Last weekend K and I made a trip to Ooty with K's project team. Frankly speaking, I am not a fan of cooler climes. They trigger an unprecedented bout of sinus and leave me dazed and harried. It was group trip, and the only person I knew from the group was my husband :S - this thought caused further trepidation. And I am not so much of a "group" person either.
In spite of these blatant negative pointers, somehow I had an irrational feeling - that the trip would be good. And It was!
For starters, for the first time, of all the journeys we have undertaken, K and I were well ahead of time in getting to the station. Since it was a completely Tamil speaking crowd I would be travelling with, I had braced myself to get mega bored, as I had on previous occasions with K's friends. ( If any of K's friends except the Dino are reading this - please don't take any offense :) ) I had decided that, as my last resort, I would start reading the novel I was carrying risking the fact that I might look like an utter snob by doing so. But then you gotta do what you gotta do. Once the train started and the conversations too started flowing, I sat through it entirely without getting the least bit bored. I did not understand 85% of what was going on, but then I amused myself by observing the animations on each ones face, the different accent with which some people spoke, the affected mannerisms of others and generally analysing and passing verdicts on each one. I did that for 2hours 15 minutes after which I got tired of the cramped space and made my move to doze off.
I am not sure if I have "evolved" after the stay at a place whose lingua franca I do not understand. If I have, I am very pleased with the evolution. :) I no longer get peeved by the fact that folks do not even bother to ask me my name. I do not object to the fact that the majority tongue flows freely with scant regard that a person might be interested in getting into the conversation. And when there is something I feel I should know, I innocently interrupt with an"English please :D " and dont feel abashed at doing so either. I wish I was so footloose free on prior occassions. I would have done myself a mighty favor. But then, evolution happens only with time.
On reaching Coimbatore, the ride to Ooty was a pleasure to say the least. I hate the color green. On previous visits to hill stations, whenever any one would draw my attention to the greenery, I used to remark - "Am I a cow to go ga ga over this!!" This trip was meant to be different - I found the greenery refreshing.
The trees were washed fresh with sporadic showers. The clouds fumed from the base of the mountains. The roads were wide and the hair pin curves did not cause a mutiny in the organs. I thoroughly enjoyed the uphill ride.Once set in the cottages, I got ready for the sight seeing with amazing alacrity. The places we went to were resplendent with an old world charm. I had heard about Ooty being crowded, commercialised and chaotic. But I found it out of the world, one which very much deserved being called the Queen of the Nilgiris. K and I walked along a lot.
There were 2 other couples, one recently married and another as old as us. The newbies were eager to get clicked beside every tree and hedge. The older one, took a more mature stance. While K and I were behaving like old friends. We held hands with ease and K did help me in conquering a couple of tough rocks. Then I remebered how a couple of days after wedding I had felt strange that K and I are not so demonstrative of our affection as some people are. I remember writing in this post, how I felt my sis in law and her hubby being publicly affectionate. During this trip, I could feel the comfort K and I shared even in a social arena. It needs time to get used to being with the new person post marriage even if its a love marriage. It is something like a new friendship. One takes those baby steps first, sheds inhibitions slowly and then becomes completely comfortable. For a friend also no one gets to the back slapping comfort zone from the day one. It takes time to build that camaraderie. Same it works with a spouse too. When I reached this profound conclusion, I felt even better. :)
The sight seeing at Ooty was very satisfying. The crowning glory was the ride in the heritage train. After a fully packed 2 day tour, I slept like a log during the return trip and woke up with a splendid sinus the next morning. Good enough, for things should never be too good :)
