Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Back in New Delhi with a plan

We're back in New Delhi now and are staying at my cousin's house in the suburb of Gurgaon. Rakesh has a great 18th floor apartment with a lot of space. The flight from Kovallam to New Delhi via Mumbia was uneventful. When we landed in New Delhi Rakesh's driver was there to meet us and took us to Rakesh's place. We had an outstanding home cooked meal. Mom and Steve did a little packing and  tonight around 9pm they'll make their way to the airport. I know I've said it before but I'm going to say it again, I had the most wonderful time traveling with my parents.

I had an opportunity to check two days ago as my room at the Leela in Kovallam had a bathroom scale. I've lost seven pounds in the past three weeks. Now if I can loose another seven I'll be really happy.

Yesterday morning when I woke up I had no plans for the next six weeks, it was something I was going to take day by day. But then last night it seemed like my calendar was full. In two days I'll accompany Rakesh and his family, my aunt and other cousins to Meerut, a small town northeast of New Delhi. Meerut is where my father grew up and where the ancestral house remains. I have a cousin getting married there on the 15th, but I've also accepted a wedding invitation to another distant cousin on the 15th as well, also in Meerut. So it'll be tricky trying to attend both and not upsetting anyone. After the wedding I'll head east to Lucknow where my father was born and to visit my cousin Kavindra. He remembers playing with me as a child 35 years ago. From there I'll keep going east to Varanasi, the most holy of places for Hindus where my father's eldest sister is living. Varanasi is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. Varanasi is also the place where I hope to talk to some Hindu priests to learn the history of my family name. They've kept scrolls and data for thousands of years on every name that has ever visited Varanasi.

So that's my upcoming plan for the next week or so. And as always nothing is written in stone so is subject to change.

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