Chapter 45-The Parents come to town

End September 1996

My parents call and fix the plan. They are coming with friends of ours on the Tamil Nadu Express that arrives at Chennai Central at 7 AM. I'll go across to pick them up, spend a day or two in Chennai and head off to Tirupati. The final leg will be the Pondy trip.
Much has already been discussed, with the main focus of conversation being whether I am using the bedsheets and pillow covers I had taken back with me last year and if all my clothes are washed regularly. The answers to all of these is always "Yes". Dad will also be financing my Bike on this trip, something I'm really looking forward to.

However, my room is still in the shape it was when it was awarded the worst room on campus, if not worse. I leave for Chennai on the 3 AM bus and the three hours prior to my departure are spent in frantic cleaning and rearrangements.
The floor is full of loose paper and clothes. It is difficult to overstate how full it is. The papers are dumped into an open cardboard box and kept outside in the corridor. I have no idea what papers these are, but I don't have time to start sifting through them. The clothes are folded as neatly as I can do, which is actually not at all, and stuffed into a hurriedly emptied shelf in my cupboard. I get a broom and somehow broom the floor quickly and lay a coir mat on it so whatever dusty remnants remain are now hidden from view. Beds are straightened, new bedsheets are laid, new pillow covers (slightly yellowed from long neglect) are put on and cobwebs are dusted. Books are arranged neatly on the table and I put a nice blue tablecloth on it. A very underused table lamp casts a soft glow on my neat, clean room. It looks beautiful.
All the rest of the stuff is somehow stuffed into the other cupboard and because it will all fall down and out if I don't shut the door properly, I lock it as well. I'm hoping the lock will deter parental attempts at opening the door and having stuff fall on them.
After 3 hours of non-stop cleaning, the room looks awesome. What a transformation.

I meet the train at 7 and we all troop off to the Raj Bhawan where, by dint of both travelling parties being senior Civil Servants, we will be staying in Chennai. It's a beautiful place in Adyar with huge grounds and even bigger bathrooms. After a while, it's Tirupati time.
My parents made this trip about 8 years ago when I was still in school and a lot of that time was spent in Nalli's doing mind-numbing Saree shopping. This threat arrives briefly near Kanchipuram but we just make a quick stop for a brilliant "Thali" which has about 20 different dishes with unlimited rice and cost 45 Rs. It's a slice of heaven.
Crossing the border of TN and Andhra a short while later, we arrive at the footsteps of the Tirupati hill. We won't be doing the traditional thing of walking in the line and so an hour later, we arrive at a massive Guest House, booked no doubt, courtesy of the Local Govt. DC. The perks of a Govt. Job.

Quite apart from being the religious place it is, Tirupati (the hill town), has a sense of peace and calm that's tough to find. There is no booze here, or Non-Veg, but I don't notice all that at all. The air is cool ad fresh and one could almost be on a soul vacation of some sort.
Our "darshan" is at the lovely hour of 3 AM which, we are told, is a good time to catch the Aarti and get as close to the sanctum as one can. So after a brief nap, we are led for our "darshan" and a few minutes later, we are back. I'm more than a little pissed off that the darshans depend on how much cash one forks out but I keep shut.
Back in Chennai, with a day to kill, I'm looking at the movie listings and I spot Mission Impossible playing in DTS Surround Sound nearby. I've never been to any theatre that is remotely fancy and having heard the MI Theme, I convince everyone to go.
The movie, of course, is very good. I remember it so well because it was my first movie in such a theatre and when the theme started playing, I wished I didn't have to go back to Ratna theatre.

The next day, it's truth time. We head off to Pondy and I am really keen on showing my parents where I've spent the last 3 years of my life. My Local Guardian, Mr Prasad, also the Deputy Director here, has arranged Acco in the Jipmer Guest House and I park myself there as well.
We make plans to do the vital room inspection in the evening. The Guest House is a  10 minute stroll from the Hostel and as we stroll up the Lister House drive, I spot 2 guys in shorts (only) each with a beer bottle in hand.

Rahul and Bong.

They spot me too  but are unable to run away in time and so, I introduce 2 of my closest friends right there on the Lister House steps, each trying very unsuccessfully to somehow look decent.
Spandan had finished a few weeks back and in every Spandan the Mess is converted to a 'Catering Area' and given a fancy name. This time, it was "Bon Appetit" with the name written in large black foam on the wall.
However, 3 weeks have passed and some letters have been strategically removed. The name is now "On A Tit". I hurriedly drag my parents along.
And I open the door to my newly cleaned room.

After almost 15 years, I still haven't got it. My mother was almost in shock. She couldn't believe how dirty my room was. Dirty? I cleaned it!
A thorough inspection was done and of course the cupboard lock had to opened. Clothes, sheets etc all came tumbling down. But, dammit, till then, it was a clean room!
For the next few days, the room was always a topic of conversation.

We did the usual things in Pondy. Some shopping, a visit to Auroville and Matri Mandir, a stop at the Marbled Saree place and some good food. Apart from the room, the trip was quite a success.

I saw my parents off in Chennai and return to Campus to find that the Hostel Warden wants to have a  word with me.
Warden: "ALL YOUR PAPERS WERE SCATTERED ALL OVER THE VOLLEYBALL COURT AND THE FOOTBALL FIELD".
Me: Silence.
(Long Silence that is).

All those damn papers had blown out of the box and all over the field. Atleast he didn't tell me to go pick them up....

Sigh. I'm shifting rooms in the next few days and will get my bike soon.

I have another 28 months in Jipmer.