It was a cold morning that day when I tried to drag myself out of the warmth of my bed and blanket. The old teakwood bed frame creaked as I got up and made my way to the front of the bathroom mirror.

“Arun!” Amma called out from the kitchen. “Get up now or you’ll miss your bus.”

“Yes, Amma, I’m up,” I yelled back.

I was staying over at my parents’ home in Ernakulam to attend my friend’s wedding, which was in Mumbai. For some context, I left home when I was 26, desperate for a job. At the time, the UK looked like a perfect place to try my luck in finding one. Now, I’m 29 and working as a software engineer under a major company. One might wonder why I am putting so much effort into attending someone’s wedding. It’s because the “someone” getting married is my best friend, and also because while I’m here in Kerala, I get to spend time with Appa and Amma.

After doing my daily morning rituals and taking a bath in the ridiculously cold water, I realized I was running short on time. Amma stuffed two dosas with chutney into my mouth while I put on my shirt, and I proceeded to drink the steaming hot tea that mom had made, which I’m pretty sure burned my tongue. Anyway, after all the hassle at home, I took my bag to my dad’s car. He drove me to the stop where the huge sleeper bus with all possible movie dialogues was waiting. I made it right on time and boarded the bus. The bus was to take 24 hours to reach Mumbai. I packed my headphones, downloaded some movies, and brought some snacks along to keep me entertained.

Two hours into the journey, the bus made a stop. Everyone pretty much just got down to stretch and get some fresh air. We had just crossed the Kerala border and entered Tamil Nadu. One could sum up the whole journey as children crying in your face and grown-ups browsing the internet at full volume. After about 18 hours, and me thanking the Lord for reminding me to bring headphones, I got off the bus. My leg had fallen asleep and felt like a bear woken up from hibernation. The driver had to wake me up by saying, “Hey brother, don’t you want to get down?” and get me off the bus. After this very wonderful journey, I was eager to get to my hotel room and rest in some peace, but it turns out the bus had made a pit stop and not only did we need to board another bus to get to our destination, we had another 6 hours of travel. The second bus arrived, and everybody boarded the bus, thankfully all the kids had gone to sleep. I very much enjoyed those last 6 hours with my movies, snacks, and music. The journey took a total of 27 hours, and I was happy because I had some peace. When I finally got to my hotel, I was bombarded with phone calls from the ‘groom,’ also known as my friend. He wanted me to be there with him before they left their house. I was supposed to have a few hours to freshen up before going to the marriage, but the bus arriving 3 hours late destroyed those plans. So, I quickly put on my navy blue jubba that Amma had neatly ironed and folded and got to the destination. Akash, as I called him, came to greet me with a warm hug. I saw his room thoroughly cleaned with new sheets and a wonderful scent of some expensive room freshener for the first time ever. Getting my photos taken as the groom’s groomsman made my journey worth it, and not only that, the mutton biriyani and all the other wedding snacks just made my journey all worth it.