Tuesday, January 12, 2010

and this was a long time coming..

So I moved house..it was manic..needless to say. The change of address with a million people, moving of TV and Internet and Phone, buying of new furniture and conflict of opinion about where to put what...well...anyone who owns more than 20 pairs of shoes and more than 4 suitcases of clothes, more than 3 book and definitely more than 1 DVD/CD carton and is a foodie and enjoys cooking, therefore has a huge kitchen... would know what I am talking about!

Mom came to visit me in this part of the world for the first time...and it was a short trip and I wanted to take her everywhere..forgetting her limited energy levels and my unlimited enthusiasm levels :) it was more slow walking, talking, eating, shopping, English Breakfast Tea and Crumpet breaks than sight seeing etc. As usual..good times go by really quick and leaving her at the airport watching her clear security and disappear into the vast terminal was sad..I felt like a school child again..not wanting to let go of that hand. But then I am heading to India soon for the mother of all weddings..so I was okay in the knowledge that I shall be back soon with the family.

I finally got around to attending the PhD graduation ceremony. 2 are held each year and I was busy in India..so finally got my robes, my funny hat and my photos. Mom and the Husband came along with me to the city in which I spend 8 long years..long, fun, sad, painful, hardworking, ill, ecstatic years of my life. I had not been back for a year or more and it felt strange yet familiar to be back. The city of Leicester holds too many memories for me..so after a while of happiness the sad and painful memories came back and I said goodbye. My education..for now..is over..and so the chapter is closed.

Moved to the new house, unpacked with the help of the lovely friends and managed to get back to work without taking time out. And then came sad news of the person I respected the most and loved a lot passing away. Yes he was old and yes he was ill, and yes each time I left India and said Good bye I was not sure if I would see him again. But its known..that when you love someone, truly and deeply..there is never a right time to let go and say goodbye. The news came as a shock..and the instant reaction of floods of tears took a while to be replaced by deep emptiness and a brain struggling to contemplate a life without this important person. He stood for knowledge, humility, justice, affection, indulgence and kindness..memories of wandering Rashtrapati Bhawan, eating Chinese, getting a Sony Walkman in the late 80's, getting endless gifts of books, shoes, music, clothes, warm hugs and endless chats...came back. Being in Delhi without him..is still hard for me to imagine...being away from family and not being able to share their grief and pain was not helping. Even now..I am welling up at the thought of reaching India and not heading straight to his house to say hello before heading home to mum and dad. Strange. Not really.

It was a hard year 2009..with tension, losses, victories, achievements, good, bad and startling news..and so the way to end it was not planned...till lastminute.com happened..so off we went to Prague. It was fantastic place..lovely people..hot dogs and beer, German crafts and tall people. Trams and trains from the Communist past and a new country with clean empty streets, old old architecture and the space to walk and breathe, seeing as its not a very popular tourist destination. The place was straight out of a fairy tale with castles and Gothic spires..very very nice. Saw the New Year Fireworks..interesting it was...and entertaining to see this free for all firework display.

Came back with a tummy bug and promptly landed up in hospital..:) nice. Am okay now, have overcome work and paperwork and all the misc things you queue up to do when you get a vacation. So at the end of my winter vacation..I am finally in a place where I can say..I have nothing to do till tomorrow morning. Really..work done, food cooked, clothes sorted for tomorrow's start back at work. Ah...I think this calls for a cup of tea and relaxation with some music.

Apologies for disappearing...but if the aforementioned is explanation enough for you...come back again..I shall come back to this world now.

3 comments:

Peeking Duck said...

I thought you were a man. Especially with the morpheus thing going. Anyway, I so envy you, that you got to study for this long. It breaks my heart to think that I have no idea when I will be able to go back to formal education

Soulmate said...

And I thought that you would come back with a post on your Prague trip... Cmon.. we are waiting for it..

Morpheus said...

@ PD - Yup..definitely not a man :) Formal education is fun but in my case I am just glad its over!! Thanks for passing by

@Soulmate - yes i shall do a prague post, am sorting the pictures out. will do soon!