Completing One Wonderful Year

6th November was the day when both of us had taken a vow to be with each every moment of sadness or happiness. And here we were one year thereafter still continuing our vow. The past year had indeed flew by very fast but not without all the wonderful time we have spent with each other. From the day of our marriage, to our lovely honeymoon, to the numerous trips, to our moving to Pune, to my missing her birthday, to the uncountable fights, to the more uncountable loving moments and to our first marriage anniversary, every memory will remain with us for years to come.

We could have nearly miss spending our first marriage anniversary together when a sudden foreign trip of mine came in between. But I think somebody somewhere must have conspired that my Visa application got rejected and I was dropped from this trip. Eventually, the whole assignment got canceled but that is a different story. I was so delighted when I came to know that I'll be finally able to spend the sixth day of November in India and so was she.

I had pre-decided to take a leave on the day to spend the whole day having fun. It all started at 12 midnight with kissing and hugging and wishing each other. And then came the exchange of gifts and the cards. Actually only the cards were exchanged because gift was only given by her to me. My gift to her is due, still. She gifted me a cool tripod for my digi-cam which I was in dire need for. I still don't know what to gift her.

As I had pre-decided to take a leave, I had also pre-decided the plan for the day. We got up, had some yummy breakfast of pancakes and milk shake, donned our best clothes, took the car and went towards Pune-Nashik highway. Now to give a background, Pune-Nashik highway is famous for its various vineyards spreading acres on both side of raod. And some famous vineyards have opened some nice wine bar and restaurants to attract travellers. We had been there once, and ever since were looking for some occasion to revisit it. So there we were on two hour long drive, through some majestic landscape heading towards one of these wine restaurants. We spend a considerable time there clicking some photographs, sipping some wine and just relaxing in each other's company.

By 5 in evening we were back at our place after having such an extraordinary time. There was still time to our dinner plans and we killed it through our latest co-hobby i.e. playing scrablle. As always she won this time too. I don't know what is her trick.

Well, the dinner was planned at a very exquisite Italian restaurant and as it was italian the wine was waiting for us again. The food was delicious and wine was straight to our heads. We really had a good time talking, drinking and eating and the bill came too soon. Light headed we reached back home and ended the most special day of the year with promises of more such days in years to come.

Malshej Ghat

It had been a while since we had visited any hill station. And what an opportune moment to do so than during the onset of monsoons? Never heard about the place before this planning, we were surely excited to explore this new destination. It had rained just two days before our trip and timely arrival of monsoons added to the attraction. We were accompanied by my brother, Rikki, who was on his holidays in Mumbai. I remember last visit which we had with him and my parents to Pachgani. It was same time and the trip was unforgettable.

A night prior to our planned departure, it rained so heavily in Mumbai that I doubted if we will be able to start in the morning. Luckily, as I woke up in the morning weather was quite nice and perfect for a drive. The route was through Kalyan and drive from Mumbai to Kalyan was quite frustrating with all the traffics due to huge trucks. But once we crossed Kalyan and took the road to Murbad, the traffic became quite smooth. The sky was covered with clouds and it rained intermittently during whole journey making it more exciting and thrilling. As we approached the Ghats, the landscape was getting more and more beautiful. One stretch of journey was almost parallel to the Ghats and we could see the white clouds banging themselves against the walls of rock. And suddenly road started climbing up the walls. Soon the clouds had totally encircled the car. The view, whatever we were able to make out, was mesmerizing and somewhat scary too. The visibility was a few meters only. But among that scare, it was still very refreshing.

We made it to M.T.D.C resort which is, by the way, only one place of accommodation there. It too was surrounded by clouds in each direction. The weather was cool and wet. It was somewhat disappointing as we couldn’t make out any of the Ghats around. It wasn’t before sunset that the weather cleared out and we were able to acknowledge the beauty around. M.T.D.C has surely picked up a perfect spot for this resort. There was a deep cliff on other side a lake was visible some miles away. Small pieces of clouds were still climbing up the cliffs obscuring the view sometime. The sunset at the background was just giving a face-lift to the countryside. And I could finally feel good about the trip. We ended our day with some good whiskey and somewhat delicious food.

I have this habit of sleeping less during trips and consequently was the first one to wake up next morning. I was sure that my efforts to wake others were completely futile. So I went for a stroll myself. The scenery was as eye-warming as previous evening but oozing with morning freshness. We decided to start early for Pune and having our breakfast on the way. We drove for more than one-and-half hour finding some good place to have breakfast till we spotted a wine bar and restaurant. As everybody knows, Pune-Nashik highway is famous for its vineyards and we were on this road only. The restaurant, situated on edge of a vineyard, was superbly constructed with ideal ambience for having wine. We hadn’t had any wine but purchased some good red and rose wine at cheap prices and had a healthy breakfast of toasts and eggs. Sitting at that place, we surely decided to give it a visit again from Pune for sole purpose of enjoying wine and food while the monsoons are on.

The trip ended as we reached Pune post noon but it was surely refreshing enough for another month or so when we will plan our next trip.

Valentine Weekend

Forgive me Blogfather for I have sinned; many revolutions of the earth have passed since my last update.

Other than that, nothing else much happened. I sat on a beach, I sat by the bow of a boat, I drank and I ate - a LOT. There was no reason to wait this long to update either, but I can be a bit lazy from time to time.

Dunno why, but Valentine’s has always been a big deal for me. When I didn’t have someoene to share it with, I was eaten up live by jealousy and now that there is someone, I am in a constant state of worry abt how to do the very best I can for him. Hence the surprise trip to Tarkarli for our second Valentine together. I gave Kshitiz the surprise on the morning of Valentine’s day itself. Presented him with the travel tickets for the trip.

Since this isnt meant to be a travel guide, I am not gonna bore you with all the details. You will have to call us for that. But I can tell you this. Tarkarli is in the back of beyond. A tiny fishing village around 100 kms from Panjim that’s not even connected to any major Railhead. Any railhead. But O my, what a place to be in!!!

The train left V-day night itself. I had got us booked for a 2 night-3 day stay on a houseboat starting Friday the 15th. These houseboats are anchored in the creek waters and look a lot like the houseboats in the Kerala backwaters. I have never been on a boat for any longer that the Gateway to India boat trips and it was a a novel experience living in the cramped boat cabins, having a bath in the tiny shower areas and oh yes, no cable connection at all. And who can forget the swaying?? Late Sunday night as we were back in our normal beds preparing to sleep, we still kept asking each other if the bed was tilting.

The houseboat made regular trips up and down the creek. We mostly hung out on the bow of the boat or sat at the dining table (out in the open) taking in the sights as the inhouse(boat) cook presented us with dishes he made in the boat kitchen itself. There wasn’t a lot to do except enjoy the view and watch DVDs in our room, which we did very religiously. I think we saw every movie – crap or otherwise – that was relased in the past one month. Three days of utter decadence, enjoying ourselves doing nothing.

The beach was another relevation. (Oh yes, we actually visited the beach too). Not a soul in sight anywhere. And loads of starfish getting washed upshore and tickling my feet on the way. It’s only when you see the shells on such remote beaches that you know how ravaged Bombay beaches are. I had a whale of a time running after any interesting shell I could see in the water. The fun was so infectious, even Kshitiz got involved in getting the best ones. Needless to say, we were as brown as berries by mid day.

Partly because of the short duration of our trip but mostly because we are too lazy, we didn’t visit the Sindhudurg fort and Devbagh nearby. But I don’t plan to miss out on them. I will get Kshitiz to agree to a return trip asap.

Some of the sights during the boat rides were amazing. Picture this – the sun in setting beyond the coconut fronds, casting a glow on the water. The boat is moving silently on the water between a sea of pink-and-blue jellyfish as flocks of birds skim the water as they fly off to roost for the night. You are sitting on the bow of the boat with your beloved listening to romantic music and watching the sun set as a light rain falls on everyone and everything.

Dunno why, but Valentine’s has always been a big deal for me. When I didn’t have someone to share it with, I was eaten up live by jealousy and now that there is someone, I am in a constant state of worry abt how to do the very best I can for him for Vday. Hence the surprise trip to Tarkarli for our second Valentine together. Our first Valentine after marriage.

Thing is, this is an uphill battle. Now that I have exhausted this idea, I dunno what I will do for our marriage anniversary this year, or for the many Valentines that are to succeed this one.

Any ideas anyone?

A Welcome Escape

After a long time I had set up my morning alarm for 6 o'clock and that too on a Saturday. The reason was that we had to start early for our weekend trip to Kashid. This was going to be our first outing after our honeymoon to Goa and a much needed outing. Both of us were looking forward to it as it would give us the chance to be alone with each other since the return from Goa. None of us had been to Kashid before and it seemed to be a great weekend getaway location from what we have heard from people who have been there.

Let me give you a brief about Kashid. It is a beach town located just 135 km from Mumbai and 30 km from the famous Alibaug. It has a 3 km stretch of beach beautified by its white sand, blue sea and greenery all around. Just 15 km away is the famous fort of Murud-Janjira. This 900 year old unconquered fort sits on an island in midst of Indian Ocean. We were looking forward to visit both of these locations.

As we started from Mumbai, it was still dawn. We witnessed an amazing sunrise while crossing Vashi creek and with the fresh morning breeze the early sun rays soothed and refreshed our mind for the 3 hours journey ahead. The roods were virtually empty owing to the early morning hour and we made out of Navi Mumbai and Panvel in a considerable time. The roads were in pretty good condition and it was a pleasant change from chaotic everyday Mumbai driving. After Alibaug the road towards Kashid ran beside the sea shore, going up and down the hills and giving us a breath taking view of the sea. I thoroughly enjoyed driving. Although we went astray quite a few times making lot of U-turns but we still made it to Kashid while it was only 10:30 am.

The first view of the beach and we knew that it was going to be a great weekend. The place was full of tranquility and calmness. We checked into a descent resort in the vicinity of beach. It was a little hot to hit the beach, so we spent some time in the resort reading, eating and sleeping a little before going to the sand close to evening. The beach was gorgeous as described by others. The sand was pure white and sea was amazing with white foamy waves painting a startling picture with the sun setting in background. We walked a little hand-in-hand, collected some sea shells, drank some coconut-water and just sat witnessing the nature's beauty at its best. As it got dark we spent rest of evening sipping some vodka and watching a movie on my laptop which I had brought along for the specific purpose. The food that was served in dinner was delicious and after savoring it we slept full-on through the night.

The next day was scheduled for Janjira fort. We took our own time and lazily got ready, checked out and headed straight to Murud town. Being Sunday, the town was thronged with tourists who had come for a day-long trip. The beach at Murud was as beautiful as Kashid, although a little crowded. The Janjira fort was situated around 1 km into the sea built on an island. The way to get there was through boats which presented another exciting part of the trip. As we landed on the door of the fort, we were mesmerized by the enormity of the fort. Spread across 22 acres, it used to house close to 500 people, almost the size of a village. Although the interiors were in ruins it gave a rough picture of life of its residents some hundred years ago. The decrepit Raj Darbar, mosques, schools, ponds, cannons etc. were mesmerizing. Lothika was quite fascinated exploring the lanes and passageway inside the fort. We spend close to an hour there but still more than half of fort was left unexplored.

After landing back on the shore, it was time to head back. Unwillingly, we started our journey back to restart the monotonous daily schedule of the week. But it was a welcome break and the freshness, tranquility, serenity and calm of the place recharged our body and soul to face the hectic, chaotic and express Mumbai life.

First Lohri

Ours is a Hindu family and like every Hindu family, the first festival of new bride in the family is of large significance. In our case it was the festival of Lohri. So it was decided to throw a big party for all the known people in Mumbai. Accompanied with drinks and north indian food of puri, dal makhani, jeera aalu and paneer we had a bonfire in the outdoors of our society and danced. People showered blessings on us and everybody had a good time.

Honeymoon Travails

The other day we were going thru the blogs when Kshitiz realised that we havent mentioned our honeymoon anywhere at all. I know, I know - honeymoon is a private,shared pleasure, but dont worry, I shant be revealing the juicy details to you, they shall be held dear in my memories, for years to come....

We landed at goa airport around mid-day and were driven straight to the place we were putting up at by a very nice driver. I say nice driver coz not once during the entire 45 mts journey did he speak to us, pointing out the sights. He left us in peace to enjoy it by ourselves. And I sure did enjoy it.

We were heading towards South Goa and the route is so scenic that I didnt mind that we didnt speak at all. Kshitiz and I held hands as we passed quaint houses, fishermen mending nets, swaying coconut trees, long groves of brilliantly colored flowers, all the trappings of functional, age old 'kuan's and picturesque locals going about their business.

We finally arrived at our resort in Colva and were ushered promptly to our room, which was so so marvelous - all the privacy a honeymooning couple need coupled with every comfort of a duplex , lush green gardens right in front and our very own private beach.

As we spent our days roaming thru Goa on a rented bike and trying out stuff like parasailing, I gradually realised all the different facets of the State that is Goa. North Goa is populous and can boast of many facilities for the tourist, but South Goa is tranquil and as it is less crowded, the beaches have maintained their pristine white sands and a clear blue sea. However, north or South, Goa is a lot of fun. And the best part are the people and they way they treat you. I freed myself to enjoy as I have rarely done before.

We went to Anjana beach on a wednesday. As we started to move down the dirt track to the beach, we came upon colourful stalls displaying all sorts of trinkets. Thats when we realised that we were in the famous wednesday flea market at Anjana. Oh What luck!!! After spending the entire day at the beach, we browsed thru the stalls, buying gifts for everyone.

On the last evening, we visited the boat casino - Caravella, that Goa is so famous for. drinking, playing dqancing, all-you can-eat buffet, it was the stuff great evenings on the town are made of. And this is where Kshitiz suddenly decided he needed a new hobby - collecting matchboxes of different places.

:)

We flew back to Bombay the next day. We had to wait almost 5 hours at the airport and quite frustrated by the time we boarded, but nothing can dampen spirits than are high on seven glorious days of beach-combing, flea market visits, trying out new cuisines, checking out the old lighthouse, standing on the deck of a boat enjoying the sights of a twinkling evening sky (and nights filled with a little naughty fun between the sheets)....

I have to go back once again, and again, and again, and again, and again........ its addictive.