The second dip was indeed special!

The second dip was indeed special!

(A lovely weekend in Johnson City, May 2012)

In the summer of 1994, Lata and I spent a glorious month with DJ and Gayatri in Johnson City. Joining us during the weekend, were other friends who drove across vast distances (Arjun, P2 and CV to name a few). We just hung out in this little town seemingly in the middle of nowhere and man, did we have a blast! Over the next one-two years, we came back to JC for shorter trips.

Last week, 18 summers later, Lata and I (and now with nine year old Sanjana) made the trip to JC one more time to connect with our friends DJ, Gayatri, Devika, Aniruddh (“Oni”) and DJ’s mom. And just like in the old times, we had friends join us (Kolanday, Vandana and lil Samyu flew down from New Jersey). This ‘second’ holiday in JC was simply magnificent and will rank among the best ever. 

It’s hard to say what makes something special. Its rarely one thing. Nor is it something that is tangible. It’s often an amalgamation of many wonderful ‘moments’ that separates the good from the great.

The seduction began a month or so ago when DJ called us repeatedly to motivate us to include JC into our US itinerary. On two separate occasions, I got back to him with ‘sorry, but its hard to fit JC in.’ But his gentle insistence won us over. JC was on the itinerary and boy, would it have been a mistake to leave it out!

Once we made the drive to JC (ah yes, that’s another story!), we were embraced with a sense of warmth and openness that I have rarely felt. Here are some of the magical moments…

DJ had done his homework well and found that an interesting play was being staged in nearby Abingdon (“Over the President’s Shoulder’). It was a terrific performance and told the story of the Chief Butler of the White House who served under four US presidents during the 30s-50s! The fact that a black man was addressing many a racial topic in front of an all white audience (except the four of us!) made it particularly poignant. Almost 25 years ago, DJ, Lata and I had worked together on a play (Night of January 16^th) and it was poetic that we celebrated our first evening together watching this wonderful performance.  

The visit to the nearby Gary Fossil Museum, a live archaeological site, really resonated with me. It’s amazing that in small ol Johnson City, there is a live site where they are (still) discovering fossils from millions of years ago. Fascinating that they have found skeletons of dinosaurs, camels, elephants and tapirs! The short but very informative tour was great. I really liked this place over many other museums (including the famous Smitsonians) because it was a live site.

One of the wonderful experiences of this trip was an opportunity to share the lives of the Jaishankars. The very first morning we got there was Oni’s sports day. Sanjana and I walked across (along with Gayatri and Dj’s mom) to a nearby field where kids from the school marched across to. The first event in Oni’s group was the hoola hoop. Could one ask for a better start? Sanjana stood quietly in the sidelines watching all the kids hoola away. Gayatri urged her to join them and once the permission was obtained, Sanjana jumped right in. She is a pro at the hoola and quickly was whirling the loop across in an expert fashion. A great way for her to enter the group!

For the next 2 hours, she proceeded to participate in many other activities – sack race, relays, etc. Gayatri brought her one of Oni’s school T shirts and that was all she further needed to fit right in! It was a beautiful spring day and it was lovely to be out in an open field. When they broke for lunch, I asked Sanjana to come back home with me, but the teacher very sweetly asked her to stay on and join the group for pizza, a movie and some more post lunch games! Sanjana was in bliss! I was stuck by the openness of the teacher.

Another lovely serendipitous moment was that our visit coincided with a music performance where Devika and Oni (among others) performed on the piano. A short lovely event that I am particularly glad Sanjana got to witness.

The Jaishankars exude a sense of warmth and ease that makes a guest feel immediately at home. This was the case almost 20 years ago, and it sure stands today as well. It’s terrific that Devika and Oni carry on this practice and DJ and Gayatri have much to proud of and thankful for the lovely kids they have. They are down to earth, well balanced, act their age and, as noted above, radiate an easy warmth. In addition to cooking up some south Indian delicacies that we thoroughly enjoyed, DJ’s mom very sweetly folded our laundered clothes (not once, but twice!). 

Gayatri’s attention to the little details, warmth, generosity and efficiency have not waned over the years. Vandana too was amazed at how she (seemingly) effortlessly juggled her very active life while still making life very comfortable for us. Her organization of our trip to Lake Wataga was simply amazing! DJ’s sheer energy, enthusiasm, generosity and terrific equanimity juggling multiple agendas without missing a beat cannot be over emphasized. His eyes light up when a conversation is linked to the topic he is VERY passionate about – medicine! (Actually, just like the old joke of the boy who prepared for the exam by studying about Gandhi, but was shocked to be questioned about the goat (if you don’t know this one, ask me sometime), most conversations with DJ find their way quickly back to medicine!) Actually, I was inspired by his passion and hope I can conjure up half that joy about my work!

Truly, the Jaishankars warmly opened their homes (and their wallets!) to give us many a memorable moment.

But, what was the defining moment for me?…yes, there was one….On a bright Sunday morning, we were on a pontoon on Lake Wataga expertly navigated by DJ (the fact that he did not know how to switch the damn thing back on when we were in the middle of the lake is yet another story)…..It was a beautiful day and as we noted many times, a perfect way for all of us to spend the day…. beer and wine, eating some yummy food, listening to some nice music, the kids dancing as the Captain glided the pontoon across the lake. A perfectly languid day!

While it was a warm day, the water was COLD! But the fearless DRs jumped right in followed by their off springs. I put my toe in and jumped right back up. It was simply TOO COLD! But after much cajoling, I got into the cold water. Did I enjoy it? Nope! I hung around for about 10 mins and promptly got back into the boat. I was done with the swimming thing! I had been ‘manly’ enough and that was that…But the damn DRs kept swimming away.

Not sure how it happened, but I found myself quietly removing my shirt and getting back into the water….and this time it was magical. Spent at least 30 minutes enjoying every moment and it was in the water that DJ, Gayatri and I had a short but meaningful chat about friendships and other related topics. DJ suggested I turn and look away from the boat and look at the water level into the distance. It really was a great sight. Dj rightfully noted – the first dip I did for effect, the second, for myself…to enjoy…..These few moments of connecting with ol friends amidst nature was indeed the pinnacle. As an old Lufthansa add says ‘all this for a moment.’ I certainly had had my ‘Lufthansa moment.’

Truly, the second dip was indeed special!