An Indian holiday

I don't like only two things in India,8221; declared five year old Eshwar in a high-pitched, American accent. 8220;The milk and the Indian...

I don8217;t like only two things in India,8221; declared five year old Eshwar in a high-pitched, American accent. 8220;The milk and the Indian-style, squatting toilet!8221; His mother was relieved. Had the boy named his grandparents as one of the two things, it would have been disastrous. For, the NRI parents had hectic assignments back home in America and had planned that the boy should spend the summer vacation with his grandparents at Bangalore. 8220;Your dad and I grew up here,8221; she said, ruffling his hair. 8220;You8217;ll get used to it!8221;

To the immense relief of the grandparents, after his parents left, the boy settled down without a fuss. It was indeed heartening to see him get excited over everyday activities. He wanted to participate in every thing and enjoyed doing little chores. Since exposure to 8216;8216;our8217;8217; culture was one of the secondary aims of the vacation in India, the grandmother happily reported success on that front too.

8220;Every morning,8221; she e-mailed her son and daughter-in-law, 8220;as soon as Eshwar gets up, he hurriedly brushes his teeth and asks for milk! I give him milk in the big red mug that you had left behind for him. With the mug in hand, he goes down to the garden to fetch flowers for his thatha8217;s puja. We tell him there was no hurry for the flowers and he could go after drinking the milk. But he says his daddy always walked around, in the backyard, coffee mug in hand! In fact he is so fond of the flowers and the plants that whenever he gets bored, he goes down to have a quick look at them!8221;

The two months sped past. With tears streaking their faces, the grandparents stood waving, as the boy boarded the flight that would take him to America.

The next morning, with a heavy heart the grandfather went down to collect flowers. 8220;Your grandson left, eh?8221; enquired the old lady from the balcony across the street.

8220;What a sweet child he was!8221; she said. 8220;So well trained! And such good civic sense even at this age! Here, in our country, even adults don8217;t have as much sense!8221; The grandfather looked clueless. 8220;I have been watching him from here every morning8221;, she elaborated. 8220;He would come down, carrying the red mug. He would quietly open the gate and relieve himself in the drain beside the gate, and then pour water over it from the mug! Only after that, would he start to pick the flowers!8221;