It was on 3rd June we embarked on this mission via Abu Dhabi. In Abu Dhabi we had a wonderful time with Indu, Jijith and Kalyani. The itinerary included a visit to Dubai, experimenting on various cuisines around and a visit to the Grand Mosque where Nalini and Indu had to wear the “Abaya”. Nalini was looking great in the “black Abaya”. I commented also accordingly. We were really overwhelmed by their hospitality. They really pampered us. We finally bid farewell to Indu, Jijith and Kalyani – smart, petite and delightfully gifted. On 7th June we flew by Ethihad Airlines to JFK airport in New York. Saugata (our son in law) received us in the airport and we moved to their house in Mamaroneck in suburban New York. Their new abode where they shifted only two weeks prior to our arrival is still under repair/modification/
This place is really great with fascinating flora fauna around. However among the horde of trees in this area I could not identify a single tree by name. I have only limited knowledge in botany restricted to “phylum pteridophyta”(Thanks to Pearly teacher – Professor Esther Hallegua of botany department in Maharaja’s college, 1962). Perched on these trees and moving around are a host of different species of birds. A paradise for bird watchers. Unidentifiable by name, we (me and Nalini) saw a petite red beauty (a la Anne Hathaway) which frequently sits on patio rails of the house. We tried in vain to take her pictures. There were other beauties too around (Drew Barrymoore, Renee Zellweger etc) hopping around. Their chirpings elevate our moods.
Food is a gourmet delight out here to satisfy all palates. But be careful of the maida porota. These accompanied by Indian pickles corks the posterior. Dumping activity becomes sparse and gets initiated only on the third day, that too with a cry. Another major problem for me in these civilized worlds is the faucetless water closets. I am allergic to toilet papers. One of my friends in such trips abroad always carry a detachable faucet with suitable end connections. He is a genius. I normally settle for plastic, used water bottle. And the bottle is kept next to the throne like a raja sevak.
Here I spend time in morning and evening walks, yoga and other exercises which results in aches and pains by evening. Though young at heart, the body parts are a bit old, hence the hinges and screws require a bit of tightening. It is like my friend Riki Dhawan in Delhi who goes for training in Isreali self defence system-‘Krav maga’ in the mornings and in the evenings he takes the appointment of a physio therapist for attending to the aches and pains. I feel that the intervention of a physiotherapist is required in my case too. I also spend time in some reading, watching Hercules Poirot and Downton Abbey. On some days I make my own breakfast, help Kamala in the kitchen with dish washer, loading removal and stacking as per her instructions. She is a strict disciplinarian, stickler for cleanliness and a hard task master who cannot see people sitting idle doing nothing. She ensures division of labour between all of us on a need basis. My daily chores sometimes include trash removal, laundry (washing, drying in the machine and folding), holding little Antara, seeing off and receiving Binay (Kamala’s son) from school bus near the house. At times I have to stir curries, thoran etc and also make oats, tea, coffee and eggs for others also. When Nalini sees me doing such jobs she gives an all knowing smile. She, in our 41 years of stay together has never seen such wonders happening. She keeps herself busy with painting, crochet and other art work and also whatsapping her groups like cousins, queens, nobles, AOL etc. She is also part of doing the household chores including cooking and baby sitting.
Here our travel to market or other places are only with Kamala or Saugata in their cars. I do not drive in US. I am afraid of the funny left hand driving, lane disciplines, fast lane speeds and the traffic police with pistols in their holsters. If got caught, I cannot escape custody by dropping names as is done in India. The only person in high places I generally know in US is President Obama, who though a friend of Narendra Modi is suspicious about people of Indian origin, recollecting the “mutton rogan josh” he had in Maurya Sheraton in Delhi and his acid refluxes. This happened during his last visit to India. So I thought why take a chance, leave it.
The language spoken here is some form of English which Nalini and I find difficult to follow. We feel the Kochi thampuran who refused to learn English was a wise man. His argument was that in English you write C-A- T and call it “Kat” and it means “Poocha”. So Malayalam is better where you write “poo-cha”, call it “poocha” and it means Poocha.
So many people come here for repairs etc. What they speak we cannot follow. I look at Nalini for help and she looks at me for help and we both blink. When we decide to speak and start, if the visitors are in pair, they look at each other. If alone he looks up skywards (may be looking for a translator). One of my friends told me an incident which happened in St Thomas College Trichur. This friend was a MA Literature student there. The head of the dept was Dr Krishna Swamy (college and name changed for anonymity) who had invited a visiting American professor of English literature to talk to his students. After his speech during question hour no student got up with questions. So to tackle the situation Dr Krishna Swamy in his famous Tamil- Malayali accent asked “What is Amrikanism in Amrikan Literature”. The visiting professor appeared a bit shocked. He looked around, looked up and requested the audience ”come on… come on, someone please help me out. Please translate the question to English”. The plight of our visitors was the same like that of the American professor. However the final verdict or the “kalasa kottu” of the incident was Dr Krishna Swamy commenting to his students“ the American sayip does not know English” .
After hearing me, when Mario the repair guy looked up I was reminded of this story. Now slowly things are getting better and we with some difficulty can communicate. In fact we have a lot of people coming to the house to perform different tasks- Dave, Elizabeth or Elizabeth and her ‘nameless’ assistant who come in their Honda Pilot SUV for cleaning the house; Mario and Bart in Chrysler jeep and GM modified truck for repair work and Anthony Russo and Jose (Hosey in American tongue is a variation of our Trichur angadi Jos) the master electrician and his assistant come in Chrysler jeep and truck. Jose, while working, keeps the screws for use behind his ears like ’beedi kutti’. Edgar the painter and Rick the carpenter too come in modified trucks. Incidentally, Bart whom I call Burt (a-la Burt Lancaster, the hero of Hollywood flick Moby Dick of 50s) has a half Indian daughter-in-law. According to him, his grandchildren look very beautiful. Hybrids or ‘ Manipravalams’ look better (cross pollination!!!)
In Tripunithura, the blue collareds like Ambika the maid comes in ‘Nataraja service’, Krishnan kutty the ‘mestri’ comes as pillion rider in friend’s motorbike and Muthu – the operator of different tools, equipment like pickaxe, shovel, cloth, broom etc - who uses the nonexistent muscle power to lift things comes in a lungi on a battered Rally cycle. Anantham anjatham…….!! Children of a lesser God!!!
We have completed two and a half months out here, another two and a half to go before we come back to India. The saga goes on…..till then Au Revoir (Hercules Poirot effect).
Appu
New York
15 Aug 2015
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