Travelling is a passion that Lalita Chandrashekhar, president of DBMS English School and her husband, B. Chandrashekhar (retired) head of Finance from the Tinplate Company of India share.
Their life is best described as a common journey over time.
?We go for trekking almost every year and have had some fantastic experiences over the years. We usually avail the package trips and prefer to travel in a group of 10 to 15,? says B. Chandrashekhar enthusiastically.
?We made it a point to visit places every year even when our children were in school. We alternately went to south and north India to familiarise them with our rich culture and tradition,? says Lalita reminiscing the summer vacation trips that are a part of their cherished travel experiences.
Lalita, who hails from Chennai, moved to Calcutta from her college days. B. Chandrashekhar was born and brought up in Jamshedpur. He is a pucca Jamshedpur boy. Lalita took an instant liking to the place when she arrived here.
Regarding their common love Latita says, ?I saw it on TV somewhere that life is like a book and those who do not travel only read a chapter of it. I completely agree with the sentiment.?
Both husband and wife believe that life offers opportunities that should be grabbed. Therefore, they are only too happy with their daughter Smriti a successful chartered accountant living in Mumbai and Sharad their son, staying in the US. ?True we get lonely at times but if we look at the other side of the coin, it gives us the opportunity to visit more places in our leisure,? says Chandrashekhar, while his wife nods to the statement.
With the children away, the parents are thrown together with a lot of free time. Sunday mornings are usually reserved for golf for B. Chandrashekhar. ?I play golf twice during the week and on Sunday. On week days I play 9 holes but Sunday is the day when I play 18 holes?, says the avid golfer.
He is proud of the fact that his two children are equally fond of sports though they took naturally to basketball.
?Sharad liked both basketball and tennis during his school days and Smriti was even a National level basketball player,? says the proud father.
Apart than the travelling bug, there are very few similarities between the two. B. Chandrashekhar usually prefers north-Indian cuisine with less spices and Lalita swears by south Indian food and loves her idlis and dosas
Star Plus is Lalita?s favourite channel where she catches her daily soaps after a tiring day's work. Music relaxes her a lot and she likes listening to semi-classical Hindi music. With B. Chandrashekhar , there are no prizes for guessing that sports channels tops his list. ?In the US, they have an exclusive golf channel with so many tournaments round the year,? says he with a long face.
Having led an eventful life all these years, the Chandrashekhar?s are yet to get over the excitement that every visit brings along with it. They long to revisit Hemkund Saheb, which at an altitude of 13,500 feet has a temple dedicated to Laxman. Lalita also mentions Sandakphu, a place near Darjeeling where they once went trekking. Another place they would love to go next is Vaishno Devi. They have always wanted to visit the place but due to their busy schedules, they had to defer it always. But they are determined that they would make it some day very soon.
For now they are busy planning a trip with their son and daughter-in-law who would be visiting them soon. ?Our son will be visiting us in December along with our daughter-in-law. They have been married only for three months now,? says Lalita revealing that she has already meticulously planned out the places that the family will visit together.
Saswati Mukherjee
