It felt like I had never left.
The looks, the smell, the feel.......exactly same as 18 years ago!
The immigration officer at Kansai airport, turned the pages of my passport and asked, "what is the reason of your visit?"
"I am here to visit my University professor and friends." I replied back in English.
He nodded his head.
On second thoughts, I hesitantly added,
Watashi Kobe Daigaku de benkyoshimashita". [I studied in Kobe University]
He gave me a big smile and immediately switched to Japanese. Full speed.
I felt nervous, have not spoken the language for 18 long years.
I almost panicked, trying to frame another full sentence in Japanese inside my head.
..and then it happened! It was as if a switch was turned on!
A steady flow of Japanese words started coming out of my mouth. The way the officer nodded and continued talking, they must have made sense too.....
O my God, I can talk!! I mean I can talk in Japanese!
I silently thanked that part of my brain which had carefully preserved the language in some corner.
I talked a lot.
..Ended up giving away a lot of unnecessary extra information to the officer, just out of sheer happiness of being able to speak Japanese again....
The objective of the trip was to "Relive my memories".
There was a certain 'calling' which I was feeling for the past few months. A-senior gave me the final push to 'make it happen'. So off I went to the land of the rising sun......where I had spent 5 years, a long long time ago.
Loved every moment of my 'memory-trip' week ....it was magical.
Excitement, happiness, nostalgia, ...and much more.
I came back, happy and satisfied, with one big realisation.
"Relations have magic in them".
My 'memory trip' was magical not because of the places I visited but because of the people I met, with whom I had created a bond 'then' and reconnected 'now'.
Where did the years vanish?
Some bonds are forever!
I dedicate this blog post to all those people who made my stay in Japan memorable all those years ago and who have not changed a bit, till today!
( I met some of them this time....)
1996: First trip outside India...alone. First day, I had entered Kobe University with a lot of homesickness and nervousness....met Morii Sensei and my group mates.
Time passed. The bond became stronger and stronger.
2001: I was in tears at the airport bidding farewell to the same group.
2019: Felt like home-coming!! Starting from Morii Sensei's warm greeting, Ohkuma's laughter, Satoshi's shy smile, Mawatari's caring atitude, Shiotani's humorous talk,the phone chat with Sudou, Kasahara san's loving hug, Morii-san's motherly cooking...the lunch at the university canteen, my presentation in the department meeting room, the evening beer with all...
......the 18 years in between just vanished.
The university gave me a degree on paper. It gave me much more in my life....
1997: I was introduced to a Japanese 'host' family from the International students department. The objective was to help me integrate into the lifestyle of Japan. I was asked to address them as Otosan (Papa) and Okasan (Mama). It started with a few social-cultural interactions with the family.
Time passed. The bond became stronger and stronger.
2001: I was in tears at the airport bidding farewell to my tearful Japanese parents.
2019: Felt like the daughter was back home. My parents rejoiced. We travelled together, ate, chatted, shopped and had fun..the Japanese parents with their Indian daughter.
Otosan and Okasan are indeed my Papa and Mama in every sense of those words....
1998: Someone at the university mentioned that an Indian family was in town. I got introduced to S'da and family. (During those student days, getting introduced to a family meant good food ;-))On the first meeting itself, they 'adopted' me as their daughter into the family. Over the days, months, years that followed, they proved that some relations are just special.
2001: I was in tears at the airport bidding farewell to my Indian family in Japan.
2019: The daughter was back. Love and attention was showered on me. They know what I love to eat, what I love to do, what I love to say...they just know me.
S'da and Bouma are not just an Indian family. They are MY family.
Met another Indian family, A'da and boudi. I immediately became their younger sister. Their tiny son P-chan became so attached to me that he even refused to go back home with his parents after one of their visits. I can still remember the scene vividly--a crying P-chan at Motomachi station, baffled parents trying to persuade the crying P-chan and a helpless, sad me bidding goodbye.
2019: Knocked on their door, gave them a surprise. In return, I was super surprised with P-chan all grown up and handsome and working and ......so shy when the station incident was mentioned.
Some bonds are made forever....
1998: Met M as a fellow international student. Clicked immediately. Clearly remember, one time when her mother was visiting from Iran, she asked me if she can tie up my unruly hair. When I said yes, she lovingly plaited my hair and all the while kept on talking to me (in Persian, which I do not understand ). I could clearly hear my mom talking.."how many times have I asked you to oil your hair properly and not keep it like this, etc etc?" Mothers are mothers everywhere in the world.
2019: Even though social media kept us connected, it was pure coincidence that M was around during my visit. We picked up exactly where we had left..The same giggles, visiting the same places, opening up our hearts and much more...
Friendship has no boundaries and no expiry date.
There is so much more to write.....the food, the flowers, the people, the trains, the language, the weather, the temples, the........
Love you Japan!
Sayonara..till the next time.
