In the air, taken off from Singapore
Feeling relief, to be going home.
Yet prior to take off,
Sitting at the Singapore gate,
Surrounded by Aussies,
A contrast to my arrival,
In the land I come from,
Surrounded by my people
So where do I belong?.
This short trip to the land,
That I come from;
My birth city,
Reminded me
How lucky I am,
To have moved to Oz
For a better life.
Whilst the early years
Were not pleasant, at all;
This lucky country,
Turned it around.
It never could have happened,
Let alone the speed,
In which it did;
Removing the man,
Who shall not be named,
From our home,
So we could live,
Life to our fullest.
Ever the observer,
The day I landed,
I sat in the front,
To really see,
What was reality,
Of the life in the land
Of where I come from.
The observations are summarised,
The reality can never truly be known,
Until one experiences,
The reality for themselves.
I followed google maps,
To see places we were passing,
To see if it was familiar,
Or was it foreign to me.
I was pleasantly surprised
I recognised some places
We used to catch a bus from
When we lived at St Thomas Mount
(We moved a lot with mother
Though Daddy was stable,
In the same street).
The construction dust
Filled the air,
Sign of progress,
In infrastructure-roads and rail
And so much more.
The Indian Army entrance,
So grand and so proud;
"Serve with honour"
Etched on the gates.
The grand entrances,
Are a thing around the city,
For colleges and schools,
Hotels and resorts.
Proud of significant buildings
Though this same pride
Feels inconsistent,
From what is observed.
The first thing you hear
It cannot be unheard
The honking;
Even signs on trucks
Encouraging the honk
"Sound horn.
Today I observed
To understand the why;
My observations,
May give you a view,
To know if true,
Experience yourself,
Get your perspective,
And appreciate, the life
You live, that contrasts;
How these beautiful humans live.
It is a honk to nudge.
A gentle request,
To move out of the way,
Avoid a crash.
They honk,
They drive,
In what looks like no rules,
A contrast to road use,
In countries like Oz
Where we drive by rules,
Disobey can be penalised.
Yet which is safer?
What's the statistics?
Road accidents ( reported and unreported )
Road deaths and injuries ( reported and
unreported)
I'll leave that research,
For another day.
As we continued our journey,
And for the rest of my visit,
The roads occupied with
Pedestrians walking;
Very calm, unbothered,
They hear the honk,
They simply move;
Continue walking,
Till the next honk.
Automobiles driving,
Towards you,
Same side of the road
As you are travelling;
Signal for,
A head on collison;
Not here though,
There is a pleasant,
Co-existence, with the honk.
Those grand entrances
Are scattered around
Yet outside their compound,
The contrast of extreme,
Poverty living in tribes.
The faces of people,
Walking around,
Look relaxed,
No stress.
Even the speed,
At which they walk,
Is casual and strolling,
Not brisk walking,
Like in a race,
Something you will find
In Australia, even if only
The major cities.
Now for other observations
The humble crow,
Looks different,
Smaller with a grey neck;
Sounds different,
Milder rather than loud,
Even a colleague said,
When he came to Oz,
He wondered why,
These crows sounded different.
I saw a squirrel!
I have always admired them,
Though this one climbed so fast,
I didn't get to admire too long,
Neither take a picture,
Just the memory
Of a beautiful creature
Small yet beautiful
Living its best life.
The stray or street dogs,
Lay themselved down,
Wherever they feel.
On a beach passed out,
Like they werent breathing,
Seen again,
Asleep on rocks,
At Mahabalipuram.
These dogs dont know,
That my dog,
Is living a different life,
A great life of being pampered
And well cared for,
As a family member.
These dogs know no different.
But does it make it right?
The heat can cause sun strokes,
Dehydration and death.
How are they living?
Roaming the streets,
In the dust and heat
What is their life expectancy?
The most beautiful experience,
A particularly memorable one for me,
Was one morning;
Having woken early,
Gotten ready to leave;
On opening the door,
Around 5am
Listening to the morning birds,
Reminiscing of my childhood days,
I would wake up early,
To study and do homework,
I would hear these birds.
My friend's husband gave me the name,
Of the distinct calm cooeing bird.
The Chemboth, Uppan,
Greater Coucal or Crow Pheasant.
Steeped in mythology, so I read;
Hearing their call,
Either an auspicious omen,
Or sign of good luck.
Ever the optimist,
I take the good luck,
With me back home to Oz.
The visit to Mahabalipuram
Reminiscing of early childhood visits.
The intricacy of structures,
And manual labour
That created it.
Indias piece of Rome,
With pride I stood there,
My people, created beauty
To last generations.
It was an experience to share,
With those travelling with me,
Some had never seen it.
While they basked in the new experience,
I was reminiscing quietly,
Fond memories with dear school friends
Forever will stay.
The final observation
Of personal reflections
The dress style is modernised
The food places and signs changed
A burger and pizza, in our days
Never had we heard of,
Yet now everywhere.
The street side coffee carts,
Now brick and mortar cafes.
The coffee culture,
Mirroring Australia,
My home land now infiltrated,
By first world influences.
Long way from banning coco cola,
And creating local recipe thumbs up.
A thanks to
My childhood bestie and her husband
For being able to meet
Spend time together
Though short and sweet
Moments that matter
Will cling to my heart
Till next we meet.
Now for the purpose of the trip
A work gathering, come back to India
The preparations ( at least for me) started,
From the day of the request.
Creatine for the brain,
Electrolyte for good hydration,
L Theanine for the calm.
In packing my bags, I packed these things
Extras for those travelling with me.
Forced upon them regardless of want,
"For your own good" like the older sister,
Bossing them to look after themselves.
After all, the self-appointed doctor knows better (and they appreciated it).
The highlight of those days
Is the connection to beautiful humans,
Seen on teams calls remotely,
For many years prior,
To shake their hand, or a hug
Instant admiration
For them as a human.
Topping this highlight,
Was the time spent with,
Those I work alongside.
We get so wrapped up in our worlds,
Forget to engage,
Need to do better;
As I am privileged and proud,
To stand beside them.
The sessions were meaningful
Engaging and participative
Focus and goals clear
Winning together hear ye hear ye
We are committed as a team.
The games on the beach,
Taught us to have fun.
No matter if you can hit a volleyball,
Or just cheer on the sidelines,
The tug o war proved,
We have strength in half the team.
The other half can get stronger,
To beat them next time.
A tiny habit,
Lift weights.
Even if only,
When kettle is boiling.
Could give gains,
To the next games.
Back to home locations we go
This will have been written
Before I land.
Pumped through the jet-lag
To be better at what I do.
Focus on goals
Pump the air
With winning air fist bumps
Gratitude to everyone involved
For the amazing experience.
It was a short visit
On Indian soil,
The land I come from,
My birth city.
I will always belong,
While home is now,
Australia forever,
For the better life it gave me ( and family ),
Created the me,
You now see.
To all those who were part of it
They made this memorable
Their aura packed tightly in my heart
To take back with me
Snack on it over time
Till we all meet again.
Moments that matter.
Started: on the first leg of the flight and towards the end (Sunday 14-Jun-2026).
Finished: Singapore to Brisbane. On the descent to Brisbane (Sunday 14.Jun.2026).
Published: Sunday 11-Oct-2026
