Taking familiar route in unfamiliar territory
Despite my not wanting to, the search began instantly. The moment I started moving towards the waiting lounge of Rajasansi airport at Amritsar, I found myself looking around for familiar turbans and Punjabi suits among my co-passengers-to-be. “Check the impulse lady, you are going for a change, to be away from the familiar and enjoy new experiences,” I said to myself.
In my pursuit for the novel and unfamiliar, I had chosen a different route to reach the United States this time. I had also chosen an airline with which I had never flown before. I was a bit apprehensive before I decided to undertake the arduous journey.
It was after three years that I was going to resume the annual visit to my son in the US. Due to the pandemic, I like most people my age had desisted from travelling for a few years. “Thinking positive is the mantra to get going,” I reminded myself and started looking forward to a pleasant journey leading to a wonderful stay at a place I had never visited before.
I was headed towards Atlanta. The city situated 1,000 feet above sea level is the capital of Georgia and is regarded as the heart of the American Civil Rights Movement. Known to be a creative and dynamic place, Atlanta has been selected by National Geographic as one ofthe top destinations to visit in the its best of the world 2022 list. Lonely Planet included it in the best in travel list for 2022, the only US city on the list. The comfortable seating in the plane where I could stretch my legs as far as I wished to, pleased me, so did the tasty food served sweetly by the pleasant staff. The journey turned out to be not so tiring and the plane landed before time. Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International airport is the busiest and the biggest airport in America. While collecting the luggage from the conveyor belt, I was surprised to find myself surrounded by eager faces of elderly men and women from my beloved motherland.
Getting into conversation with them enlightened me that a majority of them were parents of IT professionals working in Atlanta. The parents took turns to come to stay with their children to take care of their grandchildren so that their parents could work freely. Unlike in India, nannies and creches are not affordable in America.
Reaching home, while we walked towards the house, I encountered a strong scent. “Smells like sambar, son!” I said . “It is sambar mom. The neighbours are from Tamil Nadu and often cook sambar. There are some very good South Indian restaurants in this area,” he said.
When my son asked me to choose from the long list ofpopular delicacies ofAtlanta, such as black-eyed peas, cornbread, collard beans, mac and cheese, sweet potato pie, banana pudding etc for dinner, I was surprised to hear my voice telling him to take me to the nearest restaurant for a crisp masala dosa instead.
WHILE COLLECTING THE LUGGAGE FROM THE CONVEYOR BELT, I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND MYSELF SURROUNDED BY EAGER FACES OF ELDERLY MEN AND WOMEN FROM MY BELOVED MOTHERLAND