2008 ala re ala!!

2008 -- its the year of the number 1 people ... the ones I know of are, Farrukh and Gautam ... insha-allah they will both have a great year ahead!!

As December approaches and Nu's birthday is behind us the next big quest that looms large is what we will be doing for New Years ... stay at home, friends place, gymkhana with blazer and gowns, disco, hotel party or go out of town ... somehow the best choice always seems to be out of town!! So it was decided to go to Khandala from 30 Dec - 01 Jan.

29th evening was a flurry of actvity as Rosh returned from her trip to Pondicherry and it was only after she got back home at 10 (she had a BLAAAAAAAST - more about it in another blog) that we started to pack our bags!! By the time we were done with dinner and packing it was past 12 and I willingly snuggled into bed while my mind wandered into dreams of what would it be like in Khandala.

The holiday group was made of -- The 4 of us, Guds and Linnet, Prashant-Archie-Sanju-Aunty and last but not the least Lil Alize :)

We met up at Carter Road and from there jumped into 3 cars (our Esteem, Gud' Swift and Prashant' CRV). We set out at about 9.00 and the first halt was at McDonalds Drive-in where we hogged on some burgers and shakes and moved onto the expressway to halt but once again to fill gas and grab some delicious Vadas. From there it was non-stop to Khandala.

The Heritage Villas owned and managed by Bunty and Alka Anand was a kilometers drive off the main expressway road. The road to the villa was a kachcha rasta and was one helluva bumpy ride. When we finally got there all we saw was 4 tiny cottages and I thought to my self "Heritage!!?? Villas". It is only after alighting and walking around a bit and checking the rooms out that I concluded -- simple, unasuming, clean, in the lap of nature (it is situated at the foothill of a mountain that housed the Karla Caves and adjoins a small village which one passes thru to climb the mountain)... chalega ... actually daudega!! What I liked most about the place was that they didnt boast of too much and offered whatever they did with a homely touch. So here we were, away from the mad rush of Mumbai to spend the next two days together and also bring in the new year ... lets make the most of it man!! That was the spirit that each of us had :)

The kids had a ball as there was a lot of open space to run around, explore and play cricket, lagori, darts etc. Bunty' lil son Jai was the highlight of the place ... he was a really spiky and willing to mix with everyone kind of kid and we all loved him instantly. Bunty and Alka too were very warm. Alkas parents were there too (her Mum' was the Principal of Poddar School and her Dad is a hockey enthusiast and is involved in all the possible hockey matches played on a national and international level as one of the key members) -- it was lovely meeting all of them. The food which was home-cooked was excellent too and we hogged and virtually licked the last morsel off the dishes ...

Our so called NEW Cannon camera was misbehaving all thru the trip and kept blinking at me for new batteries. I tried all kinds of stunts to get whatever pictures I finally got. I think the connection must be lose!? I will need to visit Cannon Shop ONCE again!!

To digest the yummy lunch we went for a walk towards the mountain and ended up doing a 2 hour long cross country walk. On the way we saw and captured some lovely village moments like a tabela with cows chewing away and crapping too, a lady selling wood for the wintery chilling nights, bullock cart, scurries of hens and their chicks, nose-running babies gawking at us, a beautiful water encampment into which we hurled pebbles - Nu and Guds' pebbles were reaching the other end of the water while mine barely plonked into the water a few meters away. The kids also saw some interesting rice seaving and also how bricks are made. By the time we got back we were all exhausted and although we freshened up I guess the walk took a toll on our energies and we retired much earlier than expected.

The next morning was beautiful and the weather nippy while we sipped chaia and marie biscuits and shakarparas (courtesy Archie). After some yummy omeletes and to die-for POHA we dressed and left for Pune which was an hour long drive from Heritage. We first drove into Magarpatta which is beautifully landscaped and very green. Prashant, Archie and Guds got possession of their shop at Magarpatta, while Nu got his haircut, the kids busied themselves by playing hide-n-seek while Linnet and I yapped about several things and Yoga. I suddenly said I want to learn the Surya Namaskar -- so there we were prostrate on the ground doing the 10 different stages of the Surya Namaskar ... all of this was happening in the middle of the builders office reception (of course there was nobody but the receptionist around who looked on eagerly) - I enjoyed the education and believ it or not was sweating after doing just two sets. I believe they do up to 100 of them in Power Yoga sessions!! The paperwork completed and a round of the complex and a quick dekho of the type of flat they have invested in was followed by a lunch at our favorite joint Flags with some Margherittas and delicious HEAVY CHEESY food. Yikes we were bursting at the seems so much that we got off once we got off the highway towards the drive in to Heritage and walked back to burn the over-consumed calories. On the way we got a tutor from the Brick Kiln guy on how they make bricks. Let me see if I can remember ... black mud, red mud, water, hay is all mixed up and put into moulds for shaping. The bricks are then layed out till they dry and then baked in the kiln till they are done. They sell 3000 bricks for a 1000 bucks. I hope I got those figures right!!?

That evening was finally New Years Eve and all (except me) dressed for the ocassion despite the cold -- I of course chose to be well clothed as I CANNOT bear the cold. Spirits were high and Wines, Vodka, Baileys and Tequillas were flowing -- Nu of all the people had 3 shots of Tequilla ... I was expecting him to pass out as he is usually a one beer man ... but he stood thru just fine ... hmmm I wonder how!? Although I have to add that he was behaving quite mad while dancing but then generally he always does behave mad so there was nothing new about that! We'd ordered the grub from Sunny' Dhaba which was yummy and Alka was a gem to loan us her Microwave so that we could eat hot food at whatever hour that suited us. Bunty had organised a deck and I'd recorded some dhisco mhujhic so the evening was gay and merry with a lot of laughter, dancing, drinking and generally having a blast ... all in all yet another GREAT New Years together ... Cheers to all of us and I pray that the year goes well for everyone!!!