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?
