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           America.. the other side of the continent, far far away.  With a husband who wished that the day was a little more than twenty four hours,  I did not harbor any hopes of leaving home ground for more than a day.  Nevertheless, I just kept on saying that we were going for my son Sanyanth’s convocation., and I did. I firmly believe in affirmations and visualizations. And it did materialize.

Getting geared for the trip.. San Francisco.. Guidelines to follow…. not even a pin in your hand baggage, no powders, no talismans and no nail cutters or tweezers. No perfumes. No hairclips, not a pound of extra baggage…But two planes could ram into the World Trade Centre, unawares and here gun trotting terrorists sailed in, and then  could stroll in to the Taj, confident that they could do such a heinous act without a hitch. Now Faizal from neighboouring  Badagara is hitting the head lines as he has been using carrier ladies in purdah to sneak in bars of gold and what not? I wonder.

An eighteen hour flight evoked a sense of foreboding, how am I going to survive? And to my dismay I realized that I had forgotten to pick up a book or even a magazine, and eventually, I bought one from the duty free shop in Bangalore, ignoring the annoying glare shot at me from Santhosh. Ten dollars whisked away even before boarding the flight. At, last, we checked in, and eventually, boarded the flight. I found a marked difference between the economy class and the Business class, and it was with a tinge of envy, that I walked past the spacious business class. I told Santhosh that next time we should travel Business class. A smiling and friendly middle aged couple asked me whether she could sit on the side and I obliged. We got talking, and she was a senior architect working for Kiran Mazumdar, of Biocon. Her husband was an engineer and so they work together, and she was going to the U.S for her grandson’s baptism. They had worked in the U.S before and they came back to India after his parents died. Her husband had hurt his shoulder and so I asked her that why she didn’t travel business class. She told me that she wanted to, as, by the grace of God they were blessed as they were still working full time and earning well, and their children too were doing well, but her daughter in the UK advised her that they could still manage an economy class, and as they had thought of travelling business class, to put the extra money involved, for charity. Her husband did so, and here they were happy that the money had brought a smile to a few at least!.  So much for my aspirations to travel business class. 

Fifteen long hours was definitely along long journey indeed, how would I while away the time. Movies were not my forte, and I had a book with me, but stillllll…then I just lazily looked thru the movie list and to my joy, found The Sound of Music, and Anna Karenina, Mary Poppins … I chose the former and Julie Andrews whiffed onto the small screen spreading joy and laughter, and the hours rolled by, amidst  tea and biscuits and break fast or lunch. It could be either as we lose track of time and date as, it is a day early in the U.S. At last we landed and we are here in San Francisco, oceans apart, the weather was fine and the officer asked us to zoooom, or we would be late for the convocation. My stern and worried countenance loosened and I let myself go, and smiled at him.

  Well, in the flight, I had seen a brand new bride, an American maybe, married to an Indian, mehndi delicately painted all over her slender feet and hands, a streak of kum kum glared conspicuously from her forehead, a black beaded mangalsutra adorned her slender neck. I couldn’t help glancing towards them time and again, and I found them reviewing the eventful days gone by in their tab. Back to their routine, and, an integrated generation to follow!.  

We landed at 1.30 and the ceremony would start at 3.30, we had to hurry. The lovely song  Masachhussete by the Beegees played in my heart…”Tried to hitch a ride..to San Francisco..Gotta do the things I wanna do”…Listening to the song back then, I never dreamt that I would land in San Francisco.   In an alien place, luckily not an alien language, we caught a cab, and the driver was from  Nepal  who had made Sa Francisco his home. He gave us a very informative talk about the economics of the country and how much money he was able to save even in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I was breathing the air of America… and Believe me in all honesty, I found it hard to believe. It was bright and sunny, but a bit chilly. We  zoomed past the satiny roads. The roads were not busy, no traffic jams, no high rise buildings, pretty, but not as manicured as Dubai roads.   Bathed and dressed in a jiffy, and waited for the cab, but it didn’t turn up and the manager of the Inn which we were staying, turned good Samaritan and kindly drove us to the event. Where are all the people? Are they at work? Absolute quiet, as our harthals back home and as the days slipped by, it dawned on me … the answer was , our teeeeeeming population,  We had to squeeze ourselves  into a country bursting at the seams... The vastness of the American continent with a quarter of India’s population  was the reason. Not half as busy  as Bangaluru, no buzzing malls, nor crowded buses.

 At the venue, it was a commingling of various nationalities, who had traveled miles to be there for their children. The function was more or less the same, but less  solemn than the  previous graduation ceremony of my son in Pune. The event over, we went over to the light refreshment area, and to my utter dismay, I found only beer, wine and cocktails! A cup of tea was nowhere near. Meet Sam, who is hell bent on getting married to an Indian girl so that he would get an Indian mother in law. He is a Canadian, and as is the done thing, he has to fend on his own from the day he turned 17. His parents are well-to-do, and still together, and very loving, moreover his room (in Canada) is intact, as he left it, but he has to ask permission to stay there. He was here in India for a month and though he couldn't actually believe that cows roamed the roads adding to the chaos on the roads. 

Here is a picture of Sam on his Indian sojourn.They are Social Entrepreneurship students on a project in a Gujarat slum. Social enterprises are businesses that works towards addressing complex social issues and improving the lives of the under privileged.

   What gladdened and surprised me most, was the presence of so many grand parents. Some had flown miles to be there. Another grandma from Canada was in a wheel chair, and she was merry and full of life. There is a lot of love around here! My preconceived notions of a hard hearted cold America was certainly taking a jolt. Family ties were not strong…that was a notion I nurtured about America, but, for sure, there was a lot of love here. Notice the road behind us.. it dips down Most of the roads are like  that in SFO. Three days of walking was very tedious, I must say

The next day , the children had arranged a get together in a famous or (infamous, I do not know), park where the parents and relatives could meet. We spent some time with them and again, the family bonds and camaraderie surprised me. My son warned me not to stare at the gay couples in the park. Well, I took great pains not to. The hippies with their multi colored clothes, long hair were having a gala time. Singing and dancing, they lost themselves in a world of smoke. They had children with them, and I wondered if they would follow the same way of life. They had no rules and wouldn't be ruled. They were carrying hoops and were whirling and swirling in gypsy style. 

The gays and lesbians were conspicuous by their mannerisms a la chaandu pottu.  Beggars begging was another sight which surprised me. Most of them found solace in dogs, and were dressed up to the hilt and had prams or, I don’t know whether they were meant exclusively for dogs. I found some of them snuggling beside the dogs for warmth.  Dogs were always being taken for a walk, but no shit or spit on the roads, a marked difference from our Indian roads. Just thinking of the spit on pour roads gave me a bout of cough, but I gobbled up the spit, not that I spit frequently on our desi roads.  The sun beat mercilessly at times and the next moment, your teeth chatters with the cold wind. We bid goodbye to the group, and went off to the twin peaks to see the whole of San Francisco at one go. The winding roads were dotted with picture postcard like houses, doors framed with roses and cute hedges and wild flowers. Ooty would have been transformed like this by the British, if they were here for a few more yr

Mission Street, San Francisco, weird paintings are painted all along this road.

 Too tired for the day, sunk into the cosy bed,  I felt as though I was enveloped in a soft and fluffy  cloud as I pulled the soft feather filled duvet over me and fell into a blissful sleep.

 Next day morning turned out to be chilly, and we went for a cruise.  T h In the middle of the road for a few seconds at least!!!!!!!

The boat whirred and we were given audio recorders and head phones which guided us. The Alcatraz , loomed large the dingy prison cells foretold a solemn air as we sailed by. Many famous convicts were lodged here.

 The native Americans  believe it is cursed and calls this  Evil Island. The Bridge was clothed in a cloak of mist, until we were directly under the bridge, and to our delight the mist thinned and the magnificent bridge loomed large, above us. Shouts of hip hip hooray echoed! The history of seafaring bandits and a ship which used to carry passengers before the bridge was constructed was seen gliding by. The Pacific Ocean was home to the great white sharks, and the grey whale, and hope against hope, I wished the menacing fins of a shark would appear, or the spout of a whale would be spotted. But we weren't that lucky. The wind was cold and seems the water was always freezing cold.  Seagulls  and white necked albatross glided by. Whale watching is another activity here, and would cost you eighty dollars per person, I would have liked nothing more than to see the large giant. But you had to leave early morning in a small open boat, and I was sure I would die of the cold, so decided against it.  After the tour we went to see the seals. It was an interesting and amusing sight. Thousands of them, huddling and cuddling, fighting, playing and squabbling and then thud… slips and splashes into the water.

 Pretty stalls and souvenirs and food stalls all amidst a profusion of flowers. Pearl stores displaying oysters, you can choose an oyster, open it and set the pearl in it, in  whichever way you wish. Fruits in abundance, cherries, plums and peaches tasted so sweet.  Contrary to my expectations, vegetarian food was definitely popular, and we did not have to go hungry. Come to think of it, we always used to go hungry in our own Malabar coast, porotta and beef and chicken, or ayila curry, and a green peas masala which I detest. Hail SanFrancisco! Lots of greens rolled between mushrooms and tofu, and corn. It was delightful and much more healthier. Sea food was in abundance. I felt sorry for our Arabian Sea… u know why…  large fleshy ayakkoora from the Pacific  was five hundred a kg, and I felt sorry for our Arabian Sea. Here,  fishermen always complain of a bad catch!, or maybe they are exported, anyway no signs of abundance of anything except flags!!!

San Francisco streets were all too familiar, as it was picturised  in so many movies. It is hilly terrain like Ooty, but the roads are wide and  cute houses lined on either side and expensive cars parked all along the side walk. There were no high rises on the coast, and it was wide, dotted with warm and cosy cafes. Checked canopies and table cloths, small flower filled pots on the cute curtained windows adds a splash of happiness, and sturdy wooden chairs lends a country and rustic charm.. I was surprised when I found myself smiling and happy while on the roads, a sharp contrast from Kerala roads where you have to be vigilant , on all sides, the huge buses and tippers which brush past you mercilessly, the spit and the shit, the cows and the strays, the holes and the  heaps of garbage..oh my!   In the cafes, I found people engrossed in their work, with a large  warm mug of coffee beside them in the cafes. Of course, bars and noisy pubs are there, but as it is not my cup of tea, I did not go in  there.   The concept of  common work spaces are getting popular here. My son works in such a work space. The houses were all uniform, but painted in different hues. The blue of the sea was a sight to behold, a stark contrast from our grey green color. We booked a hop off hop on tour and all the bus drivers were jolly, happy go lucky people, who gave us a running commentary, but I must admit, American English  wasn’t very legible to me. Lady drivers were in plenty, and most of them were very fat, and very jovial. At the end of the day, they keep reminding us to give them a tip, and a not too small one at that. A colorful pail was kept at the door for you to drop  your tip.

We drove through cute lanes and roads which were multi million dollar houses and  one was particularly pretty, now belongs to Author Danielle Steele. Another house was one of  Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle.

We were dropped off at The Academy of Sciences, the flora and fauna of San Francisco were  exhibited. The huge exhibits of dinosaurs and sharks were quite informative,  and their sheer largeness, made you wish that they would one day grace the earth again,but what gladdened ad surprised me most was the presence of so many grandparents with their grand kids who had come to see the park. The kids pushing the wheelchairs made me so happy, that the sharks and the dinosaurs paled into a mere shadow.  We strolled

  into a restaurant and were delighted to find an array of delightful veg sandwiches and rolls.

San Francisco has  a large Chinese population. What I found very amusing was that though I found many Chinese married to other nationals,  ninety eight percent of the off springs had Chinese features. Their genes  which give them their teeny weeny eyes would not be so teeny weeny! I found huge men with slim slender and short Chinese , more often than not, their children inherited distinct Chinese features.  tt

The Ferry Building is an important land mark in san Francisco. It was the main means of transportation until the automobiles intruded. 

After the The Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed, the Ferry Building became a shadow of the past. But not for long. Massive reconstruction plans has now transformed it into one of the most sought after office space and retail centre in SFO.  Abundance and profusion are the words that come to your mind when I think back as the days have rolled by and it’s been more than a month. The crockery store was delightful but left me mentally exhausted multiplying into 69 as the dollar rate had escalated. My son cautioned me not to do this, but I reasoned..we earn in rupees!!

Ferries operate even now.

China Town of San Francisco, was mind boggling!  Ladies haggled and waggled, over the prices. Ceramic wares, in all the colors I love, pastel blues and creamy pinks, with , small puffins on delicate twigs, I touched them and held them for some time, they were heavy, and there was no way they would accompany  me all the way to  grace my crockery shelves back home, as domestic flights charge for every gram of your luggage. I kept it down, as a child was refrained by his mom from taking a toy from a toyshop Antique stores were in plenty. A linen store which showcased delicate and finely embroidered napkins, table cloths, toiletpaper covers, tissue box covers etc etc, was a sight to behold!  I had to be literally dragged out of the place, and I must admit, I felt strains of depression when I left the store with only a small tray cloth.. One day I shall come for you……. I shall earn in dollars, so that I do not need to keep multiplying and multiplying…..Food stalls and restaurants were in plenty. My son offered a little solace by stating that there is a China town in New York and as that was the last stop of our journey, I c’d pick what I wanted from there. Well, that did perk me up a bit, indeed.

The next exciting place which I did not have enough of , was Saucolito, the cute town after the Golden Gate Bridge. The word cute fits the bill, literally, as the shops, the cafes and the house are all cute. We were to ride on the Golden Gate Bridge, which itself was a treat. We trooped out of the bus and the wind nearly blew me off.. I thought it was safer to be in the bus, but when I saw the blue sea in front, the brilliant blue of the sea, gave me strength. The blue was brilliant, shining and shimmering with white boats dotted all over. The postcards and calenders came alive, colors of nature, the sky was a bright blue an the sea was a shocking bright blue which left us speechless, and lo, the bus left without us. Nothing to worry, as we could get into any of their buses which operate every twenty minutes or so.