home, home again.

and the scruffy blue-and-white board with thums up emblazoned in sad garamond font on the far left flickered into life..... the boys came out with a jug of water, sprinkling the plants that were just beyond the steps...... a few men had walked in lazily, scratching their balls and waiting for history to happen , and be done with itself. a few sweaty athletes came in sporadically, holding an orange spalding ball in their hands, the fumes of heat rising in waves from their bodies, their shoes worn, their wife-beater tees soaked with sweat and the salty residue of the day's game.... the dust over the grounds settled, or began to consider settling down as a good option, in the larger scheme of things; after all, the boys who were kicking a random football around on its baked clay face have walked in towards the board and the light..... as the gathering gloom swiftly took everything in-all of the men, and the few runaways escaped from the paddock across the road, the discerning ear could hear here a stiffled whinny, there a smoker's cough.......
and the bikes roared across the narrow strip of asphalt, over the dusty plains of the deccan, disappearing in a cloud of gasoline smoke and dirt, and the perfume of youth was everywhere.....
and a lifetime stood still, for an instant, for eternity, for as long as u wanted it to be.....
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells

Home

Home ..Home again,
I like to be there when i can,
And when i come home cold and tired,
Its good to warm my bones beside the fire.

Not the picture of my home..but the feelings r the same. Am now back home home for a little break. Just a 2 week one. Nothing too long. Thought i needed one. After working back to back for 15 days in teh Emergency dept. Ahemdabad is where home is at the moment.

Ever since i moved to england 2 years ago to train..wait who am i kidding..to earn some quick bucks, ive travelled back to india at least 4 times. U would think by now i woul dhave gootten used to it. NO! Even now i get all excited at least 2 weks prior to the date o ftravelling. Teh last week is absolutely manic. Im all nrvous and jittery. cant put my mind to work . I pity the patients i see in that last week. I start going pink with barely controllable glee!! which is, incidentally, for al to see. By the last 2 days..im out of control. most colleagues happily label me a manic. I have all teh classical signs of a true psychotic....i have psychogenic diarrhoea, nail biting spree, emotional lability and lack of insight (if im really going home or not!!).

The trip home usually starts from some place deep in the dense jungles of england..this time..shrewsbury. After a brisk trek through the shropshire hills for 2 days i ride horseback for another 2 until get to my elephant back ride which lasts another 3-4 days before i finally get to the nearest civilised point...in this case..wolverhampton or birmingham, depending on which jungle path i take..the one via the water- hole or the one by the bee- hive. Actualy its only 1 metre guage train away from shrewsbury..but its so fucking slow..it just feels lke that. Never ending!! Normally i need to take the train to london euston end then the underground to Paddington an dfinally heathrow express to...guess....yes.....heathrow airport! Smart boy (like Ajit)! and it feels a lot like the jungle ride i just mentioned. This time around however ..i was a smart boy..i drove down to birmingham...parked my car at a friends place...the caught the bus directly to heathrow airport central bus station. FRom then its just too simple..as all the hard work has been done.

I normally travel by Jet Airways. A quiet, emotionless and comfortable trip to mumbai. Now this time was different. It so happened that they were taking names of all doctors on board..in case of an emergency. I happened to give mine..in case of an emergency.! From that point on i got the most lavish economy class anyone could ever get without having to have a great pair of knockers and legs and a figure to match! Well no...they didint bump me up to first class..but the potential that i saw in economy class was mindblowing!! I wonder why i didnt try this doctor thing before?

To top it all, when i reached mumbai airport...in continuation of my recent record of spotting celebs from bollywood.....guess who i saw? Yes...the one and only..RANI MUKHERJEE!! Yes..Mallu..eat yr heart out!! She looked gorgeous..resplendant in a white top with lovely indian print and a faded blue jeans to match!! And she was talking on a mobile phone. Ah...what i wouldnt do to be that mobile phone which had her lips so close to it!! Heaven!!

Anyway, the long and short of it all is that i had a fairly enjoyable trip that took me out of the blistering cold of england to the frying pan that is India. Well, home is still home.....ain' it?!!