Meet The Relatives

Its Summer Time...that means time for me to go and meet my relatives who live in the land of temples and Rajnikanth, I mean Tamil Nadu. Now let me tell you that I have a very big family.
Well, quoting statistics, my grandmother has 8 children,35 grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren. I am the youngest among all the grandchildren. My eldest sister has the distinction of getting married even before my parents.
Let me give you a rundown of what happens usually. Various permutations and combinations are made,in order to meet the maximum number of relatives in the least possible time. The journey begins with a 24 hr train journey to chennai and then another 8 hrs to madurai or trichy according to the plan of that year. The arrival of chennai is announced by the smell of sewage while passing Basin Bridge. Down the years, the means of transportation have also changed. Earlier we used to travel by buses and now by cars.
The testing time comes when at last we reach our relatives homes. The first statement that everyone exclaims is "Oh my god,look how thin you have become". My parents just give an apologetic shrug of their shoulders. And then my mom gives a huge explanation about how I don't eat much and so on. Now the point is that i have never been a fat kid. So why does everybody suddenly expect me to become a balloon.
The other adjustment that I have to make is to start eating idlis. I agree with the fact that south indian idlis are just out of the world.But If I have to eat them daily,then sorry to say but soon i will become out of the world.
But this does not mean that i do not enjoy my vacations. I relish eating food on a banana leaf.
How else would i be able to watch movies of my favourite movie star Vijay. It is always good to go to your grandparents house as it is fun to see your parents turn into kids. I think it is fun to see your parents to have fights with their siblings. This gives you a chance to pull their leg when at home they try to behave like Mahatma Gandhi and preach that fighting with your siblings is bad.
Well,after a quick tour that really drains you out,it is time for the best part of the whole trip-time to return home. The feeling on seeing mandideep is something that no words can describe. As I always say "There is no place like home".