THE SANKI 7 SERIES

Episode 1: Rise of the Tranporter

Hi people I am back after a self imposed hibernation with the Sanki 7 series. This series includes my travel tales with 6 fellow travellers. Let me take this opportunity to introduce them by their pet-names of course, (as I mentioned in my first post, I don’t mention real names if there is an iota of possibility of me getting sued)

Lallan : 7 feet tall and the most sensible (least sanki) member of the Gang @ least till before the beginning of the journey

Rakka : a 26 packed monster, can scare anybody with his recurring laughter

The Joker: the ‘I know it all’ person.

Dev T: Adventure sports freak, hyperactive, beauty-care specialist. Carries all the beauty products that have been invented till date along wid him wherever he goes.

P.A. :- Supertalkitive, she can survive without oxygen but not without talking.

The Transporter: The Overconfident Driver

And me : I gotta have an opinion on everything, even when its not required and also the most sarcastic member of the group.

So Here we begin the first tale of the Sanki 7 series :-

Mid October 2010, our mid semester exams had just ended.... the gang (people mentioned above) wanted a break after rigorously slogging and working hard for the exams.. and hence wanted to go out on a tour. For me it was a welcome break that would provide me the opportunity to forget about the guilt that I had hardly studied for the exams.

06:00 hrs, Dev T –“Haan ji... kaha ho aap ??? kya aur 20 minute... theek hai..” I overheard him talking to our driver... all of us half awake waited near the football ground of our college... which is located on a very beautiful hill.The air there does not recognise pollution, green mountains crowned by grey clowds occupy most part of the 360 degree Canvas.... in dawn its even more beautiful...calm breeze... butterflies.... birds chirping...... constitute to form a great orchestra....which soothes your mind....



The Transporter

 Vrrooooooom ....... BEEP BEEP...... SCREACH......... suddenly we see a red coloured Tavera..... disturbing the calm of the beautiful landscape mentioned above as it tears its way into the CANVAS.... the vehicle zooms in and does a 270 degree turn right in front of us..... and stops.... through the window the driver gives us a stare much worse than SRK’s evil grin in the climax scene of DON. “Ulp” everyone thought in their mind. I and The Joker exclaimed in chorus... “The Transporter !!”

We embarked on the vehicle, Rakka besides the driver, Dev T accompanied by P.A. and The Joker on either side, me and Lallan occupied the last and the most spacious seats. Unfortunately Rakka had the controls of the music systems whose speakers were located right below mine and Lallan’s seats. After about a 40 minute drive we stopped at a food outlet near a petrol pump for breakfast. The Sankipana began.

P.A. came rushing out of the wash room “ Kitna Ganda toilet hai !! hum bata de aaj tak itni gandi touilet kabhi nahi dekhi" ...... she also created a few puke like noises as she kept on talking for minutes!!. Rakka stud up and starded marching towards the toilet. “Is he going to clean it himself ?” I wondered. He returned and declared “Arey bahar toh clean Likha hai !!”. all of us burst out laughing. Rakka did not get the joke, I don’t think he still does.

The journey continued. Transporter kept on driving with just one hand for more than 90% of the journey, his other hand was busy holding the mobile phone which he was using to fight with his girlfiend. He was an effortless driver I must say – he took no efforts to use the brakes, he ignored all the speedbreakers throughout the journey and the Tavera was behaving as if it was on a hurdle race. We prayed that he would drive more carefully and a bit slowly, not because we were worrying about an accident, we were concerned that his rash driving would wake up P.A. and her talking was much more fatal than a road accident.

“Oye Music Chalao yaar” shouted The Joker. “Actually, haan yaar gaane shaane lagao, thodi tafri marte hain” said Dev T. And then began a 2 hour torture session, Rakka would change songs at his own will, what was worse, he used to change any song just before the best part of that particular song.

We used to shout like school children every time we would enter a tunnel on the Mumbai – Pune expressway. I and Rakka swapped seats. Transporter and I had a brief chat, he told me about his journeys and some irritating co travellers. I shared my experience about the Cyrus episode along the Goa – Maharashtra border with him.(mentioned in one of my earlier posts titled "Lost in paradise")

As we got close to Murud, on seeing the coastline from the road on the hills, P.A. shouted “Mein to bahut masti karungi, mein yahaan.... Samundar dekhne aayi hu, watersports, beach yeah..”. “ Baki sab toh Himalaya mein trekking karne aye hai na” I said as everyone started laughing, the Transporter gave me a high 5 on the joke,I got worried Because at that time none of his hands were on the stearing. However I was more concerned about the accommodation arrangements for that night as we didn’t have rooms reserved anywhere. At the same time however a few members of the group started scheming of something else altogether. More about our time at Murud and the scheme coming up on the forthcoming posts.. Happy Reading

To be continued....

Episode 2 : The Crazy Invaders of Janjira

We disembarked from the vehicle. Dev T cautioned everyone about the harmful afternoon Sun and provided sunscreen to everyone. Suddenly we spotted a stall of hats and Dev T, Joker, Rakka and the P.A. started trying out different hats and also bargaining for them, I and Lallan waited along for 5 mins and then started walking towards the jetty, after a short walk we waited again, the rest of the gang emerged after 20 mins proudly sporting their new hats with the body language as if they had just been ‘Knighted’ by the queen of England ! what added to the frustration of me and Lallan was that they eventually chose the same hats about which they were confused about 20 mins ago. We boarded the sailboat which would eventually lead us to the Majestic Island Fort.



The Sailor

This was the first time ever in my life I had boarded a sailboat, it was a very exiting experience. One of the sailors suddenly started briefing us about the fort, “the fort is more than 900 years old and has never been conquered till date !” “Wow” I thought he kept on talking for some more time, suddenly my sarcastic mind told me “ this seems to be some form of a sales call”, “you will be able to know much more about the fort if you hire the service of a guide” informed the sailor, “Spot on Aabeer” I thought. Suddenly one of the tourist from the boat who was cracking jokes said something which offended one of the sailors, a short skirmish began and before we could understand anything the sailor jumped!! Bang on in the middle of the Arabian sea! “why is he committing suicide for such a trivial issue ?? good that he hasn’t heard any one of my jokes” I thought. “Kya Hua ??” aske P.A. “ nothing, he just got frustrated on hearing you talk nonstop and hence committed suicide,” I said the Transporter Guffawed again. The diver was actually trying to guide the boat to the jetty on the fort. this weird character was our guide for the next hour !

The guide started chanting out praises for the majestic fort. We split up into two groups Rakka, P.A. , The Joker and Dev T began their photo-shoots and paid a deaf ear to the guide most of the time. The transporter and Lallan chased the guide everywhere, Lallan even video-recorded the entire speech of the guide (as I have already mentioned he was the most sensible in all of us). I kept on managing my time in both the groups as I had to give my opinion on everything and everybody.

The fort is indeed majestic, it is one of the best concept forts I have ever seen (and this I say even after touring the land of the Maharajas, Rajasthan) its a pity that the ministry of tourism has hardly paid any attention to this place, because it has the potential to be an international tourist hotspot ! the most interesting information that the guide provided us was that Sambaji’s (Son of the Mighty Maratha Emperor Shivaji) attempts to conquer the fort. Sambaji established another island fort about 7 Kms from Janjira known as the Kasa from there he fired Cannons at the Janjira fort, unfortunately the cannons didn’t have the required range. What was even more unfortunate that the Siddis (rulers of Janjira) had a cannon of range 22 Kms ! ( The third longest in historical India). Today one can see that the Kasa fort is split up into three parts due to the wrath of the mighty canon. Later on Sambaji tried to annexe the fort through the mainland. Taking advantage of the situation Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb attacked Raigad one of the principal forts of the Maratha Empire. Sambaji had no choice but to retreat. Another unique feature about the guide was that he used to come up with a “Sher” after anything he described. A very interesting fact about the fort is that it has a fresh water lake right in it which is very surprising considering the fact the Fort is constructed on an island with salt water all around it. ( to know more about the fort, please search online because as I have mentioned in the first post, this blog is going to be much more about experiences than the destination description)

As we were boarded the sailboat on the way back The Joker and Dev T announced the scheme “ Why don’t we go to Lonavala guys ? we will get bored here” “ what ??” me and Lallan exclaimed “No way !” I thought. A small discussion began which could have very well transformed into an argument. We still had to spend time at the beach nearby, I kept on thinking on how to avoid Lonavala as I had already been there before and it is not such an outstanding destination without the monsoons. Our Guide delivered the farewell Sher “ Agar ho himmat aur taqat to Janjira ko hilakar dikhao...... aur agar na ho to mere saath do peg lagao, Janjira ko apne aap hilta hua pao !!”

The Fort Conquered

To be continued........

P.S. – In the above posts information about the history and the fort has been provided as per what had been briefed by the guide, this may or may not be authentic. I deliberately did not research on the authenticity as I wanted to write more of what I experienced. Also please ignore the errors in spellings of the location, historical figures if any, they have been kept close to the guide’s pronunciation.

Episode 3 : Mood Swings of Lallan

To Lonavala or not to Lonavala, the argument begun @ Lunch time. The Joker and Dev T very much wanted to visit Lonavala, according to them we had pre paid the cab and accordingly underutilised it as per the Kms paid for. A valid point of view (but unappealing to a leisure seeking traveller like me) they were mildly supported by Rakka (whose brainchild the entire lonavala episode was). “Arey pata hain, hum jab ghar jaatein hain sab humse poonchte rehte hain.. Lonavala gaye ki nahi, Lonavala gaye ki nahi ?? aur hum chup reh jaatein hain... itna famous hillstation hain yaar, mere checklist mein bhi hai, bas ek baar dekh le tassali ho jayegi” commented P.A. in a nasal tone. “ You guys come from the northern part of the country, hill stations for you mean great destinations like Manali, Gulmarg,... Lonavala will be very disappointing” I countered, “I am not in for Lonavala, its of no good without the rains” supported Lallan. But the Joker knows it all “ arey mujhe pata hai...” (throughout the journey for whatever anybody especially I said, she had more info  to offer) “loog kitna taarif karte hain Lonavala ki, woh kya pagal hai ?” she asked a rhetorical question. “ loog ?? toh main kya Mangal Grah se aaya hu ?” I thought. “Let us first enjoy the evening at the beach and then decide” I declared. Lallan walked off after seeing the pathetic lunch. He was even more disappointed as his girlfriend could not accompany us because her parents were not comfortable with the destination Murud, but they were fine with Lonavala (We didn’t force her much as even though we are Sankis, we are basically good people and RESPECT every1’s parent’s word).

We drove towards the kashid beach, mid-way we stopped on the road to click some outstanding snaps with the fort and the Arabian sea in the backdrop, as we proceeded towards the beach P.A. started showing all the snaps she had clicked from her SLR to me, she also kept on explaining how the current snap was different than the previous one and the one to follow since she had clicked multiple snaps of the same thing with different settings in the camera. I kept on nodding on the affirmative as if I understood everything, honestly most of them appeared same to me. But somewhere I realised that this person is not that dangerous as she had been branded by our peers, infact she is very passionate and sincere about her work, a bit childlike but that’s Ok.

We reached the beach and rushed to occupy the Hammocks in the shack, it was a quite relaxing experience after a hectic half day, we gobbled up courses of maggi, pakoras and chahas and rested in the shacks till the sun’s fury reduced ( Like crocodiles do). The only disturbance was when out of no where Rakka would come and start swinging the hammocks using all his muscle power, I felt as if I was caught up in a tornado.. things worsened when Lallan joined the prank. The situation appeared as if The Great Khali and The Big Show were terrorising Rajpal Yadav.

We headed to the waters, I was initially reluctant to venture into the sea, but the others forced ( that’s what friends are for right ?). the beach is good with decent waves, however one must be a bit careful about a few rocks which get submerged during the high tide. Everything appeared ok, we were having fun in the water. Suddenly Lallan stood up and shouted “Aargh”... before I could realise what happened, he took his right hand near his face, palm wide open and shouted “Dan... Dan Danaga....” (Ravanan style) and stared at everybody. “he has lost it” I thought. And suddenly he started lifting every member of the gang and throwing him / her into the water, I tried to hide but in vain..... he jumped, grabbed my head and forced it into the waters whenever there was a strong wave. This happened 4 – 5 times after which he found a partner in crime in Rakka, they both lifted me, one held hands the other legs, carried me some distance into the sea as if I was some form of tribal dinner and threw me into the sea. They repeated this exercise with every1, eventually Lallan did the same even with Rakka ! the monster within Lallan had come out, he did not appear sensible anymore.

After that we tried water sports, I and P.A. took some form of a boat ride whose name I can’t recollect... it was fun. The others took the Banana boat which upturned even before starting ! their ride had to stop midway as it was sunset and venture for long into the sea after sunset could be dangerous. We started walking back towards the shack... most of the gang were a few hundred steps ahead of me and Lallan. Suddenly Lallan stopped turned towards the sea, he stared for a few seconds at the glorious painting created by nature consisting blue, purple orange, grey and white and declared “ I miss you A.T.N.H.H” (his girlfriend’s name changed) he turned back and started walking towards the shack again, I smiled looked towards the same painting and felt a bit sad “I don’t have a girl in my life to miss” I thought and then continued my walk towards the shacks.

After we had bathed and changed, Lallan said “we don’t have a choice, the majority wants to go to Lonavala” I agreed. We were a bit disappointed, but it was OK since the gang being together and enjoying was more important. We had no idea about the surprises in store for us.

..... To be continued

Episode 4 : The search for Utopia

“ Hay Buddy, I hope you are ok with the Lonavala plan ?” asked Dev T, besides being my roomie in the hostel he was also like an elder brother to me (infact to everybody) and would always try to ensure that everyone was happy. The Joker joined the conversation “Oye it is also an economical option yaar..... see let me expl....”, “ITS NOT ABOUT THE COSTS”.. I cut her explanation midway “ Travelling is my passion and is perhaps the only thing in which I spend a lot of bucks provided there is some value to the destination. For example I am ready to spend a lakh right away if it is something like the Lake Palace.” Dev T gave a very wide grin which was accompanied by a “ Kya baat hai !” as if I was gonna sponsor an Udaipur tour for all of us right then “Main bhi jaugi” (even I will come) said P.A. “shut up !” I said. “ Dev T and Joker you both know me well, I am fine with whatever the group decides and yes am happy too... however you won’t be able to change my mind that Lonavala is a better option”. I was wrong.

As others were changing in one of the shacks, I stood near the Tavera accompanied by Transporter and Rakka, it was well past sunset... we could see nothing, it was dense dark (literally), only the sound of the waves kept on reminding us that there was water nearby. Suddenly I found set of plastic horns (the ones widely sported by spectators in a sports event) that I had gifted myself on Dev T’s birthday, it had red coloured lights (stuff like devils would love to wear) I shared my thought with the transporter “ I think I should wear this and venture in the dark beach, this would scare anybody (couples) having a great time there” “good idea” said the Transporter as he winked. No sooner than I sported the horns and turned on its’ lights, from nowhere a gang of dogs (the animal) charged barking towards me. I decided to immediately withdraw from my plan. The transporter couldn’t control his laughter. As always I was on the receiving end of my evil prank.

The journey to Lonavala began, I was damn hungry, I think it was about 2000hrs, I kept on telling the transporter as we came close to Alibaug to hunt for restaurants but he paid a deaf ear, he was more concerned to find the ‘correct path’ to Lonavala and once we found the path, we found no place to eat for about 2 hours. P.A.’s health began to detioriate . she was not keeping well even before the tour began, but being the high spirited individual that she was she had decided to accompany us on the tour. (in fact she had slept for only ½ an hour the night before the tour began !)

This time Lallan decided to sit besides the transporter to keep a check on his driving. “humara mobile kahan hai ??” P.A.s voice broke the calmness and then began a 30 minute search for her mobile, she went hyper, “ I have to call my dad and inform him” she said. “let us try to find it first” countered Lallan..but she wouldn’t listen.. Unfortunately we were driving in a zone which did not have any network hence we couldn’t even call her mobile and track it by its ring. P.A. kept on threatening every1 and yelling as if some retired army officer had just turned into a mental patient. After about 30 mins we found the mobile in her Camera Bag!

We reached the food zone near Khopoli, an important town on the Mumbai – Pune road and rail links. Unfortunately the outlets that we wanted to dine in were on the other side of the expressway. There was no place visible from where we could drive the vehicle to the desired food court, this meant crossing the expressway on foot past 23.00 hrs !! somehow we did manage to cross the road. And then began a long walk along the expressway to the food court.. 6 of us (the transporter decided to stay behind) all tired and hungry after a long day, walking on along one of the most important expressways of the continent, in the dark singing aloud our favourite songs. “This journey Rokks” I told the Joker as she gave me a high 5. “Everything is just Jhakkas, let’s see what more lies in store for us ahead” we had dinner @ Mc Donald’s and proceeded towards Lonavala.

We reached Lonavala past midnight. The hunt for the hotel began. The transporter took us to a place which seemed very deserted, hotels far and few in between. Did not seem like a tourist hub. Suddenly my childhood memories struck back “what is this place?” I asked the transporter “ this is not the heart of Lonavala, I have been here before, there are a lot of accommodation options near the railway station or the bus stop, take us there” although he was unwilling to do so but he eventually obliged, he did not know the way. Lallan claimed he did and asked the driver to take left from a junction, bad decission... we kept on venturing and getting lost. Suddenly we spotted a board which read “Aashram” we thought that this might be our last resort.. we kept on following the arrows of every board and eventually returned to the same place from where we had begun..., then we spotted a building which seemed like an ashram, we yelled and knocked at its gates, “hello !! anybody in ??” the only response we got were Dog barks from the neighbouring bungalows. We decided to return to the main road. By this time P.A.’s condition had worsened and we all started feeling concerned.

By then most of us had lost patience, all except me, Lallan and the transporter disembarked from the vehicle in search for hotels. We were driving @ snail’s pace on the main road and could see Rakka, P.A., the Joker and Dev T charge in and out of the tributary roads, a scene resembling some form of video game ! “don’t honk, she might just faint” ordered Lallan to the transporter referring to P.A. trying to seal a laugh.
Suddenly Rakka came out yelling from one of the tributary roads, “We’ve found it, hotel mil gaya” our vehicle followed Rakka. We could see a 2 storey building and a board besides it ------ HOTEL KRISHNA.

to be continued........

Episode 5 : The Laugh Night.

It seemed like a very low budget hotel, I walked into the reception area which took about 5 steps then entered through a door and walked another 4 steps, suddenly I looked towards my left and saw 3 double beds arranged one besides the other. “ What da F*** !” , “This is it ?” I asked the Joker. “ yes this is our room, see the good part is that we all get to stay in the same room, cool na ?” she replied. “Cool ?? where is my ancestral sword ?” I thought. I was later informed that about 15 minutes ago when Rakka was inspecting the room, after touring the entire room he asked “arey where is the room ?” I don’t blame him, this was the room that wasn’t.

It was a long room with a partition in between. There were 3 double beds on one side, a double bed and the washrooms on the other side. It was decided that the girls would sleep on the other side of the partition. I and Lallan watched the room in disbelief. Each wall was different from the other, in terms of colour texture and pattern. The ceiling was the lowest I had ever seen for a hotel room. Electric wires kept hanging from the junction of the orange bordered checked squares on the white ceiling, the wires ended with vacant bulb points. The only window to the room opened at the reception desk. It was guarded by a red coloured curtain which kept on ‘opening’ and ‘closing’ at its own will, without any human or air effort ! the only fan was a Large table fan (seemed no less than 300 years old and straight out of the Adam’s family)

P.A. was the first one to go to sleep. Lallan and Rakka rested their backs on the bed and started wondering something. I was very tired, decided to company them, from a distance I dived on the bed. Tung !!! aargh, I yelled as my knees hurt. The mattress was thinner than the local newspaper and the bed seemed to be made of iron. Lallan and Rakka burst out laughing, and then began a series of Laughter riots, I and Lallan laughed on anything and everything, specially on the decission to come to Lonavala, the team was split. We ridiculed the other team (Charlie’s Angels) consisting of P.A., Dev T and the Joker. Rakka was quick to realise that the other team consisting of me and Lallan was much more powerful and frustrated, and decided to switch teams and joined us to form the 3 monsters.

Dev T asked me to place his charger on one of the sockets in the room, as soon as I did that, the charger of my cell phone popped out of the neighbouring socket. The war began ! “what about the luxurious bungalow that your friends informed us that we would get in Lonavala ?” I asked. Lallan and Rakka burst out laughing. Rakka felt cold even in the warm room ( can’t blame him, he comes from the land where deserts outnumber mosquitoes) he was about to use the blanket but Lallan stopped him “Oh God you have used the dirty blanket ?? By Sunrise you will be infected with T.B !” I jumped out of the bed laughing. “Hay Rakka, look up” I said referring to a vacant bulb socket “that’s a hidden camera !”. Lallan commented on my discovery “by morning your kidneys will be gone Rakka” this time all of us burst out laughing. “Listen Buddy” Lallan’s face now turned serious as he addressed Rakka “Agar Kidney bachani hai toh ulta hoke so jaa, aur side mein tel ki bottle rakh de, shayad woh tujhe baksh denge” the roar of laughter that followed would have even scared the ghosts away. I said don’t worry “All is well.. all is well” referring to a 3 idiots slogan. “Hay what the hell is that ?” there was a Manhole right in front of our bed, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles..... !!” the 3 monsters starred singing and guffawing at the same time. There was a wierd sound in the room, Rakka responded “Monjulika !!” the nonsense continued for some more time. The Joker came in “see yaar this is good, just 183 rupees per head and.....” on hearing this the 3monster’s laugh rose to Tsunami heights. And then followed a blitzkrieg on Dev T and The Joker, we kept on mercilessly teasing them about Lonavala, Dev T tried a very hard comeback but was in vain... every time he tried to crack a joke on any of the 3 monsters the other 2 would just give him a blank look (most of his jokes were pathetic and deserved the response, but unfortunately even the few good ones received the same feedback). “Nobody whistle’s” Lallan said “this might be the code for get us some tea” we kept laughing nonstop for 3 hours. And then we dozed off to sleep.. after afew hours I heard some 1 knock at the door, “Rakka hide below the bed” exclaimed Lallan “theve come for your Kidneys” the 3 monsters woke up laughing. I patted Dev T and woke him up, and asked him to open the door and went back to sleep.

To be continued.......

Episode 6: The Hill Station.

Finally we all woke up well past sunrise. The Charlie’s Angels along with Rakka had planned the earlier night to visit the Bushi Dam and experience sunrise but a very hectic previous day helped us stay asleep for more than the planned time. As I entered the Bathroom to take a bath I saw the geezer in a dangerous condition, wires hanging hazardously inviting the water from the shower to cause a short-circuit. I also got to know that there was a door right behind the washroom from where one could exit out of the hotel !

After the bath I sat besides P.A., wanted to enquire about her health. “I am a bit better but not very good” she said trying to smile, “ You know” she pointed towards my fingers and said “your fingers are so small and delicate, just like a child”... “What ?? LIKE A CHILD ?? !!” I thought as I felt like choking her throat and strangle her to death with the same fingers. “ you remind me of my brother” I was speechless.

18 hours ago at the Kashid beach

P.A. :- You see Aabeer I just love the seas, the beaches. We don’t have
any beach in the part of the country where I come from.

Me :- I know that, I’ve studied Geography in school

P.A. :- You know the first time I went to a beach I was accompanied by my brother, so any time I visit a beach I remember him

Me :- That’s good, where is he ? what does he do

P.A. :- he is no more...... ( trying to control a tear, and she managed to)

Me :- Wha ?

P.A. :- He was sharing the bike with two of his friends, he was seated in the back, (3rd from, if the driver was 1st) just 5 mins before the accident, he decided to swap seats with the person sitting in between..... the person riding the bike and my brother died, the third one however survived the injures.

I felt short of words, I just wondered at the pain she has in store within, but yet keeps a smiling face most of the time
Present tense:

I felt sad and angry on myself, “I have teased her more than anybody else throughout the journey and yet she was kind enough to think of me as her brother” I thought. “I should stop the teasing.. but then that is one of the most important jobs of a sibling right ?? I will turn much worse now but let her feel better first” I thought.

At about 10.30 hrs, it was hot and sunny. Labelling Lonavala as a hill station would have been an insult to both hill station and Lonavala. We disembarked from the vehicle to have breakfast at a hotel near the dam. As the Sun started flexing its muscles I pretended to shiver “ Oh my God ! its so cold here” trying to tease the Charlie’s Angels time and again on their choice of Lonavala, Lallan also joined the prank. I continued “It might Snow anytime” the 3 Devils and transporter burst out laughing. After breakfast P.A., Dev T, Joker and I climbed uphill to visit the dam. Lallan decided to stayback since he had visited the place sometime back. The reason behind Rakka staying back is still unclear to me.

We reached the banks of the reservoir, Joker threw a slice of bread into the water, hundreds of fish battled out each other to grab the slice, we continued this for some time. The other three were very excited. I didn’t find it much fun. I had seen 20 times larger fish doing the same thing in a Lake near Jaisalmer which is right in the middle of the Great Indian Desert. “Shame on you Lonavala” I thought.

“Shikari Shambhu !” The Joker exclaimed pointing towards Dev T. Somehow his outfit, especially his Hat made him look like the famous toon from Tinkle Comics. She further went on to criticize a his Dress sense a lot, he countered and won the argument !

As the transporter was driving us towards Amby valley he showed us some of Lonavala’s famous view points which we decided to explore in detail on our way back. “next time we waill make a 3 day trip” I proposed. Everybody nodded in the affirmative, “ it will include Murud, Lonvala, Matheran, Kolhapur, Shimla, Gangtok, Gulmarg, Pudducherry.......” . “what nonsense !!” exclaimed the Joker “why not ? maximum destinations in minimum time” I replied as Rakka gave an evil grin.

We saw Amby Valley’s gate and returned. “Is this all you have in Lonavala ??” asked Joker to the transporter “Yes” he replied. “Kya Bakwaas hai yaar..... log itna kyu bolte rehte hai ??” ... I remembered my thought the previous night yet again “Log ?? toh main kya Mangal Grah se aaya hu ?”
“Magar tere checklist mein toh tu tick kar payegi na ??” Dev T asked P.A. and we laughed on his first good joke during the tour.

“hay my mom called up... there is a Bandh in Lonavala today by a regional political party ? she wants us to get out of here Asap ”..... “what ?” the group asked in unison. “yeah ... so what ??” replied the transporter. “ You knew about the Bandh ?” asked Lallan. “ he smiled and nodded in the affirmative.

It began to rain, clouds blocked clear view of the road. “see you wanted rain.. and here it is” said Dev T with a wide smile.....

To be continued......

Epsiode 7 : The Farewell

We were now on our way back to the campus. On reaching Pune we had a late but very heavy vegetarian meal at a restaurant called Tawaah .One of us ordered Kulfi Falooda, I and Rakka quickly gulped down the kulfis within no time and the rest of the group was left only with the falooda.

During the drive from the restaurant to the college, P.A. sat besides the transporter. This time I got more worried than ever before during the journey. I wondered if the transporter would set the vehicle on “auto drive” and jump of the moving car on hearing P.A. talk !

As we were ascending up the hill towards the campus, we kept on yelling and cheering on anything we saw “ College , College, College”, “Dining room, Dining Room Dining Room” “Hostel Hostel Hostel” “Doggie Doggie Doggie !!” and so on. The transporter parked the vehicle near the same football ground from where the journey began. After settling the accounts we bid him farewell. I went back to my hostel room to upload the pictures of the tour.

While the uploading process was on... my mind wandered into philosophy. It was due to these 6 friends the tour seemed so special.. not the destinations. Because it is the people who accompany you make every journey special.. even the journey of life. I discovered something new about each one of them whom I thought I knew very well. They also helped me rediscover myself. Never in my life had I laughed continuously for so long as I did in Lonavala. It was all non sense but still we enjoyed it. As I believe that Logic sometimes makes the life boring and it is necessary to think beyond logic at times to experience the beauty of being human. Murud was on my to visit list since childhood, but the company I had was much much better than something I could have ever asked for. I just hope that this was just the first journey of the Sankis and there is much more to come in terms of number of places and people

18.00 hrs : I, Lallan and his girlfriend sat near the college dining room for a cup of Chaha. We were sharing our experiences about the journey. “ Blogging about this journey will be fun” I said. “I would definitely wanna read this particular Blog of yours, and please don’t change the names this time” said Lallan. Unfortunately I could not honour this request of his. “So do you write about every journey of yours ?” enquired A.T.N.H.H. “not all ...... only the ones which seem interesting” I replied. “So Next is what ??” she asked. I had an evil grin on my face while replying to the question the same one that I have right now as I type, as the background score of the climax scene of Batman Begins in which a clue about the legendary villain The Joker, Who creates havoc in the sequel is revealed keeps on humming in my ears and my brain. And then I replied..............

Kerala !! 

The End

Thadiyan (Fatso) V/s Kullan (shorty)

 Another tale coming up on this blog someday (not in near future) ....... until then keep waiting :)

Aurangabad: A journey of pride




Victory of good over evil  - A cave painting at Ajanta
Photograpy - Aabeer Choudhury

  Let me explain the title right away. This is the childhood dream of a middle class boy from small town India realised. His dream was to sponsor his parents and himself a five star vacation. He realised it when he was 22. He is me.

 It was summer 2009; we had just disembarked from Tapovan Express at the Aurangabad railway station.I had arranged the tour through the company that I used to work for, wanted to impress my parents, wanted them to experience the kind of ‘tours’ of India that I used to sell to foreign nationals. An Innova  greeted us at the railway station along with the placard which read 'Thomas Cook welcomes Aabeer Choudhury’ and transferred us to the Welcom Hotel  Rama International. My Mom knew about our accommodation plans, my dad didn’t. He was in a shock when we crossed the hotel gates. Being a very miser traveller himself he thought that I would take them to a budget hotel due to influence of his DNA. 

We checked in and the bell boy loaded our luggage onto a trolley and escorted us to our rooms. I remembered the days of my industrial training as at the Taj Residency, Nasik. I was reminded of those days time and again when I saw the receptionist at work, the housekeeping staff cleaning our rooms and washroom, the garcon clearing our plates. This time it was different, I had made a transition from the staff to the customer within a span of three years. It felt great. I saw a calm in my mom’s face as my dad was busy inspecting everything from the glasses to the furniture. As he went out, I asked mom in Bangla “Ki holo Maa?” (What’s the matter Mom?). Her face turned from calm to emotional, I hugged her. She said “Kichu Naa.... bas Bhogobaan er Aashirbaad aimni tor shonge thakug” (Nothing, just hope that God blesses you always”) she said trying to control a tear of joy.

That evening we toured Panchakki which is  an engineering marvel dating back to the 17^th century. In its prime, the humble machiene used to utilize the kinetic energy of flowing water to grind grains for the locals. Next we visited the Biwi Ka Maqbara which is also known as the poor man’s Taj. It is unfortunate that this part marble structure is compared to the Taj Mahal and then rediculed because it makes a very impressive monument on its own.

Ellora
Photography - Lipika Choudhury

Ellora caves, one of the best Cave structures of our country was on our 'to visit' list next morning along with the impressive Daulatabad fort. Our accompanying guide for the day was Aasif (name changed); he was very thorough in his theory. Ellora is a massive collection of 34 rocks cut caves belonging to the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions. The massive carvings spellbound even the harshest travel critics, there are many impressive sculptures throughout the cave complex out of which Lord Shiva destroying Ravan’s pride as the latter attacked Kailash Parbat is the most memorable, every cave has a story to tell and hence it is advisable to hire a professional guide. After this we headed for the Daulatabad fort.  Daulatabad is a sturdy, mighty fort which has been conquered only once till date. Within its premises also stands tall with pride, the Chand Minar, the tallest minaret of India after the Qutub in Delhi.



Ellora Cave complex



After this we returned to our hotel. At the porch area I thanked Aasif, “ You will always be special to us, after all this was the first time I have taken my parents out on a vacation, and you have been a part of our journey” I said as I gave him his fees. I turned back towards the lobby and started walking in. I suddenly  heard  Aasif’s voice “ Mr. Choudhury, You should be proud of your son”. I started walking faster towards my room. My father had rarely ever complimented me in life, and that day was no different. Later on mom said that my dad replied to Aasif with an “I am”.

On our way to Ajanta
Photography - Aabeer Choudhury

The next day we woke up early as we had a 105 Km excursion to the Ajanta caves scheduled. Ajanta is a monument par excellence; it is incomparable to any monument I’ve seen till date. A series of about 30 caves situated on a horse – shoe shaped gorge along the Waghora river effortlessly tells the tale of the Buddha through its glorious and outstanding paintings. Its orientation being in the North – South direction has protected the paintings from the fury of the Sun God, unlike Ellora’’. The construction of the caves took place over the span of centuries commencing from 200 BC to AD 650. Then came in the surprise package of the tour. Srikanth (Name Changed) a guide who we managed to hire on location at the caves. A 50 plus short and soft-spoken gentleman, spoke about the monuments and described the paintings with such enthusiasm as if the monuments were crafted by his own hands. We listened like kindergarten kids to him.

He like anybody else thought my father was Aabeer Choudhury. He was shocked to know I was. “You don’t look old enough to be out of school, how could you work?” I began to get irritated. After a while when my parents were busy appreciating the caves, I and Srikanth had a touching conversation. He briefed me how his father was an uneducated slave, how he struggled to complete his education but emerged victorious with an M.Phil in Archaeology. “Today my son owns two farmlands where our ancestors were slaved and is now an agriculture scientist!!” he declared with pride. I shared my story with him

Photography - Aabeer Choudhury

Time had come to bid farewell to him. This journey of mine was emotionally enriching. I realised that if you really work hard and are honest and passionate about something, there is nothing in the world that can stop you from being the master of our own destiny. “All the best!” he said as we shook hands, “All the best to you and your son” I replied, I could almost see his eyes go moist as he turned around started walking fast and gradually disappeared into the crowd. This was the tale of this Travel Taler in which two sons made their respective parents proud in their own way.

P.S.  This journey could never have been possible without the help of Mr. Jaswant Singh, my ex-colleague from the Aurangabad branch of the company I used to work for. Thank you Jaswant, a self made man himself for helping us with all the arrangements.

 

Taj Mahal revisited, this time as a guide!

Almost anybody who has the fetish for travel and has the monetary resources and luck in their have-a –sack has visited the Taj Mahal. I have been fortunate enough to visit the monument  twice. The first  when I was a kid in class 6 when I was the ‘Kebab mein haddi’ for my parents in one of the most romantic  places of the planet.  However I will talk about my second visit that happened in late 2008; this time I was not only a tourist, I was a tour escort too. 

The time was about 22.00 hours in late October in Delhi. The pre winter chill had begun to scare people like me who had never lived in the North Indian planes before.  I had resigned and was serving the notice period at one of the leading tour operators of the world (as I wrote in the first post, I won’t mention its name). Although the office hours officially ended at 1800 hours, we were working late as it was peak tourist season time in the country.  I got a call from my immediate supervisor who was busy with a conference of scientists that the company was organising, “ Aabeer, wanna  go to Agra ?”. “What? When?” I said. “tomorrow! We have received an nth hour reservation for a same day Agra trip of about 11 pax, and at this hour we won’t be able to hire an escort. It’s your call entirely, but remember this can be a great add on to the revenue from these clients”. “Yes” I said immediately. Not because I wanted to go beyond the call of duty and become a hero for the company, but because I wanted to try something new. Besides I love to talk a lot, and where else would I get the opportunity to speak to 11 strangers of different nationalities, educating them about my motherland.

Photograpy - Carl Beard - a fellow traveller in the journey

I stayed in office overnight as I had to leave by 4 in the morning the next day. Worked till midnight sending out vouchers to hotels and branch office in Agra and then slept on the table (sounds pathetic and it was). By 5 in the morning we loaded all the guests in the bus from different hotels are left for Agra. I took the microphone and started talking like a guide “Good Morning, I am Aabeer.... we have just embarked on a Journey to one of the most glorious cities in the world, Agra. Agra along with Jaipur and Delhi constitute of the Golden triangle tourist circuit of India. We shall be visiting the Taj Mahal, which  is one of the most visited monuments around the globe, when we see the monument through  our eyes, we shall realise its reason for being so.... we shall be covering a distance of around 206 Kms and it will take us.....”. “Hay what’s that to our left?” a voice interrupted.  I looked there and was speechless, because I did not know what it was, being new to Delhi, I had never visited that monument. I asked the driver “Tughlaqabad Quilla?”, “Haan Ji” he replied, I informed the clients. I decided to shut up after that and took my seat.  After two hours we stopped midway at a restaurant, where the Japanese clients were amazed to see monkeys playing along within the boundary of human civilisation. A 50 plus client informed me “Monkeys” as he pointed towards them, “Really? I never knew” I thought to myself, “In my country, monkeys are found only in the mountains, not in the city and they are much smaller” he continued. I smiled as I thought “In my country the highest density of monkeys is found in the South Block! And they are much bigger and meaner”.



Photography - Carl Beard

We drove further , eventually reached the outskirts of Agra, the first monument to greet us was Itmad-ud-daula , the mausoleum of Akbar, I briefed the clients about this, from there we picked up Altaaf (name changed) our guide for Agra for the day.  As we entered the Taj Mahal Complex, he started chanting out his script of praise for the Taj which he had mastered since years. “ ...... and so even if the earthquake hits Agra, the pillars fall on the side and the main monument is safe” he exclaimed ” . Honestly I think the tourist paid a deaf ear to his words. The Taj Mahal doesn’t need words to be praised, it spellbounds you, leaves you speechless and time and again makes you feel closer to heaven.  All of us then clicked pictures with the monument in the backdrop.   While returning Altaaf announced “Congratulations! Former U.S. president Bill Clinton after visiting the Taj said there are two kinds of people in this world, the one who have seen the Taj Mahal and the one who haven’t, you are a part of the first league.” Everybody applauded. “Clinton must be saying that after every monument he visits!” I thought.

I made good friends with two of the clients, Carl Beard from U.K. and Tajima, a Japanese residing in U.S. the former I troubled entire day as he didn’t make an advance payment for the tour, he made it during the tour, he also mailed me the snaps of our tour. Tajima wrote my name in Japanese on a visiting card and gifted it to me; I returned the favour by writing his name in Devanagiri script.

We were supposed to visit the Agra fort after that, but Altaaf had other plans. He diverted the bus to a Marble complex. It was basically a means to earn commission. “Gentleman, the artisans that you see over here belong to the same dynasty as that of the craftsmen who carved the marble of the Taj Mahal.” After a while I asked him in a very soft voice only for him to hear, “Really??” he stared at me. This took a lot of time. After this we went to hotel Taj View (current day The Gateway, Agra) for lunch. My bosses in Delhi were getting worried that the customers won’t be able to visit the fort and would complain, but Altaaf played very smart. Eventually we couldn’t tour the monument; however we just parked our vehicle in front of the Fort. Rushed and clicked Snaps with the fort in the Background and rushed back to the bus as we needed to reach Delhi Airport on time for the clients to catch their flight.





Photography - Carl Beard

“Gentleman, what we just did was the fastest invasion of a fort in the history of mankind!!” this comment was greeted by a lot of applause and laughter. The tour came to an end as we started proceeding towards the national capital. While looking out from the window, into the vast barren fields covered with a blanket of fog I started thinking again, “the first time I visited the symbol of romantic love with my parents, the second time with 11 men (scientists to be specific), the next time will definitely be when I have a wife and yes I will definitely share it with you on my Blog ‘The Road Behind’.



Lost in Paradise

Lost in Paradise

This is one of the most interesting journeys I’ve ever made. The time was around mid winter 2006. It was my final year of graduation in Hotel Management from I.H.M. Goa. Having lived in one of the most beautiful parts of the country where people from around the world crave to holiday in, our entire duration of graduation seemed no less than a very long Holiday (except for the two weeks of exam per semester). However as the time for bidding farewell to this paradise was getting closer I somehow felt guilty of not doing justice to the so called holiday, I thought I did not explore the state at all. So I thought of having some Fun. I don’t booze neither do I smoke nor do I club so "What on earth could Goa offer a person like me ?" would have been a very apt question. The answer is lots, one just has to start looking out and Goa has something for everyone. I was very fond of historical places and I loved to explore the unexplored so I decided to visit Fort Terekhol, a small fort let along the Goa-Maharashtra border.

 Cyrus Thomas (Name Changed for obvious reasons), an outcast from our college, people found staring at a log of wood for days more interesting than being in his company. One day he asks me “Aabeer why don’t we go around, explore places some day, I don’t have any friends here, and hence I haven’t seen any place here since the last two years.” Well, I needed someone to share the expenses. I personally found nothing wrong with Cyrus, I always wondered “why are all my friends so terrified of Cyrus?” besides being an emotional fool, I tend to sympathise with such outcasts very easily, so we decided to explore Terekhol together. That day besides discovering the unexplored pristine locations of the hinterland I was also to discover why people were terrified of Cyrus.

We decided to rent a bike, against the license of my then roomie (who’s name I won’t mention). Cyrus had a driving licence but did not know how to ride a bike; I knew how to ride but did not possess a license. Anyway before setting off Cyrus delivered his first shocker --- “I will drive today.... I wanna learn how to drive a scooter!!” “You fool!” I thought, how can someone wanna learn how to drive anything on one of the most accident prone National Highways (NH – 17) of the country? He then said “I have also paid for it, we will drive it 50-50”. I paused for a second and then I asked him to try riding the bike on a colony road, He was terrible! He almost collided with the wall of his own house; we had a heated argument, after which he tried to sound sarcastic when he said “Ok, fine I understand that your life is more important than me learning something new. You drive”.

We drove up north till Pernem along the NH-17 and then turned west towards Fort Terekhol. The road runs almost parallel to the river Terekhol, which acts as a natural border between the states of Maharashtra and Goa. Fort Terekhol is the only ‘Goan’ Territory north of the river near its mouth. This entire road was much more surprising than I expected. The landscape around consisted of greens, barren lands, mountains, coastline all within a span of minutes. One of the most memorable experiences was that on a hot and sunny afternoon, we saw a densely forested mountain from a distance; but as soon as the road transformed into a ‘ghat’ and started cuddling the hill like an anaconda the temperature drastically dropped within seconds by at least an approximate 15 degrees, we could literally feel the chill. Soon we reached Querim, a little hamlet on the southern bank of the river near its mouth. We then embarked upon a ferry along with our bike (and ourselves) on a ferry (reminding us of Dil Chahta Hai) to the opposite bank of Terekhol, from where the fort was just a 5 minute drive. We finally reached the fort located on a hill top which is now converted into an upmarket hotel, Terekhol Fort Heritage and also has a tiny Chapel within the premises, the view from the fort is mind blasting. You get to see the serene Querim beach, the river, forests, countryside all from the same place. Being low on cash then we decided to return to a more reasonable place for lunch.

On the path of getting lost

While returning we found to our shock that the ferry service was closed due to low tide! We had two options, either we wait for hours for the service to restart, or we venture hinterland to find new routes. We choose the second, bad decision! We took the only road available which initially moved north, then turned east. Suddenly the quality of the road began to deteriorate, the dressing sense of people began to change, white kurta – Pyjama and white topis became more prominent. The MH tag on the vehicles outnumbered the GA ones. We were lost and we had no idea what to do, whom to ask for directions. Just as the thought “Are we in Maha....” crossed my mind, we spotted a Police check post which read 'Interstate Police something something... District Sindhudurg' and the only road that turned south (towards Goa was through this check post” we again had two choices. Either we don’t turn keep moving straight, in which case we could have even ended up in Karnataka! Or we turn south and ask the cops for directions. I choose the second. Worse Decision. “Pernem ya side la na ?? ( is this the way to Pernem ?) I asked the cops in Marathi. He replied with a smile “ Ho ikdech, Pan tu aadhi aat ye  !! ( yes this way, but first you come in” as fools we obliged, he asked for my licence, I asked Cyrus to show his.  The Cop said that wasn’t accepted since I was riding the bike. I faked “ it was he who was riding all the way, since the last 5 mins he had a stomach ache and hence I substituted” on hearing this Cyrus snatched the keys from my hand and went out to “Park the Bike properly”, now I will take you to a conversation between me and Cyrus before we began the trip

Cyrus : Pakde gaye toh kya Karege ??

Me : Yaar Tenssion na le, main sambhaal loonga

Cyrus : Yaar kuch bhi kar, Jhooth na boliyo Police ke saamne, mujhe haansi aati hai !!

Back to present tense. I was doomed. I somehow paid 150 bucks, convinced the cops to let us go, being rude would have made matters worse as this was a border check post to track smuggling of illegal stuff. I thanked all my Marathi friends, Teachers and textbooks since my childhood for equipping me with this language which saved me on that day. When the cop wanted to ‘shake hands’ with Cyrus, he just snatched his driver’s license and moved out !!.

After this we both had a huge fight, he wasn’t ready to share the expenses of the cop episode as this was entirely my fault. I had no choice. I had lunch at a tiny Tibetan outlet, he preferred to starve ! we returned to our rooms, my roomie had to discuss plans about a forthcoming Bangalore trip to find and win back his girlfriend whom he had lost touch since the last 5 years, but about that I shall write some other  day.

Mean while in the evening we decided to visit IFFI at Panji, on the way he wanted me  to withdraw some more cash to protect him from “GOING TO JAIL ??” I didn’t. Late in the dark, we walked along the Marina Beach, a small beach on the mouth of the Mandovi river near Panji. He said “Aabeer, Tu mera sabse accha dost hai. Please aaj jo kuch bhi hua, uske baarein mein kisiko mat batana” I sympathized yet again, the worst mistake, a few days later I get complaints from a few friends that I troubled Cyrus all the day !

Since then I have not spoken to him, I have no idea where he is right now. Whether  he is enjoying the comforts of his home which he craved to return to or if he is lost again, this time for good. Years later though I do wish to meet him, to tell his grandchildren about this adventure of ours. Hay wait a minute, What if his grandchildren are just like him ?? I’d rather be content with my grandchildren!

The Beginning

The Beginning

On a laidback day when I sip cha and gaze out of the window into the vast canvas of green, grey and blue, I often walk down the memory lane and start recollecting experiences of the journeys that have undertaken in my life so far. An interesting relation between life and a voyage never fails to amaze me. Life like a voyage has a point of origin and a final destination, whatever happens between these two points are ‘experiences’. The only distinguishing factor may be that in life we don’t know where and when the final destination would arrive. So from the above analogy can’t we arrive at a hypothesis that the journeys that we undertake in our life are small units of life within a life? An interesting question for which my philosophical mind always replies in the affirmative. however I am still in the process of convincing the logical part of my cerebrum.

I am no Ian Wright, neither am I 60 years old to have ten thousand miles of travel  to my  credit, but every voyage however short or long that I have undertaken has impacted me, has created experiences which I would otherwise remained aloof from. I want to take this opportunity to share such experiences with you through my Blog. The blog will not focus much on the destinations or the attractions of a particular destination; they will rather exert their subtle influence in the backdrop. I intend the Blog to be a medium for me to share with you my encounters with the people with whom I travelled; I met during the journeys and the unexpected things that happened. What I write might have a philosophical, emotional, tragic, or even a humorous angle to it. Hence I may not use some names or change the names of a few people, organisations who may otherwise sue me for sharing these experiences especially the funny ones. From being clueless with a college outcast about which state we were actually in, to guffawing at the jokes cracked in an unknown language at my Best Friend’s wedding only to realise that the subject of the joke was me to taking my students from the slums on an educational trip, and much more coming up on this space. Our journey together in Blog space has just begun..... ‘BON VOYAGE’