My my, it's been a couple of months.. And now, i'm back at college, preparing for yet some more education which Needs to be stuffed into my li'l head.. But then, that is something all of us don't wanna talk about, ain't it? What we do wanna talk about is what we did during our holidays! :) Me, for one, learnt a few lessons.. Wandering through the streets of udupi, loafing with cousins at my native place, sitting at a beach during rain in Goa, almost witnessing flash-floods, hitting on cute konkan shopkeepers, etc. are some of the things i just can't do without getting some actual stuffing knocked into my head!
The order of events is a bit hazy.. Guess that's why i should give my blog a wee bit more attention more often.. But i guess it all began with me pestering people for a (stupid) contest on fb.. Ultimately leading to me being able to give a 'treat' from pizza corner to my buddies.. It was, most certainly followed up with a slew of movies, at the now-so-cliche location, mantri.. The movies for which, i shall bother you with reviews of soon! :p
Soon, the travel bug bit and i was off on my way.. Mysore, as always, being the prime suspect.. Nothing but being fed delicious food and watching tv for a few days later, i was ready to get up and going.. So, i decided to go over to Balehonnur, right up near Sringeri for a while.. Little did i realize that, in small places like those, everyone knows everyone else.. So, it did come as a shock to me, when the bus driver, on arriving at B'honnur, lit up, offered me a smoke and asked me who i was there to meet.. I said i was from the "Pai Family".. Lo and behold, he began with a brief history of the family.. However, it was raining and i had no other shelter to stand under.. Besides, i didn't wanna be impolite and the driver took it as an invitation to keep me company till my cousins and uncle arrived armed with umbrellas.. "Adios amigo" happened and soon, i was under a roof.. Two days later, armed with a jackfruit weighing about 20 kilos and my travel bag, i was back on a bus to bangalore.. In between, however, i managed to wander the whole main street of B'honnur four times, up & down, with about 6 cousins in tow, in search of Ice-cream! Ending up with a measly vanilla cup ice-cream didn't bring much joy.. But hey, seeing what i thought was a ghost somewhere in between made up for it.. I also managed to convince my cousin to take me to the overflowing-with-rain-from-past-two-days Bhadra river.. Boy, joy that was, looking at the river from 15 feet away.. :-/ On my way back, we got that jackfruit rocked n' rollin.. And thus, armed with the "fruit" of my labour, i returned home.. :p
And then, La Furia Roja won the world cup!! :)
Then came a visit to the South of bangalore.. I was camping out at my cousin's place, which, btw, houses my adorable niece.. I was getting ready to be initiated into the world of MUNing.. Early next morning, i got into an auto (shocking, yes) and asked that i be taken to Kumarans school.. About ninety minutes and some backtracking later, i was on campus.. Two days flowed by, met a lot of really nice people.. At the end of trying to split India between China & Pakistan, getting the world to agree to complete nuclear disarmament & "Running out of time constraint" later, i had a certificate, a promised ice-cream and a whole new bunch of friends to show off! Plus, as an added bonus, we created a new "knock-knock" joke at Domino's.. ;)
This summer also saw me making a couple of extra special friends, who, before had been mere acquaintances.. One of them ended up paying a slightly disconcerting amount at Cafe coffee day.. But then, special days are just priceless.. When you read this, I hope it brings a smile on your face to know that you're remembered.. :)
Then there was a role-playing Ban-ki-moon, a HOP who reserved a place for me at the Lunch-queue and a host of others.. You people, smile, now! :)
By this time, travel bug got me, again.. Where to, but my sweetheart, Goa! A bus trip which involved me & my pal laughing like mad-men over two glorious SCPUC years later, i was there.. Went straight to BITS-Goa campus and must say, was impressed.. Crashed at cousin's place (Yes, I Do have cousins everywhere :p) & was off early next morning.. And then, the beach happened.. How i got there involved what is called a 'Pilot' service in Goa.. You travel pillion on a bike! Tourism being a mainstay in Goa, the pilot dude kept me well entertained, showing to me almost submerged huts and telephone lines.. But once i got to the beach, everything else was forgotten.. There is something about looking out and seeing the endless water till it kisses the sky at the border that i'd be stupid to try and describe in words.. And the rain only added to the joy.. One picture that will forever be trapped in my mind.. One other being a picture of the clouds in a pattern around the moon during BCD-1 with a dear friend of mine.. Yeah, you, smile too!:)
Goa is such a magical place.. I doubt you'd find any other place in India where anyone, irrespective of age/gender/status/position is addressed in the singular.. And then there is the Goan fashion, which regardless of age, is a true beauty in it's own.. So simple, yet so charming and irresistible.. Makes you wanna sing "Pretty woman".. :) Also, i doubt you'd find many other places with buses which have "Handy Cap Ceat" or "Complan Box" written in them.. :D
From the beach, i went to my Native deity's temple.. A brief visit later, i grabbed lunch at a place i knew from before, which seemed to be under new management.. On discovering that i spoke Kannada, he proceeded to give me advice on love, narrated his love-life in a detailed fashion and then told me about how "Duniya Vijay"'s movies were popular even in Goa because of his body! He further went on to tell me how the people of Goa were rude and spoke in singular.. i had half a mind to tell him that, back in his home town, bus passengers or even the conductors would hurl abuse directed at the very beginning of your lineage, which was something which i'd never seen at Goa, ever.. Also, that the use of singular terms to address people as a sign of endearment.. However, seeing as he was the one whose shop was sourcing my Chapati, Dal fry and Tea, i decided against it.. Smart, eh? And then, came the ever so beautiful train ride from Goa to Udupi..
Much though i'd have loved to explore udupi, the constant rain kept me indoors.. I was all the better for it since i got to spend some quality time with another of my nieces, who, btw, paints Really well.. But then, i chose a bad time to go ahead and gorge myself on a meal at Udupi's famous Hotel Diana.. As a direct consequence, also having booked the absolute last upper berth on a sleeper coach, had a miserable first few hours while returning to bangalore.. Piece of advice, if you're travelling by sleeper class, Never take the absolute last berth.. However, as my stomach eased up, i faced a different problem, Insomnia.. So, a lot of texting, attempting to headbang to Pinkfloyd later, i was back in Bangalore, home alone for a week! ;)
A lot of what my future had in store, unfolded bit by bit.. As it shall in my next article! Cya! :)
Cheers..
Shreyas!
