Road trips

Road trips are what I'd like to call as fun, but in my home - there's 35% fun, 50% tired of staring at the windows while mum gives me and my brother a Ted talk about life , while I try to zone out and 15% delayed ETA to the destination.

The trip gets planned by my parents, and I just listen in, knowing that there's going to be a delay in leaving the house. My brother, being the little devil he is tries to butt in with his opinion. I don't deny me also doing the same thing, but I keep it to a low level, and interject only if I know good places enroute to the destination

Plans get made, packing starts. There's the debate about having breakfast at a highway restaurant

 or packing breakfast( There's a 25% chance of packing, and a 100% chance of having podi idlis). The food mostly depends on the trip distance.

Seeing the trip route, my mum also plans to see temples which lie on the route. Buckle up readers, for you shall know why I am a tad irritated when this happens.

Temples - you can't deny that they are beautiful. Right from the intricate stone carvings, to the towering gopurams, you can't but help admire their magnificence and wonder how did the people of the old days build those without any of the modern tools we use.

Now here's the thing - my family is religious and sometimes if we go on a road trip, my mum tries to include temples which have- in her own words 'huge positive energy' along the route. My dad can't object it, because he doesn't want another argument erupting. My brother - he does the exact opposite. 

Personally, I don't mind visiting temples, especially the quiet ones. It calms my mind, allows me to think about what to do, and an opportunity to get rid of cramps from sitting too long in the car. But even I have my limits. Shown below is my mood with the number of temples we visit on the road.


1 temple - okay

2 temples - alright....

3 temples  - This is bit of a drag innit?

More than 3 - DONALD DUCK SCREAMING INTENSIFIES
( Exceptions - Temples with a good sthala puranam (history of the temple) )

Well, I've explained my reasons, and you can see why it's mildly irritating to hear the temple conversations.  

Moving along to the long drive - you'll be seeing me plug in a usb with good old classic tamil songs - Something which helps me zone out to whatever's happening in the car. Imagine yourself listening to a A.R.Rahman classic and the next second, you hear that 'jolly o gymkhana' song from Beast( a right down horrible movie in my opinion). The slow soulful melody changes to a fast

 high pitched jarring tempo, which is enough to make you deaf. And the culprit, readers is none other than my brother. And thus begins the battle for the sound system.

Then comes the battle of the backseat, where me and my brother duke it out for complete control of the backseat- winner gets to lie down, while the loser has to cramp up. The fact that my brother's younger than me by seven years doesn't stop me from trying to get complete control- I get cramps when I stay in the same position, and it happens frequently, and as always, it ends with the Indian scene of the younger brother getting everything because of the mother, and the older one suffering in silence. And if I counter my mum, it becomes suffering from success- trying to avoid the devil's hits and listening to one more ted talk from mum.

In the midst of all this, I sometimes wonder how my dad can still concentrate on the road. Driving on the highways of India can be a bit dangerous because of drivers who can't signal an overtake. And since he's a head taller than me, he also gets leg cramps- and doesn't express it out loud, and attends business calls while driving at 100 km/h. I'd say dad gets the mvp award for road trips.

Well, I'll be on a road trip after these end sems end-  a road trip back to home sweet home, where I'll try to figure out what to do with 15 days on my hand- maybe go to the museums, cycle all the way to the beach, heck there's a lot to do in Chennai, and let's hope it goes well.

Signing off,
A