They went back on Saturday. And we are again alone.

Anand arrived in early morning of December 31, 2007 with Shannon and the little Emma. We had been waiting for this for a long time. We were seeing Emma as well as Shannon for the first time. They removed our loneliness and made us feel young. All anxieties and suspicions vanished. Shannon is lovely and accommodating. She comes from a different cultural background, but she lived with us without any reservation and bestowed on us the love and respect more than what we expected. We are still villagers in many respects. To give one example, an educated lady from among the relatives visited us to meet her, and insisted Shannon to touch her feet. I got myself embarrassed. Shannon got perplexed too, but managed with real dignity that made me feel proud.

Yamuna and myself had to accompany them on the most occasions as desired by Anand, though we find it physically strenuous. We took a flight to Kolkata, stayed there for almost five days, visited Baidyabati, and Dakhineswar, and returned to Delhi by Rajdhani Express. It was a great experience to be together with Shannon and Emma. We had similar experience when we went out with them to Jaipur and Agra. We had quality time together at Chokhi Dhani and Taj View Hotel. Whenever Shannon and Anand went out to Delhi, Kurukshetra or to local market with driver, we kept Emma with us. It was a great experience. She is peaceful and can live with any one. I spend playing with her. She has learnt crawling, and turning around during the period she was here, and she got a tooth too. Her all sweet gestures and actions will remain alive in our mind for years to come.