ALMEIDA.....SORRY....PAKKA NA...& THE THREE MUSKETEERS...(PART 1).

There are a few moments in your life which remain etched in your memory for ever and those moments are so special that every time you recall these, a smile surfaces in your face. The nostalgia brings with it a feeling of rejuvenation and some sort of assurance that there are people in your life who won’t mind having you around. Last week I was part of something special and that was a ROADTRIP across Goa with two very special friends of mine. The seeds of this vacation were sown around three months back but even after a number of conference calls and exchanges over email and Facebook, nothing seemed concrete. But as I say, “when you want to holiday in Goa so badly, the entire universe conspires to make it happen for you”. Amazingly, everything fell into place one by one and all that happened in a very short span of time. We were mentally prepared and so being on board a flight was just a formality. We had been warned that this time of the year was not ideal for a Goa Trip due to monsoons but who cares when you have good company. Moreover, this trip had a special importance for we bachelors as our wings would get clipped soon, atleast all the signs imply so.

Adi was the first to reach Goa and I joined him in an hour’s time. Ron however managed to get late by a day. The drive from Dabolim Airport to the hotel in Candolim  reminded me of Shillong especially because of the greenery all around. No Guys I am not talking about Girls here, it is just that Monsoon Rains washed away all the dirt and the nature was at its magnificent best. The well maintained roads really helped in extending a great welcome to the guests who came from all over the world. For a tourist hotspot, first impression is very important and this is not being given appropriate attention at least in cities like Guwahati and Jaipur.

I have so much to share (Adi and Ron….Guys don’t give me that look). But somethings are best left to imagination. A few moments define an experience and those moments should remain personal. Those moments strengthened our friendship and a couple of decades from now would give us a reason to smile. Then we would proudly say to posterity, “I HAVE TWO FRIENDS WHO MADE MY LIFE SPECIAL”. Now that I have written this, Ron & Adi would have to agree to it as well. I am available over phone incase there is any kind of disagreement Guys!!!! We had decided to not plan our Roadtrip and so it became necessary to buy a Tourist Map for navigation in a self-driven car. In a few hours time and after a few navigational errors, the map was put to use for a different purpose and Ron took out his Xperia. At that moment our ROADTRIP turned into a TECHNOTRIP. Ron was the Navigator (GPS aided , Adi was taking care of what was in front while I was appreciating what we were leaving behind. Mine of course was the most important task after all ENJOYMENT was all that we had come for and I did not let them down. Let me put forward day wise account of our journey and I hope you Guys enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed experiencing the sights, sounds and much more in Golden Goa.

DAY 1

Ron’s flight was getting delayed and so we hired a Wagon R and headed to the local market to buy shorts. After several rounds of the market, both of us came back to the car with a pair of short each. We changed in the car itself and headed to the BAGA BEACH. Initially, I was disappointed to see the huge crowd that had gathered. I wondered if it was really an off-season there. Soon we started to attract eyes……..eyes of vendors selling false tattoos and earrings. But they had to leave disappointed as I have a real Tattoo and I couldn’t have gifted those earrings to Adi. By the time we could finish our Telescopic Beach Survey, Nature Called me. I started looking for a place to answer the same but unfortunately the place had no walls. So I decided to walk into the Beach Café but I could see the Guy at the counter was not pleased. I was there in Goa for a pleasure trip and hence went across to him and ordered two cups of coffee. After relieving myself, we made ourselves comfortable outside in the chairs that were provided. Suddenly, I realised that the wallet had been left inside the car itself. Thankfully, Adi had also forgotten his pack of Cigarettes and it just required me to prod him once and he was gone like an abiding friend. The Coffee cost us hundred bucks. I must say Sulabh should start a similar service. Cross Selling anyone??????? …CAFÉ SULABH SHAUCHALAYA…..RELIEVE YOURSELF & REJUVENATE YOUR SOUL!!!! I won’t discuss business here as I don’t like mixing Business with Pleasure and this trip was purely Pleasure. Anyways, our next destination was ANJUNA BEACH. Anjuna is actually less of Beach and more of rock formations ideal for all Jacks & Roses who couldn’t find any corner of the ship to stretch their arms. For Adi and Ayan though, it was just another place where we click each other and then find a couple whom we can interrupt and request for a photograph. The Guy has to agree as how can he refuse two innocent Guys an opportunity to capture a good moment in their friendship. We leave happy and he scores some good points before his girl as well. At Anjuna, we met Mr.Karan and knowing him was really an education for us. Anyways, that is a long story which perhaps would find a place in my book if ever I manage to write any. But for now, I have reasons to skip it. We headed back to the hotel and after some rest, decided to go a for a nice dinner at Tito’s. Ron apparently had a prior commitment and so he punctured the tyre of the car he had hired at the airport. We were too smart for his Bullshit. We know each other very well.As a punishment, Ron was asked to meet us there itself. Tito’s is in a lane where perhaps every young man keeps his eyes wide open. So Adi jumped ahead and took the best seat in the house while me and Ron strained our shoulders. But once the Kingfish was there on our table, I forgot the rest of the world. Beer has never been my favourite but CORONA was something different. They squeezed in some lemon into the bottle and it really tasted good. If any of you visit that place, remember to ask for Mr.Mohanty. You might get 30% off on your bill…lol. We celebrated our much-awaited reunion and ended the day with a trip down memory lane through our post-dinner conversation in our hotel room.

This post is going to be a big one and so I would break it into two parts. We will start from Day 2 in the next post. Till then have a good time.

KIDS ARE NOT KIDS ANYMORE...WE WERE NAUGHTY & ADVENTUROUS!!!!

Just a couple of days back, I happened to find myself engrossed in a discussion with a couple of friends thanks to the “thought stimulant” that we were holding in our hands. The discussion was on Social Media which apparently is a topic of particular interest to my friend Vikas for his PHD. I would not like to talk about it today but instead this post would centre around my observations about life when we were kids and the contrasting lifestyle of kids these days. I can’t help but get nostalgic when I revisit my childhood days. A piece of wood for a cricket bat, piece of paper for a ball, newspaper for  pads, winter gloves  for cricketing gloves and a pine cone for football. The idea was to enjoy outdoors with limited resources as much as possible till you hear those familiar words…”Ayan if you are not coming home in another  5 minutes, you might as well stay out!!!!”.

Television did not mean much to us except on Sundays and that too for a few hours. Yeah somehow she used to turn into one Great Temptress every night the moment I used to pick up a book. I am sure the same holds true for others as well. Stealing a few glances at her used to be exciting. “Home” then meant parents, food and sleep. Parents were taken for granted and a few slaps occasionally did not matter much. Amazingly food was only a necessity when I would be home and sleep used to sneak in just before dinner. Next day I hardly used to remember what I had eaten. Life was exciting because of the time spent out of doors with friends doing all the crazy stuff. School was fun but then the moment the bell rang, we used to rush out through the gates and by the time we would knock on the door, the school uniform would be in our hands except for the pants of course. No one wanted to waste time for the days are short in that part of the world. Swabhiman and Junoon would be on at that time but still I never missed the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. It would be time to run out and enjoy the company of friends doing all kinds of stuff. Running down the hills or climbing the hill like Soldiers, Rock Climbing, taking the air out of tyres of vehicles parked in our cricket ground, collecting money to build shelter and buy chains for stray dogs, cricket matches  against teams from the neighbourhood, horror story sittings, venturing out during Curfews to stealthily move from one house to another and occasionally picking up the broom during neighbourhood cleaning drives. Weekends would be special but a bit difficult too as Dad would be home. Friends coming over and asking permission from my Dad for me to be allowed to join them.  My Dad never objected as I would be unusually behaving very well since the morning hours. The same act would be repeated every weekend and in atleast ten odd houses with near cent percent success rate. We were so proud of our intelligence. But now I realise “Baap toh akhir Baap hi hota hain”. Our parents knew that it is very important for a kid to get such group exposure out of the four walls as these teach him/her to face challenges, value relationships and above all enjoy amidst Nature. This stage of life (like any other) never comes back and even money cannot buy such moments of innocent fun at a later stage in life.

As I see my young cousins and other kids now, their definition of “Fun” has changed. Cartoon Network, Playstation, Facebook and even Saas-Bahu sagas are all that they care about. The reason being given is…Where is the Time and Where is the Space????? It is so unfortunate that the young kids are asked to compile tons and tons of notes on the pretext of homework and as a result of which the evening hours are lost. Kids should be prepared for life and not for some IIM or IIT. Life is a bigger challenge. As for "Space", I agree that concrete jungles have made it difficult but fun is not a slave of any reason. Even finding space could be an exciting activity and trust me as a kid there is no greater feeling when you see that your effort has yielded some positive result. When we were kids, we have been chased out of grounds so many times but yet we managed to find some space or other. Parking Lots, terraces, Prayer Grounds, Girl School Grounds and roads…we have been all over the town. I still remember that Bowling used to be such a tough task especially when you were running uphill and the Batsman just needed to push for the ball to run down the hill at the speed of light. The funniest part would be to retrieve the ball which would enter the shop of a shrewd man or sometimes into the house which used to be guarded by Rambo or sometime into the nearby jungle full of prickly plants. Infact, once the ball had fallen into a stream which had more mud than water. I was trying to locate the ball from the bridge above and my slippers fell off. I got down and retrieved my slippers but had to return home immediately as I had a mud bath there. My mom had to throw away both parts of the scale later. Now a days in SPAs , they charge a bomb for the same treatment.  

Today kids are more detached and relations do not matter much to them. Shooting down some terrorists or reaching the finish line first in some virtual game gives them thrill. It is ironical that kids who have got good life, they do not have “Life” at all. Cartoon Network is more of an addiction and Friends are all those who are on their list. Violence is something which they are exposed to at such an early age and it freaks me out when I hear them speak. So mature for their age that I myself feel like a “kid” before them. They hardly know their relatives and their world ends with whatever they are comfortable with. They get their mobile phones so early and yet their World is a small one. The very idea of communication loses out. Grammar is no longer a subject in the school syllabus and texting has further made things worse. They have Tennis Courts and Swimming Pools and yet only a few kids avail themselves of such facilities. Moreover, those kids go there to be an athlete and not to enjoy. Any activity that a kid indulges in stinks of some competitive spirit which gets drilled into little heads by their parents. They are forced to jump into d rat race when they ought to enjoy without any burden. We used to be dragged out of grounds and now the kids are being dragged to the grounds. The day they themselves run to the ground without any fear of losing, the society would come alive again. Cmon Kids…..BREAK SOME FLOWER POTS!!!!!