India -- Day 1 -- Surprise for the family!

My flight to Bangalore via JetStar Asia was uneventful after all the excitement of the previous day and I landed in Bangalore at 3.00 am local time. For the first time in my life, I arrived in India as a US citizen and had butterflies in my stomach. Unlike my previous post, I got through customs and baggage claim fairly quickly. I took a cab (350 INR), wasn't ripped off and reached home at 4.15 am. I rang the doorbell and after a couple of minutes my mom opened the door. Surprise! She had never expected to see me at all, since I hadn't informed anyone of my arrival. She stood transfixed for 3 minutes wondering in her befuddled state, if she should let me in! Poor thing, it must have been too much for her. I went inside and after a few words, crept into bed and slept fitfully until 7.30 am. I woke up and surprised my dad and my nephew, Vijay. By 8.00 am the word was out and more surprises for the rest of the family. Nice way to do it.

Mom fixed breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I met the rest of the clan. What a pleasant day for me and my parents. After inquiring about everyone's whereabouts, I went to the neighborhood salon for a haircut (imagine me having one!), pedicure and a manicure. I spent a relaxing 2 hours at the salon. Meanwhile, it was Dussera season in India and the beginning of the holiday/festival season. It was unusually cloudy and raining a bit at that time. This was also the time my brothers, Ram and Lakshman, took their annual "pilgrimage" to Pondicherry without their families -- basically a whole lot of drinking. At any rate, it was nice to rest body and mind in the midst of family.