I’ve lived in the UK for four years now and I have been back home in India every year. There is this irresistible pull of flavours, memories and experiences that I have to get in touch with once a year at least. Although, slowly, it is becoming more about the people. Much as I enjoy travelling, while I am in India, I prefer spending time with my family and friends. My husband on the other hand loves travelling and a small initial dose of family life is enough for him. On one such need-to-travel episode I decided to go only if I could drag my parents along with me and we all went to Kathmandu, Nepal and enjoyed its charm and magnificence.


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I am lucky to have such a bond with my parents, who managed their holidays to go off on this mad scheme with my husband and me.

Today, we are glad we did it because we might never see these imposing pieces of architecture again. While I wish  for Nepal and its people’s good health, I am thankful for the bond  I share with my parents. I call them everyday, from the time I started living by myself,  irrespective of where I am in the world. Of course calling from the UK is easier because of the cheaper calling rates that are available.

Many of my friends are amazed that I call home everyday. but then I also call my husband every day, when he is away on business. I believe I can be happy anywhere as long as I can speak to the people who matter most. Where else would I get the recipes for all our traditional Bengali food if I didn’t talk to my mother everyday. Believe it or not my culinary expertise was learnt on the phone with her. Also, how else would I know of all the family gossip? Who ran away with whom, did what? and then proceeded to procreate secretly!!

My father is the fountain of trivia. A phone call to him is often more successful than Wikipedia. My latest phone-a-friend cohort is my mother-in-law. We have bonded over the years and nowadays  I speak to her on the phone more than my husband does. Not surprising, we often resort to some friendly male bashing and family gossip!

In today’s world of Skype, Viber, Google hangouts and Whatsapp calling facilities, writing a blog post about my mobile phone calling habits might be a trifle uncool. But, I don’t have to bother about how good my Wifi connection is, or whether my service provider gives me unlimited data to keep in touch with my family and friends across the world. I can call them at a drop of a hat or maybe the rupee!

*This is a sponsored post with my own content.

 

Written by Amrita Dasgupta - Visit my blog for more food and travel stories
I love to travel, discover new things, experience new cultures and then I get back home and experiment with the new food and recipes I discovered on my travels. My blog is about all those life experiences. If you’ve enjoyed this post, keep in touch with Drifting Traveller on Twitter and Facebook or by adding my blog to your RSS feed. Follow my blog with Bloglovin or Networked Blogs! If you really like reading the Drifting Traveller why not share it with people you know who'd like to read it too.