Have 43people help Flirt's 43things Teddy Bear travel around the world!!!

Snicks left today to return to the United States. :(

I am going to miss him so much.

Thank you Flirt, for organizing for him to visit me.

The best things about Snicks visit:
- The reaction of children to Snicks. When I would set him down in a scenic spot that I thought was a good photo opportunity and move away to click, it was fascinating to see kids react to a teddy bear, seemingly sitting by himself.

- The reaction of adults. Even “mature” and “serious” people almost always obliged when I asked them to pose with Snicks, getting fully into the “role”. It is heartening to see the softer side of people. I owe prints of the pics I clicked of people with Snicks to so many!

- Coming home every night (I work late and most days everyone else is usually asleep by the time I get back) and spending time with Snicks in my lap reading 43T posts for a few minutes, or reading or listening to music.

I wish I had made more of an effort and that circumstances had been less busy so I could have done better justice to depicting what living in India is like when Snicks was here.

Adi is a young man I met online.

On Dec 1, I received an email from a person called Varath telling me Dec 3 is Adi’s birthday and asking if I would like to join him in a surprise birthday celebration for Adi. I remembered vaguely, hearing of Varath from Adi. Adi had invited him to my place to watch a movie. Varath had turned him down because he could not understand why a 20 something person would want to hang out with a 40 year old. :)

Varath had heard of me from Adi and had taken the trouble to google for me, learn my last name and then try various permutations and combinations of my name until he tracked down my email id!

So we did the usual planning that goes into surprise birthday celebrations – What if he already has plans (Varath similarly tracked down Adi’s father’s email id to establish that he did not have other plans)? Where would we go (I picked a Tex Mex restaurant near Varath’s workplace)? Who else (Balaji is the only other common friend of Adi’s that I know)? How would we lure Adi there (I took on the onus)?

I have been the recipient as well as the organizer of surprise birthday parties. The birthday girl (or boy) always sees through the clumsy party planning. That a party is being planned is evident. The only surprise is in the details – how many people will be there and who will they be, will a naked stripper jump out of a cake…. Yet the birthday girl (or boy) plays along pretending she (or he) has no suspicions, all the way down to the look of astonished happiness like a Beauty Paegent winner at the announcement of the crown when everyone yells “Surprise!”.

On the morning of Dec 3, I reached out to Adi to ask for his help with a project. I asked him to show up at my home at 7:30 pm to help me with something really important. He agreed.

I skipped the weekly management review at work to get home in time for the party. I had warned the folk at home not to wish Adi. When Adi showed up I put Snicks in his arms and said he was our project. We would visit parts of the city and click pictures with Snicks the Globe Trotting Teddy, to post at 43T. Adi’s only comment was “Isn’t that going to seem wierd?” I said “Rubbish, Adi. Grown people carry teddy bears around all the time.”

So poor Adi sauntered after me to the car like a lamb to slaughter.

Balaji was in a conference call at work with folks from the United States. In our line of business late evening is peak hour because that is when the US wakes up. I had decided the only way to make sure he gets to dinner on time would be to pick him up so he would be forced to end his conference call on time and get out of the office. I was worried that Adi would guess about the surprise when we stopped to pick up his guests, so I explained to Adi that Balaji would be coming along to add color and variety to the pictures with Snicks. He seemed a bit relieved at the thought of company who was likely to see why walking around with a teddy bear is not normal behaviour.

Adi and I drove to pick up Balaji with Snicks sitting between us and the flowers I had bought for Adi hidden in my boot.

Varath kept messaging me on my cell phone all the way to the restaurant “I am leaving work to get to the restaurant”....”I am at the restaurant”...”Have you ordered cake, or should I?”...and I would keep responding. Adi sat through it all, not suspecting for a moment that we were plotting his birthday celebration.

When we reached the venue, Varath noticed me but did not see Adi getting out of the car. So he approached me saying “Are you Vrinda?” And Adi’s reaction was “How come you two know each other?” He still had not guessed!

I saw my first genuine reaction to a surprise birthday party, when we screamed the customary “Surprise! Happy Birthday Adi!” in the car park of the restaurant. Here is what genuine surprise looks like: First, a blank expression. Then, the slow dawning of comprehension. Next, embarassment. The happiness only strikes a full 20 minutes into the dinner.

Everyone played along gamely during dinner at pretending Snicks was a real person. We set a place for him at dinner, included him in the conversation, and made him the 2nd guest of honor after Adi.

I am so glad Snicks was here to make Adi’s birthday special.

here.

I just want to make an entry to dedicate this picture of Snicks awe-struck at the handmade, palm bookmarks of drawings from the kamasutra to Simon who Super Cheered me.

Thank you Simon.

Snicks and I went to the gym today. Here he is looking out of the car window.

He seemed fascinated by the city. Most streets are narrow, with so many different vehicles (cars, buses, trucks, trishaws carrying merchandise, bikes, cyclists) all vying to get ahead. Lanes are just lines on the road that have no meaning. Smaller vehicles try to wind their way around larger ones and larger ones try to squeeze their way forward. Everyone honks madly to express how urgently they want to get to their destinations.

Here is a pic that shows autorickshaws (rickety three-wheelers with loud engines that go phut-phut) that are the common man’s taxi substitute. Auto (shortform for autorickshaws) drivers seem to have a professional code that bars them from using the meter. When approached by a prospective client, they will ask where the client wishes to go. When they hear the answer they feign disappointment and don a facial expression that suggests the destination is most inconvenient. They then demand (based on how wet behind the ears the passenger-to-be looks) a significant multiple of the probable metered fare. Tourists or newcomers to the city agree. Locals haggle. A deal is struck and the passenger is jostled violently all the way to his destination. Frequently an auto driver will not bother with indicator lights. He will simply shoot a leg out of his vehicle to let the vehicles behind him know he means to turn.

Strangely, most visitors (tourists or business) from affluent overseas countries think this is an experience not to be missed. I once had an American client pooh-pooh a waiting airconditioned limo on a hot, sweltering afternoon asking instead that he would like to take an auto to lunch. So I rode with him and his colleague. The three of us squeezed into the back of an auto after the aforementioned haggling for a bumpy, noisy, death-defying ride through city traffic. On either side of me was an American dressed in a suit wearing a blissful smile. Mid-way to the destination, one American decided he wanted to take a shot at driving. I refused to translate for him in the local language to the driver. He tapped the driver on the shoulder and managed to communicate his wish. The driver grinned wildly and nodded enthusiastically. Both driver (official) and driver-wanna-be (American) squeezed into the tiny driver’s seat at the front. The former gave driving instructions to my visitor in a language he did not understand! The auto veered even more dangerously through the traffic. The Americans thought it was hilarious. The one in the rear told his colleague who was driving in typical American style “If you get us killed, I am kicking your butt all the way to heaven.” :-)

Wise Snicks. He did not ask to go by auto.

I had called Venkat (my Yoga guru) to let him know I was bringing him a new student. I walked into his class, with Snicks on my hip. Venkat was teaching a class to the staff of the hotel. I am not sure if a woman walking around with a teddy bear is cause for curiosity in other parts of the world. The expressions on the faces of this yoga group ranged from polite masking of amazement to outright amazement. :-)

I explained that Snicks was visiting from the United States and wanted to join their class today. The group agreed after an interval of embarrasment to pose for a pic with him.

After the class, Venkat gave Snicks some one-on-one yoga lessons.

Snicks then practised his poses with me.

We also did a workout at the gym. Snicks thinks sitting on a stability ball is exercise.

After the workout (Snicks really should develop his endurance!), we went for lunch to Woodlands Drive-In (also called Woodies). Venkat came with us. Woodies has been serving local fast food since before I was born. It is located in the site of the Chennai horticultural society. Amidst the trees, people park their cars and wait to be served.

I knew my husband, Raj, was at Woodies with his buddies. So I took Snicks over to introduce him to them. Raj looked like he wished the earth would open and swallow him up when he saw his wife approach holding a teddy bear. I asked for volunteers to pose with Snicks. They shook their heads sheepishly. Raj protested that they were all men. I wanted to know if any of them were man enough to pose with a bear. Raj countered that by saying he wanted to know if any of them was sucker enough to fall for that. Silly men! They missed the opportunity to pose for a pic with a celebrity bear.

Snicks tried Masala Dosa (Rice and lentil batter pancakes stuffed with pototao curry) and Bonda (a spongy deep fried lentil ball with a crisp crust).

One of Raj’s friends did relent. Here are Venkat and Vikas with Snicks.

Venkat mentioned that Snicks did something special today. Perhaps because I made the request and they did not want to hurt me by refusing, or perhaps because the story of a teddy bear travelling the world touched them, they momentarily let down their “serious adult” guards to indulge us. For a few moments, they did something they would not normally do. They let a teddy bear touch their hearts.

This is Snicks with Karupiah, a boy employed at Woodies to clear dishes. He was fascinated with Snicks and delighted when he saw this picture after I clicked it with my digital camera. He hopes Snicks will visit again before he returns.