Coming home

Due to a family illness Lisa and I have decided to end our trip and come home. We’ll be back in Melbourne later this week. While neither of us are in any doubt that our decision is the right one, it’s still a sad decision to make.

On the morning after we made this decision I was sitting in a restaurant waiting for my masala dosa, staring out the window at the theatre on the street. Just outside the restaurant a man with crippled legs was perched on a rough home-made skateboard, pushing himself around with his left hand inside an old rubber sandal. I watched this man for a while, asking passers-by for money, and I noticed that across his face at all times was a wide, genuine smile. After a while he stopped and had a chat with a man, laughing loudly at a joke they shared.

A few weeks ago on the bus ride from hell I also spent some time watching other passengers and I was struck by how many of them were smiling and laughing during an experience that I found so overwhelmingly frustrating. These two incidents for me symbolise the uniquely Indian way of looking at life, where no matter how many things there are to be upset and sad about, always find a positive and focus on that instead. It’s not a new or complicated idea, but it’s such a good idea, and it’s one that we in Australia would do well to keep in mind more often. It’s certainly a strategy that I’ve been using this past week as I get ready to head home.

But enough of this maudlin, reflective shite, and time for something useful. Tell me, blogosphere, where can Spykey and I go to get the best, most authentic Indian food in Australia? Melbourne restaurants are of course the most convenient for us, but I’ll accept nominations for eateries in any town and city in Australia. Just in case we visit there sometime.