I spent a good part of 2009 in Chennai. It started out as a few weeks trip but ended up being longer than expected. Not that I am complaining. It was the longest I had spent in Chennai and my family. I did not venture out of home much, I spent most of the time indoors. The windows thrown open bringing in a cacophony of sounds – the kids enjoying summer break, people carrying on their chores complaining about the swealtering heat, the strains of music as a car reverses out of its spot and I could go on and on. The sounds were special, it singalled life outside. For all this, we lived in a gated community with semi-detached homes, restricted access and a limited number of families but it did generate a noise or should I even call it a noise?

Back in Houston, I am doing the same – sticking indoors, and throwing my patio doors open but there is silence or near silence. A randomn car goes by, the sierns of a passing ambulance and other than that it is silence. I strain my ears further to catch the strains of life going on. I can hear the AC humming along (yeah we live in Texas and it has been 90+ for months) but nothing else.

The silence is eerie, it is strange yet comforting. It is different….