Back in US - India trip 2021

 My return trip to United States wasn't uneventful at all. The Indigo flight from Bhubaneswar to Delhi growled on the termac for a good half an hour after my boarding and before take off. Right in front of me was a middle aged man, probably in his late 50s or early 60s - short, bald and plumpy with hippie hair on his ears busy frantically Whatsapping. The screen of his smartphone was barely two feet away from my eyes and a semi-bare female body slowly appearing on the screen raised my curiosity to eavesdrop.

The large size font of his smartphone and the subsequent raunchy chat further got my attention and gave away his intention. From the attire of the girl, the nudity and the kind of lascivious exchanges made between the two made it quite apparent that it is a conversation between a call girl and her client. The man seemed desperate to reach Delhi. He wrote his final sentence as the flight started running on the termac - "Keep sending me your pictures for my in flight entertainment". He probably wasn't aware that he wasn't the only one inside the plane having in flight entertainment. He switched off the phone as the flight took off and I switched my head towards the window to take a view at the fading string of the lights below as the flight slowly vanished into the cloud.

I have already covered the topic of a large number of Odias these days talking in Hingodia (Hindi mixed Odia). Visiting Odisha after a hiatus of 3 years one other thing I did notice - there is a drastic drop in the quality of Odia songs. They are filled with nonsense lyrics and double entendres. Not to be left out the Odia music videos play cheap songs full of gyrating hips in gay abandon. Modern Odia music videos are made for the masses by asses.

Back in Georgia to a cool 80 (25 degree centigrade) afternoon and a lot less humidity compared to Bhubaneswar. It felt odd not to hear a single vehicle honking on my 100 miles (160 km) road trip from Atlanta to Columbus. Miss the din and bustle, crowd and the continous kickee...kickkee..kickee...of bikes yonking horn and slicing their way through the traffic - the ubiquitous jerk on the road and the bumpy rides, the roads being too smooth for comfort to my back here. A person who has driven on roads of Odisha, driving anywhere else in world is a walk in the park.

Already miss the murmuring of the mosquitoes and brutally clapping them to death, the yodelling of mongrels in the middle of night. The cool and crispy Fall (Autumn) air of Georgia felt refreshingly fresh after spending hours inhaling the breath and fart filled stale air emitted by hundreds of passengers inside the flight in 21 hours of flight time. 

The 30 hour long journey including the in flight and stoppage time seemed eternal and tiring when you are packed like sardines inside the Cattle Class, better known as the better sounding Economy Class. Above 40,000 feet in the sky the moon looked a whole lot bigger and brighter in the pollution free air - the rabbit inside the moon looked eager to jump out into the window seat I took.

The US President Ronald Reagan was known to doze off during meetings he attended abroad as he couldn't get sleep inside long flights. I also share similar trait of not able to go beyond sporadic cat naps on long haul flights. I am scared of turbulence and the slightest of shaking of airplane gives me nightmares.

My first working day post vacation awaits me when late in afternoon my chin is destined to drool and hit the space bar of my desktop keyboard. Still drooling over my India trip. No black coffee or aspirin can assuage this post vacation hangover, only time will heal it. It did not went in vain. Travelled miles to achieve several milestones meeting my parents, friends and relatives, connected to old friends and meeting new ones, ate a lot of local food with fun filled moment.

Reminds me of Kamal Hasan from the movie PUSHPAK who while staying in a posh hotel could not sleep as he missed the sights and sounds of his locality, where his deep rooted roots lied. The pleasure of staying amongst your own is unparallel. A la one's own fart smells sweet, as one tends to fall in love with own millieu. Love it or hate it, amidst all these there is a unique flavor of incredible India which one does not find elsewhere. It concluds my travel blog to India. More next time...