Just at the onset of Spring this year, early in April, my wife and I were planning to make a trip. After more than 2.5 years, we were planning to visit home. Our destination was Chennai, India. I could hardly wait and already started my nostalgic ride through time, thinking about the good old days. The next 3 weeks were hectic with all the travel logistics. But, I was aware of one thing. No matter how hard I try, I will sure forget one thing or the other, as it had happened in previous occasions. I just prayed that I did not forget something very important.

Our date of journey did come finally and with a lot of excitement we started for our travel. One last time: Have I forgotten anything? I dont think so, at least not yet. At the check-in counter in the airport,we weredisheartened when we were told that we could not fly. Apparently we were changing flights in FrankfurtGermany and we did not have transit visas. I was tempted to tell that guy at the check-in counter: "Hey man! We don't want to go to Germany. Why should we get a visa just because YOU want to stop in Germany? If you still insist on a visa, put meon a non-stop flightto India." But, I had to check my wit. Suddenly, at that odd hour, it occurred to me that I had indeed forgotten something as usual. I didn't pack any of my shirts and I didn't have anything other than what I was wearing to cover the upper part of my body.But, in comparison, that looked like a trivial thing and I felt easy.

After a frantic phone call to a friend, we found out that we did not need visas and the guy at the counter was too self-conscious to admit that. After a high drama and a marathon cell phone calls back and forth, we sighed relief at last. Yes, we were allowed to board the plane. But, it was too late for our suitcases to board the plane. But that, we were told, only after we arrived at our destination, and waited in the baggage area for about an hour.

Reaching home felt even sweeter after this ordeal. Suddenly, I felt safer. Here they cannot hold me at the airport for some weird reason. Just in a few minutes,I will be out of the airport to breath fresh....wait a minute? fresh? hmm...polluted Chennai air. Driving home from the airport, things started coming back to my mind slowly. Chennai is a hot and humid place with a horrible traffic. It feels even hotter because of the exhaust from myriads of automobiles that are stuck in the traffic. Here is a place where without aggressive driving, you will be stuck in the road all day. Here, cutting someone off is considered a talent. And leaving space to the vehicle in front of you in considered a waste of precious road space. Lanes are considered mere white lines that served to distinguish paved road from dirt road.

After a few hours, the reality of the place settled in my mind and I stopped comparing. No matter what, this is home and it felt good to be home surrounded by the family and the playful little ones that have recently come into the family.

The first thing we wanted to finish off was our visa, so we went to the American consulate on Monday. The security personnel at the gate were indifferent and made us wait by the road under the scorching sun for an hour. The passers-by had a smirk in their face who probably thought it was a just punishment for ditching the homeland.

Once inside, those potential immigrants were putting on their best behaviour, greeting the interviewing officers with an american style of "hi, how you doing?" Some were trying to impress the visa officers with their knowledge of US politics & current affairs. On my part, I put on a Redskins cap in a desperate attempt to convince the officer that I was indeed a local to their land. But, I was convinced that the officer rather took pity on my sweaty face and decided not to grill me further.

With our visa all set, we could now go ahead and plan our vacation. Throughout the vacation, we were busy traveling to various places to meet our folks.To add a little sight-seeing to the trip, I planned a visit to Delhi and Agra, to see some of the greatest Mughal architecture that are of historical significance and the world famous Taj Mahal. After some extensive traveling, it occurred to me that the most challenging, yet rewarding experience about travel in India is that even when you travel from one state to a neighboring state, the language is different, culture is different and so is the food. Yet, there is a very fundamental commonness in the way of life in India, that I tend to call Indianness.

In Delhi, we visited Jantar-mantar, a place for huge ancient astronomical instruments, the Birla temple, Bahai house of worship, also called the Lotus temple, Qutub Minar, a 65 m tall sandstone tower from the 12th century, Shrine of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, Mughal emperor Humayun's tomb, Red fort, the Presidential palace and the Parliament house.

The next day, we rented a car and drove to Agra about 240 Kms south of Delhi. There we went to the Agra Fort, Mughal Emperor Akbar's tomb and finally to top it all off, to the beautiful white-marbled Taj Mahal. We were taken aback by the sheer magnitude of this structure and were speechless in it's serene beauty. On our return journey from Agra to Delhi, we visited Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna.