Vengurla

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I like to (get to) know my people like I know the bottom of an ice cream cup, after I have eaten all the ice cream. 

When we meet friend's who grew up in another country, whose family is still based in that country, its the go right, to say, yeah, I will visit your home country one day whether you have any intention to do it is another thing.  I was lucky enough to do it which is quite a feat since I grew up in a community where holidaying in your parent's home country was the goal, It was my brother who broke the pattern and saw the world which led to me, trying to do the same. 

Shivali had told me that when I went to India, that I should see her family home,  so I made sure that it was on my to do list for my time in Maharashtra.  I had met up with Shivali in Mumbai and made plans to go home with Sanmit, Shivali's brother. The journey to Vengurla, reminded me so much of the journey to my maternal grandmother's house in Ban hom, Laos. I was 8 years old, when I went to my maedu's house, like Shivali's family house, it was at the very back of the cluster of houses. It had one bedroom, kitchen with a bathing area, the toilet was not connected to the main house, it also had a quaint courtyard.  I forgot very quickly that, unlike my own upbringing that Shivali's wouldn't have had her own room, I made the mistake of asking.

From the moment that I met Shivali's mother and brother in Dehradun, they were never strangers, I felt warmth and love from the get go. They cared for me then and I knew they would make me feel at home, in their home. I felt horrible sleeping on the bed whilst they slept on the floor and would have preferred to have joined them, do you think they would have let me? No chance 

There was no mobile reception at the house which meant enjoying the quiet rural life. What I was actually doing was I got to know the loo quite well but all the times I had to go in, I wasn't alone. I had friends, from lizards, spiders, cockroaches and the light was out so I had my phone torch. My stomach couldn't handle the local water.

Sanmit told me that if I wanted reception, I could go to the water and when I did, I was not expecting this beautiful beach, I had no idea, Shivali's backyard was a beach. 

The following day, Sanmit had planned a roadtrip, which started with Pat Lake which made me think of Thailand because of the lily pads in the water. Our trip included a lot of different spots along the coast, a beach that had beautiful ships and camels, a cliff that was close to a lighthouse, a local fish market, where local fisherman were able to see their catch. There was even a spot with a jetty lined with Portuguese/Spanish statues. Sanmit was a great tour guide, he had great knowledge of ayurvedic food and would tell me the trees and plants that were edible.

When I was packing up my things, I came across an Australian coin and offered it to Sanmit, he returned the favour by not only showing me coins his father had gotten in his time in the Middle East, he gave me a coin, I was so moved by this as I'm not a "coin collector" but I have collected many coins over my years. 

The head of the family that gave me a lovely place to stay in Pimpri-Chinchwad , would get a couple of newspapers in the morning and since one of them was in English and he would hand it to me to read. It became our morning thing while we waited for chai and breakfast from mum.

I was drawn to an article about a classical concert and it happened to be on that very night. What a way to have a night in the town. Unfortunately, no one was available to join me so I ventured out by myself, apparently not the norm for a woman to do so, however something to be admired. 

It was also another event in which I could wear my kurta again, I was starting to feel quite suave in them. I misjudged the crowd as I was one of the few dressed in Indian clothes which made me see Pune in another light. Again, another example of Vas Das's two India living side by side,  modern India and old India. 

The concert was very entertaining, however it was the company that made my night. I wasn't the only one venturing out alone and of course, we both are in the rainbow family. She introduced herself as a transwoman to my surprise.

We continued the night at a nearby cafe.  

A day with mum

My Pune mum wanted to take me out and show me a few sights,  our first stop was Dehu Gatha temple which is one of the largest temples that is located near Pune. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a statue of  Sant Tukaram Maharaj and when you look up towards the ceiling, there are pieces of colourful artworks, this was my favourite part of the temple. 

When we were ready to leave, there were a group of school kids that wanted to practice their English with me and asked about my tattoos. 

 After scary the children with my tattoos, we were dropped off at a road that had several stalls and an area that looked like it was part of a fair. The ground of Shri Prati Shirdi Sai Baba Temple felt like a theme park as there was several buildings and gardens. The architecture of the Rajwada (the palace) was incredible. 

Our last stop for the day was a Shiva temple, like several temples throughout my trip, it was up a hill, at first it had a staircase which eventually ran out, the view was getting as we got higher. Mum kept asking people along the way if there was much to go, the answer was the same, not long to go. 

When we reached the top, there was still a little walk towards the opening of the temple. I was quite surprised to see the temple was cave like with a shrine in the middle of the room, mum did her thang and we made our way down the hill.