onboarded in a very well coordinated act by the ground staff and within a few minutes the helicopter was away on it’s next leg. They were making the most of the weather. We walked to the hotel where we were asked to freshen up for the steep 6 km trek up to the Yamunotri temple. We were given a breakfast of packed parantha and poha which was already cold. We were assigned one palki each with four sherpas bearing our load. I said I would prefer to start walking and took off in a quick stride. The sherpa asked me to slow down and pace myself. It was really steep and seemed to be at a 30 degree incline at times. Soon enough I was on the palki and was being carried by the four sherpas. But even they struggled under my weight. We stopped for breakfast and should have ordered more of the local food but had the parantha and poha along with some hot tea and maggi in the shop. We set off again on the steep ascent. Eventually I walked around 40-50% and was carried the rest of the way on the palki. Those who braved the walk and walked 70-80% were done by the time we reached the temple. The stop at the temple was quick and the steaming hot spring in the cold air was a sight to behold. We were in a hurry as the plan was to fly to Gangotri on the same day to make up for lost time. We came down the mountain much more quickly and waited at the hotel for our chopper. I was completely winded with the 6 km trek. Make no mistake, the ascent is very tough unless you pace yourself well. It was an 850 meter ascent over 6 kms. I have done Bhutan’s Tiger Nest and this is much more rugged. And it is crowded with palkis and walkers and horses and everything else in between.

Stunningly beautiful entry into Gangotri

Soon our helicopter landed and we rushed off to the landing site and were on our way to Gangotri. We were quickly taken to the hotel when we realised our legs had taken a beating due to the ascent at Yamunotri. The guide assured us that we would be ok and he would take care of us and urged us to come to the Gangotri temple. What a beautiful sight it was. The glistening snow capped peaks in the background as we walked to the temple. And yet the gaps in the glacier were clearly visible. The tree line was well below where the glacier ended. It was obvious that the glacier had retreated a lot over the past decades. And despite all this surrounded by the peaks of the mighty Himalayas, hope didn’t blink. The snow capped glistening peak of the Sudarshan parbat seemed to offer some hope that we would turn the corner and things would be alright. I am not a big believer but the pervading hope can make a believer out of anyone. It was a great place to spend an evening but we had to return as dusk fell and our tired legs and breathlessness told us that we needed the rest.

 

One of the helicopters that ferried us on this incredible journey

Entering the Gangotri temple

 

An incredible view of Sudarshan parbat from Gangotri

Day 3

Kedarnath

 

We were again asked to be ready early the next morning by 6:30 to head to Kedarnath. The helipad that we used while landing at Gangotri was quite far and the one where we were taking off from was very close to the hotel. There are many helipads and the weather determines which helipad is used. We were lucky to take off from the helipad that was very close to us and landed directly at Kedarnath. We were earlier told that we would land near the hotel and then take another chopper up to the temple. But this helped us cut our time as we arrived directly at Kedarnath. We had a good darsham and came back to the helipad. Just before we reached the helipad we stopped off for tea and samosas as our tour guides waited for our chopper. Finally our turn came an hour or so later and we were off to our hotel. The hotel was beautifully picturesque and had it’s own helipad. We checked in and waited for lunch. After lunch we had our legs massaged but the tiredness just didn’t leave us. Though they planned a trip to one of the temples, we didn’t go and preferred to stay in the hotel and enjoy the clear view of the mountains. The number of choppers flying in and out every few minutes was astounding. It was almost non stop. Of course that also brought the stench of ATF (kerosene) as we lay on the chairs outside the rooms. That night, we were again told that we would take off early by 7:30 am.

Day 4

Finally at Badrinath - A view of our hotel surrounded by incredible mountains

 

We took off early the next morning to Badrinath and checked into our hotel. The rooms were not ready, so we headed off to the temple. The throng of crowds pushing and jostling for space was too much to bear. But the darshan, when we finally got there was, smooth and very good. It was a long walk back to the cars as we headed back to the hotel. The rooms were still not ready and we waited for another hour to get into our rooms. We had no more energy to go to the first village of India, Mana and decided to go for a walk around Badrinath.

Just before 6 or 7 pm, our phones which had an increasingly patchy signal completely lost signal. We had BSNL and Airtel and neither worked. Even the hotel WiFi didn’t work. We were told that only Jio works in such situations. We thought it was a short outage but it lasted till 6 am the next morning.

The next morning, brought Vishnu Sahasranama and other prayers at 4 am at the temple. After breakfast, we quickly headed off to the helipad, as new groups of pilgrims arrived at the hotel and the house keeping staff worked at a frenetic pace to clean up the rooms. At the helipad, we were told, that we would have to wait as our chopper would land and switch off it’s engines as the Army had instructed it to. We then came to know that the Indo Kazakh 2024 army exercise was happening quite close to us and the airspace was restricted. After waiting in the cars were over 30 mins, we were told to head back to the hotel, as we would be delayed by an hour or two. We just had our first cup of tea at the hotel, when we were asked to rush back to the helipad. The pilot told us that we were cleared for take off and that we would receive further instructions en route as the Army cleared a path for us. We headed south over Rudraprayag, Devprayag, Haridwar and Rishikesh before landing at Dehradun avoiding the restricted airspace through a slightly circuitous route. We couldn’t wait to get home, as we were not only tired but started falling ill too.

A last glance before we leave Badrinath for Dehradun

 

A beautiful trip with excellent darshan at every temple, courtesy the luxury package of VIP tickets. But if I were to warn future travellers, these are a few more caveats to bear in mind.

Cautions and be aware

Most starts of ours were early, so we missed or had late breakfasts and shorter sleeps at night. I think this hurt me more than anything else and took a toll on my physical ability. You may have late starts and may have a different set of issues.

Accepting and going with the flow is a given. Be prepared for every eventuality, because even among our group, some of them were delayed by 2-3 hours though they were at the helipad with us. Some were so delayed they stayed at Kedarnath near the temple and couldn’t get a ride down to the hotel. So be prepared for every eventuality. The courteousness of the staff of Heritage Aviation and Thomas Cook was outstanding. But even they are hampered by helicopter availability, weather and armed forces restrictions.

Carry medicines for every eventuality. Just in case.

Phone signal is patchy at best, so if you plan to keep your loved ones updated, let them know that the signal is patchy and send them frequent updates, as you never know when you will lose signal.

Unpredictability is given in every situation here. If you have the luxury of time and do not mind spending long times in the car, a well planned road trip may serve you better. Good cabs are available at Dehradun from Garhwal cabs. You can plan to drive only 6 hours a day and enjoy the rest of the day and give yourself a day’s break every couple of days to really enjoy the mountains.

All the guides we met were exceptional in every way.

The reason I swallow my food faster than it can be served

 

I am often accused of gobbling my food too quickly. As they say, the actions of our present are dictated by some trauma from our past. So I decided to explore my own psyche to understand what trauma it was that triggers my present day gluttony.

It was a long time ago, probably in the late 1990s. I took my mother to a doctor’s appointment. My niece and nephew decided to accompany us, as they had already crossed into double digits and were 11 or 12 years old. While waiting at the doctor’s office that evening, it was quite a busy day and it was taking quite a while for my mother’s turn to come up and the niece and nephew were getting fidgettty and I was getting hungry. So I told my mother that I would take them to a nearby restaurant to grab a quick bite. Now they were famous on surviving on air and never eating anything at all, so i was sure that they wouldn’t eat much.

At the restaurant, I asked them what they wanted and they said a gobi manchurian and spring rolls. So I ordered a plate of each, with the earnest hope that they would eat a little and leave the rest to me as I was quite hungry. A few minutes later the food arrived and they lunged at it like a lion would attack a deer in the wild. Soon the plates were licked clean and I continued to be hungry. So that is why it is to this day that I cannot help but gobble my food before serving is complete.

60th wedding anniversary of uncle and aunty

It was way back in 1988 that I first set foot in Vijayawada to start my college. It was a small unknown town for me. As I settled down there, my friend from college, Ashok, started taking me home. That is where I first met his parents. I couldn’t have met two people who were more different and yet at the heart of it had the same principles, a large heart and a willingness to help anyone.

Happily driving to the venue together on the morning of Dec 27th

 

I remember sitting up till 2 am when his dad (uncle) finally came home and rolled his cigar. I had never met anyone like that nor even heard of anyone like that. Someone who came home that late and still had the energy and enthusiasm to roll their own cigar. He ran a private school where we would often go. He told us, later in life, how he had to run it with an iron hand as parents always had a set of complaints.

At the beautiful venue

 

In contrast Ashok’s mom (aunty) was a school teacher with a strong sense of schedule and purpose. I remember at lunch one afternoon, when Ashok tried to get me to try fish. He said it was very well made and that I would definitely like it. I kept saying no, as a vegetarian. He ultimately put a piece on my plate. And then his mother interfered and didn’t raise her voice or anything. Yet her quiet demeanor and words were enough for him to back off and take it off of my plate again.

The strength of character of both uncle and aunty stood out. They were two very different personalities and probably had very different outlooks to life. And yet their strength of character and sense of purpose is something that really struck me and stood out. It left such a lasting impression that I feel I had an extra set of parents. They were there behind the scenes whenever I needed without even asking.

One of the first at the venue to get the event started

 

Later in life, as I grew older and moved away from Vijayawada our paths crossed less frequently. And yet whenever I met them, which was at least twice a year, our bond only seemed to get stronger. I would draw on their sense of fairness, strong presence to help build my own personality.

When they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, with their extended family and friends, I had to be there. I wasn't feeling too well to drive and another close friend, Rajsekhar, who understood the depth of our relationship with uncle and aunty, gave me his car and driver, to be there with them on such a momentous occasion. Who among us has an opportunity to celebrate not just 60 years of love but 60 years of life so well lived together. A true honor to be there with all of them on the 27th of December. 

With uncle and aunty at the event

 

The big ugly brown bear that wasn’t

Have you ever heard about the big ugly brown bear? I am sure you have heard its story. No? That doesn’t surprise me because this is a story from a long time ago and yet not so long ago. Just over a hundred years ago, or so I was told, our planet was covered with forests. There were great big trees that had already lived hundreds of years. Among these forests, there were small and sometimes large clearings that were made for houses where humans like us lived. Of course none of those were as big as the cities we now know like Peterborough, London or Hyderabad. So among these forests there lived great big animals and small ones too. From furry rabbits to huge elephants, our planet earth was home to them all.

Now this story comes from up north. Where it is cold and snow stays on the ground for 6 months of the year. The country up north is now called Canada. Canada is home to some of the largest trees, tall and majestic, strong and mighty. Canada is just south of the Arctic circle, the home of the north pole and also home to the great white polar bears. Now the polar bears prided themselves on being tall, rugged, big, strong and yet beautiful and pristinely fair.

One day, a group of young polar bears ventured a little south to forage for food. While jumping in the river to catch their daily quota of fish, the young bears lost their way and  headed into the thick woods of Canada, where the trees were as tall as the sky and thicker than the big bears could hug. As they looked around to figure out how to get back to their home up north in the snow, they chanced upon an equally lost big brown bear. I am sure you have heard of and even probably seen big brown bears. You may even have a soft cuddly stuffed bear toy at home that are fondly called teddy bears. But bears are anything but soft and cuddly. They are ferocious and frightening. Now the polar bears looked up at the strange bear that looked a lot like them but was brown. And the lost brown bear too was puzzled by these bears that looked a lot like its brothers and sisters but were all white. But as their first reaction, they growled at each other from a distance behind the trees, showing their fangs for good measure. 

The polar bears outnumbered the brown bear and were confident and laughed at the little brown bear. The brown bear asked why they were laughing. And the polar bears told the brown bear of the land where they come from. Where everything was covered in snow and almost everything was clean and white. While the brown bear was obviously dirty and brown and of course ugly. The brown bear laughed and said where it comes from, the brown color helps her to be unseen among the trees. So that she can climb trees and drink the choicest honey. Now the polar bears were jealous and wanted a little bit of this honey that they had never heard of. So they decided to make friends with the brown bear, if the brown bear led them to a pot of honey. The brown bear happily led them on a quest for the best honey that the forest could give up. The polar bears were unused to the fresh fragrances of the early morning dew and the gentle breeze among the trees, as the brown bear sniffed its way to a big huge honeycomb. Then suddenly the big

bear stopped and looked up and started climbing the tall tree, for high up among the branches where you could hardly see, the bear knew the best honeycomb existed. Soon the polar bears climbed up too and were gorging on some of the freshest honey known to any bear. As soon as they had their fill, they opened their eyes and could see the snow covered land a little bit in the distance beyond the river. They now knew which way home was. The brown bear too could see its family in the distance and they all hugged happily as they prepared to head to their respective homes. Suddenly one of the polar bears turned to the big brown bear and flashed a honey covered smile and said, you are brown but you are not ugly. You are soft, cuddly and beautiful. And with that the bears parted ways and headed home!

That is the story of the ugly brown bear that wasn’t

Another trip down south

Just a quick recap of another whirlwind South India trip (mainly Tamil Nadu). This time it was purpose driven and we had a schedule to meet.

Chennai - 22nd Jan 2021

It all started with a plan to visit Tirupati. We heard the crowds were not yet thronging the temple town and it would be a good time to get in a quick visit. We planned our trip, and not without hitches, and decided to go to Chennai and drive from Chennai. We landed in Chennai on the early evening of Jan 22^nd. Roopesh, a friend’s son, came to pick us up and drove us straight to the Besant Nagar beach. 30 years ago, this was quite a deserted beach and now it was filled with hawkers and people. There we waited for Ashok his wife and daughter to catch up with us, while we went to greet the waves of the Bay of Bengal.

We walked back from the waves, with the sand in our feet, as it grew dark and settled down near a vendor, to have twisted potato on a stick (tornado potatoes). We planned our dinner as the others arrived. We headed to our dinner restaurant as we had to get to a temple after that for some temple duties too. While the others completed dinner, Ashok & I headed off to the TTD temple in Chennai to oversee the day’s closing and prep for the Saturday morning rush. After finishing up there, we headed home to get to bed early, as we had an early start the next day and a long drive to Tirupati. Meanwhile Raj and Madhuri, who were supposed to join us at Tirupati had their flight cancelled. Luckily they got an earlier one and we were back on track but that meant we would not have a leisurely drive but a quick drive to Tirupati. We arrived home, and found that the others had finished dinner and then headed off to Marina beach to have ice cream. The dream of getting to bed early, remained only a dream

Tirupati - 23rd Jan 2021

By the time we went to bed it was 1 am. We had an early start the next day, at the Chennai TTD temple overseeing the Saturday morning rush. We came back home and then headed out to Tirupati in a borrowed Innova. We had breakfast on the way, and couldn’t believe how rushed even the highway restaurants were. The road to Tirupati from Chennai hasn’t been the best, for the past 40 years, and there was no reason that would change. We had Kumbakonnam Degree Filter Coffee on the way, the same place, we had in 2018 July. It didn't taste the same. The pandemic had forced the old lady to give up the shop to a newer generation. The drive was slow, with traffic and pot holes after that. By the time we arrived at Tirupati, Raj and Madhuri were already waiting for us at the Minerva Grand there. We had a quick lunch and dropped them off at the beginning of the stairs for the long climb up to Tirumala.

I drove up along with Ashok to take the luggage up and ensure the room was sorted before the rest of the party could get there. Though we reached well in time, with the usual rush missing at the scanning below, the crowds were still not exactly non-existent. We found our room and got it cleaned. It was a huge three bedroom apartment with two large halls. Just as they finished cleaning, we got the call to pick the hikers up, as they had reached Tirumala. They made good time for people of a certain age! We got ready in the room and played some dumb charades with the kids and then it was time for dinner and bed. Early the next morning, we had our darshan. Though again the crowds weren’t the usual, they were not thin either. The governor of Telangana too decided to visit the temple that morning and our darshan was delayed. We made it out by 8:30, an hour behind schedule. While 3 of them who had a flight to catch, went their way, rushing off to the apartment and then the airport, we got our quota of laddus and headed back to Chennai.

Kanyakumari - 26th Jan 2021

On the 26^th the next part of our trip started. We headed off to the airport and caught a flight to Madurai. There another friend (Subba Raogaru) graciously lent us his car, a Honda WRV, for us to go down to Kanyakumari. We headed down to Kanyakumari from Madurai airport. The drive was going to be around 4 hours, we thought. It was a good highway and just over 250 kms. But on the way, we took a detour to Paramakudi and Akkiramesi. The rains had been more than plenty this season, even in the driest parts of Tamil Nadu. The farm there was flooded. 

We only spent a few minutes there before heading back out to the highway to Kanyakumari. What we didn’t realise is that the slight detour had added over a 100 kms to our trip. The farm was 102 kms from the airport and Kanyakumari was 265 kms from the farm. In the fading light we drove to Kanyakumari. On the way, we stopped at Tirunelveli, hoping to get a taste of some Tirunelveli halwa but we had no luck. We drove into Kanyakumari, as darkness fell and went straight to the beautiful, 120 acre Vivekananda Kendra. We had dinner there and went to sleep in no time. The next morning, we had to watch the sunrise at Kanyakumari. It is a very impressive sight and we really need a DSLR to capture the beauty of the moment. All I had was my old cell phone camera and I did the best I could.

 

Later that morning, we headed off to the TTD temple in Kanyakumari, which was built on land donated by the Vivekananda Kendra. It was inaugarated on the 27^th of Jan 2019 and this was it’s second anniversary and the reason for us to be there. Built on a corner of the Kendra’s land, elevated on a high pedestal, the temple overlooks the sea and is a majestic sight to behold. To get to the temple, you can walk through the kendra, beyond the peacock sanctuary and the goshala, or take the road outside the kendra and around it. The puja overran and by the time we were done with lunch, it was close to 3 pm.

 

Bodi - 27th Jan 2021

We headed off to Bodi, a place on the foothills of Munnar on the Western Ghats, to visit a friend. It was a long 300 km 5 hour drive on narrow roads with heavy traffic through small towns and villages. Yet the roads of Tamil Nadu are much better than most other parts of India and the drive wasn’t too bad. We spent the night in a resort like place. The next morning, we decided to drive out to get some tea. It was still early and just past 6. The resort was not yet awake when we drove out. Within a kilometer, we came to a check post with a lot of tea stall and breakfast places. It was the beginning of the ghat road up to Munnar, 63 kms away. Funnily Munnar is around 20 kms as the crow flies but 63 kms by road. The ghat road typically takes 3 hours. We went up a little bit to see the sunrise as the road was free of traffic. There in the middle of those mountain roads, we took a U-turn and came down to have tea. We were thrilled to be so close to Munnar. We knew where our next holiday would take us.

Trichy and home - 28th Jan 2021

After breakfast, we headed off to Trichy, where were to visit Sri Rengam Temple, a 200 km drive, before I caught my flight back to Hyderabad. That day was Thai Poosam, which meant the temple timings had changed. So though we were at the temple by 12:30, it was closed. We visited with friends and then after lunch went to the temple again. I cannot even begin to explain the size of the temple town. There were around 4 gates (at least by my count) that we had to get through to get to the main gopuram. Despite the rush on the holy occasion of Thai Poosam, we came out and were told that we would head off to another temple a little outside the city. We headed out on the 35 km drive and arrived at a very very small village with a small rock hillock. Carved into the rock was a quaint little beautiful temple. The village is Malayadipatti. The priest spent over 45 mins explaining to us the significance of the temple and the area, though most of it was lost on us, as it was in chaste Tamil. Yet, we were surprised that we understood around 70%. We couldn’t spend much more time there as it was already 6 pm and my flight was at 7:30. And it was an hour drive back to the airport. With the web check in done and airport authorities alerted, we drove back, as fast as we possibly could, as I was rushed through security and into the flight, for a comfortable flight back to Hyderabad.

Another Tamil Nadu sojourn done. I have received many requests from friends, to take them along, the next time I go. My answer is always the same, you pay and I am always willing!!! :-)