India, Marriage and Bahamas

Sitting drained, yet somewhat content on the floor carpet of Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport at 2 AM Eastern Time, as I long to get back into my routine, my workplace, chair, car, sofa, coffee-table, I attempt to recollect the frenzy of past two months, and look back at the year 2006 which has given me so much and yet taken back lot more than I could afford.

First half of November vanished at lightening pace, in an effort to complete sufficient work so as to be able to put a pause for coming few weeks. Late November in India, confused with the change in time zones, caught up in jet lag, lived like an owl for a week, sleeping through the afternoons, awake through the nights, browsing and reading. I wouldn't complain though considering it was a much needed rest after almost a year of hustle.

Early December was the time to meet up with old friends and family and to attend two marriages. Time just flew by. And then it stopped. Only my heart didn't. The worst shock of my life to learn that one of my uncle [a close family friend] passed away, whom I was supposed to visit in a few days, and should have visited a few days back. Not meeting him will remain a burden on my soul all my life. There is no moving on. The world could not have existed without him. But somehow it does. And I wonder how and why. And the thought remains.

My cousin's marriage was all exhausting affair, as I tried to pull through the emotional drain, and enjoy, but I hardly could. Moreover the tiring, frustrating, all non-sense rituals and traditions of a typical Hindu marriage bored and angered me no end. Nevertheless, I could hardly do much about it.

Totally unsatisfied with the short [25-days!!] visit [Guess home visits are always short.. ], I left India to reach back my present home, only to get prepared for another vacation. Ten days in Bahamas. through the Christmas and new year. Journey started with delayed flight and delayed baggage, to reach a place which in the first sight dismissed all the exhaustion and strain of 36 hours. Such a wonderful condo overlooking the beautiful green-blue waters, and beach running for miles. Staying here for seven days would be just amazing. And it truly was. With the overwhelmingly friendly, all-time-partying town, time ran a little too fast. End of the tour though was bizarre, a very cheerful start of the new year on another island [Nassau], with the traditional Bahamian festival of Junkanoo and a sight of a man executed in the same place 12 hours later, supposedly in some drug related shooting. Never mind.

As the holiday season nears its end, there are wonderful memories to relish and hopefully another charming year to come, probably with lesser pains. Godspeed.