Saturday night was a party night @Hawaiin Shack Juhu. It was a great evening which we had to be called off early as we had an early morning on Sunday to leave for a one day trip to Lonavala. The trip didn’t start as early as we thought it would so it turned out to be a 12 hour trip instead… but what a ‘Trip’.
Bunty & Sneha picked us up at around 12.30 PM. Jimmy was ready since 10 AM (awake since 6!) and was almost at the verge of cancelling the trip… Thank you Jimmy for not cancelling. The drive down till Lonavala is something I can imagine with my eyes closed due to the number of times we have been there. But yet as much as it all remains the same there is something new in it every time.
After one pit stop at Mc Donalds and one at a mall in Lonavala we were en-route to a place Bunty had decided would be the best place to go. The feel for the day was similar to earlier times, good music soothing our souls, booze going down slower than it does in a party, the sweet scent of cigarettes filling our lungs and yet making us feel lighter (If you know what I mean ). And then we took the detour a couple of kilometers before Ambey Valley towards the Road Less Travelled, and I really want to thank you for that Bunty! The journey from there on was something I will remember for a long time and the hours after that invoked so many different shades of feelings in quick succession it’s not funny.
Our first halt came when we reached a dead end where stood a lovely Villa owned by some industrialist. What a view it was from that point. This sight invoked the feeling of ambition almost immediately and I announced that I’d rather do business so I can build a villa like that someday. Thank you Jimmy, you always manage to wake me up and remind me to go to office the next day. After we turned back from there we got on to a route which only got better. Just by a small bridge there was a very narrow stream where we stopped. The place was picture perfect and Jimmy found her profile pic there ;) It’s been years that I have been to a place like that and the view of mountains, streams and the sound of the silence around just takes away any fatigue that you are carrying on your body or soul. The water in the stream was cold in contrast to the scorching heat of the sun that was burning our skin. So after a very short halt we hopped into the car again and proceeded to the ‘destination’.
After a long drive through a narrow road which was accompanied by a jungle running alongside it we reached the destination. The place was a huge chunk of land with a house located on one corner, where the only care taker was an old man who limped and had to use a stick for support. In fact he was the only other soul on that large land apart from us 4. There was another unoccupied cottage a few yards away and the gorgeous mountains overlooked the place while one overlooked the valley standing at the corner of the land. The feeling of serenity hit like a cold wave.
After a few pics, ciggies and gulps of wine at the spot where the land overlooked the valley, we headed back towards the car to listen to some music. Just then Jimmy decided we should have tea and possibly cook some rice. So we both went to the house to see what we could get. The old man (I will refer to him as mama from here on) told us that he could not cook anything but we were free to do so if we wish to. Normally that would sound like an easy option; however, we had a challenge before that. There was no electricity and it was already a little dark. Although the sun had not dipped in the sea yet, the house was facing East and the interior of the house was very dimly lit by the setting sun. Mama offered to light a Kandil for us or he said we could put on the generator. From here the feeling of total fear.. More like spooky fear set in.
Jimmy readily agreed to put on the generator. I was a little skeptical about it as the generator was is the back yard and I was already spooked out. We walked into the backyard waiting for mama to join us. He took a while to walk it till there as he was very old and limped. But honestly I was so spooked that I was imagining him walking out of the house door that opened to the backyard with some kind of weapon. Its moments like these when you can hear the little voice that is said to rule most people’s life …. Our Heartbeat! I could certainly hear mine.
Jimmy had thought switching on the generator would mean pushing some switch on. Well it was an old school generator which I was expecting and since mama was too weak to turn the turbine the task was up to us. We thought of calling Bunty to do it and then decided against it as we did not want to disturb his trance. So I began turning the lever which was really heavy. The trick was to move it fast in circular motion and mama would press a switch that would start off the engine when the turbine was in motion. I moved it for a couple of times but the engine did not start yet tiring my lungs out. Jimmy then said she would turn it I told her she won’t be able to turn it even an inch. Well she did turn it and turned it fast… Jimmy ure strong buddy … respect! So finally the generator was on after 6 to 7 combined efforts and we walked back to make the much awaited tea.
The kitchen had a proper village feel and mama stood at a window in the veranda which connected the kitchen to help us with where we can find the ingredients. He was a nice man but he spooked the shit out of us by saying ‘darneka nahi’ every 5 minutes. It felt like a scene right out of some Bollywood horror flick. I pulled open one drawer where he said I could find a knife. The drawer had different sizes of meat knives and I was horrified. Somehow Jimmy wasn't as scared as I was and that made me feel better. So tea was made, after which we made some masala rice and ate a perfect meal. Nice hot chai, masala rice with the view of a mountain at a place where there were only 5 people for the farthest your eyes can gaze.
After the lovely meal we went back to join the others and then we decided to have a bonfire. Bunty and Sneha collected the wood and we had to figure out how to light them as only paper or match would not be enough. I was feeling too lazy to get up and too scared to go to the house again, yet I decided it’s best to go and get some inflammable liquid to burn the woods, this with the sole purpose of protecting my white wine which Jimmy had decided to sacrifice and pour on the wood to light it!
Bunty and me walked to the house, found some ghaslet and got back to the bonfire place. Well, I couldn't reach on time to protect my wine; it had been consumed by the woods already!. Nevertheless, we burnt the woods and had a great time looking at the dancing flames with great music to accompany it and a roof of stars to gaze at. The whole feeling of fear was replaced by a feeling of being overwhelmed by the beauty of the sky, the wind and the sheer embrace of nature.
Except for the bonfire, there was no light around for miles and so by 9 we decided to head back. We stopped to say bye to mama, paid him and left, but stopped at the property gate as the gate was locked! Mama had not mentioned anything about locking the gate when we said bye to him! Now all of us were spooked. Sneha and Bunty went back to the house to get the keys from Mama. Those 5-7 minutes that it took them to come back were the scariest moments of the night. Mama told them he did not know who locked the door and handed them a plastic bag that had about 30 to 40 bunches of similar looking keys and kept telling them as well - ‘darneka nahi’ and that was enough to spook anyone out . They came back with that huge collection of keys. Bunty started breaking the lock by the time I was looking for the right key; all we could think of is getting the hell out of there. We found the key in no time and left!
The drive back was magical. There were no street lights, no other vehicles or any other form of light on the road. Due to this (and a little intoxication) the headlights flashing on the plants on both sides of the narrow road looked 3D. We got back home by about 12:30 in the night. A good 12 hour trip, which was in so many ways a memorable one.
I often see life in a weird way. Sometimes I think of it as a movie, sometimes as a game, sometimes a traffic signal and what not! Well yesterdays trip was a combination of a movie, a game and a little bit of what they say ‘Reality’. Fear leads you to wildest thoughts and it can make a monster out of an old weak man in your imagination.
I feel blessed to have friends like the ones I have.. It takes good friends to turn a travel into a good journey!
