Movie: To THAT line and back.

We starred in movie. Somewhere between between an action adventure and a youth happy movie, it was an experience of a lifetime I'd say.

Cast: Just us, meaning....first years uninvited.

Location: From IGIDR gate to IGIDR Guest House via Bhandardara.

Director: Ahana and Co. and SMIT.

Producers: We dutch.

Music Director: Lakshmi (for me only).

Here is a word I never use: awesome. The trip was quite simply "awesome".

From starting out in a little blue bus called Manjunatha at two in the morning, till the moment I dropped dead in my bed after 22 hours of non-stop fun, it was awesome!

We tried playing antakshari, and got stuck teasing people when they sang, "aaj kal tere mere pyar charche". When someone sang "pencture", all I could think of was how it could happen to our bus. And when the bus grew quieter and the night grew darker, it was a beauty I couldn't quite believe.

I hoped I would sleep on our ride up to Bhandardara. Ah well...so much for hopes. The night ride was just too beautiful for sleep. And of course when you have friends who promise to not 'let' you sleep what does it matter?! And then all of a sudden you see what looks like a dark cloud on the not-yet-morning-sky...you turn to the Arghya who wouldn't let you doze off...and of course; he is sleeping! We want the bus to stop so we can see it better. But we've just stopped a little while back. So Shreyes yells, "Bhaiyya bohut ZOR ki sussu ayi hai"! The bus stops and we jump out and the dark cloud is a hilltop behind clouds. The morning chill, and sparkling dew and every cliche you'd have heard about nature wraps us like a bit of a blanket; saying the trip will be great after all.

We stop at the stop Smit had arranged. Some people go off to see the lake, some people try to lose the dogs that hound us everywhere we go, and some others attend to more important things in 'nature'! There are ready-made toilets and obsessive ladies with toothbrushes and Listerine. There is walking to the edge where a stream is born and walking back dodging doggy droppings. There is a great breakfast of bread and eggs and poha. And tea.

We are then going to the dam. Now here is a surprise; a cement wall creates a beautiful mountain stream...river? We get wet in the dam water, they cross over to the other side, they bathe and there is a LOT of photographing. We dont wanna leave...please?

The bus ride is now to the foot of the fort. We love forts...you see we've been to Shivneri together. We stop at a small eatery. We are all quite crazed by hunger by then. It takes a good two hours for the old man and his wife to cook for us 27 brats. The food is hot, with a mild smell of burnt wood, red in color and delicious in its rustic simplicity.

Oh I forgot to mention the girl gang changing into dry clothes in the bus. Little detail...will be needed later.

We then started to walk towards the fort. "Where's the fort?", I ask. "Up there somewhere!", says one and all. Ok. We'll walk for an hour and a half says Smit. It starts to rain. We are trekking with our umbrellas. A little rain never hurt anybody. What about a lot? We'll cross that bridge when it comes. It came real fast. All that rain and we are crossing the first of many rivers.

"Don't step on the black stones". "Throw your shoes over to the other side". "How many more of these?" "DO NOT RUN".

We walk on. It rains on as well. I'm beginning to feel not-so-happy about this whole adventure. We come to the next river...actually its the same river we keep crossing and re-crossing. Its harder this time. I need to hold Ritesh's hand towards the end. I also need to open my Crocs. It takes a while for everyone to finish crossing. Some fall and some fall again. I ask the question, "Shouldn't we turn back?". No they say. Some even have philosophies about it...journey more important than destination etc. We continue. Even though the crazy rains are sure to make the river uncrossable soon. Some girls are now wanting to walk back with Purna di, who of course knows that we have to do whatever we do 27-together.

So we walk some more. And then, much sooner than expected we meet the river again. I tell Sri, "There is a thin line between stupidity and adventure and this river is that line...I AM NOT CROSSING IT". It turns out I needn't have been that loud. The guide says its impossible. Nobody will do it anyway. We find our way back to the river we'd just crossed. "Can't cross this one!" "CANT!" Its huge, angry and wont let me stand. It sweeps Garima off her feet and she is holding onto someone's arm, swinging for dear life. People are crying and being escorted or carried over to a not-much-safer side.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Yes, some people had chattering teeth and lose motions and strange insect bites, but nothing compares to that feeling...hoping and wishing and praying that everyone comes out of this safe. Its a strange feeling you know? A kinship that only a shared somewhat-misadventure can give you. New heroes, unlikely friends, and a story no photograph can tell.

So cheers to the time we spent! I'm sure even we can't repeat it.

Aaloo bonda and Chai

We went to Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Bombay today.
Our auto guy didn't know where it was.
We were starved.
They didn't let me eat aaloo bonda and chai before entering.

We walked a few miles to get to the ticket counter.
We saw boards of badly painted animals.
The safari starts at 9 in the morning.
At 9:30 a.m. the ticket counter had not opened.
They didn't let me eat aaloo bonda and chai before entering.

We sat there in sweat.
We nibbled on biscuits Sowmya had kindly brought.
I don't like biscuits.I saw the man opening the gates to the ticket counter.
We went and stood in the queue.
The counter opened and the man left.
We didn't eat aaloo bonda and chai before entering.

Another man came in.
He dusted the counter.
He left.
Yet another man came.
He gave us the tickets.
We boarded a bus.
We waited.
The first man sat in the driver's seat.
By then I thought that the first man would jump out of the bus to make lion sounds.
We didn't eat aaloo bonda and chai before entering.

The safari was a lie.
Its a zoo.
A white tiger, a tiger, a tiger cub, a lion.
They honk outside the enclosure.
The animal comes out, struts its stuff, leaves.
We didn't eat aaloo bonda and chai before entering.

The lion is old.
Will probably die day after tomorrow.
He roars like my grandpa coughs.
He made me sad.
And we didn't even have aaloo bonda and chai before entering.

We thought we'll walk to the 'caves'.
We started.
It was 7 k.m. away.
We didn't go.
You see?
We hadn't eaten aaloo bonda and chai before entering!

We ran out of the national park/bad zoo.
We crossed the road to a vegetarian restaurant.
I got a BAD dosa.
Shivangi got potatoes in her uttapam.
Our Kaapi made me throw up a little.
We hadn't eaten aaloo bondas and chai before entering.

We took autos to aksa beach.
You see we wanted to feel better.
Our auto broke down after one signal.
We took another auto.
The beach was pretty and then it was not.
Dirty.
Very dirty.
Diesel all over our legs.
By then I could cry that we hadn't eaten those aaloo bondas and chai before entering.