"Are you here for Happy Days?" was one of the first questions we were being asked when arriving at our bungalow on Patnem beach.
After 10 hours in transit, jetlag hitting in, two more hours in the very crowded back of a Taxi with dust filling our nostrils, the taxidriver was being more attentive to the radio than the road. And he kept chanting a not so reassuring ' Yes yes, no danger and very pleasant indeed, sirs'.
We were driving in utter darkness for our final destination. With eyes closed we hung on to the effectiveness of – and trust in – the dangling Ganesh keeping us safe from an almost-certain-accident just waiting to happen.
If it was due to the skills of the driver, his experience with this specific road in darkness, his honking horn scaring the animals and passing cars off the road – or simply Ganesh watching over us, I do not know.
But I know this: we arrived at a little place of heaven on earth. And the answer to the question
" Are you here for Happy Days?"
" Yes, we are here for very happy days, indeed."
