traveltalk

Sorry I  have  been out of it for a while. Jet lag and a general sense of out- of -this-worldliness  notwithstanding, I have been mostly preoccupied with the very pedestrian- no pun intended – concerns of planes, trains ans automobiles —-all of which at one time or the other have been our chosen mode of transportation or one by default.

Travelling by commuter aircraft from W’ton  to Huntsville, Alabama,  was in itself a whole different trip with each one of us feeling the yaw and pull of the smll aircraft. We pretty much had the entire  aircraft to ourselves with a few disbelieving Americans at the sight of so many Indians in one plane , along for the ride.

At Huntsville the NAsA presence was perceptible almost immediately. We were summarily herded off   into  the NASA buses and from there the kids were grouped, badged and bundled of into their various rooms along with their `linens’,While they seemed a little uncertain about parting company from us, thay seemed resigned  to  the idea. It was we adults who immediately felt the strong twinges of separation anxiety from `our children’.We saw glimpses of them through the course of the day and similarly the next day at meal times, following their Counselors, talking to students from other countries, and each time they seem more relaxed, getting into the loop, finding their groove and generally getting literally with the programme…forgive me but I like spelling the Indian way  and you will not see `program’ and `color ‘ intentionally on my Blog!!

Meal times are different. We have a large hall that seats about 500 people at   a time and our `dinner’ which is their `supper’ the last meal of the day,is over by 6.00p.m.. Tough for us,but apparently a piece of cake, literally and otherwise to the kids. The unlimited supply of Pepsi and Coke—Krithika’s mum don’t worry– we have informmed the Counselors that she can’t have too much of either!!—scrambled eggs, pasta, noodles etc –not too much rice and veggies–you think these kids are gonna complain??   It’s just no contest….the NASAA meals win every time.

The kids and us have had tours of the Campus and the sight of the magnificent` big birds’- the rockets, shuttles, space memoribilia, the Museum exhibits are truly impressive. India has indubitably   splendid minds and brilliant executors of our own space programmes, but we need to learn how to package and `sell’ our sizeable and truly noteworthy accomplishments to our own people and get the young ones to realise and participate in an inherent discovery and pursuit of national pride. The US Flag and the three letters proclaiming the origin of the rockets and other devices of this land are symbols that are reinforced everywhere until those of non-US origins also  start relating to the idea of the colours and the name  as perhaps having a more personal connection than  they actually do in reality.

The Saturn V in  all its magnitude-most rocket parts here have been used in rael missions, and     this particular  one   has all three of its authentic segments. You walk into the hall and are reduced to gasping and gawking. It doesn’t matter who built and why, just the sheer power and size of that magnificent structure sucks the breath away from you. Aditya , one of my mosquitoes, is probably going to set up camp there.

We chaperones are meant to be a  silent  presence, watching and not directly interacting. I understand how letting  something go means you also let it grow. It’s happening even as I write.

Signing off for now,

hemaa narayan

~ by svmastrorockers on May 31, 2008.