Yes, I am still alive

Apologies for my silence all the while and belated Deepavali wishes.

I am posting from my home at Madras now. It's great to be back (coming home after almost 3 years). I intended to post earlier, if things had gone according to plan, but considering that it concerns a certain ME, fate always takes an exception!. I notice a lot of changes here. Innumerable, in fact. I am trying my level best to suck in as much of India I can!.

So, here I go in my "usual" way of re-telling:

1. Was watching Wilma's movements every 30 minutes until the plane actually took off from Tampa airport.

2. Did not have to shop a lot this time, so the luggage was extremely light.

3. Major airports in the US are cursed. Let me correct it - they are cursed when I am around. The connection flight to Dubai was delayed by 1 hour and as luck would have it, my transit time in Dubai was 1 hour. Glorious, isn't it?.

4. But thanks to favoUrable tail winds, we reached in time. Almost there!.

5. Another 4 hour flight and I was kissing the grounds of Madras (not really, it was raining and was wet). Was too excited to sleep that day (jet lag would hit me hard later anyway).

7. And boy!, did it rain. Record rains in Madras!. I had to answer embarrasingly cliched questions like "did you bring wilma from Florida". Although I have to admit that I enjoyed this particular aspect of comparing storms in USA and India.

8. Realized how packed agendas are and how true stereotypical situations are in an India trip. Went for shopping the same day in T.Nagar.

9. Experienced the fright of driving in the streets here. Last time when I visited, I had not started driving in the US, so driving in India was easy. This time, I closed my eyes tightly as my brother drove his car. I must have been the only person (passenger or driver) who wore a seat belt. I think Automatic transmissions would be of more use in India than in USA.

10. October 26th, 2005 - indha naal, yen vaazhkaiyil marakamudiyaadha naal. My H1B visa interview date. The interview was at 10:15 AM and it was raining that morning. I reached there 1 hour early and saw that people with appointments at 12 PM were in front of me. Gulping and panting excessively, I somehow managed to get past them all and went inside. Only to see that it was just the beginning. Two more queues later, I was in the "next" building.

H1B applicants are a miserable lot. The order of preference for the counter is B1, B2, L1, L2, H4, 5B, 18K, auto, rickshaw and then H1B. The last possible category. Paridhaabam.

I went through the fingerprinting procedure and was asked to wait for some more time. Time was 11:30 by then. When it was finally my turn, I was supremely confident (after seeing other candidates' situation - ivanukkey kadachithu!). I mentioned my job title, description, kulam, gothram, etc. Insincere plastic smiles were flashed on both sides of the counter. Almost there!. But recall that the subject under study is a certain ME. "Please wait, I will be back in a minute". Maybe she has gone for a glass of water. Paavum.. day fulla yethana peroda pesaraa. Oh no, no sir!. There she came, with a blue form. "aah.. umm. actually, you seem to have some kind of injury in your right index finger. please come back again after it heals, thanks! * insert plastic smile here*.

Bulb!

I guess I was in a state of shock all the way till home - seemingly I had come by an auto by myself and told directions to the driver, but don't recall any of that happening. Worst thing was, initially, my folks refused to believe me and thought I was joking!.

I was staring at the culprit finger which had flipped me off.

Several conspiracy theories sprung to my mind and I was desperately trying to find the cause of the problem. Finally, we decided that this is one situation where treating the symptoms is better than finding and eliminating the cause. Dermatologist - prescription - dosage - 1 week. One silver lining was that the dermatologist said he has seen 2-3 cases (USCIS bulbs on account of finger) previously, so there was a history. The cause? - liquid soap removed the oil layer.

11. I spent the next 6 days like an ascetic - very careful with what I did using my hands (now, now!). I meant, no playing cricket, eating with 3 fingers, minimal crackers for Deepavali, etc. Of course, the medication, creams and the lot. I felt like Sharukh Khan in the lux ad. By the way, SRK has now become a full time ad film actor. No more movies?.

12. Today, I went to the consulate again, and this time, fate favored me. The visa officer said "did'nt you come last week?. Are you sure that the finger would have healed by now?". I think I blabbered yes. "ok, lets try!". And it did!. After a minute or so of questioning, I was through!.

13. It was unearthly when I came out - pouring rain. My documents!. I was stuck for sometime outside the consulate doors due to the rain.

14. Oh, and by the way, the sentries outside the consulate typically earn around 5000 Rs everyday. Successful visa holders are preyed easily on account of the silly grin in their faces. I am not an exception.

15. To top a great day, India wins the ODI series!.

So, that is what I was upto till now. I have been telling myself that this India trip would be a trip of revelations to me. I don't know if that would be the case, but it certainly bolstered my opinion that life is too complex to vainly simplify it.

PS: Met some relatives, a few friends, including my best friend who had come from Dubai.

Last night (before my visa interview), I went to re-live the Indian Movie watching experience.

Udhayam theatre - Sivakasi - housefull - black - 70 is 120 - horrible - i am half deaf now.