NRI Maami

We were in India for the weekend - well almost! We were in Niagara falls for memorial day weekend, and I had to see it to believe it - there were more desis there, than all of Pallagoundapalayam put together. One friend had told us, that on memorial day weekend, there would be so many desis that it would be difficult to find a good patch of grass that was not already covered by a jamakaalam and desis sitting on it. A combination of telugus, tamilians, maharashtrians, hindi speaking and IndiEnglish speaking crowd, some of whom were the typical TCS, Infy, CTS, Covansys groups talking in typical ‘Yes ya No ya’ lingo. Others were young families with parents from India - typical vaira thoddu maamis and maamas wearing layers of over-sized jackets and shoes and mufflers on a what we would consider a fairly warm day and trying to push along sleeping babies in strollers. Some of those were a bit more adventurous, wrapping up few month olds in blankets and ponchos, standing in line for more than an hour to see the cave of the winds, and then eventually making the trip down with wailing babies in hand.

The falls themselves were totally worth it. Huge volumes of water pouring over cliffs. The American falls, looked a little bit threatening and powerful. The horse shoe falls on the other hand were so graceful in their fall. The maid of the mist and the cave of the winds were both a unique experience. I would love to go there again, just this time, I would try to stay in a hotel with view of the falls.

It made me wonder, what it was that we desis saw that the locals apparently didn’t care for that much. A person at work who is probably in her 50s now, said she visited Niagara once when she was 2 and had no recollection of it. Perhaps, it is the idea that they cannot really camp out there and that Niagara falls cannot really be considered a spot for adventurous white water rafting, or skiing or quiet fishing. But we as an Indian population, really try to visit places that are a pleasure mainly to the eye, not necessarily something that requires physical interaction with nature or any kind of adventure. Perhaps, it is the lack of finding similar such spots (in South India) back home. Perhaps, it is the need for us to find a place that is friendly to people of all ages, us, our parents and our wailing babies, a place where vegetarian food is at least a possibility and the restrooms physically stay in the same place all the time.

It is no wonder then, that I spotted atleast 3 or 4 Indian restaurants within a few blocks (though they served shoddy food for the price, and were way too overcrowded).

All in all, I would have to say I had an enjoyable road trip (my first one in this country), and a memorable experience at the falls. Those of you, who haven’t yet been there, be sure to make a trip to this desi hot spot of America.

Now.. enjoy some pictures..

So for some background here - I came to the US in the fall of 2004. It was quickly followed by winter which I didn’t want to spend sight-seeing. So I decided to wait until summer, but then I got pregnant and couldn’t travel. Then my daughter was too small and I couldn’t travel. So after spending close to 3.5 years here, I have seen so many pictures of New York City, Niagara and Washington DC, that I feel like I have already been there.

At the end of this sob-story of me being stuck in Chicago all along, comes light at the end of the tunnel. My daughter finally turned 2 and appeared manageable, and so we decided to start travelling around. Last weekend, we went to New York city, and I got a taste of the city. The big apple was sweet for most part, but the few sour parts of it, left a bad taste in the mouth.

Our flight got delayed by about 4 hours - so we were stuck with entertaining a toddler in a fairly boring and big airport. Then we slept at 3 in the morning, because that’s how long it took us to finally reach Connecticut, where we stayed. The next morning, we visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island - which I have to accept, was quite interesting and gave us beautiful views of the city and the water around it. Then we went around Wall street and I was still quite comfortable. I had always looked forward to seeing Madame Tussards museum, and that was worth it too.

Then we went to Times square - and gosh! what a place! The place was so packed, we couldn’t even push the stroller. We were perenially scared of losing each other or our belongings. Our feet were begging us to sit down somewhere. The lights were good, there were lots of people on the ground, but way too many people for my liking. I would rather go to Ranganathan street and walk in those crowds - atleast it is India, and you know exactly where you are going. My logic is - Why would one go to Times square if one was not interested in those noisy bars, fancy restaurants or didn’t have time for the broadway shows? To see the lights? It takes a minute to see them, beyone that you’re probably being pushed to the side by people walking up and down anyway. So, we (or I) decided  - enough of this, let’s go home.

So, we went down to the train station to catch a train to Jersey city, and had what was the sourest point of the whole trip. The ticket machines only let you buy one ticket at a time. There was only two of them, both of which did not accept bills at that time. We didn’t have enough change, and the only store there refused to help. So we tried paying with card, but the machine kept rejecting it. So as we stood in line, my brother and I kept trying one card after the other, only to keep getting rejected. And while we did that, there was the rudest person I have ever encountered in my life standing right behind, cursing me in curses that I would consider strongly objectionable. At the end of a day that was started with little sleep and spent mostly on my feet, the experience of trying to buy train tickets really drove me mad. At that moment, I felt like I had had enough of New York. It was not my kind of city. Chicago probably was. I never felt so vulnerable and out of place in Chicago.

So as much as I have tried the past couple of days to look past the few sour experiences in NYC, I have not be able to say ‘I love NY’, the way the t-shirts too.

My next trip, I would really love to spend more time with my friends, relax at their homes, play with their kids, and perhaps just enjoy the view of the NY skyline as the plane takes off.

Sorry, big apple, you were too sour for me!

Every desi that lives here, goes through what can be mind-numbingly boring at the very least, before they visit India - India shopping. No, I am not going to India anytime now.. Sigh! What prompted me to write about this, is the insanely long shopping list I sent to my mother, so she could pack up one of those bulging suitcases that came with my brother this weekend.

So, what is all the deal about. There was a time when, you got stuff in the US, that you didn’t find in India. My peripa (uncle) who moved here about 26 years ago, came home only once in 4 years, called my grandmother once in a month, and called us once in 6 months (perhaps). But when he came home, and opened up his suitcase, we saw a lot of things, we didn’t normally see.

1. Bic Use and throw Pens: Those were very novel when we first saw them, because around then, I used to use those fat ink pens, which had see through ink chambers, and you needed a dropper to fill up. If you got careless, you would overfill them and spill blue ink all over the place. If you were rough with the pen, you might break the nib, and if you were forgetful (like my father), you could put it in your pocket without putting the cap on, and come back home with a big blue patch on your shirt.

2. Disposable Razors: My father and grandfather had a 7 o’clock Edjtech (or something like that) blade, which they carefully handled, put it back in it’s case after every use, until it got dull as a blade of grass. These bright yellow disposable razors, seemed like such a convenient alternative.

3. Hair spray: My uncle always bought me hair spray. To this date, I’ve never really figured out what to do with it. But I tried using it for what it was worth, and found that the results were quite abominable. My hair was no longer smooth and shiny the way it was supposed to be.

4. T-shirts: Bright colored t-shirts that had american basketball, football and baseball team names on them. Of course, we had no clue what the cubs or the bears meant - just thought it was a cool t-shirt and wore it till we outgrew it and then handed it down to cousins who took it all starry-eyed.

5. Crockery: Pyrex and Corningware dishes were so cool. Nobody ever used anything other than the boringly sparkling stainless steel those days. So anything that was glass or porcelein was ‘fashionable’ and ‘classy’. Though my mother was an exception, I doubt if many people really knew how to bake or had an oven for that matter.

6. Shampoos, Moisturizers: Huge bottles of colorful and good-smelling shampoos were always welcome and used till the last drop. Shampoos were so much easier than the yucky ’shikha’ powder that stuck to everything and was such a pain to wash off. If at all we bought shampoo in India, we only bought the small sachets from which we squeezed out every last drop to manage to get all our hair shampooed.

7. Electric Razors, Hair dryers, toasters, etc: All of this always left you feeling bad. With the converters that were so rarely available those days, these appliances would moderately perform for a couple of months, and then one of the two things - appliance or adapter would conk off and you were left with a whole bunch of useless appliances.

So all of these things and more.. made us look forward to the huge bulging suitcases that came from America. Now that everybody has at least one son or daughter settled in the US, and also because India has become so much of an America itself, buying gifts for people in India is clearly one of the most difficult things to do. Whatever you think of buying is already available in India. In some cases, it’s made in India and sent to the US. In other cases, it’s cheaper or better in India than in the US.

So, when you go to Wal-Mart and stand there by the Home appliances, or Home Decor, or Kitchen aisle, wondering what it is that perhaps your aunt or niece or cousin needs from here, you’re probably right when you think, that they have everything they need except you who are standing at a Wal-mart aisle half way across the world. But when someone in India is standing at one end of Pondy bazaar, wondering what in the world someone who earns in $$ in America needs from those dirty shacks on the roadside, it’s a whole different story - there are endless possibilities.