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For the first time in little more than 3 years, I was in a queue where no one could have stopped me from entering... I was in the immigration queue at the new Bangalore International Airport waiting to enter Indian soil... And I knew that there was no way that anyone could have stopped me from doing that... After all, it is MY COUNTRY, some place which i know that i belong... Something which I can call MINE... That feeling brought an instant smile which has lingered on ever since...

Since the first step (felt like the first step on the moon) after the immigration counter, I started thinking about everything that I could see and analyze it in my own way... Here is what I think at that instant...
1 - This new airport is beautiful... Hats off to the planners... I can not see any feasible aspect which makes this airport any way inferior than other airports I have seen till now... Obviously, there are a lot of other pieces which are out of our hands -- weather, dust etc... But, it is CLEAN (why is that even considered an achievement), nicely planned, nicely maintained so far...
There are some who find faults in this airport... But the easiest job in this world is that of a critic... Hail the successful and criticize everything else... If these same people were on the planning commission of the airport, then this would have been the best ever piece of architecture after the St. Paul's cathedral according to them...
Thats when I recall the not-so-famous lines of my friend Azzu... He says (unless, he has copied) -- Be the change you want to see in this world... These same people are the hypocrites who will throw trash right outside the bin and spit on the "DO NOT SPIT" board and park right under the "NO PARKING" board... So, they do not have any right to throw dirt that any fair effort of such magnitude...

2 - The approach road sucks though... The only road connecting the airport to the city goes through umpteen villages (or small towns) before hitting Bangalore right in the heart of the city from where one has to find the way to the destination... With the city traffic already in a terrible shape, this is one aspect where the planners have erred... There should have been something like a ring road around the entire city (with atleast 3 lanes on each side) which connects the airport... Later I learnt that the original plan was to create a high-speed train way (or a mono-rail or an expressway) around the entire city to connect the airport to the city and the access points of the train would allow multiple entry spots into the city. Brilliant idea except that the proposal turned out to be very expensive and there is more mulling going on. By the time, the green signal is received for this proposal and the dream turns out to be a reality, the solution will be too inadequate for the over bustling city...

3 - Traffic needs a blog of its own... Too much to finish in 2-3 lines...

4 - People -- The city has grown like crazy in the last 3 years... The new immigrants are no longer limited to the IT junta... Labourers from Andhra and Tamil Nadu are trying their luck in all the mega-construction projects being undertaken in the city or some mundane jobs elsewhere... There is a big chunk of ppl from the north-east india who can easily be recognized by their looks... These ppl usually find jobs in restaurants or showrooms or malls etc... Another set of immigrants are the parents of the kids who have settled here... The kids ask the parents to sell all their assets at their native place so that they can afford to buy a home in Bangalore... Naturally, the parents have no other place to live and have to come to stay in this city at a ripe old age... These elderly citizens can be seen taking walks in the parks (once abundant and now very few are left) in the early mornings or in the evenings...

5 - Family -- Most important... These are the people who are planning for our visit from months together... Utmost care has been taken to arrange for our favorite brands of cosmetics, favorite dishes, extra cell phone, power adapters (to enable US appliances to work at Indian voltage), bottled water and toilet paper... They will get up at 1 am in the morning, drive for 40+ kilometers (25+ miles) to reach the airport at 5 am, wait for us at the arrival gate without a cup of morning coffee just to catch a glimpse of their little ones... Choicest breakfast will be ready at home with hot water for bath... These arrangments will take them more than a few months, but all this will be done without the tiniest wrinkle on the forehead just with the anticipation of spending a few days with the people who matter the most to them...

6 - Helping staff -- The driver, the cleaning maid, the sweeper, the gardener, the cook... all the employees at home are waiting anxiously to see us after a long time... At the back of the mind, there is a sweet anxiety for "imported" chocolates and gifts... But they are very happy when they get to see that we have not changed even 1 bit in the last few years...

7 - India rocking -- In the numerous drive around the city, one cannot pretend to not notice that India is booming... The number of cars and two wheelers and cell phones have gone up like anything in the last 2 years... There is nothing that is not sold in india... American, Japanese and European cars... Latest cell phone handsets... You name it!!!

8 - Relatives -- The phone starts ringing over time with calls from the close relatives to enquire about our well being... All of them pretty much ask the same questions -- when did u land, how was the flight, what plans for the next few days and u have to spend atleast 1 evening with us... The affection behind each of those calls is very touching... In my case, there are a few more Qs -- Have u learnt Kannada by now? Atleast, can u understand the meaning? The moment I answer affirmative in Kannada, I get one more point towards the nomination for best son-in-law of the year...Close cousins leave work earlier than usual just to meet us... Neighbours drop in so do close friends who knew about our travel plans... Some ppl fret over less time allotted for them, and a tight vacation schedule leaves us in a difficult spot...

9 - Awesome food -- The choicest foods are waiting for us... We have decided not to hog street-side food until the visa appointment, so in the first 3 days, everything is limited to mother's kitchen (in my case, mother-in-law)...
The saga will continue...