Netra in Chennai

The flight from Mumbai to Chennai would have been the worst so far that Netra and me have traveled in. Being a red-eye flight, one would expect that it would be the more comfortable than other flights, however this was not the case. Having traveled in red-eye flights in different countries across the world we were expecting something else. This was truly frustrating after the confusion in the Mumbai airport regarding

This reminds me of something a friend of mine said today, "Expectations I tell you, are the mother of all problems." I think that is a very valid statement. But being normal human beings, I think its easier said than done. We always end up having expectations in whatever we seek out to do, and whatever we have. I have written more about this before as well and I just cannot get over it. I guess one needs to let go as always and let things fall in place.

In someways I think its good that Netra does not speak back to me. What scares me at times is when I imagine, what bad emotional phases I would go through, if I got to know all the times when Netra was uncomfortable with something. I think this is a ironical situation that many people (read couples) face time and again. More often than not, one person gets so emotionally attached to the mood of the other person, that they let their own personalities be affected. But at the same time isn't that being selfish, if one were to always think about oneself and not the other.

So, Netra and me landed in Chennai at 5 am, and were surprised to not find the people who were supposed to pick us up present. I tried to call the contact person in Trichy, but he would not pick up the call. I looked around the Chennai Airport visitors area and also randomly asked a couple of college going students whether they were from NIT Trichy. They weren't and thus here I was without a phone number, at a new airport, unable to speak the local language waiting for a miracle to happen. But a word for the Chennai Airport. I think this was one of the better airports that I have been to in India. Maybe it was because of the non-rush hours or just the way it looked spacious.

Now when things go wrong, one should just stop worrying and do things that please them. So I did just that. Went to a chai dukaan and had the local road side tea. Now this taste, was divine. Even though I have been in Chennai multiple times, this was a new area. Moreover this was the first time of Netra in Chennai. So it was understandable that she was shy to come out of her hiding. I felt home, though for some reason Netra prefered to stay away from all the action.

The thing about railway stations, airports, markets in India is such that there is always a lot of things that are happening. You can just observe people, their actions, the things they do the way they stand etc. All of them appear to be fascinating to some extent. I could go on for hours admiring it. But then not everyone enjoys it in the same way.

Its funny how staying in a different place for a while (read out of the country India) changes people. I think Netra's behavior was a result of this too. What she was comfortable a couple of years ago, was not so presently.

Just before deciding to go to another friend's place, after waiting for an hour or so, I decided to check for one last time for the people who were supposed to come and pick me up. To my surprise, they did turn up!

We headed to the hotel and met up with another team from the UK who had come to take a Forensic Workshop. The team comprised of 2 women and 2 men.

And there awaited another interesting experience for me and Netra.

To be continued...