So, this trip, started a new chapter in my life.
A little bit of background, though!
15th April, 2016 was my last day at Accure Inc. I, finally, decided to part my ways from Accure for good. This was because of a couple things – I got an admit from a couple universities – Louisiana State University and University of Connecticut. These two admits were enough for me to plan for future. Keeping that in mind, only a few things left – Secure a loan and apply for US Student visa with the i20 from one of these universities.
The future couldn’t look better, so, I decided to do what I haven’t done in my engineering. Invite my parents to see my life and my city – Bangalore. I wanted to spend as much time as I can before I finally headed to the US. That produced the idea of inviting my parents and my youngest uncle and his family to Bangalore for a couple weeks and explore the Southern part of India.
This is what bring us to this day.
April 26th was a big day for Jagre family as everyone descended upon Bangalore the same day and I couldn’t be happier to spend time with my baby sisters and enjoy some family time.
My uncle and family were traveling via “some” train, so I had to go to the railway station to receive them. In Indian culture, it is very important to welcome guests at airports, railway or bus stations. It makes them feel good that you took the time out of your busy schedule and came to receive them. It also helps them to navigate the new city and the buzzing crowd in a big city like Bangalore.
My uncle and his family were about to reach Whitefield railway station, so I made sure I reach there before they do and give them a warm welcome. I was happy to do that, with a lot of free time and was happy to do so.
I remember their tired faces lit up when they saw me as soon as they exited their railway coach. I was happy to see them too.
As soon as we exited the railway station after exchanging the pleasantries, we took the empty 500-D bus to my place. If you have lived in Bangalore and travelled through the 500-D, you know the feeling. I sometimes miss traveling that route and the bus. It was one of the best experiences to travel through this bus and catch up on your sleep.
Below you see my cousin sister and her mom exchanging many stories during their 12 hour journey from their place in Gujrat to Bangalore.
And here are the other cousins. Gosh, they look so young and interesting to see that they were wearing marching colored T-shirt. I am not sure whether it was intentional.
They were also happy to travel through this bus and we talked, talked, and talked during the entire time. I was glad there was no one around, otherwise, they would have get pissed off easier hearing our blabber.
Once we reached home, I made sure they were comfortable with the living arrangements as I had a couple roommates back then. I remember them getting refreshed and being really hungry. So, I took them to one of the good restaurants that we had right across the street – A2B restaurant. I was also hungry as I was waiting for them. So, we had a really nice family time at the restaurant and couldn’t be happier to have them there.
Here’s the family – all smiles.
More to come in the next post – where I welcome my parents the same evening!
stochasticity 