(Sorry no photographs till I can upload to my server in Finland!)
Although Thursday was a most intriguing day in Cochin, I will come back to it later as I jump to yesterday, Friday, in Bangalore.
Our hotel is in the most crowded part of Bangalore, but as it is on a side street, it is relatively quieter that the rest - but I emphasize, relatively. I had finished blogging last night at around 4 am so I went back to bed and was up by 7. I had asked the driver to come by 8:30, thinking I would let Mika and Annikki sleep through the morning.
But the brightness and the noise had both of them up by 7:30, and they were ready by 8:30, so we trooped off to MTR for our breakfast. Annikki was still to full from our meal at the Mainland China to have breakfast. Mika downed his masala dosai and coffee, while I enjoyed the idli and masala dosai with a mug of tea. It was just too much for me. The place was crowded as usual and the atmosphere was the same as when I had last been here. Time has stood still in many ways at MTR!
We then visited my Basavangudi home on Market Road. I cried when I saw how my mother's carefully crafted garden, our childhood home, had been destroyed by the developer. It is a tragedy caused by "greed".
As Brinda had told us she would inform the owner’s of my grandfather's home in Basavangudi to show us around, we went to "Grace Home" To enter the compound was sheer joy as not only had our old childhood paradise been kept well, it had been improved upon significantly.
The owners had left the previous day for London. When we informed the caretaker, Kamala whom we were, she allowed us to see the house. It was so wonderful to enter this home which has been preserved in all its glory and also, like the garden, improved upon. I wiped away tears of joy as I went around this home, knowing that my grandparents would have approved of all the changes. I remembered the wonderful times I had spend in this house, hiding under the staircase, running around carefree, sitting with my grandparents around the enormous dining table, playing cowboys and robbers in the lush garden. It was a joy to be here.
Next port of call was Infantry Road to see some cousins and see what had happened to my dividend cheques. We were surprised to get one handed oer to us, and find that Indian Bank had returned two cheques deposited there last year.A tidy sum was lying there for us which we had no knowledge of!
I also met the binder who is the father of one of the employees there. He promised to bind the Coffee Table Book by 7 pm. A lot of compromises, but I was sure that I would get the job done before I left for Chennai.
Off too open an account at the ICICI Bank. Annikki and I were surprised at the wonderful way we were treated at the bank at a special NRI Counter. The process was long but the experience was rewarding as we left with two accounts in the bank - a NRE and and an NRO Account.
On to Indian Bank where the atmosphere was completely different. No wonder our nationalized banks are in decline! The Manager accepted the failings as there was proof of everything we had said, and he could offer no explanations whatsoever for these.
I managed to get our accounts updated, new balance statements and new check books. i will use them to close the accounts if I see no improvement in the next few months!
Visit to my eldest cousin (George Natthan) on the Matthan side in Bangalore - Baluchachen. A wonderful feeling to meet him and enter another of our childhood haunts. We spent a couple of hours till Nirmalakochamma returned home. These two looked so young.
On to Somakochamma and Georgekuttychayan's (Mr- & Mrs. G. K. O. Philips) place which was surrounded by chaos as the roadworks extended around their home in every direction. Again a paradise in a concrete jungle, The only bit of preserved lawn where we spent a pleasant afternoon with our two eldest cousins from the Kandathil side in Bangalore. We were joined by their youngest son, Peter, whom we had not seen for over 25 years. He is such a great lad. Such a joy to be with our cousins and nephews. Georgekuttychayan is preserved and Somakochamma zips around in her little car People in our family do not age in India!
Then it was time to visit the binder (Sree Kanyaka Parameswari Power Press). He had promised a 19:30 delivery. We reached there at 18:45. I watched him work diligently is a ramshackle place, but he knew what he was doing. Chaos became the work output of a craftsman with nimble fingers as he lovingly created the hard cover for the Class of 59 Directory. He handed me the final documents at 19:40.
No time to go to the hotel to change before going tom meet our Patni friends in Electronic City. Our driver, knowing our time demands, asked whether he could drive as a "Bangalore driver" as he weaved through the traffic and got us to the wonderful hotel about 45 minutes late. i was overjoyed to see my old friends from Oulu patiently waiting for us. The dinner was simply exquisite - a buffet and as none of us had had a morsel since morning we scoffed the wonderful food with relish.
I had said that they were my guests, but they outsmarted me and paid the bill behind my back. Then just as we were leaving they brought out a gift from them. I cried at the gesture, as I was expecting no such thing as these were my children whom i loved so much and who had given me much joy when they lived in Oulu Annikki was also overjoyed at seeing them and feeling their great love and affection.
Thank you boys, and remember you are always welcome back at Oulu as my friends
The return journey did not take as long but even at this hour of around midnight the roads were throbbing with traffic.
Exhausted, we crept into our beds after midnight. I was sure i would be up early to put up my entry of another day of our visit to Incredible India.
