Nidur

·       Shades of smiles Countless blessings Running nostalgia Souls tamed and wild...

We reached Nidur at night time. It was where my dad's first wife lives with her daughter. Her daughter was few years elder to me, thus I addressed her as akka (big sister). They welcomed us warmly with tight hugs. 

Flying to another world ...

that grey kind of silence a sense of waiting hovering between rain-wrapped sky and melting into you...

It was in the year 1973. I vividly remember although I was only 8. My sister, just a year older than me, was also there. I don't actually know the reason why but what I was told by my mom was that my dad was missing us, so he wanted my mom to send us to him. Dad was in India while mom stayed back in Vietnam to do her business. There was a friend of dad who also lived in Vietnam & flies to India to visit his family on & off. During one of his visit to India that mom decided to send both of us along with him to Dad.

The next I knew was we were in the flight to India. I remembered being frightened of my dad's friend usually. So it was a terrifying experience flying with him above the sky...That friend was very strict, he hardly spoke pleasantly to us. Yet he was my dad's best friend. His house in India was attached to dad's house. Dad lived in a deep down village of south India called Nidur situated in Tanjore district. 

As a matter of fact, the flight we travelled had to stop at the capital of TamilNadu called Madras (Chennai in present days...). Once arriving in Madras, dad was there to receive us. The moment dad saw us, we were showered with hugs & kisses by dad. Then from there immediately we all went by car, another journey of 6 hours to reach Nidur.