The veritable traveller

While going over the last post, I realised that I am again depending on Ammamma's memories, without the benefit of my first hand experience of them, the same as it happened when I was recounting her life before my birth. This is happening because I think the age and distance in your college days - both spatial and psychological- widens around this time as you are preoccupied with your life and friends and you think you know more than your parents can ever know. Being in Pilani, and not part of Ammamma's life in Delhi, as also her reluctance to talk about day to day occurrences, led to the Delhi post being restricted to just one long post, even though it is actually five years. I am sure that it does not capture her trials and tribulations, which have been many, nor her work for which she has to jog her memory hard. Isn't it strange that our brains remember the crystal clear images of our childhood and have only hazy memories of our middle age? Is it because of the clutter of too many mundane things that rob us of savouring life's experiences at that point in time? Probably.

However, Ammamma is very excited about talking about her return to Hyderabad and is very keen to talk about her work. She just narrated to me one of her travel experiences, which, I am going to recount straightaway, even if does not fall in the chronological sequence. To keep it for a later date would be injustice to her excitement. I would however, refer to it again in the actual sequence of her life.

This episode has to do with her travel penchant of seeing different places and people. While it may appear quite normal to us, I must mention that this took place in a day and time when we did not have really professional travel services for the middle class, train journeys did not have computerisation and needed booking standing in long queues (I remember I had to do all the travel bookings for Jayattha and Jyotattha's families every summer as the ladies' lines were shorter!), and information about places to visit and places to stay were unavailable freely (certainly no net or google!) and more importantly, ladies did not, as a general rule, travel alone.

While in Delhi, I had mentioned that Chandra Rajeswar Rao introduced her services to the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), which was affiliated to the Women's International Democratic Federation. She got involved in these meetings and was particularly impressed with the Conference mode of discussions. She actively participated in one International Conference in Vigyan Bhavan on Illiteracy Eradication among Women. (She reminds to me record here that she also attended the dinner given in Hyderabad House after changing clothes in Rita Seth's house. Why this is important for her I have not been able to fathom). When she returned to Hyderabad, she actively got involved, not only in such conferences, but more actively in setting up of Adult Literacy and Bridge Schools. Working Women's Hostel and the like. These will take up the next few posts, but as mentioned in the beginning of this blog, I am recounting here, her travel adventure in connection with one of these conferences.

It was probably in 1978 or 79, Ammamma went to participate in the NFIW Conference at Jullundur in October. She had decided that after the Conference, she would not only visit some places in Punjab, but also visit Jammu & Kashmir. And mind you, on a shoestring budget! This excited the rest of the ladies in the delegation and about 10 or 12 wanted to join her. She however, said that she cannot possibly take the responsibility of such a large group and therefore, selected 4-5 of her friends. This included Tammareddy Krishnaveni (she is also Satish Babai's Peddamma), who till this day recounts the trip she had with Ammamma whenever she talks on the phone. So, with Ammamma leading from the front, both physically, linguistically, informatively and inspiringly, the motley group of 5 women set upon this adventure.

Travelling by rickety buses mostly, they went from destination to destination, managing to see all the important things and managing to find cheap but neat places all throughout. They first went to Amritsar and witnessed for themselves the mindless carnage unleashed by Gen Dyer in the Jallianwala Bagh. Ammamma says that it is one thing to read about it and another, to witness really how small the park was and to imagine the massacre triggered by men in cold blood. In the same city, she then visited the Golden Temple, while still beautiful, however, bore the scars of yet another carnage in the Bhindranwale episode which was infamous later as Operation Bluestar - an achievement of sorts for the Indian Army, but a blot on the collective conscience of Indians, once again triggered by moments of madness in political leadership. She loved the cleanliness and the service orientation in the Golden Temple and the langar that tickled her taste buds. They then went to Wagah border and witnessed the change of guard of Indian and Pakistani Armies guarding the border and the Pakistani soil.

They then travelled to Jammu and from there, took the bus to Srinagar. She remembers the back panel of every transport carrying the notification that the owners are not responsible for any mishaps or loss of life on the way, as the journey was on a very treacherous route. They got in nevertheless. They passed Udhampur, the only big city in the area and then on to the narrow road edging off the mighty Himalayas. The valleys were sheer drops and the vehicles appeared to veer precariously, even as onward traffic bore down on them. It was quite dizzying, I believe, to look down into the valleys. Ammamma was surprised that all passenger and cargo vehicles used the same route and it must have indeed been a long journey time wise and fear wise. However, the scenic beauty of the route was indeed a great compensation. In Srinagar, when the taxis and autos came to them to ask whether they wanted to go to a hotel or a houseboat, Ammamma was enamoured with the houseboat and they chose one within their budget, with Ammamma using her bargaining skills. She was awed by the facilities on all the boats and in particular, the luxurious ones. They stayed on the boat for 3-4 days, experiencing the October chill of Srinagar. They took help of Kangris and angeethis to ward off the cold. Everyday, small transport boats used to come and they used to go visiting in the city and the nearby areas. They visited Shalimar and Nishat Gardens on one day and on another, Gulmarg and Sonemarg. They rode on ponies to the highest point in Sonemarg, though I think the poor brute must have had a tough time with Ammamma's weight as she was well endowed but fit at that time! They also bargained for silk sarees and were flabbergast when another seller offered them for even less they had earlier bargained far. Incidentally, Ammamma made it a point to have financial discipline. She used to spend the money and account for it in the evening every single day, no matter how tired they were and divided up the contributions to be made by each. I wish her daughters and her grand daughters had inherited this very desirable trait, if nothing, we are actually quite the opposite. Even today, at the age of 83, she meticulously maintains accounts, shaming me often at my own scatterbrained way of keeping tabs (and I am supposed to be the MBA!). The closest in the family to be a bit disciplined I think is Preeti, probably followed by Nishu. The rest of us are terrible!

One day they went to meet a couple (who, incidentally were the in laws of Satish Babai's cousin Tammareddy Bharadwaj and therefore Krishnaveni's relatives), who had also come to Srinagar and were staying in a hotel, as they were part of a tourist package. Ammamma of course, had no intention of doing any package tours (no wonder Sweety is as determined about such things while I am more comfortable with someone else doing the planning) and they continued with their a la carte tour and having fun all the way long. It was also about finances! They would have probably otherwise missed the exhilarating experience of spring water gushing in the mountains. Ammamma feels that she should have written about all the experiences that time itself so that she could savour them again and enjoy the same feelings once again. Ammamma loved the saffron fields and sea of the beautiful and small blue saffron flowers. She marvelled at the short and slight apple trees that bore so much luscious fruit and at the very tall and stately walnut trees that bore such tiny fruit! Quite nutty isn't it?? (It was quite a nice pun to be passed by! Don't yell at me girls!). They took a cruise orund the Dal lake and among the sights they saw was Maharaja Karan Singh's palace, which by this time, ceased to be a dynasty and a kingdom.

One problem that Ammamma was not fully able to solve on the trip was that of food and of getting used to being served hot jalebis and other sweets for breakfast! They also discovered that roti always came with one subji or dal and you had to pay for all the extra things. In Jammu, while going to the station for the return journey to Hyderabad via Delhi, a very providential thing happened. First they were accosted by a lady who was behaving very strangely and whom they finally got rid off (not before some of the members got scared stiff), they had a miraculous escape when an electric pole fell on the taxi they were travelling in to the station. It hit the roof and slid off the back of the car. The glass splintered into fine pieces and showered Ammamma who was sitting in the back seat. Her hair and clothes were full of glass pieces. It was a very close call without any fatalities or any injuries and damned lucky - I bet the car was an Ambassador, any other car would not have stood a fighting chance even! More than rejoicing her own near miss, Ammamma thanked Providence for saving her from a possible lifelong scar on her reputation if anything had happened to her team mates, who were taken by her on this 'wild trip' by the conservative Andhras! Even today she shudders to think of the blame she would have got for something that she had nothing to do with, in case there were serious consequences of the same incident. I am of course, delighted that our Mother came back to us safe and sound and not shaken in the least by the incident, except for the feeling of what would have happened in case of an injury or casualty.

Ammamma continued her extended conference trips for all the other conferences as well, as I would narrate to you in later posts.