Nerve Endings Firing Away

Mom left for India yesterday after staying for almost a month. It was the longest she stayed in her three visits to the United States. Previously two times she accompanied dad when my brother too was around here but this time she traveled alone. My trips to India have been always a hurried affair and have never really spent much quality time with my parents. And by the time, other social commitments were taken care of, it was always time to go back. Same when my parents came to visit me. This time was different. Mom had come over mostly to spend time and relax which she never can in the hustle and bustle of our home in India. My dad’s near-24/7 office on the ground floor of our residence doesn’t afford them the luxury of a peaceful and undisturbed existence.

During this visit she could finally spend some quality time with us and also get to know her future daughter-in-law. Although we did make occasional trips to the nearest city, Houston there isn’t much around College Station that qualifies as regular touristy fare. Of course, a week-long trip to Sacramento and Lake Tahoe where my cousin lives probably helped fulfill that part of the trip. Only San Antonio with its famed river walk is the Texan city that you can proudly show off to visiting relatives but then again Remember the Alamo doesn’t mean much to non-Americans or at least as much as the gushing falls of Niagara does.

It is already less than 24 hours since she left and we are missing her already. No more breakfast mornings filled with delicious aromas of sheera or pohey and also no more afternoon lunches at home with hot chapatis smeared with ghee. It was sweet reconnecting to my culinary favorites of assal Maharastrian chicken curry, ghaavan, saabudanyachi khichdi, and kombdi vade. She ran through pounds of grated coconut, besan, and sugar to make besan laadoo, naralache laadoo, chaklee, and other miscellaneous Indian snacks. I had forgotten the popular Indian habit of snacking on kachra between meals until all this stuff just was too tempting to resist.

Of course, it isn’t all about food but the constant although mostly silent presence of someone familiar. We had our talks and discussions on nostalgic memories, updates on family and local town gossip, and of course, continuous and long planning for the December wedding. I was glad that mom and Ash could finally connect be it in the kitchen or on discussions of clothes and jewelery for the wedding (you have to ask Ash if you want her side of the story). Mom seemed pleased and was assured that we could spend the rest of our lives together happily. Although no mother will openly admit it, the daughter-in-law is expected to pass that ‘test’ (likewise for the girl’s parents regards the guy).

I think Mom also enjoyed our little excursions be it the mandatory tour of the university including the unique experience of an organic produce marketplace on campus and sipping mango margaritas (our family at least on my dad’s side are strict teetotalers so any mention of daaru would be frowned upon) at dinner outings. But I don’t think she ever quite warmed up to my mentioning steaks or beef with reference to food. Toward the end of the trip, I guess she was getting fidgety and had started to miss home which is understandable since she hasn’t left dad ever to fend for himself. The rising frequency of his calls from India certainly indicated that the feeling was mutual.

Although I have gotten used to not missing my parents, it was a strange feeling dropping her off at the airport yesterday. Coming back home and finding the apartment to ourselves was kinda disconcerting as we procrastinated on getting back to our regular chores. I guess the next visit will be during my graduation which I hope comes soon enough. I just hope she really enjoyed her visit as much as we did.