My Trip to Pune

As the year drew to a close, me and a few friends who have been lucky enough to stay at and around Pune decided that it was time that all of us had a meeting. it had been a long time since we bade each other goodbye at Howrah station in calcutta.destiny had taken everyone different places, but the common feeling of loneliness was what coaxed us into investing out time in this get together. so off i went to pune from hyderabad, was a one night journey in an uncomfortable and not-worth-the-price bus, bus was a little price to pay for the emotional replenishment that i was about to get.we were met there by some friends who were our batchmates alright but not close friends..i had to wait just a little longer for the time...and then it happened...when i came face to face with all the ppl that i had left behind after college. it was a strange feeling for me. didnt seem a long time since i left them although it was something like 5 months since we saw each other. maybe the memories etched in my mind never really faded. but i was happy. i dint speak for some time, that was in part because i wanted to listen to that light hearted banter again that i so missed.every one was having a laugh at everyone else, sometimes even at me. i received a few compliments on my weight which confirmed my doubt that i had slimmed down.we all sat around for maybe hours and just chatted amongst
ourselves...forgot to eat our lunch even and it was not until 4 and every eating joint was just about closed that we took off to fill our tummies.it was some of the best food i have tasted in a long time....it was because of the company maybe i dont know...but this hyderabadi food sure does taste bland again. then came the hard part, making a plan for the evening. our grp has been notorious for this....too many ideas and too much mulling over and finally we come up with the same solution every time..that enough time has been wasted and lets just go to the nearest decent place...so we set off...not before calling up our friend debasree in switzerland...i tried 5 times and it didnt connect..and then finally my friend pratyush did and it connected...i was so much hoping to talk first...that was not to be it. we sang the complete birthday song near that booth..many quizzical faces turned towards us...what is that grp of 12 doing there holding the receiver in their hand and singing happy birthday??...but that was the last of our concerns...then we took turns wishing her..all the time one eye on the bill meter which was running very much like a rigged auto meter in hyderabad...and then after a 3 digit amount was paid, we set off again to celebrate the new year eve...it was in a nearby bar cum disco and all....i admit one of the dumbest places to be celebrating new year...i drank a little but watched in amazement as my friends gulped down one peg after
another...i think ive never seen anyone drink as much as akhil did that day...still when the new year came, it did not come with a bang but a whimper...and we wished each other well for the new year...i had not expected what was in store for me this new year...we all went back home and had a good night's sleep...we had to set off for the nearby dam on the mulsi lake(i think it was this only) and that too early in the morning...that for us was about 2 in the afternoon...i didnt get reservation for hyderabad that day, so i had to take for the next that is 2nd...i didnt mind though...who wanted to go back anyway...not me atleast...so finally 10 ppl on 5 bikes set off for a 50 km sojourn through the hills...and it was a blast of a trip...i didnt wear a protective mask on my head, at that moment i thought why every one else was doing so...i realised later that sitting on a high speed bike for 2 hours and with wind and mud and what not blasting in your face would eventually lead to a very bad feeling on the face...not that it was much disconcerting....physical pains was the last on my mind...i was wearing my new trouser(almost new) and my fav sweater and i had taken all care to keep it as clean as possible...we stopped near the lake at one point and all came down to the lake, had a stone throwing competition where i stood maybe next to last...in my defence i would say that i wasnt trying too hard...again we sat there for an hour and just recalled past times, it was great, i clicked some fotos(which ill upload soon)...my friends urged me to take a few steps in the lake...and i said no...my new trouser was pulling me back...that done we set off again for the dam...although a new piece of news to us was that a dam was baing built...so no such structure existed till date...talk about a stupid idea...,but the breathtaking scenery and the time spent at the lake was
compensation enough for that...again we started this time without any plan where to go, just ascending the hills when something i least expected happened...the bike i was travelling on sitting pillion to my former roomie rajiv skid and fell and i was skidding along with it...someone who has been in an accident will tell you that life slows down during the accident and that you will most probably remember all that happened....exactly what happened to me...i could see the stones going past me, hitting me and i also saw the oncoming ditch...we managed to stop in the nick of time, not that it was by anything we did, just luck...a little more and we would have been hurtling down the slope...a little more than just bruises was what i got from that experience...but then again im happy that it happened to me...surprisingly that episode has made me even richer in memories, one thing that will never leave me...skidding along at 60 km per hour with nothing that you can do....when i stood up from that i looked down and saw that the trouser that i had been so protective of had been ruined...talk about irony...but i dont regret it...i consider it a small sacrifice for a great experience...i dont even have that trouser now,,,i gave it to my friend who said that he wanted it...i didnt for one minute finched..i guess ive never felt happier at giving away something that has been my fav...we came back...i was glowing all the way...my first accident..somehow it made me feel proud i dont know why...we stopped downhill at a restaurant, had lots to eat..and finally made it home at night....slept very soundly and for a long time...next day my friends all went to their jobs and i guess that was the most boring day...or so i thought...my friend called up to tell me that cat results were out...i gave him my reg number...i coulnt believe when he told me that 3 results were out and that i had all the calls....what made me even happier was the fact that pratyush my closest friend, i would like to say unabashedly, also got calls...i finally ended up with 5 calls...came back to hyderabad after giving my friends 2 treats..small ones but i hope a precursor to a larger one if i convert...and i believe it has been one of my most memorable new years ever spent...i have a lot more to tell..the ccd treat...emotional farewell with sharma(oops abhishek) and a lots more...but details for later...right now i just want to savour the memories that flood my mind......