Aaayo Re.....!!!

Heart pounding, eyes lit up and all senses in top gear – doesn’t this happen to each one of us who are on a short trip back home? This so called ‘Global’ environment provided opportunities for us to go work anywhere and everywhere. But in this rush for professional supremacy, every one of us would agree we are missing 2 things really badly - our Family and our home.

So once in a blue moon, when your dreaded boss grants you leave, you are elated to pack your bags and rush back home. I always liked the idea of taking the train or bus to home rather than a flight – one thing is the fare but the other big reason is planning that runs through your mind and the anticipation of being back at home with loved ones after some horrendous work, is a treat for the mind. The 1.5 hour flight kills this feeling, a late 14-15 hour bus ride stopping at absurd rural locations adds up to this anticipation.

Here you are, then, getting out of the bus like a prisoner on bail. First thing you do after landing on your home land – look around and take a deep breath & say to your self ‘woff, I am back’. Even the scorching 43 deg C heat is comforting; the spitting auto rickshaw driver makes you smile & the local dialects hit you at your face. You put your head outside the auto like a dog on a vacation to observe the changes that have happened in your absence in the city you were born in and done everything except earn.

When you reach your home’s door step, it feels like SRK getting off the chopper in ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gam’ and your mom (like Jaya Bachchan) waiting for you with a thali as a customary ritual. Obviously, not everyone’s life is a Karan Johar’s film, but it does feel like one when you are at home after a long hiatus. Seeing joy on your parents’ face is some thing which was worth fighting for with your boss for the leave and watching ‘R…Rajkumar’ in the bus.

Home sweet home – truly: seems like heaven where from removing the socks to flushing the toilet there’s someone. There is an instant comparison with your nomadic, unorganized, at times meaningless life at your workplace to your ‘Home’. The struggle for the every morning search for a healthy and affordable breakfast compared to the 10 AM struggle out of the bed with an awesome cup of tea and fruits ready for consumption at home. The fight with the ‘bai’ to come regularly to wash clothes & in her absence the struggle to wash all clothes yourself to throwing the clothes anywhere to see it end up in the washing machine and eventually folded and ironed back into the luggage bag.

The life with family is the ‘Life’ we all dream of but the struggles away from family test your true metal. It does get difficult at times but the idea of going back home keeps us striving hard at the workplace. The harder it gets, the better it feels when it all gets over. I love these 2 complimentary phases of life, when you think about it, both are necessary. I don’t think people staying at home with family enjoy that much as I do, coming back once in a 100 days.

The Swades tune by AR Rahman is always On my mind and soul whenever I am at home –Aayo re….aayo re…..aayo re…… But the only problem is I need to go back tonight !!!

(Dedicated to all those who miss being at home with loved ones)