A postponed Trip

 I had planned this short trip from 9^th to 14^th October to Chennai, primarily to attend my late mother`s 24<sup>th</sup> anniversary (shrardham) and the marriage reception of a friend`s son. My return flight was booked for Monday 14^th October afternoon.  A friend suggested that I postpone my return by a day so that I could attend an important event hosted by the well-known writer Sivasankari in Chennai.  It was being held to confer the Surya Award to a socially conscious and award-winning writer Ambai and the Akshara Award to another writer Nagarathinam  Krishna under the auspices of  Sivasankari Chandrasekaran  Charities.  Sivasankari, in her welcome address, called it a dream come true project for her. The Award consisted of a substantial cash prize, a memento, and a citation.

 Since I have great regard for both Sivsanakari and Amabai who are also my well-wishers I postponed my return trip by a day without losing any money as Indigo does not charge anything for one postponement. However, as there was repeated news from the authorities about  Chennai getting heavy rains between the 14^th and 16^th of October, I was worried about its likely impact on my return trip. Though there was no rain during the day on the 14^th, as I was nearing the hotel where the function was being held it started pouring and I became anxious about the possibility of my home being surrounded by water. So while I attended the well-organised function,  with the Governor of Tamil Nadu as the Chief guest, and met a lot of friends from the Tamil literary world, I decided to return home without attending the dinner following the meeting. To my surprise the rain had stopped and I had no problem reaching home. Until 9.30 am the following day (15^th) it was raining in fits and bursts without any water logging in front of my home. I booked a taxi at 11 am to take me to the airport.

Around 9.30 am the Varuna Bhagwan decided to prove the weathermen right by coming down heavily accompanied by lightning and thunder.  Within one hour my home was surrounded by water. The water level started rising and I shuddered at the possibility of the water entering my home. as it usually happens every year. One of the reasons I had decided to move to Coimbatore was that I did not want to face another flooding of my home.

In the meanwhile the taxi driver called to say that though the roads were flooded, he would `somehow` take me to the airport provided I agreed to pay him three times the normal fare.   Since there was the possibility of the flight being canceled or postponed indefinitely because of bad weather and on the advice of the family I decided to cancel the trip. My travel agent informed me that the cancellation at the last minute would mean that I would not get any refund.  I said my safety and security were more important than the monetary loss. I also have no regrets about postponing my trip and the loss of money as I got the opportunity to greet both Sivasankari and Ambai in person.

As I have always believed in the saying that `everything happens for the good `I am waiting for some good reason why the lord above made me postpone my trip. Om Sairam

PS. Though the water around my home has receded completely overnight, the possibility of more heavy rains from this afternoon is keeping me on tenterhooks. However, the Tamil Nadu weatherman`s forecast that the cyclonic depression has moved away from Chennai and is on its way to AP, gives me some hope. God willing, I plan to be back in Coimbatore this Saturday.