Home and back

Most of my posts over the last year or so have been closely associated with travel. Maybe it’s because a change of location brings with it a change in mental state of a strength that contrasts only too well against the relative insipidity that has come to be associated with my daily routine – a thought that I ought to keep in mind and develop, in the interest of more fruitful time management.

Bangalore is the same as it was a year ago. Namma Metro work still occupies most of the city's major roadways, and now sports an additional layer of cinema posters and advertisements. Traffic hasn't gotten any better, though I can't say with any level of certainty that it's gotten worse either. 

The visit back home was near-perfect - time with family, a week-long escape to the countryside, meeting friends over weekends, some decent birding, and the great food and drink (read masala dosa and filter kaapi). The trip to Surathkal I so badly wanted will have to wait for next year, but that apart, there are few things I would have changed about this visit.

Having arrived questioning whether home would feel the same as it used to a year ago, I’m now preparing to leave, thankful that those qualms were unwarranted, and wishing I could stay for another month. To me, this has been more than a holiday; it has been an affirmation of my sense of belonging to the place I call home.