US Diary (02-Dec-2023)

On 10th September, Friday I woke up early in the morning and after my daily routine and breakfast I got ready to go to the Newark airport in the afternoon. I was thrilled at the thought of going to meet my grandson Sarath and his wife Athira within a few hours. We had booked tickets to Oakland airport in California. The flight was scheduled to take off from Newark at 5.30 PM. We reached Newark at 3.40 PM and waited for the wheelchair to arrive which we had requested while booking the tickets. It can take time sometimes due to nonavailability of vacant wheelchairs or due to scarcity of navigators. I have seen a navigator controlling two chairs at a time so as to get the passengers in time to their gates. To save time and effort, to get the formalities done easily, some passengers book wheelchairs even though they may not need. Passengers in wheelchairs usually get prioritized over passengers waiting in queues to get their luggage checked in, or to get their boarding passes or to board the flight. This attracts certain passengers to avail the wheelchair facility even though old age or disability may not be a factor in their cases. For senior citizens, it is helpful when you are flying for the first time and are unaware of the formalities of a particular country or have accent/language barriers. Anyway, within a few minutes, the wheelchair arrived and after printing boarding passes from the kiosk and dropping our luggage at the counter, we proceeded for the personnel screening and hand baggage checking, which got done easily. The professionalism (timing, punctuality and sincerity) of the staff is worth mentioning and highly appreciated. We reached the waiting lounge at 4.20 PM. Boarding started exactly at 4.45 PM. After completion, the flight took off in time. The scheduled time for arrival at Oakland was 11.30 PM US EST which was 8.30 PM in California. Though wheelchair was available, there was no navigator. Sree took the role of the navigator. Athira appeared in front of us by the time Sree collected the luggage from the carousel and Sarath (I call him Saju) was waiting right outside the door in his warmed-up car. I felt proud to get in my grandson's car and to be driven to his house for the first time which was only 15 minutes from the Oakland Airport.

At home, we were received by his pet, a golden retriever named "Logan" and his friend "Gucci" another golden retriever. They looked like twins. Logan is well trained by his master (Saju) and he curiously looked at us while Gucci made some unhappy sounds (whine?) looking away, seeing the visitors who broke his privacy. Poor Gucci, he might have been missing his owners badly as they had gone to India on vacation. Gucci wasn't ready to even wag his tail. They had a big play pen with personal kennels on either side and when left alone, they would play happily without barking.  Except for their personal needs, they were quiet. 

Saju, who knew how much afraid I was of dogs, confined them to their play pen always, while we were there.  At the same time, both Saju and Athira regularly found time to visit, pat and talk to them and to satisfy their needs. They loved them so much and were taking care of them just like children. Although I felt pity for the poor pets, I was unable to shed my fear. Sree and Preetha became friendly with them from the beginning itself.

By the time we took shower, dinner was ready on the dining table. Athira had spread a variety of dishes that she had cooked and after having a delicious supper, we sat for a while and chatted. We then went to bed, and I slept peacefully in my grandson's new home feeling contented.

California is not new to me as I had visited and stayed with Sree and family for six months some ten years back. That was my last visit with OPR to my son's place. My husband's health was deteriorating by that time. So, we had to restrict visiting places. Still, during that trip, we managed to see the city of San Fransisco and its attractions, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, Lake Tahoe etc. 

We were living in Pleasanton at that time. Saju found time to take us back for a tour of the neighbourhood. We saw our old house. It is a spacious beautiful big house which was dear to my son and Preetha. Ajay was a middle school student then. Preetha's parents had also travelled with us from India on that trip and we enjoyed each other's company. Pramod, Preetha's brother came visiting from Singapore, and spent a few days together with us. Going through the memory lane brought some mixed emotions, a sort of sweet and sore feeling in my mind.  I sincerely imagined, how much happier I would be, to visit my grownup grandson, if only OPR was there with me. 

In the morning, Saju and Athira went for a walk with Logan and Gucci in the nearby park. Sree and Preetha joined them. Logan got his exercise at the same time having a great time fetching ball. The video recording was fun to watch. Gucci who is younger to Logan had some catching up to do. He however gave some stiff competition to Logan. Logan also demonstrated some of his specialized skills obeying orders from Saju. 

Later during the day, Saju and Athira took us to their town's weekly farmers market where the farmers sold their organic farm produce (fresh vegetables, fruits, jams, cakes, homemade pastries, ice creams etc.). By the time we reached this weekly event, people had crowded there, and it was fun to watch people of different ethnicity talking in different languages. We came across several people of Indian origin as well who were speaking in different Indian languages.

The weekly market had many attractions, like small bands singing and playing different instruments with small nearby hubs selling different kinds of homemade juices and brews including varieties of tea, coffee, chocolate etc. This market was setup in front of the Hayward town hall, where the street was blocked to traffic and the farmers were permitted to build temporary tents to sell their goods. Authorities have taken steps to mark the space separately from other roads and diverted the vehicles putting barriers and signs. We enjoyed walking in the sun which was not all that hot. People bought vegetables, tubers, leafy vegetables including different varieties of spinach, kale, and various kinds of fruits in bulk. Saju and Athira joined them and bought their requirements of vegetables and fruits for the week. The four of them had some local pastries that they ate standing in the sun and liked it so much. I also tried the local lemon tea for the first time. Before leaving the market, we clicked some photos in front of the town hall.

In the evening, we went to worship in the Siva, Krishna temple at Livermore, a nearby town. It was the day of Deepavali and large crowd of devotees were coming to worship in the temple. There were volunteers controlling and directing the traffic and we managed to enter the temple premises and find a parking space close by. A special yagna for Goddess Mahalakshmi was going on in a big tent temporarily set up in the front yard of the temple. Chanting of mantras and Ashtothara Pushpanjali were in full swing where more than 200 devotees, each one individually was doing Yajna with flowers and Akshatham (grains of rice) to the Goddess under the direction of a priest. We were lucky to chant with them for some time, watching the group's performance.

We then went on our way to Dublin to visit my niece's daughter "Hridya" (Sonu) and family. Her husband "Prasanth" received us at the entrance to their house. His parents were visiting them. We knew them from Kerala. Sonu has two small children, a boy and a girl. We call them "Kannan" and "Kingini". Kannan played guitar for us. He has been practicing for an upcoming performance and he played really well. Kingini played with her toys for a long time in her large play area. She preferred the company of her grandfather and was keen on watching everyone from her grandfather's lap. By the time it was for us to leave after enjoying a nice dinner, Kingini became friendly with Sree and Preetha. Although Preetha had put all the effort, it was Sree who Kingini allowed to carry her for a short time. 

As usual, Logan and Gucci were waiting for Saju and Athira at home, and we watched them play and show their happiness and affection for some time. After enjoying the fruit salad made by Athira, we sat for some time chatting, while Sree and Saju were busy setting up an account in "YouTube" for me. After finishing that, we bid good night and went to sleep.

The next day, we woke up a little late since we were very late to go to sleep the night before. We had an invitation from Sunil and Syama (Preetha's cousin and wife) for lunch that noon. They are living in Belmont near San Francisco. We reached their house before noon. The roads took us to them through hilly places. When we reached their house, Sunil came to our car with his son and received us. His father-in-law and mother-in-law were visiting them. A little later, Sunil's daughter also came out and received us. Two little smiling children. While talking, Syama's mother reminded me of her brother, late "Kumardas" who was a friend and classmate of OPR. I too remembered as OPR's friend had mentioned that to me some time ago when we used to frequently visit his house in Palakkad. We had a pleasant time chatting and after a sumptuous lunch with all of them, we decided to go back. In the evening, we dropped our previous plan to visit San Fransisco. We preferred to return and take rest for some time. Anyway, Syama suggested that we can get a good view of the city, if we proceed a little further from their house, as the road was climbing up to more heights. We did that on our way home and got a good view of the city. 

After taking rest for some time, Saju took me in his car to the park and Athira came walking, guiding Logan and Gucci to join us at the park. We took pictures with them, and to my surprise children decided to do a small reel, my first. As they had come prepared with a travel chair for me, I found it easy to join and share all these fun. Athira demonstrated the steps that Sree and Preetha had to do, and Saju took care of the video recording. We came home before long and had evening tea with snacks and sweets. The good times continued afterwards as well. Athira, who is good at cooking and baking once again spread a variety of delicacies (both Indian and Chinese) that she had prepared. 

Following dinner, Saju and Sree decided to have a music session since they both like singing very much. Saju has many friends and they have formed a small music band. Among them were some of his college mates from Kerala. They all enjoy their weekends getting together in one of their houses and practicing music and playing instruments. Last year, they were invited to sing in the annual function of 'Manga' a well-known Malayalee organisation in US. Sree and Saju compelled me to sing. Preetha and Athira gave strong support to them. Preetha said that she represents the audience. Anyway, I had to hum with Sree.  Athira was taking video while Saju was playing the keyboard and recording the song. Indeed, a joyous memorable moment in life with a few of my children! With those sweet memories, I went to bed and fell asleep peacefully.

Our return flight was scheduled for the next day night at 9.53 PM. We had plans for the daytime to visit San Jose State University (SJSU - "San Jose" is pronounced as "[San] [Hoh] [Zay]", a Spanish name for Saint Joseph) and the Apple Inc. headquarters (Apple Park Visitor Centre) at Cupertino. As planned, the next day morning around 11 AM, we reached the San Jose State University. Athira had thoughtfully made arrangements for a wheelchair for me. She and others, taking turns one by one, pushing the chair, took me around the spread-out large campus.

SJSU was established in the year 1857. This is the oldest public University on the west coast located in San Jose, California and founding campus of the California state University system. The largest public University in Silicon Valley. This started as a normal school for training teachers. At first, its name was 'Minn's evening normal school' and was located in San Francisco. It was founded by George W Minns. In 1862, Minns evening normal school became the California state normal school. It was known famous as America's most transformative University which in future, grew to one of the top-rated Universities in California. Its name in 1921 was San Jose state teacher's college, which later came to be known as San Jose State College from 1934 onwards.  In 1972, this was renamed and from 1974 onwards this was known as San Jose State University. This has more than 2000 professors and lecturers. With a strength of more than 36000 students, this has become a large University with approximately about 4300 employees altogether.

The SJSU campus is located on 154 acres. University buildings stand on 88 acres. The main campus has more than 50 major buildings of which 23 are academic buildings and seven are resident halls. Our first stop in the campus was the "Tower hall" which is the oldest building built in 1910 in the place of the previous building which was damaged by earthquake in 1906. It stands majestically in the quadrangle, with students sitting, studying and playing ball in the surrounding lawns. 

The students call themselves as 'Spartans' from 1925 onwards as a tribute to ancient Greek warriors. SJSU provides a comprehensive university education granting bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in 250 areas. Computer science, Mechanical engineering, and computer engineering are the toughest majors to get into SJSU. Average class size is less than 36 students. In the list of Forbes America top colleges 2023, San Jose State University stands in the top hundred. Its sports team won NCCA national titles in track and field, cross country, golf, boxing, fencing and tennis.

Classes were going on in full swing. We went inside a few buildings. In the building housing the Dept of Public Health, we read names and photos of professors with few lines of description about their qualifications on a big board. The library housed in a large building was named after Dr. Martin Luther King. It was a big modern building with several floors. We could see students studying and reading books in the library. By then, it was time for lunch. Athira took us to the "Dining Commons", a big food court with several food stalls catering different types of cuisines. At a glance, it looked like more than 500 persons could sit and dine at a time. It is not meant exclusively for students and is open to visitors as well. One can see multi-cultural, multi-ethnicity students representing multiple communities, wearing different dresses, and speaking in different languages over there. Sree, Saju and Athira went to the counter and brought food, while Preetha and I sat waiting for them at a table. From there, we went to the University store. Besides all types of study materials for the students, T-shirts, jackets and tops, mugs, flasks, sports memorabilia items etc. were there for sale. Everything had the University logos affixed. Athira and Saju bought presents for us from there.

After lunch, Athira took us to the entrance gate of the University. It was an attractive piece of art with an arch on pillars. It is known as the 'Arch of Dignity, Equality and Justice'. It is designed with Spanish and indigenous roots and features in mosaic tile murals.  It commemorates the life and work of the Mexican American Labour leader and civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez. The exterior pillars depict Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union and Mahatma Gandhi. Huerta led with Chavez, the United Farm Workers in their struggle for those basic human rights for equality and justice. We were equally happy and impressed to see Mahatma Gandhi's image on one pillar which made us feel proud of our country and respect towards this country. Gandhiji's philosophy of non-violence was an inspiration to Chavez. Two pillars are presented for the work of the United Farm Workers union. They depict a male and female farm worker, while the interior of the arch is dedicated to a portrait of Chavez, a nod from Baca (designer) to the activist's humble nature, blessed symbolically. A skull represents the death of farm workers from pesticides. On top of the arch is a dark eagle representing the workers union. Eagle reminds the indigenous people of California and Mexico. Aztech eagle is a historic symbol for the people of Mexico which is the symbol of the union and represents pride and dignity to the members of the union.  The inclusion of Mahatma Gandhi traces the genealogy of resistance against those forces that denied the parity of respect to all human beings. These images are beautiful and creates a lasting impression in one's mind.

From SJSU, we proceeded to the corporate headquarters of Apple in Cupertino, California. Apple Inc. is a giant American multinational technology company, head quartered in Apple Park, spread over 175 acres with 2.8 million sq.ft of building space. Apple Park is also known as the Apple campus2 and is located at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino. When the company was founded on the first of April 1976, its name was, Apple Computer Company which was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977. Apple designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, computer software and supply online services. Apple campus is the former headquarters from 1993 to 2017. It was replaced by Apple Park (aka Apple campus2). The former building is still an Apple office and laboratory. There are 42 office locations. It has offices in Puerto Rico and Toronto in Canada. Altogether they have about 1,61,000 employees including both corporate employees as well as retail staff. The store tech support employees at Apple store are designated "Geniuses".

Apple's main investors are the Vanguard group and Black Rock Inc. Its main shareholders include Art Levinson, Tim Cook, Al Gore etc. The present CEO of Apple is Tim Cook. Steve Jobs, one of the founders, gave the name 'Apple' because he liked the fruit very much. A bite on the logo of Apple is to create a buzz among computer enthusiasts as it rhymes with a 'byte' which is a unit for data in computing and telecommunication. The future plan of the company is to start manufacturing new MacBook Pro and Mac models in 2024. Next project is to start in Austin, Texas shortly. Manufacturing locations are in China, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea.

iPhones are the main selling product. The most sold product is the iPhone 6. It is said that over five million iPhone 5s were sold within three days in September 2023. India contributed about 4% of iPhone sales in Q2, 2023. The popular and famous iPhones are the main source of revenue from 2008 onwards.

It is not easy to get into Apple. Only 0.5% get selected in interviews yearly. Employees of Apple get discount on some purchases. Apple Park is not open to the public. People can visit the Apple Park Visitors' center. Saju took us there. There in an Apple store in the Visitor's center from which one can buy Apple products. On one side of the store is the actual visitors center. There we can see the entire Apple corporate campus through augmented reality on large screen computers or ipads that they provide. It was an elaborated view with brief descriptions. We came out of the center and posed for photos in front of the Apple sign. It was almost time for us to pack up by the time we returned back to Saju's house. Thus, our short visit to California was eventful and very touching. Parting, even if it is for a short while, is painful. It was not different this time either. Both Saju and Athira wished if our stay could be extended for a few more days. We also felt the same and told them that we will plan to stay for more days on our next visit. Saju and Athira dropped us at the airport. We then bid farewell reluctantly. The flight took off on-time and we landed in New Jersey the next day early morning at 6.30 AM before scheduled arrival time. We took Uber and got back home soon afterwards.

I decided to rest for some time, while both Sree and Preetha started attending to their duties.