Pondi trip - Day 7

(Check vacation snaps @http://picasaweb.google.com/anuja.rathi/PondiTripFeb2010?feat=directlink. Do read the posts below this to get info prior to this day)

My last morning in Pondy…

I was feeling so nostalgic, so sad. I did not want to end this vacation, and leaving for Chennai was the first step in this regard.

I lazily got ready and packed by bags. I’d hardly done any shopping – just a few jholas and some souvenirs. So it didn’t pose a monstrous feat. Somehow even my bag seemed reluctant to go back to hometown…

Returning to Pune wasn’t just about returning to the city of my birth and childhood and adulthood. It was about coming back to the place where I lost my temper with my family, the place where I interacted daily with the same friends and colleagues, the place that I was familiar with to the limit of frustration… I love change that is constructive and innovative, and Pune dishes out the same old life and routine to me. Of course, you can argue that life is what we make it. But c’mon, I can’t just bunk office and head for a picnic every other day! Nor can I ask my parents to take a hike and leave me alone undisturbed by their recurring questions and comments!

Now now… I guess I’m over-reacting. Obviously I love Pune. The wonderful resto-bars in Koregaon Park, the great times I have with my pals at parties and movies, the crazy jokes I share with the colleagues and neighbors. It would be unfair of me to say I dislike the town. But that doesn’t stop me from saying that I thoroughly enjoy a vacation now and then, at a destination where I can be calm and free.

Pondicherryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Boo hoooooo…

Bahut hua melodrama. Time for me to check out. Good bye Ginger @ Karuvadikuppam (Hush! Finally got the name right!) Thanks for having me all week, I shall be back soon :-)

ECR beckoned and Karthik drove me vigilantly to Chennai. At a location called Vilambur, I ate lunch in a restaurant named Midway. The place looked fairly crowded and well-liked, but unfortunately, the food wasn’t as good. The buffet lunch was cold and costly. There was an aviary outside that housed several cute birds and ducks. Time to move on.

I’d noticed an amusement park called Disney World on my way from Chennai to Pondicherry, and I asked Kartik to pull over when we reached it about 2 hours later. Turned out it was Dizzie World, a theme-based water park with some adventure rides in an area called Muttukadu (weird name!). Had the entry not been 400 bucks, and had I had more time on hand, I would have visited it. Well, gotta leave something for next time!

The traffic scene in Chennai is not predictable, and the airport lies outside the main city. While I did have time to say hello to the Marina beach, I did not have the leisure of some shopping or sightseeing. I got some sandwiches and a chocolate doughnut packed for dinner from Marrybrown and asked the driver to continue driving to the (MAA - Meenambakkam) aerodrome.

With over 2 hours to spare before I checked in for my Indigo flight to Pune, I made myself comfortable at the airport lounge and unwrapped the sandwiches with my eyes glued to Memories of Midnight.

MoM is the story of a woman… actually it’s a story of several people… However, the central character is a woman who has lost her memory, and regains it by the end of the novel. Her story makes up a very small part of the book. The major chunk comprises of Demeris, the baddie who has tremendous power and passion, and his exploits with his family, friends, enemies and rivals. Every tale that involves the rogue is full of brutality and malice, yet he inspires awe and fear. He doesn’t forgive and he never forgets, so he ends up killing most people that he is associated with, and he charms the hearts of women only to destroy them later.

I’m tempted to give out some (not all) details coz I loved the book as much as I did the Prisoner of Birth and Godfather. But I shan’t. Not unless someone here specifically asks for it. The book is a brilliant one, and Sidney Sheldon proves his mettle as a gifted writer. I’m glad this one’s on my shelf.

Yumm… Marybrown is good!

I boarded my flight at 9.15 pm and settled down to have a nap. No such luck. There was a baby girl who’d taken a fancy to my hair and an intense dislike to flying. As she whimpered throughout the 90 minutes, I relived every single moment of my Pondi trip. Right from Rock Beach to Ayyi Mandapam, Le Café to Le Space, Auro beach to Chunnambar, Palak Paneer to lobster, anxiety and adventure to mirth and loneliness…

I’d almost forgotten my English while speaking in telegrams and sign language to the Tamil-Telugu people. My tip to you is, keep speaking to people back home in fluent Hindi and/or English so that your language doesn’t go for a toss!

When I landed in Pune at 10.45, the first news that I got was of the blast at German Bakery. WHAT THE HELL? Pune was always considered a safe haven, a place beyond reproach and terror. The bombing at GB shook the roots of the city and the people. It’s a shame – one of the most popular hangouts in the city is ravaged; screw you terrorists! Rot in hell…

A dream ends and real life begins… Nothing is forever…

Welcome back to Pune, Anuja.

Good to be back! Why?

Later...

- Princess :-)