Trip that tripped....

"Come on...come on... pleaeese.." my heart was pounding. "Your payment has been successfully processed" the screen flashed the message & I heaved a sigh of relief. It was my 5th attempt to book the air tickets online as none of my debit cards worked as they were trying to send OTPs to my India number, finally the corporate credit card came as a savior. Filling all personal and passport information online in a small screen of cellphone and getting timed out in payment step especially when you are in rush is the last thing I that wish even my enemy to face.

"Dimuthu, please come back to the hotel real quick". We need to rush to the airport".

"What??" I could hear his muffled voice that tells me that my call woke him up from deep sleep.

"Yes, our return flight to India is cancelled for tomorrow without any reschedule option as Indian government issued travel advisory in light of Covid 19 situation, I was worried if other airlines also would start snapping their services, so booked the return tickets today itself. I am cutting short my trip".

My wife started stuffing our things haphazardly in our suitcases in rush. The scene was very different an hour back. We were in Nuruwa Elia, a picturesque hill station, thoroughly enjoying our much-deserved vacation. We were just relaxing in the homestay and about to take nap after lunch on our 4th day of Srilanka trip. The plan was to go for boating in the beautiful Gregory lake in the evening and have dinner in the most rated restaurant of the hill town. Thank God, I checked my mail before taking nap and I got a jerk when I read the mail about flight cancellation. The family was asleep, not wanting to terrify them I did all initial searches on available airlines & tickets to get back home in the next available flight to India. Emotions were running high in my mind and started preparing myself mentally to spend indefinite period in Srilanka if we get stranded.

The phone rang, "I just reached the hotel, waiting outside for you", it was Dimuthu. He was a cheerful driver & we had already spent 4 days with him and visited Pinnawala Elephant camp, Dambola Royal caves & Kandi. He was engaging us in the conversation throughout ranging from Srilanka to Buddhism to his European customers to Super star Rajinikanth & Dhanush.

I saw my watch , it was quarter to 5pm. "How much time it would take to reach Colombo airport?" I asked, "anywhere between 5-6 hours depending upon the evening traffic on the hilly winding road", he replied. "God, it will be neck to neck, Lets go Lets go , I screamed. Our flight to Bangalore was at 1 am, and barely had any breathing time. The Schumacher (Formula 1 fame) in him emerged. He exhibited all his driving skills in overtaking vehicles, taking short cuts, driving through country roads in pitch dark, navigating sharp curves and nicely gently bumping on speed breakers without coasting much.

It was quarter to 11pm when we reached Colombo airport."so, you are not going to stay with us any longer" he quipped. After settling his bill and thanking him abundantly, we took leave of him and checked in our luggage in Srilankan Airline counter and walked up to the gate with a stride of exultation,  "Yes, we did it".

A fish in me !!!

I think I was a fish in my last birth. The reason I am saying this is that the love I have, being in water no matter whether it is small pond or a well or a river or a sea. As my childhood was spent in a village, taking bath in a pump-set of a agricultural field was a normal routine. My Chitthappa (father's brother) was a brave person and a great diver too. He used to dive deep into water in the village common well to bring out the motor & pump that would submerge due to heavy rain. He was my guru in swimming.

My first swimming training (!) happened when I was 12 when I visited his place near Vellore during summer holidays. In the first day of the swimming training, the task assigned to me was to jump from top of the village well (may be 30 feet depth!). Without a second thought I did it. He later mentioned to my mom that he was worried when I did not come out of water for a minute and got earful from my mom :)

Swimming in Cauvery is a nice feeling. In our school summer holidays, my family used to camp at another chitthappa's place (Marudur near Trichy). Going to Cauvery as whole family with sisters, cousins & parents for bathing was our daily ritual. It was not easy for our parents to get us out of water, every time it would be a begging by us for '5 more minutes' :)

When I was in 8th class, my name was picked up in lucky draw in a temple donation drive in my village (my donation was 2 rupees :)). I went to Kodaikanal with my childhood friend on a free tour without my parents accompanying me but the neighbors and known organizers. On the way to Kodai, the tour bus stopped in Silver Cascade water falls. In spite of biting cold in the morning, I plunged into water and had nice bath but had severe ear pain for few hours.

When we shifted to Dharmapuri, I used to pedal for 5 km to the nearest public swimming pool & swim with my friend Shankar in spite of knowing someone drowned there and were rumours that ghost was haunting around the pool :)

During bachelorhood days in Bangalore, Jayanagar 4th block swimming pool was my favorite. It is a large and deep pool. My real kick was to go down to touch the floor of the pool at its deepest point. Initial few times I had to abort my attempt in half way as it used to get darker inside, but felt too good when I achieved it.

Once I went to Hogenakkal with my office friend. On seeing kids of fishermen jumping off from a cliff to the gorge  I could not resist myself, thank God my friend thwart my idea, so I am writing this blog now !!!

Once while swimming Cauvery alone in Mokkombu (near Trichy) , I got cramps and could not move my legs. Scariest moments.

In Chicago I used to swim in Lake Michigan during summer while my little daughter enjoyed playing on the shore & my wife had an eye on me for not going too far in water.

During our second trip to US,  I enjoyed north shore beaches in New Jersey.  Swam in Atlantic ocean Asbury beach, Atlantic city,  Point pleasant & sea side height beaches. My daughter used to give me company until she complaint of discomfort due to rough wave and after that it was no-no from my wife.

I always thought there should be some purpose of my swimming skills eventhough I am not an expert. During our offsite trip to Siluguri (West Bengal) in 2018, we were staying in some resort in the Himalayan range. I along with a group of my colleagues were enjoying in the pool and it was raining. Suddenly I noticed one guy was drowning at a distance. I immediately swam to him, went underwater and lifted him out of water and took him to shallow place. I forgot the incident until he sent me a WhatApp message on his birthday thanking me !

This fish never stops swimming ... :)