3) Staying in Bardoli - 20/07/11 - 31/07/11

The Drive to Bardoli
On the car drive to Bardoli (a village in Gujarat), we passed fields of rice, and bananas and several other fruits and vegetables. We left at 16:00 and arrived at the house at 21:00. We passed toll booths and drove across the Golden Bridge which was made by the British when they ruled India. My uncle said that it is called the Golden Bridge because it cost the same amount as it would have in gold! I needed to go to the toilet on the way, and everytime we passed a hotel (well not a hotel as we understand it in the UK, it is more like a service station), my uncle would keep going as he would say that I wouldn't be used to it. I really needed to go thereafter, so I went to this hotel that was Veg and Non-Veg, so it smelt really bad, and asked directions to the toilet. I did what I had to do, to realise it was the womens! Oh well I thought, and walked away. I always carried hand sanitiser gel in my trouser pocket so that was handy!

From Left to Right - Poonam, Sunnybhai, Me, Bhumi, Uncle, Arti and Aunt

This half of my holiday was to meet my dad's relatives. I've never had any experience of them and they have never had any experience of me so it was a great opportunity to get to know them. When we arrived to the city of Bardoli, we went to a little supermarket. It reminded me of the Indian shops in Leicester as they sold everything that we buy in the UK - Dettol, Hair and Shoulders shampoo, all the different hand sanitisers and Harpic for the toilet! I couldn't believe it! My uncle then bought a box of two litre bottles of water as it is filtered. The water they use at home isn't. He said that he would have prepared all of this in advance, but then my aunt would get suspicious. Haha.

We drove home, and as we got to the colony (like the area of this city), it was all familiar. He parked outside and told me not to get out. He called my aunt and she said she was coming outside. Outside, there is a swing where my great aunts were sat and my grandma. They started to question in Gujarati about what was all the comotion? I stepped out of the car that was similar to a Maruti Swift, and the three old ladies glared at me. I walked up to them, holding my hands together as a sign of respect and said "hello, do you recognise me?" and "do you know who I am?" I bowed down to my grandma and they looked puzzled. They didn't know who I was. My uncle was in the process of saying who I was - in the Indian method of saying your parents name, and my aunt came and shouted my name in surprise. The old ladies' eyes lit up and their faces wore a big smile. They shouted my name over and over again and hugged me with delight. My grandma took me to the neighbours to introduce me and then we sat on the swing. I talked to my great aunt who is around 92 years of age.

They couldn't believe it. They were all in shock. The two young girls - Bhumi and Aarti were both happy. Some of the neighbours even came over to say hello at around 23:00. We ate dinner and sat until late at night.

The First Day in Bardoli

I woke up at 7:00 in the morning as I was woken up by the hussle bussle of getting the two girls (one is ten years old and the other is seven), to tution for 8:00. My uncle had left for work by 6:00. So it was me, the two great aunts, my grandma and aunt. I woke up with a cold and flu feeling - probably from all the cold strawberry, fruit beer and mango soda's I drank in Ahmedabad. But it was worth it. One great aunt is called Aunt K, and her sister is called Aunt L. Aunt K offered me an Indian masala tea early in the morning and I refused. Later on in the morning, my aunt had made me an Indian masala tea and I accepted reluctantly. I don't really drink tea and coffee, but it was nice to drink as it was sweet. Aunt K, at 92 realised that I was drinking masala tea and interrogated me that I refused her tea. I answered by saying that I don't eat or drink anything too early in the morning. (thank God she bought it!)

The girls came back home at 11:00 and had science homework to complete by 12:00 before they left for school. I helped them with their homework and we rushed to get them ready for 12:00 when the rickshaw arrived (indian taxi). By 12:00, my grandma and Aunt L were having a siesta, and Aunt K was sat on the swing outside. Me and my aunt were sat in the bedroom looking at photos and we talked. At 15:00, we went to the local temple to give our respects - Jalaram Mandir and Govindji Mandir. We sat and talked. We used to talk about the issues that were surrounding the family. We left the temple to this little shop the size of a Bargain Booze - the one alley way like setting. This one lady was arguing outside the shop, it was quite amusing. We went to pick up an iron - the cord had tangled and split open. The shop keeper had just fitted a new cord in. We then walked back home. Aunt L told me that my dad had bought her the iron a good fifteen odd years ago, and it was still working!
The girls had arrived before 17:45 to then go back to tution at 18:00. I helped them with their homework whilst they were at their tution class. The children that go to the tution class were in the area so it is quite a small knit community.

My uncle came home at 20:00 from work and my aunt made a Gujarati speciality called Goro. It is made out of rice and lentils crushed. It can either be steamed or in a way stir fried with onions. They all started to fuss over me eating on a table, but I sat with them on the floor! It was nice. My aunt's sister came round to the house with her newley wedded husband to see me. She was so quiet and calm it was unbelieveable. After they left, my uncle, aunt, two girls and me went to the local ice-cream shop to eat ice-cream called Bharka Devi's.I went to India in 2007 to attend my uncle's wedding and we went to this ice-cream shop for ice-cream and it was just a freezer with a man standing behind it. In these few years they now have seating areas upstairs and downstairs with different coloured lighting and flat screen televisions! I was shocked. We sat upstairs and had an American Tutti-fruiti as that was what everyone else was having. It was quite pleasant. It had tutti-fruiti pieces and nuts. I then had a falloodo - a drink consisting of rose, vermicelli and ice-cream. We took a drive to Lake City, but it was closed and saw the reason why there were loads of mosquitos at night - they had Asia's biggest sugar factory. We then went home and sat for a bit before going to bed. My bed was the sofa in the front room!

The Second Day in Bardoli

I was so glad actually when I arrived to Bardoli that the family home had a proper English toilet! I woke up at 5:30 and my uncle was getting ready for work. My aunt told me to go to back to sleep. Thereafter, I woke up at 8:30, brushed my teeth and had an Indian masala tea - I could have got used to that every morning! I talked to my aunt and realised that I had a cold and had the flu. From 9:00 to 11:30 I got dressed, oh they also had hot water! As Charlie Sheen would say "Winning!" The girls came home from tution and I pushed them on the swing. Thereafter, Aunt K started to argue about our family issues, however, I replied in a strong and firm yet not harsh manner. I think she was shocked in the way that I replied to her.
From midday to 15:00, my grandma had her siesta, Aunt K sat on the swing and my aunt, Aunt L and me were in the bedroom talking. Aunt L brought up the family issues again and I once again argued in my dad's favour with example to how he was right, and she agreed.

From 15:00 to 17:00 me and my aunt went to get a Sanskrit textbook for one of the girls. We went to the Sardar Patel Museum for one rupee each. We went home and talked about the museum. We then started to talk about expenses and my grandma decided to bring up how expensive schools are in India - how they have to keep buying books and things and keep paying out, and getting little in result - a fair point. I used this and related it to our circumstances on how our family keep asking for money and don't give anything in return. She was sitting on the floor and shot straight up. I think she understood what I meant and didn't like it. However, I learnt in Ahmedabad not to be scared of anyone.

The Third Day in Bardoli

I woke up at 3:30 in the morning. Aunt L told me to go back to sleep. I woke up again at 8:30 and had a masala tea. I also warmed up Limca (Indian Sprite) and drank that, but it was flat. At 9:00 to 11:00 I got ready and tried to wash my clothes, but got told off in the process. At 12:00 we had Dhosa and Chapatti's with Potatoe and Aubergine Curry. From 12:00 till 16:00 I had another tea, but helped Bhumi draw cartoons for her homework. It took four hours to draw... really annoying, but it was rewarding. Today was a Saturday so the girls only went to school in the morning. We then took them to a shop to sort out their passport requirements. We then drank Narayan water (Coconut water). It was so fresh!

At 18:00 to 19:00 a few of the boys asked me to play cricket with them on the long road outside of the house. I agreed, and it was really good fun. In the evening, I spoke to mum and dad on the phone. We then went to my aunt's sister's house to visit.

Once again in the evening, my grandma tried to argue that the family circumstances that occurred were ok. Eventhough it was my parents that lost out. She was like an annoying wallnut that wouldn't open. The great aunts were so much easier to convince. 
The Fourth Day in Bardoli
I had a really bad night. I woke up every hour during the night because of mosquitoes and with me being unwell, I vomitted too. I went to the doctor's that morning, and was given some really strong drugs. We then picked up my aunt's sister and her husband (Sunnybhai and Poonamben) and we went to the Dharampur Shiva Temple. It was architecturally beautiful. After the temple we went to Damar. In Gujarat, the government banned alcohol and only allowed it in one place in Gujarat - Damar. Damar is the equivalent of a student's evening in the city centre - full of emotions. Not much difference to the UK really, I felt at home.

That evening at 21:00 we went to Hotel Supreme to eat Punjabi food. We had Manchurian, Paneer (Indian Cheese) with spinach and Paneer in a rich tomatoe gravy, Cumin rice and Daal Makhani. We also went to Sunnybhai's sister's house and arrived home at midnight.
The Fifth Day in Bardoli



From Left to Right - Vaishali, Aunt B, Uncle R and Vishal

We went to Surat today with my uncle, aunt, the girls, my grandma and me. We met loads of people and visited many relatives. My grandma came to visit her brother who had just had an operation on his leg. We went to an Indian Hospital where we had to pay to get in, but then found out he was discharged, so that was a waste. Went to visit him, but he wasn't that bothered. We finished off by visiting my aunt's maternal house and we had a full dinner there.

The Sixth Day in Bardoli

Me and Vaishali


I woke up today, and in the afternoon we had a cabbage curry. Aunt L did her speciality cucumbers - she quartered them and loaded it with salt and pressed them until the water left them. Then she pasted different powders on to make it tasty. We followed a tradition called Rakshabandhan - a tradition from the sister to the brother, fundamentally to maintain the strong relationship. The girls went to school and my uncle, aunt and me went to Navsari. 


We visited loads of relatives. We went to an ice-cream parlour that had been open since 1977. After visiting we were on our way home and we had a puncture. So, I loosened my bolts as my uncle jacked the car up. We replaced the tyre. We had broken down in a way, in front of a Hanuman temple. So my aunt went to offer her respects. We went thereafter. 

Me and Vishal

That evening after the visit to the car garage to sort out the car tyre, we went home and Sunnybhai came. We watched my older brother's wedding DVD...

The Seventh Day in Bardoli

Today was a brief day really. We didn't really do much instead of going visiting and we went to Navsari and Surat. Oh, we also went to the little village of Mandir where my dad was born. Their old house was one small alley. We went to Surat to a place called Mysore Cafe and had a Mysore Dhosa. Not an epic day.

From Left to Right - Tulsi, Purvi, Me, Uncle J, Harsh, Aunt R, Hetal 

The Eighth Day in Bardoli
We went to the girl's school to get their school certificates in preparation for their passports. We went to the photographer to get their photos taken too. We went to Navsari again to get me a Kurta Pyjama - an Indian suit. We also brought food for my dad. We also went to a few temples. 


The girls (Arti on left, Bhumi on right) getting ready for school

That evening we went to Billimora. We visited an elderly man, and went to the family's old house. I went inside also. I also visited the neighbours opposite - they were really nice. We went to my uncles house to visit them. We visited them for two hours. They now live in front of the rubbish tip... sad times.

The Nineth Day in Bardoli
Today we went to Surat again. On the way we visit a Sai Temple, and I spoke to mum and dad. We went visiting relatives and to a few other temples. We went to my aunt's maternal house again to visit her parents and also went to the local market.

My Grandma

The Tenth Day in Bardoli



Aunt L

I was ready by 7:00 this morning as I went with my uncle. He said that his new boss paid for English lessons and he attends these before work. He took me with him and I sat in the back. When the class started, the teacher told me to come to the front, and I spoke or lectured on English for an hour. I think my uncle was proud of me. Oh, I fed grass to the cows today.
 We went to the Andeshwar Shiva Temple also. On the way, we went to Navsari to by divas and I slept in the car. I spent the day with my uncle. It was quite good. We went to a sari shop with my aunt to buy one for my mum, and we went to Raymonds - similar to Burton or Next in India. That evening, my uncle, aunt, both girls and me went to the cinema to watch "Jindagi Na Miligi Dobara" - translated roughly as you won't live twice, so make the most of it. But it wasn't a great film. We had fresh mangoes that evening! Sunnybhai and Poonamben came today and we talked about the UK.


Aunt K (92years old) and my grandma lying down

Me, with the three most beautiful young ladies that I know!

The Eleventh Day in Bardoli - the last day

We woke up and we were all ready by 8:00 this morning. I packed my bags and we weighed them too.We left at 10:45 after meeting the neighbours.

On the way to the airport in Ahmedabad, we went to Dakor. Dakor has a famous temple of Lord Krishna called Ranchodrai. It was really busy as it was the first day of the Hindu month of Shiva - Shravan month. I think my uncle was quite happy that we could go. We went straight to K Uncle's house.

When we went to the airport, it took ages. Some idiot in front was holding up the queue. When it got to my turn, my bags were over weight. I went outside and my uncle and K uncle helped me take out the crap from my bag. I was then 1kg under the limit - thank God! They put me on a different flight and I arrived at Mumbai airport an hour later. I bought a pizza from Pizza Hut and it only costed £2. From there, I went straight to London Heathrow and arrived in the UK the day after in the morning and I went home with my parents.

This trip taught me a lot about myself. I realised that I was a wimp and that I lived in fear of others. Now, I have learnt that standing on my own two feet is more rewarding then looking after the feelings of others instead of mine. I am now more determined and head strong and look forward to going back!