You can read part 1 here.
At Delhi Airport
Before I boarded the flight to Singapore, my biggest apprehension was the weight of my suitcase. My parents had put in enough stuff to feed all the residents of my brother’s building.
But I was worrying unnecessarily. The weight came to exactly 20 kilograms. With the first apprehension gone, I knew this trip was going to be great all through.
As I walked to Gate 8 at T3, a middle-aged lady approached me & asked me about my destination. She was travelling alone for the first time, visiting her son in Melbourne, and breaking her journey in Singapore.
The lady spoke only Punjabi; I struggled to understand her. She was happy that she could travel with me. While I agreed to be her companion, I had a dull ache in my heart.
I did not want to babysit anybody. The intent was not to be mean, but I was not looking ahead to it. I guess my prayers were answered. I discovered that the lady needed special assistance due to which she was wheeled in first & out last.
It left me to prance around on my own!
I had taken a two-seater for myself and realized that a young, good-looking Indian guy was next to me. He seemed to be part of a group, like a Sales offsite. The stewards thought we were travelling together & kept handing over all my stuff to him.
And the young guy happily obliged. Yet, we did not exchange a word; except for ‘excuse me!’ & ‘I’m sorry!’ J
The flight was pretty uneventful except that Singapore Airlines believes in stuffing you till you are ready to retch. And it pretty much happened to me, more so because I had been off food for nearly a month then.
I woke up at night (from the already disturbed sleep) thinking I was going to throw up. Mercifully, I did not.
At Singapore Airport
At Changi, I took forever to clear immigration and collect my baggage. It was partly because I was still queasy and sleepy. When my bag arrived, I realized it had been mishandled; the handle used to pull the trolley was stuck.
I was annoyed no doubt and huffed & puffed to pull it out. Alas! As soon as I saw my protector (my brother), I happily handed it over to him. He had to carry 20 kgs of weight all the way to the car park.
At Home
The annoying and queasy bits ended right there. As soon as I reached home, my nephew Ath was waiting for me wild-eyed and jumped on me. That was pretty much the case for the next three days J
The first halt – Singapore – was meant to be family time. I saw my Ani for the first time. She had to be the best-behaved baby ever. She was three months young then, hardly cried & was content looking at the toy mobiles hanging on her cot.
Ani had the blackest and the roundest of eyes, and the prettiest of smiles. She smiled easily. I spoke to her, told her she is my chiraiya (bird), sang to her and played with her.
Ani looked at me fixatedly, as though she had not seen anyone better than me. She would coo in between and also squeal. She would fold her legs and make you kiss her tiny feet and palms.
I was iffy around infants. It surprised me that I could lift Ani, hold her, and play with her without squirming. I did not fear that I would hold her inappropriately and cause her harm.
Contrary to what one might think, I yearned to hold Ani at every opportunity. I knew this would make Ath angry, so I refrained from doing so. Coming to him, he was the apple of my eye.
Ath was a perfect mix of innocence and naughtiness. His eyes had a sparkle that screamed. He started off his mischief in no time. Ani watched closely what her ‘bhaiya’ was up to.
Ath’s naughtiness became more prominent when food was kept in front of him. What a hate relationship! Only Dora on the television could make him eat. He also took pride in showing me all his toy cars!
I still remember Ath’s impish smile. He had this cute way of posing, putting his index fingers on his cheeks. He was completely devoted to Ani. What a beautiful brother – sister bond!
Even Ani would listen to Ath so attentively. She found him immensely entertaining. They would cuddle and laugh. So cute! Their bright smiles would reaffirm that nothing beats sibling love.
When Ath bumped himself and got a little teary eyed, Ani watched him wide eyed. He recovered soon after and was back to posing like a bodybuilder. He soon found a new way to play with me – by handcuffing me.
After handcuffing me, Ath tried to frighten me with toy snakes and spiders. When I brought out my laptop to finish some work, he took out his toy one too. The imp! I loved the mischievous glances we would exchange.
Ath also had the swagger of a showman. He climbed the TV console and waved as if to a crowd. And to further enthuse this ‘crowd’, he broke into a jig. And the final act would be jumping off the console and sprinting to me!
At Mayura Restaurant
My brother took all of us to Mayura restaurant for lunch. I still remember how attentively Ath ate his crispy noodles. He was soon burning off all those calories by running on the sofa there.
After our lunch, Ath and I had a cool time getting clicked in the sun.
At The Playground
The evening was meant for the children to go out for a spin. Ladders had to be climbed, and slides had to be slid on. While they played, I went around their condominium clicking pictures of the flora.
I apologize (not really) for deviating from a travel blog post. I have no recommendations in this post for Singapore. This halt was only for family and was, just, full of joy.
