The Arrival
10th July 2012
It was
10years ago that I last crossed the threshold I crossed about half an our ago.
The home where my grandpa lives, my native, my ancestral house, in a way. As a
matter of fact it was a decade ago that I had visited this city last. And by my
perception of the city, the little I had on my way back from the railway
station and some while the train was entering the city, I could see, quiet a
lot has changed. At-least private business sector has been doing good it seems.
New shops, and hospitals by the bulk, and the old ones having had a complete
make-over to keep pace with the changing scenario. On a certain level, the city
looks changed, but the moment you turn your attention to the people, that make
up the city, one is compelled to think, maybe, nothing has actually. There is
still no traffic sense, even on the main roads. Cars still flaunt the flags of
political parties or unions instead of a Vehicle registration number plate. And
the most vivid indicator, the government hasn't moved on a reasonable pace. The
drains are still open as they were, roads are still the same width as they
were, and people still encroach upon public property, and declare it their own
as they used to.
My home.
Unchanged. Not a single feature, not even a brick has moved, or been replaced.
The same old steel angle framed, corrugated GI sheeted gate, the same old
garage, the grape wine has disappeared though, but the crotans are still the
same, only larger. The cooler body, a mass of rusting iron sheet, has been
there on the porch since over a decade, and so has the sofa. The steel mesh, on
the external entrance door, which once used to prevent insects invading the
house while allowing fresh air in, now permits an entire human through, without
resistance. It has evidently lived its life. The living room hasn't changed in
the slightest, except the television. The feel of the room remains the same.
Exploring the rest of the house, gave a similar impression, nothing has
changed, just the deterioration that is inevitable with time. The marks of time
are evident in each and every corner, each and every wall, and feature of the
old house. Roots of plants have penetrated from terrace to the lower floor and
are developing further in the undisturbed settings. Exploring, I climb up the
stairs, to the terrace, and I notice a stark difference, the house seemed
smaller. Why? Maybe because, I had grown up, become larger, or because I had
just grown accustomed to seeing larger, or maybe the surroundings had outgrown
my house. I'm not sure which is the real reason, but the feeling remains.
Coming back down, I am greeted by my distant cousins who were evidently
sleeping while I entered the house, and had a good tour of it. No surprise some
thieves had also noticed the booty, but didn't find anything worth though, also
thanks to the sleeping cousin.
And the
rest of the day passed in a mundane existence. Nothing to do, just lying about
here and there, escorted by the ever so faithful mosquitoes. In the evening, my
aunt called up my Grandpa, and they had a talk, apparently after long. And then
after came the guy who gives my grandpa massage, and while that was going on,
in some stupid un-for-seen way the topic of the marriage of those of our
generation came up, and even more stupidly it came to me! I was like,
"Damn the starts! Didn't thy have any other topic to talk about". By
luckily it didn't last much. And I was superbly relieved to know it had ended.
Day 1
11th July 2012
The night
passed completing the novel I had started when I was half way through my
journey. Obviously the mosquitoes never let me feel lonely. I didn’t feel tired in the slightest until I
was done with novel. And then, suddenly, it gushed from all the directions,
fatigue, and I fell asleep. The only hindrance then, was the electricity not
wanting to serve me, mosquitoes not wanting to let me feel lonely, and the
un-comfortable temperature. Perfect recipe for "not being able to sleep in
spite of being almost dead due to fatigue". That gave me a lot of time to
reflect on the other things that I had missed. My old man, he was completely
the same. Considering the prosperity he's been bestowed with, the way he lives
is still the same, no change in the slightest. There was a time when he was
healthier, at that time, the inconveniences he's surrounded himself with seemed
tolerable, but now, they most certainly don't. When I come to think of it, such
vast sums of money, and still, living like a below lower middle class is just
being miser, and for what? I agree to not showing off, but there's a minimum
required level of services and utilities that one needs in order to live
gracefully and modestly. That would include, a good water supply system, a
modest amount of manageable furniture, a decent kitchen, with a refrigerator,
and electricity supply, a means of avoiding insect and human infestation of the
property, at-least the building that you reside in. Unfortunately none of this
is available in our house. And now considering the occupant being a lone
elderly person of 90, this is highly unsettling. I'm going to design a new
house for this plot. Much smaller compared to this one, but more manageable and
secure.
With the
thoughts flowing, the time too passed like anything. And when electricity did
come back, it was time to wake up. And well, I was up for a new surprise which
came like after an hour since I woke up.
I was quietly lost in my computer, when my cousin yelled, "There's
a snake in the kitchen". Day 2, and this was some real surprise. And after
some efforts we were able to scare it away and direct it a bit on its way out.
I so very much wanted to catch it, but didn't have the proper tools. So I let
it go. And then after the lunch, a visit to the Juvenile Court with my Grandpa,
for a case that’s been going on since the past 14 years! I was literally
falling asleep in the advocate's cabin. Then after buying some groceries, we
were back home.
