Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
than not, head to Turquoise Cottage at Adhchini, the only place where anything seems to be possible.( Much like last monsoon where a bunch of us went to TC, and landed up at Renuka Lake in Himachal the next morning, but more on that later) Ava Ador interlude in my head, woke up, and sighed, this TC business is something Im getting too old for, further evidence being, that I woke up in my own house, and not Himachal Pradesh at the very least; (Believe me, there have been days when Goa and Manila havent looked very far from the smoke induced purple haze of TCs crowded bar on a Friday/Saturday night) cue to call the partners in crime.
Delayed Reactions
The alcohol was still in the system, and the omelet tasted as if the batter were mixed with vodka, luckily Saturdays are something that the boss has reconciled with as not being working days even though the company does. Proof that people in regional offices dont work; twenty minutes later the reaction to Udays poser Shall we or shall we not skedaddle the night earlier, came around to what it usually is any night at TC, Yes! Oh Yes. Save us, Ava Ador, from the mundanely monotonous conundrum that one life in this urban jail has become. Two hours in the Delhi traffic notwithstanding, the call of the mountains was too good to resist, and as Im the persuader, excuse-maker, negotiator with the boss all rolled-in-one, the first call was to Nitin, and persuaded him to ditch his all-too-often plan of going to Karol Bagh to get his bike fixed (wonder how much hed save if he just bought a Honda instead of a Royal Enfield, but his poser thrown back at me whenever weve had this argument, of, Would I trade my fountain pens to write with Reynolds Ball pens.. is something that can go on ad infinitum, and there wasnt time for that), called up Le Boss to harangue him for three days leave; and negotiated with Udays inclinations to a smaller spell on the road. (Wonder if hes leaving the company, and therefore the trio, why does he bother? ) Further proof that Smashing Pumpkins is not the best way to spend lonely nights; just to avoid suicidal tendencies like 500 km road trips in the middle of the heaviest work load weve seen in the last, (hell, ever!) two years, was that we were up for the trip even though it meant leaving midday. (Well, you have to do it to learn the contextual self-deprecating language that you find this punctuated with, well worth it, and believe me.) Side note on reviewing a place we had lunch at Hotel Gold in Panipat, the less I write the better, enough said. Dont.
Driven
On the highway, the cars a tad underpowered at the top end to go drag racing with a Fortuner, and I was happy to challenge and outmuscle smaller fry like the usual convoy of i10s and WagonRs and the occasional sister i20. Laying down markers is very important when one wants to do a 500 odd km road trip in two very huge chunks. My markers usually are fast cars, or fast drivers, and they help stretches of 40-50 km at a time go by, without you noticing the absence of mountains, and the remarkable similarity
of all the towns en route to the ghettos of East and West Delhi. Maybe the planners and settlers in the capital took their cues from the Wizard of Oz after all, and are preparing for the second coming of the witches. Little do they know, that theyre both to the East, one in Kolkata and the other in Noida (cue : I loathe the Memorial, dont you?) The I 20 is a fantastic car to drive on the highway, despite professional reviewers telling you its underpowered. The interiors are comfy enough to take the itch out of a 200 km straight drive-at-astretch, the music system is fantastic, and leg room ample. (Im driving the i20 Sportz petrol 1.2, for feedbacks sake) The three of us, had a lot of room to stow away our gear and two and a half grands worth of booze, which when bought from Chandigarh is a lot, a lot, a LOT!!! (Tip : Buy Booze at Chandigarh, its way cheaper
up to this clearing which is s designated camping site to find as modern as you can find, sound equipment in a clearing roughly 80 feet wide, and a party in full swing. However, by the looks of it, wed arrived just a tad late, as the heavens had opened up, and a more than generous drizzle had scuttled the plans for (by the looks of it) an all-nighter. Damn. We ended up at the Evergreen Caf which is at the town center; you cant miss it really, it is a little hamlet with only one street, and ordered the French Onion soup, with a penne in a red sauce on the side, both were made really well, and the palate was decidedly European; none of the spice in the pasta that one would normally get in any other place in Delhi, or the overkill of pepper in the soup. All for the princely sum of two hundred bucks! With relish and gusto we dug in. A word about the music in the caf, good trance and electronic music interspersed with golden oldies as The Doors made for a fine selection, something the caf owners all across the country should travel to this particular place to take note of, and hopefully replicate. With the only other choice of entertainment washed away, we had to move back to the room, and steel ourselves for a longish debate on what movie to watch, out of the roughly hundred or so that Nitin was carrying around. We settled for The Butterfly Effect. To me, it is still an under-rated cult classic, and should be above the realm of ratings and reviews. About the movie itself, sci-fi, drama and thriller aficionados are better off having watched it; and Id consider even couples to watch it together, to connect on a higher plane of purpose and destiny, and our total lack of control over the latter, but not the former, and in doing so, rise (if only for a few hours) above the humdrum conundrums of daily living, and realize how many infinite things have come together for you to have the other in your life, and how, if for a few quirks of fate, (indeed, a few butterfly wing-beats here and there) you might have not had him/her at all. See it, and believe it, youre lucky, very lucky.
Bacardi only added to the revelry, and long after everyone else had retired, our bawdy songs could be heard over the rivers gentle admonishment. We went back to the restaurant at Deep Forest early morning, and befitting Udays presence, (in any party involving food) promptly ordered every item on the menu; the wait as well as the service (given the solitary cook at the establishment) was leisurely, and the views of the town below, and the peaks up high, were enough to keep the spirits and the appetite up, and the food did not disappoint the pizza, pasta and eggs were spot on, and so was the cold coffee. Recommend the latter highly. Please dont be overzealous though, and do what Uday did order Banana Nutella pancakes; all youll be served is a parantha smeared with Nutella and banana slices inside, heated slightly. Barring anomalies of adventurous ordering, one would be good, anywhere in Kasol. Meals have cost us just under seven hundred bucks between three healthy appetites, (please note that liquor isnt served anywhere) and the room was five hundred bucks with the extra bed per night! And we drove out, having said our prolonged goodbyes.