My ways in DownSouth

This time i am here to describe one of my south illusions… from my childhood i have a great love for South India i don’t know why but i liked the lifestyle and the way they see life।This might be a reason that i am from a small town in East coast in the bay of Bengal and the mixed population in my city which consists of 60% Oriya speaking population and 40% Telugu speaking population। To tell you about my town it is the most happening place in western orissa and only 25kilo meters to the Andhra-Orissa boarder।he town is known for patto sarees ( A traditional kind of hand made Saree with pure and fine work in Silk) and so the name of BERHAMPUR , the silk city came into picture।The population of this place is merely exceeding 6 lacs and still growing. The city has the biggest university in Orissa, Berhampur University and a bunch of great Educational institutes to build the young guns in the place.few of them are Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapatiu Medical College,Khallikote College,Berhampur University,Uma Charan Pattanaik Diploma Institute,5 nationwide renowned Engineering college,Ganjam Law College… and people are much more exposed to harsh situations like flod, draught and contagious diseases…Population of this place is about 6 lac and being nearer to Andhra pradesh Telugu speaking population is a quite a significant in numbers.From ancient times to the British period people have made a mixed culture of Oriya and Telugu speaking culture & this has led to a special bonding…In this way I am little tilted towards the southern culture from my childhood and this may be an inbuilt mindset to love south India.in My 26 years lifetime I had been to south India couple of times and really liked the places. I had been to Hyderabad for couple of times, Chennai a couple of times and to the Down-south in Thiruvananthpuram as well. Everywhere i went i loved the food but in costal areas i faced a problem with the Salty Water and the availability of drinking water but rest is a awesome Experience for me.I am a foodie and everywhere i go if i like the food then half is done for the me to like the place and people. As i love south Indian dishes,south India is the most happening place for me in every aspects… It was September last year(2007) when my father needed a heart surgery and i was all lost.My Uncles were there for great help to me…We consulted the specialist doctors at our place and got to a conclusion that we had two options Either to go TO AIIMS,new Delhi or To Shree Chitra tirunal institute of Medical Science,Thiruvananthapuram.As i put-up in Delhi i tried to contact to AIIMS and few people in contact to get the same done in AIIMS but to my regret i got at least a month’s waiting time for the operation.It was a Pacemaker that had to be implemented in his heart and he was in a critical condition. So i had to look for the Thiruvananthpuram Option and got to know from Chote mama that there is an Oriya Doctor who is there as a HOD in Cardiology…my eyes suddenly brightened up and i made up my mind to get the operation done therein. It was a chaos kind of a situation in my family and everybody seemed worried and the financial condition was so bad as the cast of the operation was Rs 4 lacs.I summed up all my savings and counted to 1.5 lac only and borrowed a loan from a bank the rest amount…My father,Mother and two mamas were there in Thiruvananthpuram and the operation was supposed to be done in a day or two…I flew to the place in a hot afternoon via mumbai and reached the place in the afternoon at 3 pm in the afternoon… caught a taxi and reached the Hospital.In my 7 days stay in Thiruvananthapuram it was a mixed experience this time as father’s Operation was in place. I liked the place and liked the food as well. The everroaring sea and the the long beaches just stole my heart.I really enjoyed the trip back to my place from Thiruvanathpuram to Delhi. While the train was crossing the deep rivers in two sides my eyes were floating on the watery glasses of the ac cabin of the train and it was just an amazing ambiance all over. the train crawled down with the mountains,forests and rivers & for a guy who has spent 10 years in a crowded city like Delhi where a minimum 5 hours on road traffic an experience like this is a awesome experience for me and i would love to explore the natural beauty and the friendly behavior of the people… this experience has created such a mindset that i would love to travel to south as many times as i can….

It was again a golden opportunity for me to have a taste of teh beloved south India.