25/10/2011
It feels good to be back at home after a seven month
gap. Seven months is well short of a million years, but at the same time it’s
long enough to make you yearn for all things “local”. It’s only natural for anyone from
any corner of the world to feel at home, only at home. It wouldn’t make sense
otherwise. It’s like the TV people advertising HD/3D television as an
experience that is almost like being at the actual venue. Yes, it’s almost LIKE
it, but it’s not it.
After a couple of days in Bengaluru – the latest in the list of awkward
sounding Indian cities – I arrived in Coonoor, where my folks had no idea I would turn
up. My father was a bit shocked. He didn’t speak for a few seconds; he looked
like a subdued Man City fan just after the 6-1 win over United – stunned, but
in a good way. Being a Gooner, I just had to squeeze this into my blog considering I've been on the receiving end of those 8-2 jokes for 4-3 weeks now, so if you didn't like it or you think its not funny which isn't my intention in any case, well... move on. Anyway, it was nice to give everyone a surprise and luckily so
far every single response I've got has been quite positive. In other words, no one has been left paralysed
by news of my arrival. The only negative response has been from my stomach –
surprising – which hasn’t warmed to the occasion. The less said on this topic,
the better… no really… you don’t want to know.