Disappointing Bannerghatta

I had been first time to this awesome National Park near Bangalore via a school trip and I was swept off my feet.

Such exotic animals, such dedicated staff, such convenience and caution, I love that place.

So, I was all praise of this place when I returned home and was delighted when my family decided to visit it over the holidays.

On a Tuesday morning, we all set out to revisit the wild beauties, but alas! When we arrived it was closed for the day. It was the allotted rest day for the animals and I had overlooked the notice board. The whole trip turned out to be for naught.

I understand with the locals teeming in on weekends and the tourists preferring the lesser crowded Monday, the animals must be frayed to exhaustion. And for the safety of everyone concerned it is wise to give them a day's rest. Wish I had not overlooked the board.

I've dreamt of visiting that amazing Park ever since.

Way to go, Grandma!

This incident happened a few years ago, and it increase my awe for my paternal grandmother by degrees.

My grandmother usually visits my uncle in Mumbai during my cousin's holidays. And if escorted to and from the stations and seen to her seating arrangements, she completes her journey unchaperoned.

But this time it so happened that while had fallen asleep, the train had encountered a serious problem and had to divert its route thus skipping our junction. Unaware my grandmother couldn't get down at the station nearest to us and when she did wake up, the train had already taken a detour and was heading to Salem in Andhra Pradesh.

Doing the most sensible thing she could, she alighted at Salem and telephoned us from a PCO explaining her situation. But being a miser too, she disconnected the line without hearing our plans or what she intended to do.

Here we were in complete chaos searching for a hired cab in the middle of the night, and trying to contact our relatives nearest to her.

Meanwhile, my grandmother had very calmly boarded a bus to our hometown KGF and completed the rest of the journey with ease.

She arrived near dawn all hale and hearty much to everyone's surprise and relief, without a line of worry or exhaustion on her face.