Ambarsariya

No that’s not just a Bollywood song, it is the colloquial way of how the locals of Amritsar are called. A Punjabi jooti(footwear), Kulcha(bread), Fish, fulkaari(fabric), the khaana-peena, from Amritsar is all Ambarsari. And all the praajis, veerjis and parjaaijis, basically the people are Ambarsariya.

And when we reached Amritsar, at 6 in the morning, taxi, auto, tempo, hotel, motel, tour guide, bus guy, chai pani guy flocked us with such Ambarsari offers that were outrageous and so unwanted by the sleep deprived us. No! Please vanish!

It was on the auspicious day of Guru Nanak Jayanti that we had dared to be here. Those who do not know, for us Sikhs, it is our biggest festival. It is the birthday of our holy saint Guru Nanak Devji. And the Golden Temple in Amritsar is our holiest shrine. It’s like being in Bethlehem on Christmas eve. Our parents had warned us, “You're going from so far, don't return without darshan!" Actually, it isn’t their fault, the kind of hopeless fun loving friends we were, expecting divinity from us was a far sight.

One of my friends on this trip, is also a Sardar and her Aunt knew the authorities of the main Darbar Saheb very well. So the head of the shrine had assured her, 2 rooms and VIP Darshan for all of us. While I write this, you might think how mean, it’s a place of worship, why couldn’t you be in the line like other pilgrims and wait for your chance, I would only ask in my defense… if you are a bunch of 25year olds traveling from Bombay & Delhi and have the luxury of sailing past the 4 hour line, without bribing anyone, without troubling anyone, will you still not do it? We did. And especially if we know we are God’s favorite children, we would accept it with open arms!

So back to the arrival, the ordeal was to call the Paaiji (pandit) who had booked our rooms and made the arrangements. As soon as he answered his phone, we rushed to our rooms to empty our bladders and stomachs, which is after 3 hours of our arrival.

“Eva, I don’t think your Bua knows anyone, she must have bluffed. No one will answer, lets go to Gurudwara toilets and get fresh atleast.”

“What ya Eva, what is this, you can’t even imagine under how much pressure I am in.”

“Eva, Paaiji made you Pagal, lets get a hotel and go stand in the darshan line.”

“Eva how could your Bua dupe us like this yaa, we are such innocent kids.”

“Guys can you please shut up, he’s a Paaiji he must be in gurudwara, he will call back when he sees our calls. Relax!" Eva busy making him calls, bursted at all of us.

And just then the ever hungry me added, “Fine lets just go have some breakfast. Sumit you remember that kulcha place outside Gurudwara in that small lane! Let's just go there.” “Awesome!” everyone unanimously yelled and we dragged our luggage and ourselves. The tiny lanes of Amritsar are flocking with poor kids. They are left on the road to beg from the tourists and earn their bread. While we crossed them and tried to shoo them, we ended up making friends with them and exchanged fowl smells and basically looked alike in dirty clothes. We bought them food and clicked pictures. They thought we were like them only, from a different village may be. We let them believe so. Here’s a peek, make a guess of the who’s who of the beggar lane of Amritsar.

After we passed through and reached to this double storied dhaba we ordered 2-3 Kulchas. “No god, I cant eat such early in the morning.” “Yaar, how can you eat without getting fresh, you guys eat, I won't.” Three of us who had been to Amritsar before  and knew how delicious these Kulchas are, went ahead and ordered, and the other 4 who don’t know what they are missing threw their weight around and just waited in boredom for paaiji to call back. And the moment our Kulchas also known as the Chur Chur naan arrived, the delectable smell of these divine smelling breads with aloo or paneer fillings inside left them baffled. “Can I take one bite?" "Yaar smell is damn nice!" "It looks sooo yummy.” And with that, within 1 minute the plates were cleaned, swipped, licked and cleared. And then began the round of Kulchas. We ate 17 kulchas amongst the 7 of us. So much so for the king size morning breakfast!

After paying the bill we decided now is the time to start checking out hotels because we were determined that we are fooled and before it got too late, let’s make up for the lost time. We divided our selves amongst three groups. Two went to one hotel, two to the other, and three of us stayed put with the luggage near the shoe stall of the Gurudwara. People came, staired, gossiped, went, and we stood right their praying for the God’s servant, our beloved paaiji to call back. He didn’t. After a while, one group came back with rates. And a few minutes later, the other two came walking with few papers in their hand.

“Chalo let’s go, we have finalized the rooms, bathrooms are nice and clean, it’s not noisy also, let’s go.” The disheartened 'us' started picking up our bags and suitcases and just then, the phone rang! “Paaiji Calling” And we all jumped in joy and celebrated. Nirvana. Waheguruji tussi great ho! We got fresh, relaxed for a bit in our rooms and without wasting more time rushed to the Gurudwara.

Harmandir Saahbji

It was November end, the cold had started dawning in Amritsar and the marble floor of the Gurudwara gave shivers to the bare foot us as we walked inside the gates. And just then, when through the huge gate, the Amrit sarovar (Nectar pool) comes in your site all the years of misery, months of plight and days of longingness vanish. It is unbelievable how certain places of worship have this aura of awesomeness. The moment you step inside, you feel the divinity flowing through the place. You feel at home. You pray in gratitude even if you don’t want to. One side of us, wanted to capture everything in pictures and pose like maniacs, the other side just wanted to stay calm, close our eyes and just be ourselves.

For those of you who haven’t been to the Golden Temple, do it very soon. Its’ golden top will make your eyes water with sun reflecting on it while the calming blue water of the sarovar will soothe them and your soul as well. And as you start with your parikrama (round) of the sarovar, you will see a lot of kids and men taking bath in their under-wears in the ice-cold water and almost in a state of bliss. While you can't stop hopping from one carpet to the other to save your feet from the cold floor you will wonder how brave those people are. I can vouch for this, because that’s what I did. Observed and soaked in people praying, worshipping and connecting with the divine in ways, personal to each one of them.

And when it was the time for us to take a dip in the holy pool, we were scared of the chilly water. The guys out rightly refused. My friend Eva and I were determined to do it, so we made sure all of us girls do it. We did it. In a small room on the sides of the pool is the women’s holy dip area. The belief is, apart from kachha (underwear) one has to take off everything worldly from their body and then take the holy dip. It not just takes you nearer to god, but it also makes everyone equal before god. And while our minds questioned and cursed this rule, when we reluctantly, shiveringly took the first dip, we realized what it meant. Divinity. Purity. At it's best. I have nothing that’s mine, you have given everything, you will give everything, I have no prayers, only gratitude for everything you have given me. I dip again, and bow in your holy feet. Thank you Waheguru, thank you God.

And after finishing that we continued to move towards the main mandir - the Darbar Sahib's darshan and aarti. Will write in more, with more divineness and lot more fun at the Wagah border, until then, remember to say your prayers, and bow your head before God, for it could have always been worse! What he has given you, is what you should be thankful of, only then, he will give you, grant you more. With this attitude of gratitude, smile – you the reader of Ambarsariya! J

Best Friends and Amritsar

When we sold one of our 7 reserved berths for 700 bucks, I knew this is going to be a trip of a lifetime. We were 7 of us on Golden temple Mail from Delhi to Amritsar and the fun had just begun.

You know how best friends behave when they meet after months and months... lot’s to talk, leg pulling, lot’s of jokes on each other, just so much of catching up… we had it all. We were a bunch of crazy enthu-cutlets meeting after almost a year. We wouldn't let go each other's hugs forget about sitting at reasonable distances, all 7 of us packed inside the curtains of a train coupe that was only ours. On both the lower berths, we were eating, singing, laughing, yelling and basically ganged up as closely as possible. We were loud, in our laughters, talks, jokes, singing and just about everything. And as I write it now, I agree, with a tinge of guilt, that we were sure a menace to every co-passenger of ours. Barring one family.

A small family of three boarded the train I think from Meerut or just some station after Nizammudin, Delhi. They had only 2 reserved berths amongst the three of them. And like I said, we were 7 of us, with 7 berths but only 2 in use. The uncle peeped through our curtain and smiled. It was quiet a contrast to what had been happening so far. A lot of peeps had happened and uncles had come, only to tell us to mellow down, keep our volumes low, not to laugh loudly, no clapping, no singing. Ya, so with his smile, we knew he was different. However, we figured he also came to ask something from us, just when he began to speak, “Beta this berth number 15 is yours?” pointing to an empty berth right in front of our coupe with 2 suitcases on it.

The oldest (27years that time), and the most responsible friend amongst us replied, “Hanji uncle.”

Uncle gathering some courage with our friends polite tone started, “Betaji if you are not sleeping there, can we take that berth from you. I’m traveling with my wife and a 14 year old son and we have only 2 reserved seats. If you want you could take some 100 200 rupees.”

And with that the whisper amongst all 7 of us started.

“Uncle will you give us 2 minutes, we will discuss amongst ourselves if we can adjust.” What adjust, ofcourse it was feasible for us, only thing remaining to discuss was the money!

My CA sister started “Nahi yaar, 200 bahot kam hai. We paid Rs.1200 for this berth. It’s a 2nd class AC, confirmed berth. Atleast take 500.”

“Ya, we will eat Kulchas tomorrow with that money.” The ever hungry me commented excitedly!

“I think let’s just totally give it to the poor family.” The sweet, dainty, Sai Baba follower younger cousin sister of mine squealed.

“O shut up oyye, lets atleast earn 100 rupees per persom from that seat. I say Rs.700 is good.” My Marwari friend who worked in Bank of America that time, calculating all shares and debentures added.

And then the final word had to be from the first friend who spoke to uncle, the eldest amongst us. “Let’s not be greedy, lets make it Rs.500 and give it, its getting late for them to sleep.”

He drew the curtain and actioned uncle to come to our coupe, where the discussion forum was currently taking place. “Uncle you can take it for Rs.500.”

“Arrey no no beta, Rs.500 is too much.”

My agressive CA sister asked, “Uncle how much did your confirmed ticket cost you?”

Uncle sheepishly, looking here and there replied, “Rs.1100”

And with that the Marwari friend finally let the banker in him take charge, “Uncle Rs.700 is the final price. When you think you want, you can pay the money and take it, we will remove the luggage.” And I started to draw the curtain with that.

Just then, uncles’ wife came and said, “It’s okay beta, we will take it, here’s the money. Thank you so much kids.”

And as she handed over Rs.700 bucks to my sister, a wave of happiness ran through our faces. The most notorious friend of ours, in an eye blink he gathered all the luggage and cleared the berth for the family.”

“Thank you kids. Waheguruji bless you”

We echoed counting the money, “You are welcome aunty!”

We drew the curtain and celebrated the commencement of the happy journey thereafter. We spoke till 2 in the night and discussed lives. After that, my younger sister and I slept together after the awesomely memorable transaction. Rest all slept as per seats. It was early in the morning next day that we reached Amritsar and the fun continued.

I’ve been to Amritsar thrice, but I think every time, has been an equally memorable trip than the other. Will take you through the most amazing Golden Temple Darshan and Wagah Border excitement in my next post, until then, ring up your old friends, text them, mail them, poke them… and make plans to catch up on your old memories. And while you do that, remember, a new friend will only know your stories, but old best friends have lived them with you. So without wasting one more minute, call one of them and relive those memories. Prioritize them, once more!

Punjabi naal yaarana, Canada Canada mein jana

You know that feeling when you have been planning something for months & months and when it finally happens, it passes by so quickly. Before you know its over. Yes, that feeling is what I’m feeling right now!

Canada trip was my perfect holiday. Beautiful destination, interesting food, awesome people, and great drives - it had everything one traveller could ask for. Even more, because this one also offered family to the home-sick-me. My own mom dad’s family is pretty small, and marrying into my husband’s huge family I got in bonus a whole lot of relations that I only knew existed in other peoples lives or in Bollywood. I’ve never had a massi (maternal aunt). And after I became a massi to my own sister’s daughter I realized why was it such a big deal to have one. She’s every niece nephew’s grown-up best friend. And it’s just so obvious and so natural, and only if you have one, you will know the massi bond, it’s a magic that cannot be worded. Also, being a chachi & a mami is like a promotion that comes only with a marriage, and this Canada trip was giving all of that to me! So all in all, his relatives, are my relatives, though I value them even more because life has given them to me after a lot many years! Hence this Canada trip was special x 2!

So Canada, it’s a laid back America with a British soul. My husband and I had been planning our Canada trip ever since we got married and his Massi persistently insisted us to visit them soon due to our US-Canada close proximity. So we got our Visas through an extremely simple online application process. And drove through the Detroit-Canada border. As our car drove by the immigration window, we sat up straight, rolled down the windows, and got attentive. You know how toll plazas have lanes and people drive by, pay tickets and zoom out… that’s exactly how this cross border immigration plaza was. Cross the Lake Erie, of which one side of the lake is USA and the other is Canada, cross the bridge, join the smallest line of your choice and wait for your turn. When we arrived at the booth, the officer greeted us and my husband handed over our passports to him. We had read on several online portals that these immigration officers ask grueling questions, check luggage and are strict so we were alert and ready to answer them all. And then, just after asking where are we going, the officer went away with our passports. We sat straight, discussing amongst ourselves, where possibly he could go, how long will it take, what will do if we are rejected, analyzing the immigration building in front of us, and trying to look as composed as we could while the turmoil within us was on full swing. Even if you have travelled half way of the globe, getting an immigration refusal is something that no one wants. And just then that man appeared back in the window, after the longest 5-6 minutes of our lives. He handed back our passports and said, Guy, I’ve stamped them right away, no need to go to the immigration office, have a good stay folks. We flipped through the passports in sheer disbelief and gleamingly entered the new country. And then I understood, that the metaphor ‘cake walk’ was invented on the Canada-US border!

To start with, I loved Canada. After USA it’s certainly not a country you will fall in love with in one go. But the simple reason why we love India more than USA applies here too… family! Hence I love Canada. It’s a beautiful country but well, USA is gifted too. Canada is a more feel at home kind of country for Indians specially. It’s not super-tech, jazzy, glamorous like the American big cities, but it’s comforting. It’s very easy to settle and feel at home, feel welcomed in Toronto. I was surprised when my uncle told me that only 50% of the population is by birth Canadian, rest of them are all immigrants from across the globe. And to that I would like to believe that the rest of 40% population is of Desi’s (Punjabi Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi’s, Sri Lankans). Nevertheless, because of that it houses the best Indian restaurants. In Canada I ate idlis softer than anywhere in the real Deccan. Dal Makhani better than most of Delhi restaurants and not just that, but a restaurant named Tandoori Flame, offering buffet with 150 items, which is as big as an average Delhi wedding! Yes all of that divine tasting food in Canada. Anyways, food and the works is not my forte, traveling and experiencing places is. So back to that!

Canada as a country realizes its pluses and minuses more than any other country. And when I say that, I mean that Canada knows its short comings and is doing its best to better itself which I think is amazing. They know, they need to constantly up their economy, hence they provide awesome citizenship opportunities for outsiders to come work in their country and consume Canadian products & services. They know Toronto lake front is awesome yet not like the Chicago lake, so they are trying to make it equally awesome now. They know the world famous Niagara falls is best viewed from Canada and not from anywhere else, so they have made it extremely tourist friendly with best of hotels, things-to-do, kids attractions, eating joints, casinos  and several options for good tourist influx. It’s a developed country thriving in every possible way it can to keep its growth curve upwards. And in a totally unbiased manner I can safely conclude they are doing a very good job.

No Delhi girl’s Starbucks is complete without Instagraming it, right? Or no Indian’s shopping is elite if it’s not a big UK/US brand! Canadians are different. Be surprised. They will have a Starbucks against their very own Tim Hortons’ only over their dead bodies. If ‘The Real Canadian Superstore’ has 150 customer cars parked outside, Walmart in the same complex will have only about 20-50 cars. For the 6 months cold country of Canada Tim Hortons coffee and bake shop is a real life line. It offers really delicious and flavorful Iced Capp for summers, and French Vanilla for winters at a price that will not burn a hole in anyone’s pocket even if they have to have it everyday. So if ever, you visit Canada, you will not have to remember this blog and find a Tim Horton to know if I was right. Rather a Tim Horton’s will find you, because believe it or not there’s literally one in every kilometer out there.

Canada is a superb place to visit in summers. Well, I was told, there are only 2 seasons in Canada – the winter season (Nov-Apr) and the construction season (May-Oct)! And only when you visit there in summers you will realize what does that mean! Every road, highway, bridge, flyover, toll road has some maintenance or construction going on. All the houses are being built or renovated. Rest of the months, will be stay at home, stay warm months. Until then construct, enjoy the sun, the perfect-for-picnic weather and breathe the fresh summer breeze. Canada has about 15 really enormous lakes to boast about, though Lake Huron & Lake Ontario being the only ones that I got to explore. Lake Huron is very near to London and we drove the beautiful countryside with almost every house selling homegrown products or organic food supplies in their yard. For those of you wondering, why am I mentioning London time and again… Canada, like India was a British ruled country, so there is a London city here, with a river called Thames, a Highway called the Queen Elizabeth Way and almost every aspect of life with a British influence. So much so, that the metric systems are of Kilometers and degrees. All these, made me feel home in more than one way!

Toronto is a great city with a very relaxed lifestyle, and huge distances. Infact it’s a lot like our Delhi in some aspects. GTA – Grand Toronto Area (like our NCR) comprises of Mississauga, Brampton & Oakville. Huge suburban distances yet people enjoy living in far off from work, yet big, beautiful houses. It’s a really beautiful city by the Lake Ontario. 

While we were in Toronto, we took the city Jump on, Jump off bus. For those of you who haven’t been on one, I say it’s a must try to whichever city you go to. In India I know Jaipur, Delhi & Mumbai have these for sure. Ones in Mumbai are the double-decker, open-roof-top kinds like the ones abroad. I think for Delhi & Jaipur they should also do these if the weather permits because to have a birds eye view from the top, no glasses to obstruct vision, breeze blowing through your face is a great way to experience the city first hand, specially if you want to see a lot in a little time. These buses also have guides who keep narrating to you really interesting stories, details and facts about the places that you are going to visit or simply the places that you are passing by. So even if you are not going to be visiting the Hyderabad house in Delhi, they will tell you what it is, how it is, and its purpose. And that’s the real touristy way if you ask me to explore the city.

 So yeah, with this bus we landed at a very interesting place called the St. Lawrence Market. As per National Geographic it’s the worlds No.1 fresh food market, and a must visit for local Canadian delicacies and Organic food from across the world. It’s a very very cute looking colorful market with small shops that sell some really interesting food. You could grab freshly made confectionery, Maple syrup & jams, while Canadian souvenirs shops are also there in plenty. Why I’m telling you about this market is because I found this place a true picture of Canada. So next time you go to a new city, you see not just the CN Tower (Toronto city’s communication tower which is the highlight of the city and visible through out the city skyline) but also visit the real places like the market itself which will give you far more memories to take home in physical and mental forms.

Other than these, another must do in Canada is the ferry ride through the lake Ontario. It starts from the harbor front and have very very entertaining and knowledgeable tour guides. The one on my boat was a young vibrant girl from some college doing it in her summer break… but man, she was good at it. When you have the most amazing sights to look at, really awesome company to chit-chat with, and you still choose to hear her out with all the concentration to the things she’s narrating about the island and the surroundings… it means she’s really good! And like I said, she was. But perhaps, not everywhere back home in India we have guides like that, do we? I keep referring back and forth to India for everything simply because, no matter where I roam, India will be my home. Nevertheless, right now you are traveling Canada with me, so let’s read on!

And above I mentioned maple syrup, for those who aren’t aware, maple leaf; maple tree is the designer tree leaf that got popular through the Shahrukh movie Mohabattein. If it still didn’t click you, here’s a peek-a-boo of their flag…

However, I’m yet to understand what is it that makes maple leaf an identity of Canada because I’ve more maple trees in my backyard here in USA than I saw in Canada. While Im told its significance dates back to centuries and has a lot of historical value, I still don’t know why is it so important to them. Though the maple syrup, the maple cream cookies are a must try if you ever visit Canada or have relatives bringing back stuff for you.

Toronto in particular is full of Indians specially Punjabis. In every area you will find a huge Gurudwara and a few Mandirs too. Like I said before it has amazing Indian places to eat and even shopping plazas and complexes named Karol Bagh and The Great Punjab Business Center etc. When you enter Brampton, the key residential area for Indians, you will feel someone converted an Amritsar into a beautiful, neat and clean city with symmetrical and pretty houses, but rest everything remains the same. Unlike Jersey city, Dearborn street in Chicago, Southall in UK, Brampton is surprisingly not dirty. It is pretty, yet the moment you enter here, you will know you are in an Indian community because people will be honking for no reason (yup just like India), changing lanes irrationally, and breaking traffic rules wherever possible. You will feel totally in India, just a prettier one, and trust me, it will be a very very warm feeling! I was so glad to be here, specially after missing home and family for so many months now. With utmost gratitude to my family and my husband I say, Punjabi naal yaarana, Kaneda Kaneda mein jana!

Also, I want to confess that London, Toronto (GTA) & Niagara are the only cities that I visited in this road trip. Montreal & Vancouver I hear are more touristy because of their scenic beauty and historical value. However, so far, this is what I explored, this is where my family is, and this is what I share with you!

Mein Kanyakumari

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” 2days I spent thinking, brain storming and introspecting of where to start the real me story with you… how to share and where to start. And then I read this quote somewhere and decided, lets take you places!

My father and I love traveling and that’s why since childhood he would take us to all possible places for vacations. Those days foreign travel was a big deal, and my parents were the humble vegetarian kinds, so we fulfilled our extensive travel desires by scanning the Indian states. Get train tickets, call & book breakfast-nashta hotels and cover as many attractions as possible, was the agenda of most of our summer & winter holidays. I’m pretty proud of the fact, that out of 29, I’ve seen 20 states of my country. So while most of Indians would want to boast of Singapore, Dubai… I used to, and for that matter even now, boast of Sikkim and Kerala. And why not so?!

My sister is married to an Investment Banker in London, and I’m here in USA. But believe you me, India is the best country if you really want to travel & explore. Like UK, India is historically very very rich, or may be much more richer. Almost every state of India boasts of at least 1 historic fort, one religious city, and some ancient culturally rich site. History and India, were made hand-in-hand so while you would totally love the Buckingham palace, chances are you will find the Gwalior ka Qila equally fascinating.

USA has vast varieties of geological and geographical resources. On one end you will find the white sand beaches of Florida, Midwest will be jungles of Pennsylvania & great lakes that are jaw-droppingly amazing for the Pushkar Lake-me and grand canyons on the west. Similarly, back home in India, aren’t we also equally rich in terms of geology and geography? From the amazing Himalayas to the amazing Kanyakumari?

Wow, and while I typed the word Kanyakumari, in my mind it brought back a slide show of the wonderful memories of my South India visit in one of the Delhi winter holidays. I don’t know now, but 15 years back when I went there as a kid, it was breath-takingly beautiful and an “awesome” place. Go to the tip of your country and all you would do is “awe” with your mouth wide open and eyes wanting to capture as much as they can without blinking.

It was a long one and a half day Rajdhani that got us to Madras (now Chennai) from where our trip began. Papa, my sister and I played UNO with 2 bhaiyas who joined our compartment from Bhopal. Those days, Rajdhani food used to be really delicious. So these train journeys was a way to feast and meet new-new people, look through the pale-glassed window – the gorgeous villages & farms and not so gorgeous cities with even dirtier stations. But nevertheless, trains were and are the most fun way to travel. Even if you are alone, you have a train full of characters performing live for you. Laugh, chat, live, eat with them for the next stipulated hours of your life and you will end up loving your journey as much as you will love your destination.

Coming back to Kanyakumari, it is, see-it-to-believe-it awesome. The southern most tip of India, where you can actually see with your own naked eyes, the green Arabian Sea on your right, the brownish muddier blue of the Bay of Bengal on your left and the distinct Indigo blue of the Indian Ocean in front of you. Not just that, the sands also differ for all three of these. I really don’t know whether population & pollution has taken a toll on this extremely “Awesome” place but when my eyes saw it, I was amazed and out of words. As a kid, I had never ever imagined, to be able to see such an amazing natural beauty. On a classroom globe or on maps and atlases (notice the lack of Google back then), these seas and oceans looked just blue. In fancy wallpapers of the net, the sea comes in different colors, but to be able to see the merger of three different seas in real life, how its not just man made names, but god made distinct water entities is a total See-it-to-believe-it phenomenon. Travel, once in your life to Kanyakumari in order to marvel how partial God was while hand crafting India.

For that matter travel, travel anywhere away from your city whenever you get a chance. Not just will it bring you closer to the nature, but also to your family, friends, to your life. International travel, inter-state travel requires time & planning. Don’t wait for all of that, switch off this Friday evening, go discover life in the nearest weekend getaway. Go smell the smell of trees, gaze at the stars, eat at dhabas, shower in waterfalls. Go live life this weekend!

Do it now, sometimes ‘lets plan’ becomes never.

The American Dream

It’s only been 6 months of me in America and I truly, madly, deeply love it. There’s not one but countless reasons why it’s the most powerful country of the world, and the most loved.

6 months back, when my husband asked and introduced me to the belief of “The American Dream” we were on our way home from the airport. I was jet lagged, drowsy, giddy, cold and inattentive. When I landed at the Newark airport in New Jersey, I was waiting for my 2 gigantic suitcases to arrive so that I could clear my immigration and board my next domestic flight to home. There was a tint of excitement clubbed with a lot of giddiness. While I was sheepishly waiting for the luggage, I saw on the belt a bag was kept in a big plastic basket kindda container with a white powderish thing on it. I thought to my self, “Desi bhi na, Namak is so cheap everywhere, why would someone carry Namak from India, huh!” And then another suitcase came with the white powder on it; another basket came with white powder in it. I was like, no girl, this ain’t salt. And I rubbed my eyes, peeped closer, analyzed clearly, it was snow. I smiled to the foolish me, and welcomed myself to the snowing United States of America. That’s for the heat bound girl of Delhi & Mumbai encountering snow for the first time!

After a few days in the country I was up and about in my life. I had started reading the Driving license material, got a bank account, and basically started settling. After driving the lengths & breadths of India for 10years I accept the Left hand drive was very tough for me. The rules were so many, and everyone obeyed each one so diligently. Why not so, there are fines for every rule you break! Smallest probably is a $20 fine for not wearing seatbelt on the passenger seat, which to the new Indian me was Rs.1,200! So ya, rules are strict and very many if you drive here. But driving here is not something that tires & stresses you. Once you get your hands on it, you will love road trips and traveling.

USA is a very warm country and Americans are the most welcoming people I’ve ever seen. However good, bad, ugly, elite they are, if they cross you, they will smile or greet you or just hold the door open for you. Every car stops on the side, and the whole lane is cleared if there’s an ambulance passing by. Doctors, pharmacists (aka chemists) are so warm and loving that you feel better by just meeting them. Life is valued here. People are treated like they are supposed to be. No one will question you if you break rules, or do something nasty, everyone will mind their own businesses. But because everyone honors the rules, the government, and their country so much!

Once coming back from somewhere in West Virginia, it was late in the night and the country side becomes really dark and lonely here. We were four of us in the car and we stopped at a gas station (aka petrol pump) to refuel. Our friend who was driving got down to fill the gas (apart from few Indian owned petrol pumps in Jersey city, in USA one has to fill the petrol themselves). After finishing he went inside the office, a small brightly lit room, without telling us where is he going. The new-me to this country was worried sick for those few minutes and prayed quietly inside my heart. When he came back, he casually said, “Nothing, the machine required to fill in here, and then take the receipt inside for payments”. I was shell-shocked! Imagine a petrol pump like that in India. How many of us Indians will take the receipt inside to actually pay for the fuel that we have already filled. Honesty is a USA policy and how!

People will keep their cars dirty, but with a $500 littering fine, no one will dare throw the stinking banana peel from their car until there is a proper dustbin. It’s clean and beautiful. People value people. Americans value people.

My husband has been in USA for over 8 years now. It’s amazing how he describes America as a home for anyone in the world. In his school, Masters and office life he’s yet to come across someone who does any kind of discrimination here. All blacks, Asians, desi, gorey, Latinos exist so happily together. If the Native Americans were to protest of outsiders, America would have struggled to bloom. If Americans were to employe only their kith & kin, it would have never become the brain house of the world. It is what it is, because of its people. Every individual who is legally present in America is respected, and given equal opportunities to grow and make the nation grow. People are valued here, that’s why people value people. And these are the people who make USA the most powerful & longed country in the world. That’s the real ‘American dream’ to me. A happily growing state of life. Not just a belief, politically placed in every president’s speech. A way of life that you are entitled to with every Visa stamp, and every citizenship. And I want Indians back home to ape this western culture. To respect every fellow Indian and grow in tandem. Because if the people grow, the nation grows.