A Trip- As I Want It To Be

Haze in the distance,

Yet a lot more to see,

This would be a moment I had wished to experience once,

Just Nature, my friends and me.

A gloomy morning it all occurred on,

With Jahid banging on the door,

My sleep was away and gone,

And I rose with my back all sore.

Then there came Sneha,

With the whole group,

All ready and set to pull me away,

To break me from the daily office loop.

With the screech of rubber on the sidewalk,

The Fortuner left its stationary stand,

Flying into the rain and the wind,

Accompanied by the smell of Ambipur and the wet sand.

Towards Bhandardhara we raced,

The beautiful creation of nature,

With nothing to stop us,

Except an unanticipated puncture.

There dies the rhythm of the composition,

As I wait, watch and listen,

At the grey clouds enveloping the sky,

And what leaves my mouth is the startled cry of “Oh my”.

Back on the move,

We gorge on vada-pavs, and while drinking steaming cups of tea,

I hold Sneha close, as though it’s just her and me.

The concrete falls apart,

Now replaced by mud,

You are near your destination,

Shout the flowers and their small buds.

The vehicle comes to a halt,

The journey half done,

We traipse out of the car, and towards the steady trickling

of water, We all run.

Pushing and shoving, loving and cajoling,

We play in the dropping dripping water,

Pushed by its force, it lathers our backs,

With hard painful smacks.

There it is all around me,

Friends, otherwise and of nature,

Which is all I wished to see,

Far from the work,

This is the journey,

I had wanted it to be.

The clouds, the rain,

The water beating on my back, and the welcome pain,

The grass, the trees,

Now dancing, busy like buzzing bees.

Friendship and love,

It overflowed in the grove,

Never to be lost, it was always there to be.

A remarkable trip it was, never to be forgotten,

Always in memory, it would be something which would never be lost.

This is what my dream trip would be,

Something I have to wait for, till my license comes to me,

There are the friends, waiting expectantly for me,

And the gorgeous gift of nature, scenic, beautiful and picturesque.

PS: You can check out Ambipur's Facebook Page and get to know them at www.facebook.com/AmbiPurIndia

A Wish In The Rain

Water drips down my back, refreshing and rejuvenating, falling from the high rock with quite a bit of force. Accompanied by her, and the rest, makes the difference as I hold her tightly and she hugs me back. Smiles envelope our faces and we dive deep into the gripping dripping moment; and the water continues smacking us, taking away all of the stress and the tension of life, and gifting us with the utmost pleasure. Time takes a small halt and the moment passes with a little seasoning of slow-motion as I turn her towards myself, and we smile.

“Thank you so very much sweetheart for forcing me; for cajoling me; and for pulling me down to this place.”

As soon as the words spill out of my mouth, the clock ticks backward, and the moment returns to me.

A gloomy and damp Saturday morning, in the month of July. The daily morning blues kick in and prevent me from getting up from my cozy lair and heading over to my partner for life- my files and my work. Switching on the coffee maker I grumpily head in the direction of the shower, when the door bell rings, and I stare at the door, thinking,” Who the hell is calling on me so early, that to on a Saturday morning?!”

The door keeps banging till I walk down to it, ready to fire away at the person waiting at my doorstep.

“Now just shut the-“. I stop in mid sentence at the sight of person waiting impatiently. His impromptu visit makes me smile, yet in feigned anger. Punching me in the shoulder, Jahid winks at me and says,” You may choose to complete that statement bro. Sneha is still parking the car and it will take her a little bit of time to come up.”

“Now where did my name come up in this Jahid? Karan, invite us in at least. Don’t make us stand here please, we are all wet,” teased Sneha as she stepped out of the lift. Pushing past me she continued,” You are seriously hopeless Karan. Can’t you ever keep your things in their place?”

“Don’t start off in the morning love. I’ve got a whole day at work to live through.”

“I’m just kidding honey. And by the way, you aren’t going to work. Just pick up a pair of clothes, your car keys and get dressed. You don’t need to shave, you look good like this,” she said as she opened the drapes.

“No ways! I’ve got loads of work at office! And where are we headed anyways,” I questioned.

“Don’t argue with me early in the morning, just get going!”

She walked to my cupboard and pulled out two pairs of clothes and setting them into a cul-de-sac, she threw the keys to my Toyota Fortuner and headed towards the door. With no other way out, I changed and walked out the door.

The rain pattering on its windshield, the Fortuner raced through the concrete maze of the city of Mumbai and exited through one of the many inlets to the city. Nothing could stop us now, the six of us- Jahid, Naina, Aarav, Jinal, Sneha and me- from spending this day with complete ease, devoid of the pressures of work.

The stereo blaring the romantic songs of Aashiqui 2 at full blast, we stopped at a small tea stall and snacks corner to enjoy the hot vada-pavs and bhajiyaas with steaming cups of tea. The rain dripping incessantly, we enjoyed the savories and eliminated the remaining drops of sleep in our eyes. Walking back to the black monster, we got back in; hair garnished with spray from the oncoming rain, and our clothes moist.

Opening the windows to let in the picturesque view of the grey cloudy sky and the falling tears from the sky, we raced towards our destination. The scenic view and the song ‘Tum Hi Ho’ coupling to conjure up a romantic mood in the innards of the car, I called on Aarav to the driving seat, and with Sneha moved into the back seat. The uncommonly smooth road of the NH-3 flying past below us, I kept a hand around her, rested my shoulder on hers, and drifted off in the safe haven of her arms.

The drops of water rousing me from my sweet sleep, I looked into Sneha’s smiling face and she looked back playfully at me. Collecting water from the falling rain, she threw it back at me, again. Taking in her hands from the open window of the stationary car, I hugged her tight and shut my eyes again when it hit me.

The car had stopped, and the others were gone! “Come on my dear sleepyhead. The others have gone already to enjoy the weather and the scenic beauty of this place. Let’s go now!”

“Why didn’t you wake me up earlier? I had so much to tell you,” I replied sullenly as she opened the door and slid out of the vehicle.

“There’s the whole life to talk. Now let’s go and enjoy,” she shouted back to me, barely being heard in the torrential rain. Smiling to myself, I locked the vehicle and followed her.

The lush green grass lining the water body from all sides but one; and the water dropping dripping down the rocks into the small lake; the trees dancing in the rain; and her petite hands held in mine. This was heaven. Nature at its best; and at just a couple of hours distance from the concrete capital of the state.

It was just a small push in the back, and I fell, into the water, and with me I took them all. It was a trip I would never forget; a paisa-vasool trip- just nature, my friends, and me.

PS: You can check out Ambipur's Facebook Page and get to know them at www.facebook.com/AmbiPurIndia