The next day I was awoken by the smell of freshly cooked ‘aloo paratha’ and freshly brewed tea. I walked down the stairs still half asleep to find my Aunt cooking on the ‘lodi’, an Indian stove. My cousin ran around the kitchen and onto the veranda. Yoghurt dripped from his mouths and bits of “chutney” stuck to his fingers. My Uncle had gone out to work on the boat. This had been the family business since my great-grandfather moved to India from Africa. As well as the boat that my Uncle owned, a small field that was near his house was home to a few chickens that my Aunt and Sunil looked after. After breakfast I decided to go on a walk to the local port where my Uncle worked.
The sea air filled my lungs. The air was much cleaner compared to the thick smog in Delhi. I strolled on to the beach, the waves lapped on to my feet, soaking my sandals and the sand ran through my toes. As I walked to my Uncle’s boat, the local village kids drank coconut milk whilst playing cricket on the beach. I walked to my Uncle’s boat to find him pulling in his net. He called to me “Beta, come aboard, come aboard!” I climbed onto the boat. I’d never been on a boat before. The boat rocked as the waves hit the boat. I tried to keep my balance but the boat swayed too much and I fell over. “Don’t worry beta, you’ll soon get the hang of it,” my Uncle said, chuckling at the same time. He pointed at a heap of fish and said “That’s your dinner for tonight.”
“It looks good,” I added. Once my Uncle had packed his boat, we walked home along the beach. It was a dark night and a full moon shone on to the Arabian Sea scattering moonlight along the coast and into the horizon.
After eating our dinner, My Uncle and I warmed ourselves on a fire on the veranda. The noise of crickets chirping filled the air. The smoke from the fire swirled into the sky and the gentle breeze ruffled my hair. I lay back on the chair and closed my eyes, and wondered if my final two days in Porbandar would be as relaxing as this. I thought of my parents back in England and wondered what they were doing. “Beta, tomorrow I will take you out on the boat,” my Uncle called to me breaking the silence. I nodded to him. “You should go to sleep, it will be a long day tomorrow,” my Uncle said with a typical Indian accent. He walked into the house and shortly after I followed him. It was quite late so I crept up to bed trying not to wake my Uncle and Aunt. I lay on my bed and muttered to my self “How am I going to sleep. I’m not that tired.” I closed my eyes and before I knew it, I was asleep.
I was awoken by my Uncle, the next morning. “Come on beta, otherwise we will be late,” he said whilst trying to wake me up. I grunted a reply and wanted to go back to sleep. After ten minutes of trying to fall back to sleep, I decided to get out of bed. I quickly showered and got ready and walked down the stairs still half asleep. I drank my tea slowly, trying not to burn my mouth and quickly ate some ‘aloo paratha’ fresh from the ‘lodi’. My Uncle and I walked to the boat. It was still quite dark outside and quite chilly. The port was fairly quiet apart from the gentle breeze blowing the leaves on the trees on the beach.
We set up the boat and set off in to the Arabian Sea. It was getting warmer and the day became brighter. After a couple of hours we reached our fishing spot and Uncle Babu dropped the nets from the side of the boat. The little, wooden boat rocked in the water as we ate our lunch of ‘roti’ and onions. After eating, Uncle Babu let me drive the boat. The little 50cc engine roared as the boat cut through the water. The boat weaved in and out of the waves, with the fishing net following by the side. After my hour of fun, I drove the boat back to the port. MY Uncle pulled in the net to reveal the day’s catch, which was plenty of fish, a few crabs and shrimps and a tin can. We bagged our catch and walked home for my Uncle to sell at the local market. The day’s events tired me so as soon as I sat down back at my Uncle’s house I fell asleep.
The next morning, I was awoken by Sunil jumping on my stomach. “Bhaiji, Bhaiji, come let’s play cricket. Come on Bhaiji,” he screamed with excitement. “Come on hurry Bhaiji”.
“Sunil let me get my stuff ready. Remember I am flying back to Delhi later.” I replied.
“Oh but only for half an hour,” he said.
“O.K, half an hour, but let me get my things ready,” I agreed.
“O.K, Bhaiji, see you out side.”
I packed away my luggage and asked my Uncle when he was going to drop me to the airport. I played cricket with Sunil on the beach. He bowled and batted as well as Sachin Tendulkar and when I told him, his face lit up. We walked back to the house. I said my goodbyes to my Aunt and Sunil. We drove back to Delhi along the dusty roads. We reached the airport and I checked into my flight. Before entering the departure lounge, I said bye to my Uncle and told him to visit me back in England. He said he would when Sunil is a little older, and he told me to say hello to my family in England. I walked into the departure lounge to continue the second part of my holiday.
