Certified crazy

A quick update on what I have been up to:

• Took a train with Aanjhan to Pune last Friday, to meet Runa, Sankarshan and Ramkrsna. Train route was amazing. Need to take the train next time.
• Talking to random people in a train and passing time is simply awesome. Like one of them said, 77 INR, not bad at all!
• Went to Raigad and Mulshi lake. Both are awesome places to be in. Check flickr streams here, here and here.
• Runa treated us to some awesome home cooked bengali meal.
• Ramki treated us to some more of his uncle jokes.
• Sankarshan threated me and ramki with “Don’t move a muscle” while the 5 of us travelled up the mountain in a 4 seater ropeway car

A much needed vacation well spent.

And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,

No longer blown hither and thither;

The last lone aster is gone;

The flowers of the witch hazel wither;

The heart is still aching to seek,

But the feet question “Whither?”

Ah, when to the heart of man

Was it ever less than a treason

To go with the drift of things,

To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end

Of a love or a season?

So, it drizzles again.

And then, it rained.

My company was toying with the idea of an adventure club. The MDC guys put up a meeting of the ones interested, sometime after evening tea on Tuesday, and unanimously, everyone (around 25) agreed to go for a trek to Lohagadh, on the Saturday. (Fastest decision AFAIK.) Around 12 finally decided they were up for it.

So this last Saturday, 14 of us went down to Lohagadh.

I am about to write down incidents that I remember, in random order, instead of narrating the whole adventure trip.

• Had to get up at an ungodly hour - 3:30 am - to get ready and reach dadar station by 5 am.
• The two hours of the train journey were spent in snacking or sleeping.
• Lonavla has a pleasant paced life. Not too early, not too late.
• 9, including the driver, were stuffed in a 6 seater.
• 6, including the driver, were stuffed in a 3 seater (that too, with me and another fellow like me in the rear seat)
• Did not get tired of walking, for a change. (Yay!)
• Never heard an HR person swear like that before. Was it fun!!!
• Nimbu pani never tasted sweeter. (Had it halfway up the hill)
• Ate under a tree, then slept under it - like a nomadic tribe.
• A *beep* monkey snatched my bag of chocolates and tore away at the bars, and gems, and ate them all.
• The same species also grabbed hold of one of the bags and tore it open to get hold of some mangoes and bananas.
• While sitting on a rock, and looking at a sunny sky, I heard some thunder, turned around to see thick black clouds.
• People started packing and running back. Windcheaters were out, cameras and mobile phones in.
• Wind + rains slapped us. Left, right and center. (Some blame the morning abuses to shivaji and his horse by one of the roadies to be the cause of the wrath)
• Laughed, shivered, got scared, and felt happy - all at the same time.
• Missed someone.
• One of the roadies kept harassing all animals he came across after the attack by the monkey - on the bag he was holding. Crabs, dogs, red velvety bugs/insects, earthworms - all had to face his wrath.
• Some of us enjoyed the quiet serene atmosphere, and took it all in.
• Some started behaving in abnormal ways.
• Some couldn’t help not calling Mr President, Mr President.
• Some got real tired and swore and cussed out loud.
• Some became nostalgic about their past treks to the same place.
• The infamous dog followed / showed us the way back down when it was pouring heavily.
• Sat down in a carrier truck
• Saw one of the roadies merrily clickety click away random photos - some of them came out really well.
• Laughed our backsides off when watching the photos on a projected screen - when handpicking photos to be sent to the banglore and mumbai centers. Some photos got really appreciated. Especially the ones just before it started raining.

All in all, was a helluva good one.

Its that time of the year again. Rains.

Geeli mitti. Sukhe patte. Khaali sadak. Ped ke neeche ruke hue log. Kaagaz ki kashtiyaan. Raincoat pehen ke paani me khelte hue bacche. Saree utha kar chalti hui auntiyaan. Bhari hui autorickshaws. Office me late pahunchna. Geele hue kaagaz aur kitaaben. Chatri me hole. Pair chappalon se phisalna. Sardi. Geyser ke paani se nahana. Juhu beach pe bhutte aur garam chana masala. Maa ki god me sokar kahaani padhna. Paneer ke pakode. Mug bhar ke coffee. Adrak wali chaai. Sadak pe bheegte hue paani puri khana. Road cross karte karte chatri kauva hona. Zor se hass padna. Radio pe romantic gaane sun kar kisi ko yaad karna. Garam kande ke bhajiye. Tomato ketchup aur chatni. Chappalen kharab ho jaana. Maa ki daant. Kapde geele rehna. Kaapna. Apni besuri aawaaz me gaana. Hasna. Geele kabutaron ko khidki pe baithe dekhna. Aur garam chaawal dena. Aakhri aam ke liye jhagadna. Sab ka ek ek piece khana. Moongfali ko boil karke khana. Chilke ke dher me ek moongfali dhoondh ke khana. Aur uske liye jhagadna. Ice cream khana. Aur doctor ke paas dawa lene jaana. Haste haste wapas lautna. Dawaa na khana. Baarish ruk jaane par, chaand ko dekhna. Chaand ka badal ke peeche chip jaana. Geele hote hue beach par lehero ke saamne khade hona. Aur aakhen bandh kar dena. Aur kisi khaas shaks ka hasta hua chehra nazar aana. Aur aankhon se kuch aansoo-on ka nikalna. Khushi ke. Gum ke.

Aur fir se fir wahi zindagi shuru hona.

Its that time of the year again.