I arrived in India a few days ago and as always, the country never ceases to amaze me. I am hoping to capture some experiences from my short trip over a series of blog posts. This is the first in that series.
I landed in Chennai early in the morning. Getting out of the airport was a challenge thanks to the MetroRail project that has completely transformed the traffic pattern in the city. There were blockages everywhere and two lane roads were all now 3/4's of a lane. I was promised good weather even in Chennai, thanks to some rains but I was disappointed to say the least. It was warm and humid. Only the sun was missing. Everything else was unmistakeably Chennai. We were staying at Anna Nagar where the roads were severely blocked and restricted. I can only hope that the Metro Rail comes soon and makes a difference to the traffic in the city. Otherwise, all these disruptions for prolonged periods of time will be for nothing.We left for Coimbatore that evening by flight. I was very impressed by the Chennai Domestic Airport. Clean and well organized, it was very impressive. Landing in Coimbatore, I was struck by the dramatic difference in pretty much everything. The weather was phenomenal- better than the Bay Area and most certainly better than Chennai. Nice and pleasant, it was a joy to be outside. Traffic, while much more than 2.5 years ago when I was last here, was still much more navigable compared to Chennai. If there was one thing I wanted to complain about, it was the mosquitos.The mosquitos love to call India their first home. There is a regular supply of varied blood,fresh NRI blood and what not. I hadnt spent a full day in Chennai to bear the full brunt of the genum Chennae. Instead I was forced to contend with genum Kovaie. And they came with full force alright. The little guy with his whole milk and cheese enriched blood has been a party place for the mosquitos and the scars are there to be seen. The most used phrase in the last few days is, "Appa, I am itchy." Odomos tubes and bottles of caldril lotion have been spent by the visiting team to no avail. Mosquitoes 1, Vistors 0.Last evening, my brother, the little guy and I drove in our two wheeler to R.S.Puram. On the way back at one of the lights, a small street kid no more than 8 years old rushed to place a balloon in my son's hands and proclaimed "Rs.10." We were shocked. My brother who lives in India instinctively started bargaining. I told him to just pay the kid. The lights were starting to turn green and we thrust a Rs.10 note on the boys hands. His face lit up with a big smile. He rushed to his fellow balloon peddlers not much older than him, jumping with joy and screaming "Bechdiya , bechdiya !" ("I sold it"). That made our day.
