"Water with no ice", is what Sameer barely managed to mumble to the lady taking the order for breakfast at The Original Pancake House at Eden Prairie, Minneapolis. It was barely 2 days since he had been in the state of 10000 lakes and Sameer was at this hugely popular joint for brunch, with Sarika & Sharat. Janki was at New Horizon, the daycare that she attended. Since he had hardly eaten out in US, he wan't too conversant with the customary interactions in such places. He heaved a sigh of relief when Sarika pointed out that 'Egg Benedict' would be a good choice, to opt for. The waitron returned to take the orders and not to be outdone this time, Sameer added hash browns & coffee with Sarika's selection for him. His protuberant paunch waited as impatiently as him to unleash the session of gluttony. With lots of care and effort to maintain etiquette, Sameer indulged in binge eating. Within an hour, he was back in the car with Sarika and Sharat, but this time, heavily gasping for breath.
It was Wednesday and Sarika & Sharat had taken off from work to show Sameer around the twin cities. Even Janki got a rare break from going to daycare on a weekday. While parking in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in St.Paul, Sharat seemed to hover around the parking meter a trifle longer than expected. Sameer felt amused when he was told by his rarely gullible brother-in-law that the meter had available waiting time of 45 minutes and he was pondering whether to add a few quarters at all. "Got to learn a lot from him", Sameer thought. The day was well spent with sights of Guthrie Theater, Lake Calhoun and the old Pillsbury factory which was damaged in an inferno, many years back. Sharat also took him around the R&D center at his workplace, where he had started his career in US. It was an awesome locale on the banks of river Mississippi. Sarika showed him around the University of Minnesota and the School of Public Health, where she studied for two years. The names of best students for each year since inception were engraved on metal plates, which together, resembled a mammoth salver. It was a big moment of pride for Sameer to see Sarika's name engraved with 2 other students for the year 2008. A brief stopover near Bloomington (at Sarika's workplace) was followed by a sumptuous dinner of sage-roasted chicken with asparagus & roasted potatoes with diavola sauce at Macaroni Grill at Edina and washed down with Pinot Noir. Being a foodie himself and with the surge of hunger at its zenith, this was bliss for Sameer. He felt a deep urge to vouch for Italian as the best cuisine in the world.
Before leaving for work on Thursday, Sarika asked Sameer to look up on his University website to figure out what books he needed to order online or procure from stores for the 1st quarter of the program. It sounded too boring and arduous a task, especially after the merriment of the last couple of days. Unwillingly, he promised to take a look on 'one-stop center', just to be spared of her reprimand, when she returned in the evening. With his sister and her family around, Sameer was having a great time, especially in not being reminded of the boredom he envisaged to go through, once back in Houston in his studio, all by himself. It would be a new world for him. Unknown surroundings, unfamiliar people and worst, the feeling of being in class with students, many of whom were fresh out of school and a lot younger than him. How would they take to him? How would he cope with the studies and assignments? As soon as he would be alone, his thoughts would drift to these worrisome fears. These concerns would make him meander towards misanthropy. The die was cast. Only time and experience could unveil what was in store. With bated breath and an eerie restlessness, Sameer waited for Saturday, the 10th of September, 2011. That was the day when he would be headed back to Houston, to start the orientation from Monday, the 12th. That would also be the day, when he would see and get to know some new people, be it on the dais as faculty or in his class as batch mates or probably beside him as dear chums.
No comments:
Post a Comment