I do. Don’t you think going to meet your family—sons, daughters-in-law, and, above all, grandchildren—is motivation enough to undergo and withstand whatever difficulties one has to face? Secondly, on international flights, we take a cab to the airport, and from there, we are guaranteed to get wheelchair assistance or a buggy at boarding, transit, and disembarking points. On the flight, too, the hostesses and stewards take extra care. The entire family is at the airport to receive us. There are some difficulties, though surmountable. No jostling in the crowd or waiting. Moreover, since returning from our recent visit, my eyesight has deteriorated further. Worries do creep in now and then about future travels to the U.S.

All this is a buildup to our visit to Bangalore. My younger sister, who lives in Malaysia, had planned to celebrate her first grandchild’s—a girl—first birthday in Bangalore. We hadn’t met her or my nephew and his wife for quite some time and had no opportunity to meet the newborn grandniece either. When the invitation was made, I was feeling really weak and famished, off mood too, with whatever was happening around me and my health. With all modes of travel posing different issues, I asked her to excuse us from attending the function. She accepted.

But this was weighing on our minds. My wife wasn’t happy. My other sister, who lives in Chennai, had also planned to attend the function. My wife was very much interested in going. "Mama," i.e., uncle in our family system, plays an important role in all functions. Though I wasn’t the uncle to the birthday baby, I was an uncle to her dad. As the date neared, I was feeling a little better on the health front, as far as the cancer treatment goes.

The function was on Monday. On Sunday, as I got up, the thought struck me, "Why not go?" It would be an opportunity to test ourselves to see if we could manage long-distance travel.

Did I go?

Continued in 215. Function, Fun, Frolic and Frustration Too - Part 3