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Published: January 7th 2006
As I write this, I’m sitting in the office at Ruth and Praveen’s house. We made it home fine and will tell you a bit about the mostly uneventful plane trip and slightly more eventful homecoming later. First, though I’ll write about our final day in India..
When we first arrived in India, we spent a few days in Chennai then took a 40 minute plane trip to Coimbatore. When it was time to leave India, we decided to expand our experiences and take an 8 hour overnight train trip to return to Chennai. Prasanna, Santhana, and Sandhya accompanied us and as it turns out six was the perfect number because there were six “bunks” in our little section of the train. When we first entered the train the bunks were not immediately recognizable…only two wide bench type seats facing each other (like an oversized restaurant booth without the table) with one single bed hanging near the ceiling over each side. I was counting FOUR beds, not at all sure how the six of us were going to sleep but still open to the new experience.
We managed to get all of our luggage under the seats or stacked up against the window between them. It wasn’t easy either… Ruth, Praveen, and I had 7 bags and 3 backpacks between us (among those some very heavy and large suitcases). Sandhya had at least one (she was returning to the university) and Prasanna and Santhana had theirs also.
A side note here that I almost forgot to mention…. Traveling anywhere with this number of people who have this outrageous number of bags is never easy. Just getting to the train station (or anywhere) takes a lot of planning. (Most vehicles are on the small side compared to US vehicles.) The six of us and all that baggage piled into two smallish (by American standards) vehicles. When we arrived at the train station Santhana found a couple of men to carry our things…and this was soooo amazing. These guys balanced much of it on their heads….stacked up! They put the biggest heaviest ones on their heads and at least two of the suitcases (we know for sure) were almost 70 pounds each (we’d weighed them). So one guy had three on his head and a huge duffle bag over his shoulder and the other guy only had some on his head. We pushed, pulled, or carried the rest between us. Indian train stations are extremely crowded and chaotic so my most important task was to keep up with the line of relatives and luggage winding it’s way through the masses, at one point even up a set of stairs. Sandhya was walking next to me on the stairs and looked up ahead of her to see the guy with the three suitcases on his head… she looked at me and I at her and she decided to move over just a little. The bags never even jiggled but if they’d fallen on her they would have killed her! (She probably weighs just a tiny bit more than one of the suitcases!)
When we got up to where the train was parked it was another few miles (exaggeration…only a half mile or so) down a wide crowded walkway to the end of the train where we’d be riding in the A/C cars. I feel like I definitely got my exercise for the day. We were running just a bit late, so it wasn’t a pleasant stroll, but more of a jog, all the while trying to keep track of those ahead and those behind me and wind my way through all the other people and their baggage while also keeping a tight hold on my purse and backpack.
Okay…end of side note…back to the train. It’s necessary to keep luggage close to you lest some of it turn up missing. Praveen took me to see where the toilets were just in case I needed to use one. After getting a whiff of it, I decided that I wouldn’t be needing a toilet until AFTER the trip. It didn’t look dirty (it was a stainless steel hole in the floor) but it smelled horrible! Not just a little horrible, but REALLY horrible.
We sat around and talked for a little while, but not long, before Santhana announced that he’d make up the beds. As it turns out there was a third bunk on both sides that came out from the wall between the top one and the bottom bench seat. It sort of hung from the top one on straps on the open side but hinged off the wall on the back side with about two feet of space between. Each bunk came with a clean wool blanket a set of sheets and a pillow. Santhana began at the top on one side, putting the blanket on the bottom then the sheets. When that one was done, he designated Sandhya the occupant and up she went, eliminating one body from the pile of baggage and humans below. The one below her was mine so I was next. I have to admit my assent was far from graceful. I was tired and settled onto one sheet and covered up with the other as well as with my new (cashmere) scarf. Ruth got the middle across from me and Praveen, the top. Prasanna and Santhana took the bottom. Before we went to sleep Praveen secured some of the more valuable bags (with passports, jewelry, and laptops), tying them to hooks on the wall so that they’d still be with us in the morning. I slept with my purse.
The night went pretty well until I started getting chilly. (India loves A/C when and where they can get it and when and where they have it, it’s usually turned up a bit high for me.) I worked on keeping covered with the scarf and sheet….not realizing that I really should have been under the blanket. I thought it was only for a mattress cover or something… and besides, my 24” of moving around space sort of limited my options. Sometime in the middle of the night I realized it was (unfortunately) time for my nightly toilet trip… my bladder was calling loudly to me….and I was still determined NOT to need to do it. Aside from the stinky condition of the toilet, I had no idea how I’d be able to get down off my bunk in the dark and find the toilet without waking the whole train. Having to use the bathroom and not being able to is VERY miserable, so it’s probably good that I could combine that with the fact that I was a bit chilly too. I couldn’t focus too much on one or the other. Finally morning came and when I heard Santhana saying…time to get up…ten minutes until we’re there…I realized I had actually slept through both problems. However, the toilet was now calling me and I realized that I’d have to face it.
It wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. The smell was gone and in retrospect, I think it was so awful before because the train had been sitting still when I first was first introduced. The eight hour trip must have aired it out. The train was still moving though and I was a bit nervous about falling over as I was balancing my act of holding my skirt UP and my pants DOWN (and trying to keep both of them from dragging on the floor. I did pretty well though and regretted putting it off so long. Next time I’ll know better.
Overall, the overnight train was a good experience. It sure beat being in a vehicle that long. Being able to stretch out and sleep and just wake up at the destination definitely has advantages and when it’s dark out there isn’t anything to see along the way anyhow. Also, Prasanna told me that all six of us could ride the train for the price of one plane ticket, not a bad deal at all.
We arrived in the Chennai station which made the one at Coimbatore look small…and did the luggage thing in reverse. We were met at the station by Rajan, who is Jaynsree’s husband. Jaynsree is Prasanna’s neice, one of the family members who I got to know pretty well. We were taken to a hotel (again in two vehicles) where we’d have rooms until our flight left that night at 2 AM. Mohen and his family (Vina, Grandma, and the twins) were already checked in to the same hotel, but I guess they decided to forgo the train experience. We all met up at Jaynsree’s home later for lunch (and general hanging out).
During the day we went to a “real” store where Ruth and I tried on some clothes. I know it’s not the most economical way to buy things in India, but it was nice to find myself in a very familiar surrounding. All the different styles and colors came in multiple sizes and all were neatly organized on shelves or hangers. The clerks kept their distance and only “helped” when asked. Our goal was to get a couple salwars (long tops with slits up the sides and baggy pants that go under them). We both managed to find things we liked and it was a painless experience. I actually enjoyed it so much I could have stayed there MUCH longer….but we didn’t have the time for that at this point.
Side note: I like wearing a salwar (and will someday soon learn how to spell it). They are quite comfortable and since you wear those baggy pants under it, you don’t have to worry about your skirt being unexpectedly blown up by a fan. The pants seemed really weird at first (but I am used to them now)…as they are REALLY baggy …at the top, especially. One size fits all and they are held on by a draw string…so you can imagine all the gathered fabric around your waist…and then, to add to it, there are additional gathers that are sewn in around the hips. I can’t really describe it well…sorry.
For me, the trickiest part to wearing the salwar is to not accidentally drop the pants when untying them….especially not on a dirty bathroom floor… And to not tie them so well that it takes forever to UN-tie them. At first I was concerned that they could accidentally untie so I was using a double knot but quickly realized that was way too hard to deal with when I NEEDED to get them untied so I decided to go for a simple bow and a prayer. (Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to be walking along and suddenly find your pants on the floor with those long slits exposing thigh (and whatever) almost up to your hips? The top (or dress) part is most often made with short sleeves, but I have two of them that are sleeveless and like that better. (I got them earlier when we were sari shopping and the sleeves were optional). The newest ones have long sleeves which I may or may not keep long. I am my own tailor…haha. Also, this time we bought some alternative pants which are tight and bunched up at the ankle (but still baggy everywhere else) That means that the new outfits are not called salwars but something else which I can’t remember right now. It’s still the same basic idea, a sort of baggy dress or top with hip high slits up the sides worn over baggy pants.
Sandhya was the first to leave us in mid afternoon when her plane departed. Later in the evening Praveen’s friends started showing up at the hotel to say good bye. We managed to round up ourselves, Mohen, Vina, Grandma, and the twins….and a mountain of luggage and get all of us to the airport on time to begin the process of leaving. Mohen and his family was heading back home to Malaysia at almost the same time that we’d be leaving. As it is here, only ticketed passengers could go beyond a certain point in the airport…but over an hour later after we’d gotten through the first step of security and had our boarding passes, we went back to where we’d left Praveen’s parents and close friends to say good bye…or rather, as they say in India…”see you next time”. They had waited all that time for us while we were standing in various lines elsewhere.
It as a tearful farewell as I knew it would be and I’m not going to say much more about it now, lest I start crying all over again. One thing is certain, I have grown very fond of my Indian family, especially Prasanna and Santhana….oh and a couple of those crazy lady-“cousins”….
I guess most of the family likes us okay too. Here is part of an email that I got from Jayanthi this morning: “When Prasanna chechi told me that Ruth's mother is coming, frankly I expected to see a grumpy old lady complaining about everything. You turned out to be exactly the opposite and joined in with the family so well. Every single person had a smile on their face when they either talked with you three (You, Ruth and Angela) or just passed by you. You are a very special person and all your 9 children are lucky to have a mom like you. How is Jay " Velli-achan's " Harley Davidson doing !!!!”
(Hey, kids of mine who are reading this,…take note of the above, you lucky ones…. haha….)
I haven’t been able to keep up with all the things I’ve seen and experienced on this trip, but I will try to fill in some of the gaps as I find the time to do so (and post some more of our hundreds of photos).
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JAN AND BOB
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WELCOME HOME
DEAR DEBRA, WELCOME HOME! I LOVED READING ABOUT THE WEDDING TRIP. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWLYWEDS. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AND HEARING MORE. TAKE CARE AND BE SAFE. HUGS JAN