And so they got started on their journey….

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From the tip of the Indian peninsula my parents flew to the heart of India and stayed with one of Achan's two sisters who resided in a palatial government bungalow of Lutyen’s Delhi. His brother-in-law, G.P.Warrier, one of the first to qualify in Engineering he retired as Chairman of the Railway Board. A little bit of the reflected glory used to fall on us on our visits to Delhi or Mumbai as we get picked up in royal style from the train as it grinded to a halt! They accompanied them on a tour of Agra & Mathura. In Delhi they would have paid a visit to Amma’s siblings whom Achan characteristically paid due respect on every visit, having early in his life noted their earnest and hardworking attitude which helped them also gain notable positions in life.

One of their earliest selfie photo taken, using a camera having a built-in timer, soon after their wedding indicates the love and trust shared but not displayed, as in India it is a very personal and private feeling shared between two individuals but not for public display. The symbol of eternal love, the Taj Mahal, in all its glory shone behind Amma as she posed for one of the first of many pictures taken, more as an insignificant figure framed in front of many wonders of the world. 

To set off on this journey from the Taj Mahal is in itself very symbolic I guess. Achan was quick at making an anecdote of the picture taken at Mathura claiming that they were standing beneath the Kalpavriksha (the wish-fulfilling tree of Indian mythology) which did grant them all that their heart’s desired.

Having been brought up as one of the children in a matrilineal family staying in an Ettukettu, the traditional architecture of Kerala where many generations of a family lived together in harmony, entering a nuclear family living in a modern house must have been overwhelming for Amma. It must have been a relief to join Achan on his numerous postings, starting from Munnar, today a highly sought after tourist spot. In her village her time was devoted to mainly catering to the services of the temple, major duties of which fell on their family, helping prepare simple, wholesome food for the whole family and learning music. She must have felt inadequate in her worldly knowledge for often she insisted on her children spending time reading and gaining knowledge to helping in the housework.

Achan, a diehard fan of Nehru’s five-year plans, was a keen observer of all new technologies and having served as a community development officer in the early part of his career, often took personal interest in spreading such information in the local areas. Amma was often instrumental in putting into practice his ideas, from bringing up Jersey cows using sperms imported from Switzerland to canning fruits juices. One of my early memories is being dragged from one event to another by an umbrella-wielding Amma as she went about talking to groups of females. It is only years later it dawned on me the reason Achan made fun of Amma, for the event was none other than to spread the message of family planning! Achan’s work took him from one hydro electric project to another, all naturally in forest areas. This prompted him probably to set up a permanent residence in the city for our education. His dream house was built between the Governor’s residence and the Travancore Maharaja’s palace, which I often believed was the palace of Sleeping Beauty, as we could only glimpse the towers of the palace from our terrace.

Achan must have decided to make the trip from Delhi so that he could get all necessary woollen garments as they were to spend a major part of their journey in Canada during the winter months. At the end of the tumultuous year of 1968 marked by historic events - assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, start of the much hated Vietnam war and a spirit of rebellion swept through countries all over the world and major events like Apollo’s space mission, got played out on televisions at the dawn the television age, at the end of November my parents boarded the flight to Cairo.