21 things I miss about India

Blog XXIII of Thirty Days – Thirty Blogs series

Here is a quick list of twenty one things that I miss about India. They are presented in no particular order (although missing Indian food was the trigger event for starting this post) and I have intentionally desisted from listing names unless necessary.

• Going on short trips to places adjoining NCR every month.
• Eating home cooked food and chaat/street food.
• Meeting all of my friends and relatives and not having to wait for a long vacation.
• Spending hours on planning trips using Indian Railways and IRCTC website.
• Having a 5-10 Rs party with Amit every so often.
• Going with elder brother to the nearby bookstore to catch hold of a comic book or to the nearby music store (Madhurvani) to record a new CD.
• Watching elder sister & her family on webcam every week or so (sure we are in same country now and talk more often, but get to see less).
• Meeting my two lovely nieces every holidays.
• Reading books at my Mantha’s place on the sixth floor of a high-rise in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), reading Enid Blyton & Arthur Conan Doyle and humming an idiotic tune all day long.
• Petting the two dogs at Mysore Pacchi's place.
• Feeding cats and meeting my cousin brother & sister at Mangalore.
• Going to visit my late grandmother and to return every time with a nenderbal banana, get astrological opinion from bappa.
• Travelling on Konkan railways, views of which almost barely beat the thrill of a 3 day journey to Mangalore through its previous route via Vishakapatnam.
• Going with father on long walks and to feed moturam leftover bones.
• Countless DC (District Centre) & later CP (Connaught Place) sessions with friends over pastries, cakes and sandwiches.
• Discussing anything under the sun over lunch time with Khana Khazana friends.
• Celebrating Indian holidays like Deepawali, Holi, Durga Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Rakhi et al.
• Indulging in a Babel of languages and yet feeling oneness with others.
• Attending Indian DJ sessions at marriages and colleges.
• Attending World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan and coming back with arms load of books to be read till the next book fair.
• Attending religious ceremonies, eating kachodi at Kalkaji, taking bath in hot springs of Kadri temple and visiting other mysterious South Indian temples.