I could barely
recognise the place where the driver dropped me off but I asked around
and after wandering about for around 20 minutes, found myself suddenly
at the doorstep of the familiar 47/C Khotachiwadi, my paternal
grandparents' house. My aunt and uncle were expecting me and so were my
favourite cousins, Lucano and Ricardo. An hour later came my parents'
anxious call from Goa to find out if I had reached safely. By then I
was already in my shorts watching a movie on TV with my cousins.
The next few weeks were strictly not part of my sabbatical programme
for it was a holiday along with my family, with snakes and frogs and
fish left far behind. Our holiday included a brief visit to Ahmedabad
where we stayed with Korah and Sue Mathen. I had met Korah and his
daughter Nidhi a few months earlier at the organic farmers' meeting in
Wynad. On knowing that there was a snake park in Ahmedabad we simply
had to visit the place, just to satisfy my curiosity. At the park, we
found pythons, Russel's vipers, kraits, chequered keelbacks, boas,
ratsnakes and a king cobra, all in glass cages. The park also had
starback tortoises, monitor lizards, ducks and geese of various kinds,
monkeys and other small animals. There was also a small aquarium, kept
very poorly. I don't know whether the whole setup was run down because
of lack of funds or lack of interest.
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