The preparation

The author, with his grand daughter, Manasvi

It was November 2008. As usual, Kumaresh, my second son now in USA, came on the 'skype', the medium through which we keep contact. In between the usual talk, he called me and
asked: 'Appa, what is the name of the injection which mom is taking every month?'

I said, 'I know its commercial name now. If you want the technical name, I have to see the pamphlet in the container of the vial. Well, why do you want it now?'

'Just one of my friends wanted it. So, dad, give me the technical name and other relevant material about it by email, as soon as possible.'

'Okay. You can see it tomorrow in your mail.'


At that time, none of us had the faintest idea that he is trying to invite us, his parents, to US .
Very soon, he announced his intentions. He and Anisha would be coming over to Mumbai in Jan. next year, on six weeks' leave. and that they would try to take us along on their return trip.
I tried to tell him that we are happy as we were and did not have the fascination to travel abroad on sight seeing trip. Again, we have become old (72 and 67) and it would not be a good idea to take a risk. But, he was certain. He said: 'Dad, you and mom are coming with us. No more arguments. that's all. I will be telling you what you should do for the trip by and by.'

When he came on skype next time, I said: 'Kumaresh, 'Things are not so easy as you think. You have to be practical'. He queried: 'What is it that's bothering you all?'
'Kumaresh, we are no longer young. Mother has to take an injection every fortnight.'
'Those are non-issues. You both have good health, by God's grace. On a later day, you maynot be this healthy. As for mother's injections, I have shown your e-mail,about the medicine, to a friend whose friend is a doctor. The doctor has agreed to administer the injections to mom on time.'

'You know mother's physical condition. She cannot walk even twenty steps properly. She gets tired easily'.

'That also is not a problem. I'll make her walk only to her capacity. When we go out for some locations, I will engage a wheel-chair.''

'Now, what we will do at home when both of you leave at 8 am and come back only at 8 pm? How do you think we will spend 12 hours doing nothing?'

'Dad, I know mother likes to chant slokas and reading religious books. Let her bring some books to read. I can get DVD's of bhajans, epics like Mahabharat, animation films etc. During the week ends, we will go to temples.'

'What do I do?'

'You can do plenty of things. You can refresh your memory of drawing and painting, write aticles about your trip to USA, browse the internet in my laptop, go for a walk. And, we have a
big library where we can borrow books on any topic under the sun.'

'Agreed. What about the money? It is not like going from Mumbai to Pune. It is going to cost lakhs of rupees. Is it necessary to spend so much unnecessarily?'

'Who feels it unnecessary? I can afford to spend today. My assignment in USA could end soon. Afterwards, I should not be regretting that I lost a chance to take you to USA.'

'But..'

'Ther is no 'but'. You have been staying with Anand for long. I am deprived of your presence at home for last two years. This is one chance I am getting. You also will have a refreshing change'.

'Okay. Let you have your way. May God fulfill your wish!' I said and closed the topic.

Good Heavens! Here I am going to the other part of the world, where things are topsy turvy, in comparison to where I live! There they have the day while we have the night and vice versa. In
many other things too things are just opposite. They drive the vehicles on the right (I don't mean 'correct', I mean opposite of left) side of the road. They operate the switches upward to
put ON. Their electrical equipments work on lower voltage. They have showers and precipitations while we have rain. They use elevators to go up to the upper storeys, while we resort to lifts. We have footpaths adjacent to the roads, and they have walkways. We use toilets but they need restrooms. For their vehicles, they use gas (short for 'gasoline') and we use petrol. I am told, they measure temperature in Fahrenheit scale, measure liquids in gallons and weigh things in pounds, unlike we where we have Celsius, litres and kilogrammes.

Madhuram was indeed very happy. She could hardly suppress her joy. She called up her mother to report about her possible trip to USA soon. On my part too, I began to discuss with my
close friends about the visa interview, about the life in USA, about things to see there etc. I began to contact some travel agents to know the return fare to Detroit, by different airlines on
different dates. I updated about them regularly to Kumaresh through the skype. Finally, he chose a travel agent suggested by his father-inilaw, Shri Subbaraman. Both me and Madhuram
took our photographs in the size (3"x3" ) stipulated by the US embassy. I applied for the visa with the HDFC Bank. It costed me Rs. 14,000 or so as fees. I collected the two receipts, to be
kept very safely for submission to the officers at the time of the visa interview. Kumaresh fixed the dates for our visa interviews on line for Feb. 5. He began to tutor us how to answer the
questions, what not to tell them, what things to carry with us, how to dress up etc. Of course, he would be here with us in Mumbai at that time.

Our excitement grew as days progressed. I started the preparations for the trip. The travel agent had blocked our tickets by North Western Airlines for March 9th for our onward journey.
Our return trip was scheduled for June 28th by the same airline. Kumaresh could even select the seats in the aircraft 'on line'. The travel agent was willing to hold our tickets till we cleared the visa. I purchased a pair of pants, three filmrolls for my 35mm camera, some drawing pencils and notebooks and repaired some dresses. I consulted my friends Bhatia, Pacha, Rastogi and Peter about the questions normally asked in the interview. Madhuram got two sets of salwar-kameez stitched. She also collected enough medicines to last six months from our dispensary.

On Jan 25th, Kumaresh and Anisha arrived. Every night, ater dinner, Kumaresh gave us lessons about how we should behave in the visa interview. The type of questions and the answers
were given in detail. Finally, he even conducted a mock interview for both of us individually and collectively. Actually, the exercise made me more nervous. He warned us again and again,
that we should pass the test since it could be our last chance to visit USA. We should rehearse again and again to ensure that we did not falter at the time of the interview.

We attended the Visa interview on Feb. 5 with all tension. I had carried the xerox copies of our passports, our fixed deposit receipts, our Society's share certificates, spare photographs
etc. in a plastic carry bag. We could not have used a folder with zip. We were not allowed to carry our mobile, camera or belt. In order to keep us at ease, Kumaresh had arranged a break at an air-conditioned hall, where they gave snacks and coffee, provided lockers for keeping the objectionable articles and arranged a transport to take us to the office of the interview. Seeing our nervousness, one gentleman belonging to our community, got himself introduced to us and assured us that the interview for senior citizen was just a routine. Our case would be just a cakewalk. They would take just three to four minutes for each applicant since they have to conduct 80 to 100 cases in a day. I thanked him and enquired about him. He and his wife are going to USA to be with their daughter for a few months. It is their second trip to America, the first one being to Canada. He worked as a consultant to some companies after his retirement.

At last the announcement came for us to board the bus for the interview. When we joined the queue in front of the window allotted for us, I could see that the applicant had to stand to answer the interviewer through a glass pane. He had his headphones. A mike had been kept on the window sill for the applicants. We saw a couple being interviewed. The interviewer did not look cheerful and took a lot of time with them, questioning them collectively and separately, finally rejecting them visa.

Then we entered with a lot of apprehension. To my relief, the interviewer was an Indian. I could follow his questions very well. If it had been an American , his accent could have given me some problem. I could tell him that our interest in visiting USA was just to see places and that I intend writing a travelogue. Our commitments in India were so much that we could not extend our stay in USA beyond four to six months. During my stay in USA, my son, who is assigned a project in Detroit, would take care of our maintenance. To another of his questions, I answered that I am not employed anywhere after my retirement. He did not believe my statement and got it checked with Madhuram. While in service in BARC, I did analysis of minerals, alloys and some antique materials. I was afraid he would ask me if I had anything to do with nuclear materials. In the end, he declared in Hindi, 'Aapko visa mil gaya hai.' (I have cleared your visa). With a big 'Thank You', we departed. None of the materials I carried in my open plastic bag was used for the interview. We later visited Mahalakshmi temple nearby to thank God for clearing our way to tour USA. As we climbed down the steps of the temple, whom did we see? It was none other than the gentleman who comforted me about the visa interview. Assuming that he too had come to thank the deity, I enquired with him how the interview was. I was shocked to hear that his visa application had been rejected. He could not explain why. What an anticlimax! I had no words to console him. I said not to get disappointed. Better luck would befall him next time.

Then I began to attend to my other commitments. I declared to my firends in Atomica about our leaving the shores of our country to the other side of the world on March 8th. I deposited enough money in my PPF account to avail full concession under 80C of the income tax rule for the current financial year. I took out the FDR's maturing during my stay in USA for renewal and handed over to Sarada for submission to the banks. I rang up Jayaram, Kamalam, Bhagyam and Geetha (my siblings) and my cousins to tell them about our intention to visit USA. I had my hair cut on March 3rd, so that I can have my next hair cut after my return.

Next day to our interview, we got back our passports with the visa stamp, valid for 10 years. It meant that we need not apply for visa for 10 years. The airlines tickets also arrived by courier very soon. The stage has been cleared. Now, we have no option but to act.

Kumaresh said that both of us need medical insurance for our stay in US. Although it is not essential requirement, medical expenses is very extremely costly. If by chance either or both of us fall ill, the medical expenses could be met through the insurance policy. The premium varied from company to company and the amount covered under the scheme also varied. Some companies insist on medical examination by an MD for persons above 60. We insured ourselves through Oriental Insurance Corporation, which did not insist on medical tests for Madhuram, she being not yet 70. but, I underwent an ECG test at our dispensary and blood test (fasting and post lunch) and a urine test at a private clinic. Doctor Anand, husband of Dr. Subbalakshmi of our dispensary, went through the reports and cleared my case. Kumaresh took our insurance cover for an amount of $1,25,000 each. He paid about Rs. 31,000 total as premium.

Gradually we two started to pack up our suitcases. We were told not to lock our suitcases during the trip, as the security would like to open them any time. But, they assured us that nothing would taken away without our knowledge.

On March 7, we celebrated little Manasvi's third calendar birthday in the terrace of our building. It was attended by about 60 participants. A big cake, depicting Tom and Jerry, was procured as per the desire of Manasvi. Eatables and decorative materials were ordered and a cloth 'partition' was constructed by a contractor for the event. No need to tell, Manasvi got many presents.

The next day was a day of high activity. A 'Qualis' car was arranged to take al the four passengers, our luggage and Anisha's parents who were coming to see us off. Little Manasvi was taken away by Sarada to a friend's house so that the former might not cry, to find us going away. Anand had to leave half an hour earlier on an official commitment. Thus, there was none to say 'Good Bye' to us as we left home at 9.30 p.m. on May 8th. Our flight was scheduled at 1.30 a.m. next day. Checking in of our luggage and the immigration formalities were not so rigid as we feared. A wheel chair had been arranged for Madhuram as she had problem in walking. Finally, at about 1.00 a.m., we were ushered into the aircraft, to begin our 12-hour journey across Asia-Europe continents followed by Atlantic Ocean. The local time at Detroit, was 10.30 a.m. as Kumaresh told us that India is 9 and a half hours ahead of Detroit. Bye, bye, Mumbai!