It
was middle of January 12 that I came to know of my probable maiden trip to USA.
As per the little knowledge that I could gather from wife (thicker than
corporate veil), I understood that if it happens, it would be sometime in Sept
12.
In
the halcyon days of yore, such probability normally used to surface by way of
official notification for a short trip abroad or by way of short listing of
candidates for overseas stint. A feeling of butterfly in stomach would then run
through the remaining part of the office hours till I could hurry back home and
break the news to wife and kids over dinner table.
Faces
of wife and therefore of kids would momentarily glow due to such god sent
opportunities that would rarely come by and in next moment they would be
crestfallen as most of the times the trip would be mine alone.
All
the logistics would be taken care of by employer and the camaraderie with the
PR official and a few Air India staffers would ensure that I get as best and as
comfortable a seat as possible for the class I was meant to travel by.
Nothing
of such sorts is available this time. I walked out of the relationship with the
said employer way back in 2006. Excellent friendship that I picked on the way
with the employer of 30 years however remained as the lengthened swan song of
the relationship. As of now I am also out of employment with the second
employer due to superannuation on 31st August 12.
Under
the circumstances I could say that destiny conspired against me to ensure that
the trip takes place for certain. Saying no to the trip was also out of
question as the raison d'être is the maiden motherhood of my elder daughter in
sojourn - alone to fend for herself.....
A
little work out on my schedules and resources assured me that it could be a
feasible proposition with little stretches here and there.
Not
that I am a travel buff Not that I am very much fond of the country being
travelled as such. Whatever and however, I had to commence studies of the
proposed country, journey, visa acquisition process, airlines, route, ticketing
etc as I did not simply have an escape route.
Initially
I was soundly petrified due to flurry of advices from people whose second
cousins' mother in law or the friend would have advised something bitter about
travelling to US.
First
myth was broken during the Visa Interview at the US Consulate in Mumbai. After
a brief exchange, the lady at the counter ensured that we were issued a -10-
year multiple entry visa.
Finally,
I flew out in the wee hours of 6th morning from Mumbai with wife and younger
daughter in trail. The flight was on schedule and after about nine hours of
flying, we woke up to a bright sunny morning at Heathrow.
First
time as it was, we were little nonplussed at the enormity of the airport -
though more than adequate directions at each turn ensured that we were in the
transit lounge without much ado. One snippet on the way though stood out to
remain etched in memory which I cannot resist temptation to document.
While
trudging along from aircraft to transit lounge with a trolley bag in hand, I
was tripped from behind, due largely to my inability to negotiate the way ward
trolley bag. The person at fault was a septuagenarian British lady who couldn't
collect herself. She made it a point to stand back and apologise for the minor
and unintended action. This is what is probably known as British Etiquette, I
muttered to myself, while waiving off the incident
After
a gruelling halt of about eight hours, during which time I indulged myself in
buying a copy of the Daily Telegraph and in window shopping of the liquor shops
to get a full measure of the variety of wines available at the duty free; we
were in to the next leg of the transatlantic journey. The journey was inane but
for two reasons
(1)
As we progressed, we were going back in to the day - due to time zone syndrome
- giving me a vague confusion as if I am required to re live the day lived by.
The bizarre thought dragged me to a story line. I was visualising a scenario
where a person having committed manslaughter in Mumbai is on the run and
reaches Chicago. He is ultimately nabbed and produced for justice. In the
courtroom he seeks to establish that on the material day he was in Chicago as
evidenced from circumstantial evidence. The story dissipates there like a
crumbled wave on the sea shore as I got back to senses on announcement from
cabin crew about impending landing at Chicago
(2)
Landing at Chicago I felt as if I am in a time machine that catapulted me to
Sept 11 of 1893 and posited me in front of Swami Vivekananda. Strangely my
maiden visit to Chicago en route to Milwaukee materialised on Sept 6th - mere
five days ahead!! No metaphor.....But my colleague from Australia - Mr Reggie
Cabal- who is an American by birth and half Japanese and half Mexican by ancestry,
twitted a few days ahead of my trip cautioning me of the timing of the trip as
some unfortunate incident had happened with Indians in Milwaukee when one of
the Kirana shop owners - a Sardarjee - was gunned down by a person who went
berserk. While expressing consternation at the incident he however comforted me
by noting that once in USA I should be happy to note the warmth of the average
American. I wrote back that I have great respect for the race who has over
decades given us exposure to all developments in Science and Technology. I
noted that according to me the race is now in the midst of identity crisis and
sooner rather than later they would discover their true self when they would
learn to balance liberty with equality through practice of universal
brotherhood. This feeling of mine as I discovered subsequently is close to what
Swamiji foretold a century and a decade ago.
Be
that as it may, the arrival was followed by moving with the tide from the
aircraft to second transit lounge via immigration. At the immigration we were
at the tail of a serpentine queue and after about an hour's wait, we emerged at
the immigration face to face with a suave American Customs Official. He was
brief in interaction, very polite but firm. He examined our travel documents,
took our finger prints and authorised us a stay up to 31st March 2013 though we
desired a month's stay only.
After
a brief period of confusion as to where to go to catch the next flight, we were
helped by an American Lady who guided us out and in to a transit train that
whistled us out to the domestic terminal.
It
was an American Airliner 2x2 small aircraft that flew us for about 15 minutes
to take us to Milwaukee. Incidents thereafter are mundane but for a few
experiences that egged me to piece together the memorabilia.
Incident
1: The apartment where my daughter and her husband have their residence is a
wooden apartment. Innumerable cluster of apartments are there within the hedged
mega compound dotted with foliages in gay abandon.
It
was noticed one morning that from one of the contiguous apartments, clouds of
smoke was bellowing out with shriek noise of fire alarm.
With
a two day baby in home, my son in law got concerned and called up toll free for
help. He followed this up by breaking open a fire extinguisher from outside his
apartment and rushed to the apartment to empty that on the probable source of
fire. Needless to say, Fire fighters arrived before an eye lid was batted and
came with elaborate preparedness. Close on the heels were Insurance and Police
and after doing necessary jobs and dousing the fire with charming efficiency,
they retraced their steps.
The
following morning, an official from the Milwaukee Police Department paid a
visit to thank my son in law for showing exemplary presence of mind and stated
that the Police Department would recommend an honour for him to the Municipal
authorities. This incident definitely impressed me as we are not accustomed to
this elementary civil rights back home – much less from the State where the CM
is going hammer and tongue against FDI in Retail, shouting through out the day
that hers was a ‘Government of the pupil, for the pupil and by the pupil’
Incident
2: Baby (of my daughter) developed neo natal jaundice two days in to the birth.
Civic hospital authorities made it a point to have one health care official deliver
a gadget at residence for making the baby placed within till the disease
subsides. This is also beyond imagination for us – the average Indians.
Incident
3: Three news items evoked huge furore in CNN during my stay:
(i) A
life convict serving prison terms in a death row has petitioned against
administration of lethal injection on the ground that during 14 years of his
internship he has gone so obese, courtesy, care taken by State, that he is
apprehensive of the outcome of the administration of the injection. The matter
has gone back to medical jurisprudence for expert opinion
(ii) A
brain dead child on life support for three years at State cost, due to belief
of parents that she would resuscitate, was taken off the ventilator after
getting approval from the highest judiciary in the country
(iii) The
unfortunate assassination of the US Ambassador in Libya allegedly due to a derogatory
you tube video on Prophet, and the demand that US condemn the video, has evoked
a debate whether the freedom of speech and action should be muzzled by the
anarchic demand of fundamentalism
While
the debate is lingering even today with no visible solution in sight I am again
driven back to my belief that it is a great nation steadfastly holding on to
the first principle of French Revolution and in search for solution to contain
the principle to a socially acceptable perimeter so as to prevent misuse. They
will sooner rather than later find the solution in the second principle and
would balance the first and second principle through the medium of third
principle. To buttress the belief I am quoting below from the Speech of Swami
Vivekananda in Chicago 112 years back:
“Sisters
and Brothers of America,
It
fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial
welcome which you have given us……. …..
…..
I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance
and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we
accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has
sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of
the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest
remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us
in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman
tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still
fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you,
brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my
earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings:
"As the different streams having their sources in different paths which
men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or
straight, all lead to Thee."
………
Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long
possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence,
drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent
whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human
society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and
I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this
convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with
the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons
wending their way to the same goal.”
Sangachhadhwam,
Samvadadhwam, Samvo Manasi Janatam’
[Let
us all move together, think and speak in a like manner, let all minds, thoughts
and views be the same – all point out to the spirit of equality]
