Ikkarai and Akkarai

Am Back! - after an enjoyable and eventful 27 days in India!

It was so good to be there and see folks, near and dear, after 3 years. As everyone else would agree, no amount of holidays is enough for an India trip. I think I had made good use of whatever time I had there.

Much as I don't prefer to compare things, I write this post as an exception, just for amusement.

1. In the US, people have their cell phones in their pocket or on their belt. In India, it is difficult to see a hand without a cell phone. Mostly, the right hand carries it. Just so, when a call comes, the right would give it to the left, thusly flashing the model of cell phone one carries!.

School pora pasangalukku yedhuku cell phone?

2. Manual transmissions must be bannned from Indian roads. What is the point in having 4+ gears and not going beyond the 2nd. Correspondingly, automatic transmissions must be banned from the US. Better driving conditions, better drive feel and better fuel economy.

3. Public transport in India is unbeatable, although the autos have completely ceased to use the meter. The new BG electric trains are fantastic. In the US, I would have gone bankrupt if I had taken a cab from Tampa airport to Sarasota.

4. And the food and restaurants in India!. For a thavichcha vaai like me, that is one good enough reason to feel the grass is greener there.

5. REAL temples exist in India. Not the ones like in Tampa, where ALL gods reside under one roof.

6. When I was(!) young, I played TV video games. The next(!!) generation played computer games. Now(!!!), kids wield alien looking PS2s like pencils.

7. Beaches: for the ambience and sheer enjoyment, Elliots beach is the best. For the actual water experience - well, that is a different story.

8. In the US, one is either fat, overweight or obese. In India, if you don't have a tummy, you are thin, and if you have one, you are fat. But seriously, I saw that there are still misconceptions about health consciousness. Prime example: "sambhar kaarama irukka?. Innum konjam ghee pottuko". Kaarama irundhaa thanni kudi.. ghee yedhukku?.

9. If you use a dial-up service for browsing in India, you should consider yourself to be lucky to get a pop-up window.

10. It is funny, but one major thing that I missed in India was a dry bathroom!.

11. Houses in India are always full of life. When I reached my apartment last night, I was greeted with defeaning silence.

Thats it for now. I am beat.