26/7

After the usual “Ctrl F”for books, journals, umbrella etc in the morning, I started off for college on a perfectly sunny day. I did not know then that I would not return home till the day after. College went on usual, till about 2pm. An interesting topic on Image processing was on. Then it started raining and everyone instinctively started looking outside the windows. The lecturer casually commented, “Haven’t you seen rain before?”But yes, we did not see anything like this before...We joked among ourselves that we might have to spend the night in college.
26/7, the date itself spells disaster. The remaining lectures and practicals were cancelled for the day and everyone was suddenly on the college ground, chattering incoherently. We ventured out that day from college, hoping to make it home. Being Mumbaikars, we knew the wrath of the rains and how to tackle it, so it seemed……
But we didn’t know how to react to a record breaking performance, the highest rainfall in a day in the world, beating Cherapunji, which we knew from history books. As the trains, especially Central railway was down; we decided to take a BEST bus. Me and my friend spotted a bus headed home and happily hopped on.
The Bus went on ahead for some time and then stopped. I thought it was just another traffic snarl due to the rains. It was pouring cats and dogs still. The gravity of the situation suddenly got to us. People started getting off the bus only to step into a raging river outside. It was getting difficult to walk against the tide by the minute. We decided to wait in the bus itself till the water recedes and the bus gets on its way. That never happened though. The noise of the rain was getting annoying and we kept praying for the rains to stop as time passed. The bus had become like an island by then, full of passersby who hopped in. Without food and water and the electricity being down, I was astonished. Could not believe this was happening to me. Some locals arranged for Glucose biscuits to be distributed, but as we were at the rear end, the biscuits never reached us. The night was spent trying to catch forty winks and forget hunger and thirst. To keep the battery going, the driver would start the engine in between and we would be happily awakened thinking we were moving ahead.
After sunrise finally, we decided to head back to college. The water outside had receded a bit ,but a by lane leading to college was still flooded. I was scared looking at the water but tried to remain brave. We waded through chest high water and finally made it to college. Many friends of mine were relieved to see us. They knew we had started the day before, but did not have any idea about our whereabouts. I did not have a cell phone back then. Having it would not have made any difference anyways, as all the networks were down.
One of my friends realizing we might be hungry rushed to the canteen and got us some chikki. The Chikki was nothing less than any other cuisines around the world then. We happily gobbled it up and had some water. Some 100 students had stayed back at college that night. The canteen served plain old Dal rice as dinner. Classrooms were transformed into dormitories.
There is a boy’s hostel on the upper floors belonging to another sister institute, where no one is allowed to go. But that day, one room was opened for us girls to stay and rest for some time. I am really thankful to my college for doing that, I got some much needed rest for some time, before starting off again to reach home.
After taking a call on the status of trains and roads, we decided to walk it up to Andheri station from Kurla and hoped to get a train from there. The walk from Kurla to Andheri was a new journey for me. I didn’t know where that road led to and just followed my classmates. We were walking together in groups of two threes, holding hands at times. It was as if it was some march for Freedom.
Confusion prevailed at Andheri and no one knew till where the trains were plying. We got into a train, hoping it was Churchgate and not Virar bound. Patiently waiting for the announcement, which is otherwise so irritating. “Platform no.ek ki gaadi Bandra jayegi”.We gave high fives to each other and happily sat inside. The trains were only going till Bandra, as it was rumored that the water was over the tracks at Bandra creek. I shuddered at the thought. Next time you pass over Bandra creek, take a look below and you might realize what it would have been like.
Tired, hungry and confused, we were finally inching closer to home. Everywhere there was filth as if a tornado had just ripped through. Trains, electricity and mobile networks were down but patience and hope was high. It was an amazing and heart wrenching sight to see people lined up along the tracks offering food and water to anyone and everyone. After getting down at Bandra, I managed to get a cab ride home. So, finally the war was won and I reached home.Thankfully, we did not have any water woes or electricity problems. I switched on the TV and watched the endless news coverage, thanking God for keeping me safe.
The day broke all divides between the rich and the poor. Whether you drove a luxury car or travelled by train or bus, you were stranded. Mumbai’s famous spirit was at display and it once again made me proud to be a Mumbaikar.

A day in Chicago...

We found out that a train leaves from the nearest station Downer’s Groove Main Street to Chicago at 8.45am.Many people told us different station names as nearest. There was Villa Park, Forest park and Downer’s Groove. Catching a train on time is an art we Mumbaikars are perfect in. So we set out on one fine Saturday morning, dressed up complete with a coat, gloves, boots and cap and a map of Chicago in hand. Like in a bus at Mumbai, you could buy the tickets on the train. The train was a double Decker. It had one column of seats on both sides on upper deck and two each on either side on lower. We asked the conductor for a weekend pass and asked him which station to get down at for downtown. That’s what they call Chicago. Like our town side for Fort area. He mumbled something and like excited kids we waited for our station name to be announced...”Now approaching Quarter 2…..”We waited and waited, taking in the nice view outside. The train was slow and halting every 5 mins.Finally the last station arrived and we could see the superb Chicago skyline approaching, with the Sears tower as a jewel in the crown. Baffled and irritated at the conductor we got out and walked in the direction everyone was going.
The next question was which exit to take. There was a Jackson street exit, a Madison street exit (which was discovered later and would become a savior), an Adam street exit and a Canal street exit.
We stepped out of Jackson Street and craned our necks to look at the towering skyscrapers. It was a vertical city. Being used to getting around Mumbai without knowing an area too well, I thought it would be the same here. But that was not to be…
We were looking for a free trolley service that comes with the Go Chicago card and also a place to buy the card first. We asked 2-3 people on the road about the free trolley and they were bewildered. One person asked us to spell out TROLLEY. We spent about half an hour walking up and down and finally saw a CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) bus going to Navy Pier. It sounded familiar, so we hopped on.
You have to pay the fare right after getting in, there’s a machine to put your money into. We asked the lady driver about how much to the last stop. She said 4.5$ for two. I took out a 5$ bill (not note...) and handed it to her. She said no change and pointed us to a board saying in bold letters,” Driver has no change”. She said you either give a 5 or get off. Left with no choice, we sacrificed the 50 cents and sat inside. The bus is similar to our Star bus in Mumbai, except that you can pull the string to stop it anywhere and also get it to stop anywhere by waving a hand from the road.
Navy Pier is the hottest tourist attraction in Chicago. The mystic blue Michigan Lake in full view on one side and the amazing Chicago skyline on the other…it enthralls you. There is a famous ferris wheel there, a big giant wheel sort of. After much hunting we got the Go Chicago card and our first free ride on that was the ferris wheel. We were asked to sit in one of its buckets coming down. I hoped in and was looking at the guide book that came along with the Go Chicago card, busy planning where can we go next. My colleague warned me that I am missing out on a great view and I should put down that book. I laughed at him and said I will check out the view when the wheel is faster, right now they are just loading people onto it. So we completed a full circle and our bucket reached the ground again. The person there opened the door and told me to get off. I looked at my colleague baffled and stepped out. My idea of a giant wheel had horribly gone wrong. My colleague could not help laughing at me and I too had a good laugh at my stupidity. So much so for a giant wheel…
There were also some architectural cruises around Lake Michigan. We did not go for it due to lack of time. Next stop was the Children’s museum at Navy Pier. We went in and flashed our card with a smile. But you need a photo id Ma’m if you are not with kids, said the security officer. I was annoyed by the idea as my colleague was not carrying his passport. We asked her if it’s ok to keep my passport, but she denied that too. So we Bid Adieu and moved on….
We went to a nearby bus stop and I was still busy deciding from the guide book, where do we head next. A map on the stop showed the bus went to Michigan Avenue, the John Hancock observatory was near it.
We got onto the bus and asked the driver if this went to Michigan Avenue just to be sure. He mumbled something and we were on our way. We got off at Michigan Avenue thankfully as few other people also wanted to go there. Relying on the driver would have been bad. Walking there for a few blocks we finally located the John Hancock observation desk. There were no signs on the road indicating it hidden behind all those skyscrapers. The view from top was amazing; also saw what I missed on the wheel.
We came out of that building and finally located our much hunted trolley. It was a double Decker bus with an open top. It had red seats and was cool and spacious. We started on our tour of the city of Chicago. Our next stop was Sears tower.

Chicago calling....

Dinner was at P.F Chang’s a Chinese restaurant nearby. Me being a vegetarian had to hunt for options, rather take whatever veggie is available. Settled for lettuce wraps. It was a mix of veggies stir fried, to be wrapped in lettuce and eaten. Hardly ate any of it though as was not feeling hungry due to the jet lag. Just wanted to go home...Oops the hotel and hit the bed. At the end of dinner we were presented with fortune cookies. It’s a sweet cookie like a shell, inside which is a small chit of paper telling your fortune. I read mine and it was good. So happily went back to the hotel…..
The alarm went off at 7.15am; I woke up startled in bed wondering where I was. I walked to the window and pushed the curtains aside to witness the amazing morning sky, with the sun just rising above the horizon. The sun must have just travelled from Shivaji Park to here I thought. There were some ducks quacking in the lake, unmindful of the surroundings. Cars were pulling up in the parking lot. One car per person. I freshened up and put on my best dress to start work at my Client’s office.
I was greeted by my old colleague at the office. I talked to him over the phone for some months now and it was great to meet him in person. The office was nice with the client color of Violet everywhere. It was spacious and airy. The cubicles were so big; you could sleep on the table. Attached drawers and some overhead like inside an airplane. A VOIP was available on each desk. I opened the venetian blinds of the window to look at the view outside. Cars neatly parked in rows at one side and houses with slanting red roofs everywhere, a skyscraper amidst them in the distance getting lost in the fog.
We went for lunch with our colleague at Flat Top grill reastaurant.Once seated, we had to write our names on a stick and take the bowl with us. The idea was like our Tawa masala bhaji in India. You pick the veggies or meat and noodles or rice in a bowl, select the sauces and give them the bowl. They would put in different color sticks in it for any allergies you have, the one with your name on it and stir fry for you on a big rectangular tawa and present it at your table. You had an option of a paratha with it. A blue color stick for that. Content and satisfied with our meal, we went back to office.
Taking out my laptop I realized the voltage converter we had brought from India was useless. We were driven to a nearby electronics store by a colleague. The store was huge, and you could get any electronic component under the sun there. Aisles marked with the component names. But finding the right adapter was a herculean task. The salesman did not understand what we needed and the things he showed us were too expensive. We gave the task of getting one for us to our colleague and stepped out. That meant an off day at office, without the laptop, so it was a great idea….
Weekdays just flew past. Every day was a new realization that cooking is a tough job and how different vegetables take different time to cook in a microwave. My anger at mom asking me every day,” What do you want to eat?” seemed so insensitive. That was the toughest question in life for me now. But I somehow managed with my limited culinary skills.
Before long, my first weekend in America arrived. After much deliberation and research, going through many pamphlets available at the hotel front desk, me and my colleague decided to buy a Go Chicago card. It had a onetime fee and access to all the major attractions. Seemed wonderful....The plan was to reach the Chicago Union station and take it from there.

My trip to America....

One fine evening in office, I was busy working, when my boss came and asked me,”Ashwini, are you ready to fly to US for a new project?”I was taken aback and said “Yes, of course.”Knowing tales of people being asked this and then not sent, I was not too excited at first. Things started getting serious when I had to submit some forms for getting an appointment at the US VISA office. We were briefed for the day by our HR department. They told us to convincingly fool the immigration officer that we are not going to work there. We were told to carry bank balance sheets, letters from company etc to show that we were definitely coming back. Having heard many tales of rejection of VISA I was a bit skeptical.
The day dawned and I got up early in the morning. The appointment was at 8.30am.I reached there by 7.15am.There was a stringent security check. I was carrying just my documents and a wallet. I waited in a line and had my fingerprints scanned. I was amused to see signs written even in Gujrati and every minute announcements being made for some Patel or Shah. I waited anxiously for my turn. At all the booths about 5-6 people were called at a time. In my case, I was the only one called. I got nervous a little. The immigration officer was an old man in his fifties and had my documents before him. He first asked me if I was a campus recruit to which I replied in affirmative. Later came questions about my client and how long I would be staying in the US etc.After about three long minutes, he said you would get your VISA in 2– 3 days. I smiled triumphantly and said Thank you.
After a few more days of anxious anticipation, finally our tickets were confirmed. I bought a new bag and did some other shopping too. The day of my departure was hectic. I double checked everything I was carrying and got into the cab called for me to take me to the airport. My brother had left for London the week earlier and I wished he was there to see me off. I was used to seeing him take a cab ride to the airport and wished he saw me do that for once.
I had been to the Mumbai international airport about 2-3 times before. But this time it was different. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was very excited and a bit scared too. There were many Haj pilgrims there that day and the airport seemed very crowded. My sister –in-law bought passes for mom, dad and herself and told me to go on inside. I went in and thought they would join me inside later. I went through to the airline’s check in counter after standing in a wrong line for some time. The flight baggage restrictions allowed 2 bags of 23 kgs each. I had only one bag to be checked in weighing about 26kg.I tried stuffing some of the extra baggage in my carryon bag, but still could not get it down to 23.One friendly lady at the counter saw my misery and offered to help. I somehow convinced her and she allowed my bag weighing about 24kg.I still fail to understand the logic of not allowing a bag more than 23kgs ,but two bags of 23kgs each.Anyways I was happy it all ended and my colleague, who was supposed to join me, arrived by then. The sad part was my parents had got a pass for the wrong gate and I could not meet them. We went through immigration and security and waited for our flight. We had to first fly to Dubai, then Washington and then finally to Chicago. I became a bit sentimental as the flight took off from Mumbai. I had never been so far away from home for so long. It was going to be a difficult journey for me. But soon all those thoughts were left behind and I started watching the movie Delhi -6 on my TV. We landed at the Dubai airport and I was awestruck by it. It was rather a huge shopping mall. Next came a long flight to Washington and I had a tough time eating breakfast without brushing my teeth. We landed at Washington and I had a slight pain in my knees due to the long flight. It was cool to keep adjusting my watch according to the new time zones. My colleague did not adjust his watch so we always knew what time it was back in India. There was a long line for immigration check. It was the most important thing for entry into America.
“So are you here to work?” asked the not so amiable immigration officer. Looking up to him, tired, irritated and a bit excited too after a 14 hour flight from Mumbai to Dubai to Washington, I answer the dreaded “Yes”. I quickly correct myself by saying “Am here for a business trip”. He chuckles and asks me to look into the camera for a photo. I barely smile and he eggs me on. I feel triumphant listening to the clicks of his stamp on my I95.I have finally made it…..
So it seems, but there’s more coming…
Next an officer asks me “So what kind of food are you carrying M’am?”I put up my best smile and say “Just dry and processed food. It’s ready to eat stuff which needs to be cooked to be palatable.” He is happy with that and I move on. I turn back to catch up with my colleague but can’t find him anywhere. He is apparently sent for a secondary inspection for carrying the same dry and processed food as mine.
I am a bit scared and nervous; I go through the security check and come up in front of a screen trying to locate which gate my plane boards. One friendly security officer sees my misery and offers to help, directing me to a wrong gate. I walk back and forth finally locating the correct one.
I wait anxiously for my colleague to show up. But he does not for a long time. All kinds of weird thoughts in my mind; I am staring at the escalator which brings up people into the waiting area…
After a long and anxious wait...my colleague shows up with a beaming smile. We exchanged the usual “What happened? Why? Where?” questions and wait at the boarding gate. We discuss everything from Obama, Bush, and Health care reforms to Michael Jackson. Some unknown people smile and say “Hello”, I find it weird, only to realize later this is the norm rather than an exception.
An announcement for boarding is heard and I begin the final phase of my journey to Chicago. I finally land at Chicago O’Hare airport. The airport is huge and some people are singing away with their guitars, having a good time. I enjoy the music and make the long walk to the baggage claim area. There are escalators even to walk on. There are some musical lights along the way, red, green and blue lights like strings of a guitar, rhythmically changing on the music. I step out and wait for the person who is supposed to pick us up, wondering how he will know which gate to come at. I realize it’s chilly and put on a coat. My first brush with the wind of Chicago…The person showed up and we exchanged pleasantries, he then took us to our new home to be for the next two months.
The hotel looked like a mansion from outside. I went up to my room. A cool one room suite complete with a bedroom, living room and kitchen, all in one room. My window overlooked a lake and the highway far away. A parking lot, three storeys high was on the right. There were many lamps in my room, two by the bedside and two more elsewhere. I wondered why they can’t just use a tube light instead. I brushed my teeth and had a much needed hot water bath. No geyser, no button to put on, just turn the knob and you get hot water for the shower. All the taps worked that way. I then unpacked my stuff and tried hard to stay awake. We had to go out for dinner.

to be continued....