Back from hiatus

Back from a looong trip to India..almost 3 months. Since this is supposed to be my travelogue I must write about it before i forget the finer details. Every time i visit india things are different,well here is whats changed this time

-- people are much older, my grandmother looks very old now, her health not getting any better and news of other older relatives getting surgeries and eating more pills

-- kids are little bit more grown up, my cousins who looked up to me growing up, wanted to wear my lipstick and nailpaint are now in college and making their own fashion statements :)

-- basic amenities are costlier, whoa this one was a shocker, every thing is soooo expensive, i wonder how a common man is managing. Eating out for a family one time can easily cost as much as the groceries for half a month, no I am not kidding

-- roads are crowded and more polluted, the number of cars seem to be increasing by the day.It takes forever to travel within the city

-- more TV channels, in telugu alone there are about million new channels(ok, million is an overstatement, but there are quite a few), covering everything from death of ant to international news..its both good and bad i think. My favorite channel is 'Vanitha', an exclusive womens channel

-- Life is getting more westernized.Sarees are now for the older generation or to be worn only on special occassions, and by the way the way saree is being draped is changing too.

-- Increased crowd in hospitals, every hospital, clinic i went to was jam packed...dint like this at all.Health problems seem to be on the raise, kids, young and old no-one is being spared. wonder what it is..and guess what ,the govt seem to have found a new avenue for revenue in this fact(proposed service tax on healthcare services).

Unlike other times i am ok with coming home to my adopted country, this time around, dint feel like coming. Felt i was leaving home all over again.Had to come with heavy heart, it was as if i was not missing India for me, I was missing it for A as well. The thought that she was going to miss unconditional love of grandparents, miss company of cousins, miss affection of uncle and aunt and miss a peck on cheek from complete strangers. Well, I wont be lying if I wanted to move back. For a week after my arrival to TO I bugged D with different options of going back to India. He gave me a million reasons why we should stay here.And can you believe what the top reason was 'We cant afford to live in India', well as much as sad it is, it is true. To be able to live the way we want to,it costs a bomb.We cant clearly afford a house there esp in the city we want to live. And we dont know nothing but work with computers and there are no companies in small towns :( .I am now thinking of developing a skill that can give me employment even in a small town...how about farming...hmmmm....interesting but cant afford it too, agricultural land costs a few crores. Well, as I continue to scheme , D says I will get over it. maybe i will, maybe i wont.

Its strange how people out of India yearn for India, while the ones in it look for opportunities to move out. Thats the irony of life, you are never happy with what you have, you always feel that the grass is greener on the other side. For now, I must learn to be happy in my adopted country and learn to be content with whatever life offers.On that note, i'll take your leave...Hope all of you had a great new year and are having wonderful year so far..