How lucky am I that my dad planned an almost 20-day trip around South India from Trivandrum to Puducherry for my mom and I.
Today is day 3 of our road trip from Trivandrum to Puducherry after a 10-day Ayurvedic retreat in Trivandrum.
While my parents have been bringing me and my brothers to India since we were little (to visit our grandparents) over the last few years I have had the opportunity to do a bit of travel through India on my own. I must say that these solo trips to India have taught me to appreciate and navigate India in a way I wouldn’t have otherwise. Even now while traveling with my parents I find many of the sentiments from my solo travels still so alive.
The morning after we arrived in Kanniyakumari I had woken up early and was feeling restless. I had heard that sunrises in Kanniyakumari were beautiful but my parents weren’t up yet. I whispered at my mom to see if she would wake so we could go to the waterfront where the Indian Ocean meets the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and watch the sun rise on the statue of Saint Thiruvalluvar. Unfortunately neither of my parents stirred. The Sangeeta from even 7 years ago would never have wandered away from her parents alone in the dark at 5:00 AM in India to go see the sunrise in a new city.
Reflecting now, as an NRI (non-resident Indian) I’ve always been more sheltered than your average Indian woman, family being worried that I’d be taken advantage of due to my naivety and soft demeanor.
This morning I snuck out of the hotel and went down the road to a tea and coffee stall and had a small and perfect cup of coffee at 20 rupees. I then proceeded to the market place we had visited the day before and found a square where people had gathered to watch the sun rise exactly on the statue of Saint Thiruvalluvar. This was really a special experience for me to stand alone, observing the sunrise, in a sea of other brown faces that were somehow unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. I stood taking in the sounds of the religious music coming from the speakers, the sounds of bells and chatter. I waited for some time and then returned to the hotel but not before being asked if I wanted a tattoo to which I responded with a laugh and kept walking.
Learning to navigate India as an NRI has been one of the most liberating things for me. This has involved: learning how to move through crowds, how to communicate at any given moment, how to observe and understand absurd procedures. India has simultaneously taught me about religious and linguistic pluralism, belief, compassion as well as contradiction, complacency and at times downright depravity.
By this time, my parents had awoken. I called them to come and join and then we carried on on our walk through the streets of Kanniyakumari. We found the place where people had gathered to bathe in the place where the three oceans meet. It had not occurred to me to join the folks but when I saw how much fun they were having I went in and then my dad, and then my mom after much convincing. It was so special to experience the infectious joy of the people around us as they got swept up by the waves. My dad and I, although we had initially just dipped our feet in, decided to immerse our whole bodies in the ocean. I also loved seeing a kid with a number 7 Ronaldo jersey on playing in the sea.
There was something surreal about this morning. The promise of dawn in India.