TRAVEL | INDIA | LIFE | INSPIRATION | FAMILY | LOVE

A Trip of a Lifetime With My Children

Meeting family, visiting historical sites and tasting the best food — part one)

Would you help me revisit my country of birth? Would you help me refresh my memories of December 2017? It would mean so much to me if you would read my story. If you would read how memorable this trip was for me?

This trip changed my relationship with my children. This trip clarified most doubts about our identity. This trip confirmed the importance of a close-knit family. This trip connected the past and present generations.

It became easier to communicate about familial expectations. It resolved the bitter issues about the flaws in my upbringing. It brought a fresh perspective to our relationship. It bridged the gap of cultural differences.

Abbas and Zehra (will be referred to as A and Z after this reference) were eight and nine in this 1999 photo. After 18 years, we posed again at the Pearson Airport lounge. Where has the time passed? Why did it take us so long to visit India as a family?

Well! The time passed in checking out these boxes: one Ph.D., two college degrees for AZ, jobs in two countries, taking care of an aged parent, and living a life of contentment with the arrival of Luke coming aboard in 2012, and it took me 17 long years to visit India with my kids.

Here we’re at Pearson Airport on December 6, 2017:

Boarding passes:

Inflight:

Going to India was expensive and exhaustive as it entailed much planning to ensure that my mom and Luke would be okay for three weeks in Toronto.

I had to prepare all aspects of preparations to visit different cities, make hotel bookings, choose sightseeing venues, coordinate a visit to family members and, most importantly, shopping gifts for everyone.

Shopping was the best part of the experience, and I put much thought into each gift to convey how much value they have in our lives with small tokens of love.

I wanted to make the flight as comfortable as possible for all of us, so I conducted much research on travel accessories online, and the Time Magazine articles were a big help, and I used to scan the online version of the magazine nearly every day to get tips on traveling.

I indulged in three kinds of travel pillows, hammock-style footrests, to ease the numbness of my feet during the long flight. My wireless Beats headphones were a great help to tone down the airplane buzzing noise. Other headphones were used to watch the in-flight entertainment, although Z binged on her downloaded stuff from Netflix.

We were traveling together after 2004 (European vacation), and it was the first time after AZ had turned adults. We can never forget our exciting experience of moving to Lake Forest in 2008 as a family, which involved much traveling and exploring. However, the move was work-related, and we never went for a family vacation because of AZ’s frequent trips to Toronto while staying in the US. AZ likes to travel to visit friends and family members, but somehow, going to India could not materialize sooner.

I was a nervous wreck during the 14-hour flight from Toronto to New Delhi, imagining AZ’s reactions when they landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport.[1] I had been preparing both of them for the last eight months for what to expect in India. I did not want to see any weird reactions from them regarding the tardiness, chaos or traffic.

Before making plans, I had taken one promise from both of them that they would trust my judgment and follow cues about where to go or what to say to everyone they meet. However, I had never imagined that they would abide by this promise to a perfect T.

All of my fears vanished when I saw them crossing the road while going to the airport parking. The calm on their faces removed all my doubts, and I knew instantly that this trip would be memorable. A and Z have come home to explore their distinctive identity of being Indo-Canadian for the last 21 years. Finally, we landed in India and started our memorable journey from New Delhi.[2]

Here they’re crossing the road to hop in the taxi at Indira Gandhi International Airport around 2 am:

Our pre-arranged taxi took us to the Defense Colony Guesthouse, where the caretaker, Ashok, helped to move our luggage into two rooms. It is quite cold, but the room became very comfortable with the heater in a few minutes.

Due to the jetlag, our sleep was disturbed, and we got up early. After having breakfast with other guests in the lounge, we returned to our rooms to change our phones to Indian numbers, Uber, and Uber Eats. Next, we called all the family members to inform them about our safe arrival in New Delhi and exchange phone numbers. Without my younger brother’s (will be referred to as Baba) unwavering help, our trip would not have been so smooth.

To be continued…

© Fatima Imam (All Rights Reserved)

[1] Indira Gandhi International Airport is one of the busiest airports of India- in terms of passenger and cargo traffic. It is situated in Palam which is nearly 16 km. from the main city. Palam airport was built during the Second World War and remained the Air Force Station for the Indian Air Force until 1962. With the tremendous growth of civilian traffic in the 1970s, a new terminal which was four times larger in the area of Palam was constructed. At the time of its inauguration on May 2, 1986, it was renamed Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) after the first female Prime Minister of India.

[2] New Delhi is the national capital of India, it is also a national territory (NCT) and is the second largest city of India. Modern Delhi is an amalgamation of several cities because the area has been continuously inhabited since the second urbanization in the Indian subcontinent around the sixth century BCE. It first appeared as one of the sixteen republics: Mahajanapadas, and since then, it has captured the rapt attention of the rulers, scholars, merchants, and invaders to recount its tumultuous vicissitudes. Delhi has served as the capital city of various regional kingdoms and powerful empires. Undoubtedly, whoever had Delhi became an important power in northern India.

Sincere thanks to Denise Larkin for giving my story a comfortable spot in her publication. ❤️❤️

Thank you for reading my story ❤️❤️ Get email alerts when I publish: https://faimam.medium.com/subscribe. Become a member through my referral link: https://faimam.medium.com/membership| Find me on LinkedIn| Twitter | Instagram| Mastodon