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!