I Lost a Neck Pillow and Found a Story

When I was leaving for India, my husband suggested that I should carry his travel pillow. I wanted to give it a try, so I did. Later I realized that it was too thick and high for my neck, but I still remembered to carry it with me on the way back.

My journey home was long—Bangalore to Delhi, Delhi to London, and London to Boston. I didn’t have much to carry back, so I kept the pillow in my carry-on bag for the Banglore Delhi flight.

At Delhi airport, I knew I had a long flight ahead. I remember going to the lounge, then stopping by the bathroom right before boarding. I opened my carry-on to take out the things I wanted for the flight and pulled out the pillow. Somewhere between the bathroom and the boarding gate, I lost it.

As soon as I entered the plane, I remembered. I immediately asked the staff if I could go back and look for it, but they kindly said they would check for me. The hostess smiled and said, “Looks like you’ll have a long flight without that neck pillow.”

Nobody could find it.

Instead, they noticed there were a couple of empty rows and suggested they could let me sit there so I could stretch out and sleep. It was such a thoughtful gesture.

She quietly settled me into one of those rows. Apparently, someone else had the same idea. A woman came and occupied the other seat in the row of three. For a moment, I wasn’t happy. I thought, “There goes my plan to stretch out and sleep.” But something about her made me feel like I should start a conversation.

We started simply.

“Where are you headed?”

That one question turned into hours of talking.

She was a yoga teacher and Ayurveda practitioner in her mid-50s with three children—two sons and a daughter, ranging in age from 17 to 23. Her husband is a white American whom she met while working in Europe in her early twenties. Life had taken her through Europe, Massachusetts, Bangalore, and eventually back to California.

I told her about my own journey, my philosophy of paying it forward, how much I value spending one-on-one time with people because every individual has a story worth hearing, and the philosophy behind Desi Moms Network and how it is different from any support group.

We talked about life in California and Massachusetts, the differences in people and culture, our experiences in India, and how dangerous it can be for any country or society when politics and religion become too intertwined. She was going on an Alaska cruise in July, so naturally, I showed her my Alaska pictures. We connected on so many levels.

It was funny because both of us had boarded the flight with exactly the same plan—to catch up on sleep and simply rest.

Instead, we ended up spending hours talking about life, work, children, women, careers, choices, travel, and everything in between.

Somewhere during that conversation, I completely forgot about the missing neck pillow.

In fact, I became grateful for losing it.

Had I not misplaced that pillow, I might have settled into a corner, fallen asleep, and missed meeting someone whose life intersected with mine in such an unexpected and meaningful way.

I texted my husband to tell him I had lost his pillow. I felt a little guilty.

His reply made me laugh.

“I’ll buy a few more in Bangalore next time.”

That simple response somehow captured the whole experience.

Sometimes what we lose makes room for what we are meant to find.

I boarded that flight thinking I had lost a neck pillow. Instead, somewhere between the Delhi airport bathroom and the London, I gained an unforgettable conversation, a new perspective, and a reminder that the best travel stories are rarely about the destination.

The story of a missing neck pillow turned into the story of meeting another fascinating human being somewhere between Delhi and London. And in the end, the conversation was worth far more than the pillow ever was.

Travel keeps reminding me that destinations are wonderful, but often it is the strangers we meet along the way who become the most memorable part of the journey. Sometimes, all it takes is losing a pillow to find a story worth telling. 

A kid enjoying his neck pillow in London lounge

 Delhi Airport someone is enjoying that neck pillow :)

One Evening Away From Everyday Life - Moms in Boston

 A few months ago, I asked the moms in our group a simple question:

“What would you want to do for yourself, your family, or your children as an activity?”

I took inventory of all the ideas and slowly started working on them — one event at a time. Boston Harbor Cruise was one of the choices many moms mentioned, and it stayed in the back of my mind for a long time. To be honest, it was an expensive proposition, and I was not even sure enough moms would join if I planned one.

Still, the idea sat on my list.
Every now and then, it would pop back into my mind.

A few weeks ago, I finally decided to give it a try.

Finding the right combination of date, timing, commute to Boston, and budget was not easy. I finally settled on the Boston sightseeing cruise.

Most families were busy with Duck tour celebrations on Saturday, so I thought maybe moms could take one evening out for themselves on the long weekend Sunday.

Planning began. A young mother in the group the responsibility for money collection and RSVP and parking arrangement. 

In the beginning, it was hard to imagine we could actually pull it off. Some moms were concerned about driving and commuting into Boston. Slowly, a few mothers offered to carpool, the date got finalized, the deposit was paid, and suddenly the plan became real.

And just like that, these 20 pairs of shoes took 20 moms out of their everyday grind and brought them to a Boston sightseeing cruise on a rainy evening. A perfect example of how, when you plan things, the weather sometimes adds another layer to your plans.

The original plan was to hang out outside the terminal and enjoy the waterfront before boarding. Instead, because of the rain, we gathered inside the Starbucks at Marriott Long Wharf and, for almost an hour, just hung out, made noise, laughed loudly, and took dozens of pictures like college girls meeting after years.

The moms came from 13 different towns. We had five carpools coming from different directions. Honestly, just organizing that itself felt like an achievement.

My whole idea was simple — we would do the cruise, maybe eat some snacks there, and everybody would head home.  The rain was disappointing, but it did not deter these mothers one bit. Everyone showed up dressed beautifully, carrying jackets, comfortable shoes, umbrellas, and the excitement of simply getting away for a few hours.

The cruise boarding got delayed because of the weather, but once we boarded, the mood completely changed.

We went to see a foggy Boston, barely paying attention to what the narrator was explaining. Instead, we took hundreds of pictures, laughed endlessly, made jokes, and simply enjoyed one another’s company. There were so many firsts that night.

There was a smaller crowd besides us, and the 20 of us slowly took over most of the ship. At one point, we formed a circle in the middle while the narrator continued giving history lessons to the rest of the passengers. Some moms stayed inside talking nonstop, some walked upstairs into the cold wind to take outdoor pictures, some grabbed drinks from the bar, and somehow we kept splitting into smaller groups and coming back together again.

Watching everyone so relaxed and carefree felt special.

When the cruise ended, nobody really wanted to go home. Only two moms left. The rest of us kept standing there asking,
“Now what?” Everyone wanted to stay for dinner.

At almost 8:45 at night, the race began to find a restaurant in Boston willing to take 18 women for dinner. One tavern was about to close and was supposed to take their last order at 9, but we walked in anyway with hope and a big request.

It turned out to be our lucky night.

The restaurant staff quickly rearranged tables, brought 18 seats together, cooked for us, welcomed us warmly.

And honestly, that dinner became one of the best parts of the evening.

Sitting around that long table under warm lights, sharing fries, salads, stories, laughter, and random conversations, it suddenly did not feel like an “event” anymore.

It felt like friendship.

Like belonging.

Like women finally pausing life for a few hours to breathe.

For those few hours, we were not only moms, wives, caregivers, chauffeurs, cooks, therapists, or problem-solvers.

We were just us.

It was heartwarming to watch these women do something they do not always get to do. Many of them came to Boston at night just for this gathering. Many stepped outside their routines and comfort zones to say yes to themselves for once.

These shoes have many stories to tell.
Stories of courage, friendship, freedom, healing, laughter, and women slowly finding themselves again. 

Boss Lady -thats what they call me- I kind of started liking this now. 

Boston Duck Tour: A Day of Joy, village, and Togetherness

Some events are planned on paper. Some are planned with heart.

And when 40 families, 140 people, and countless emotions come together, you realize how much courage it takes to simply dare to dream.

Planning any event for anybody other than your family is always a difficult task. You keep thinking about so many things, and when the event involves families with kids with different needs — it is always challenging.

Especially when it is in an enclosed environment where families have no freedom to leave in the middle of the event.

But unless you dream, how will you manage or do it?

So I dared to dream.

A Boston Duck Tour for families from Desi Mom’s Network.

There were lots of emails back and forth, phone conversations, reading reviews, checking maps, going through frequently asked questions, and finally, a day was set.

People signed up.

I was planning for two buses first, then three, and eventually added a fourth one. There were still families reaching out, but I realized that 140 was a good enough number.

After the Family Day celebration, I was determined not to take everything on myself, so I chose five mothers to volunteer along with three of the admins. Every bus had two people in charge.

They were given task lists a week before, sent materials to read in detail, and received detailed instructions again in a reminder the night before. I had already done the seat allocation in advance. Every bus had families from different towns.

Finally, the day came.

To my surprise, everything was perfect. People were there before time. It looked like everybody was excited.

These volunteer mothers did an amazing job taking pictures, posting in the group, and giving out name tags.

When we reached there, we took a group picture — or at least tried to capture 140 people in one frame.

It looked like a train station in India. Then the group leaders took pictures of each bus group. And then they took pictures of each family. They flawlessly executed my vision.

The real joy was seeing the kids excited, and I think the cupcakes and stickers I carried helped amplify that happiness.

The staff was amazing and grateful that everything was planned well. They did not have to worry about counting people because all 40 families already knew in advance which bus they were going on and who would be with them.

The tour started.

The kids enjoyed it, and so did the parents. Most of them were doing it for the first time — not with strangers, but with families who were just like them. As one mother put it, “We all are in the same boat.” The drivers and narrators were awesome on all the buses. The kids had an exciting time going from land to water and then steering the boat.

Most of the time, these kids are deprived of such opportunities, but today they had a great time. They were treated well, and parents could breathe easy because their kids were in a non-judgmental environment.

We got back to the Museum of Science. Some families hung out, some left, but we all ended the day with gratitude.

For a change, I am focusing not on what did not work well, but on everything that did.I am relieved and full of gratitude that everything worked out well.

The 40 families had a great time. The smiles on their faces and the hugs from those children are the only things I want to remember. At the end of the day, it was never really about the buses, the schedules, or the logistics. It was about belonging, laughter, shared experiences, and creating memories together. 

Dad decided to skip this event, but the boys were my plus-ones. Sadly, I don’t have any pictures with them. Something to fix at the next event :) They got to steer the boat so did the mom :)