the shuddering and the shedding...

Shedding teen hood on the banks of Mediterranean

It had been a long day…..
As it became darker, our worries grew and the fatigue too kept on increasing. Faced with the arduous task of finding the accommodation in a remote locality in a French city known to be dangerous, somehow we kept our spirits high and our legs moving. Finally in the suburbs did we locate the Auberge de Jaunese or the Youth hostel . However that was not the end of our worries, or perhaps that was just the beginning. The petulant old manager let us now in very firm voice that we could not just check out before 7 am which meant we would be missing the train to Montpellier. A few swift action minded people started packing the bags without thinking of the consequences. I wanted to stay put however in a group of 9 one doesn’t have much say. With nowhere to go we were literally in the dark. After groping in the dark with another group of 3 Californians looking for a way we finally came to square 1…squatting in front of the Youth Hostel gate .Every car slowing down increased our heart beat every second was passed with a scare deep side and the confident aplomb of the iitian outside. After many such moments and many whines and shudders, there was light at the end of the tunnel. It paid to be born in a country with a billion plus people, wherever you go you will find an Indian and each of them is just so hospitable. The Indian hospitability goes much beyond the customary French greetings, it helps when it is needed the most. The very sympathetic and helpful Indian Post Doc researcher, Pramod agreed to let us in. Followed by a frantic search for taxi made possible by the more expansive networks both telephonic and humane these days and more map reading by our navigators we reached his residence. His residence was more than heaven for us, and I just managed to catch 40 winks. When it was 430, again it was time to move, this time to Montpellier where I would cross my teen hood.
I never myself realized when I entered teen hood but the exit has been with a bang. Just as it is great to hear a bang and see it from a distance my 20th birth day has been just picture perfect to describe in , difficult to be in. On the banks of the Mediterranean I was watching the Sun set into the sea when the clock turned 12 in India and I believe I turned 20. I just managed to salute the glorious Sun with my folded hands in gratitude for the 20 years that he has given me to live.