March 28, 2024

BY SHARON SAMUEL

It was good to be home again.

My journey back to India began on Dec. 9 when I boarded my 9:15 p.m. Emirates flight. Wow, that Boeing was a big one. I sat in my comfortable seat, leaning on the window and trying to sleep as I had a 13-hour journey ahead of me.

After reaching Dubai airport I took another flight to Kuwait to meet my mother. I loved being at my mom’s place because she cooks so much food for me to eat that I miss her right now. Some of the Indian dishes she prepared were spicy chicken curry, pepper chicken, lamb curry, crab fry and fish fry. I missed idli (a savoury cake) and dosai (a type of pancake made from a fermented batter). Unfortunately, I don’t know how to cook them. But my taste buds had a pretty good time with everything my mother served me.

After a food-filled fun time with her, I continued on my journey to India to meet my father, relatives and my friends. The temperature in Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, when I landed was 30 C and I took off my jacket immediately when the hot wind blew over my face. I enjoyed the heat while my fellow Chennaites had a hard time coping as it was winter and temperatures fluctuate between 22 and 30 C, which is chilly to them since they are used to summer highs of 35-43 C.

Three weeks with my father was really not enough. One of our traditions every morning was to take a photo together. I have 23 photos of my father and me that await photo frames.

My country was and is struggling a bit with certain financial changes as demonetization is going on. There are also lots of protests in my state as people try to save our cultural sport Jallikattu, where a bull is released in a crowd and a person from that crowd has to grab the bull’s hump and ride as long as he can and bring the bull to a stop. Animal activists and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in India are against the sport due to human fatalities and injuries sustained by the bulls. The Supreme Court of India banned the practice in May 2014.

Other than those two things that cause confusion and tension in my country and in my state, my stay was pleasant and enjoyable. I hope and wish my people would have peace after the problems subside.

After I waved a sad bye to my father at Chennai International Airport, I boarded my flight back to Canada on Jan. 9 and arrived back in Kitchener on Jan. 10. It actually felt good when the cold breeze touched my face. Although I miss my family, I am happy to be back in the snowy weather with my Spoke family and friends.

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