Laxmi, the Star

A lane in the French quarter of Pondicherry hosts a very interesting temple; the Manakula Vinayakar Temple. Dedicated to Lord Ganesha, the temple houses several Hindu deities. The Star attraction though seems to be Laxmi, who stands guard outside the temple gates.

Laxmi or Lakshmi, as she is called is a pachyderm. Look up synonyms for elephant and you will come up with monster. Laxmi is anything, but that! She was donated to the temple at a very young age. She is quiet and amenable and kids adore her.

She collects coins and caresses visitors by her trunk to bless them. She collects plenty of coins and then hands them over to her keeper. She nods happily whenever someone approaches her with fruits or grass.

She is bathed daily and dons fine powdered colors. She wears silver payals in her front feet and golden bells round her neck. You may even catch her sporting Nail polish sometimes. No doubt then, Laxmi is the star attraction.

The flying Kadaai

February 2000, Bombay

Wednesday evening, I was informed that I would have to start working at London for a Euro conversion project from the following Monday for a year. That gave me 2 days to shop and plan and be mentally prepared for my first stay away from home. It also gave little time for my company to plan & book for my journey.

All flights were full and it would not be possible to postpone the trip by even a single day. A trip via a lesser known (read - Unheard of) airport and airways called YEMEN was arranged. Sanaa, a desert town, famous for its unique mud houses was the stopover. London fine, but Sanaa? Why am I going to Sanaa? Is the airstrip long enough for takeoff? Was I going to ever reach UK? Huh??

Friday evening, the International airport was packed as usual. It looked like a Tabela, flies and filth all around. It had not dawned on me yet that I was going AWAY for so long. I was too busy shopping & packing and calling all my cousins to inform them of my trip. It yet seemed like Thursday to me and I was already on flight. And crazier and funnier things were to come.

I had enough trouble trying to fit everything I needed for a year into 24 kgs, a single check in bag and a handbag. But what were my fellow passengers carrying? Bartan (read vessels, utensils, huge utensils).. Haan? People were carrying huge aluminum pans and ladles and pitchers as hand luggage? Were they planning on cooking in-flight? A few of them even tried to fit their kadaais into the overhead spaces unsuccessfully. So there were kadaais and bartan all under the seats. A fellow passenger explained that it was Hajj time.

First Sanaa and now rolling pins under the seats. By now, I was highly amused. To add to the spectacle, a few of these passengers started laying mats and praying in the aisles. The flight crew had a tough time asking them to buckle up. No language in common, the crew was highly agitated and screaming and pleading, asking people to sit down. An old gentleman seemed to heed advice. He arose and walked away. But to the crew's utter surprise, he went and kneeled in front of the fire escapes instead.

Somehow, a few people helped the crew and managed to enable the flight to take off. During the flight the only spectacle was the hostesses snatching away glasses and bottles from the pilgrims. It was funny to see hostesses begging the pilgrims not to use water in the restrooms and searching people headed to the restrooms for water. Though a little late and unclean, the rest of the flight thankfully passed off without incident.

The Best Impression

Mar 2000, UK

24 kgs!!! That was all I could carry to and back from the UK, my very first trip outside of India. So I did not bring back much. But I have memories galore, all of which are priceless.

My very first impression of the British is based on my interaction with their immigration officers. I landed at the Heathrow airport after a stopover at Yemen. I waited nervously at the immigration counter, papers at hand and doubts in my head. What would they check? What will they ask? When will I get out? Hope some colleagues are waiting outside to pick me. Hmm...

When it was my turn, the lady at the counter verified my papers and asked me whether I liked to travel. I replied affirmatively and with a lot of enthusiasm. I added that this was my first trip outside India and I loved to travel.

Surprise surprise!!! She stamped my visa for a good 14 months, 2 months in addition to my work permit. She wished me well and told me to make good of the rest of my visa to see her beautiful country. I think all my fears of a new country and all my jet lag just vanished that instant and I now narrate this incident (like a good brand ambassador for the UK) to every person I meet.

Gateau pour Buerre

I spent the last weekend of Jan 2001 at Paris. Traveling in Paris was no problem since there were plenty of sign boards to guide tourists and the French alphabet is the same as English. But whenever I needed to purchase anything or eat out or shop, not knowing the French language was a big barrier. People would not even decipher the term ‘vegetarian’. The safe way out was to pick up Cheese sandwiches from cafes.

One evening, I decided to skip sandwiches and decided to look for some cakes, fruit and juice at a supermarket. A package which attracted my attention read “Gateau pour Buerre” (my translation – “cake for butter”). Was it bread or was it cake? Though it was in transparent packing, I could not make out what it was.

I asked a lady shopper standing next to me whether it was cake. She did not answer me. She just ran away. "How rude", I thought!

But to my extreme surprise, the lady came back soon, cradling several packs in her arms, pointing to them and saying “bon gateau – good cake”. Salut to the good woman!!!