Friends and Lonavala!!!

Friends and an unplanned adventure, this is the best combination that exists in the world. For me, I am always game for an adventure, but an unplanned one...hmmm....let me think about it. Oh yeah! Let me tell you about the time me and my friends started out from college with the intentions of going out partying but landed up in one of the most celebrated spots of the country, Lonavala!


We had a packed schedule in our first semester at college. Classes from 10 in the morning to 8 at night (pheww). Thurday is our off day so one wednesday (our weekend) me and my friends decided to go partying (uh um...that's all I am ready to say about or exact intentions..:D). Unfotunately by the time we finished our Wednesday classes, got a taxi, decked up, forced one of us to get in with us at the last moment, (literally, 1 more second and he would have fallen off) and reached civilization, woes of woe, it was 11 30 at night. We reached our desired destination and discover that they closed just five minutes before we reached their entry gate.

We discovered that we were stuck in the city, all 10 of us, hungry as a pack of horses with nowhere to go (our college campus shut the gates maximum by 12 at night). After wandering aimlessly for some time we finally decided to head off to the only eating joint which would be open after midnight. Ahoy 'Comesum' at Pune railway station. Good food opened our sleep deprived eyes a little and our tired minds woke up enough to help us think what to do next. Suddenly one brilliant suggestion "Lets go to Lonavala" from Nishant Roy Bombarde and all of a sudden we had an adventure lined up ahead of us.


We booked our tickets to Lonavla at some 1 30 at night. Half asleep, we got in the passenger train (full, where we had to sit in the passage between the seats) at 2. Finally, the slowest passenger train we have ever travelled in, got us to Lonavla. Getting down at the station at some 3 30 at night we realized it was too dark and unsafe for us to go out. Thus we decided to spend our first time in Lonavla by doing something else, (no, not sleeping, as any other sane people would do) but by playing a game of dumb shirads. Our howls of laughter and mockery woke up all the people on the station who were enjoying their deep slumber. They were not too happy about it but we were too busy enjoying the moment, trying to make up ways of gesturing 'Remember the Titans' or even worse 'Mary Poppins', to think too much about it.

Time passed real quick. At 5 am we decided to head out towards the dam, the most picturesque spot of Lonavla. It was still dark outside. We saw the place when it was just waking up and it was a different feeling altogether. We got our hands on the first newspaper of the day (or so we would like to believe) from a stack yet to be opened and delivered. Walking through narrow lanes, listening to the sound of birds waking up from a deep night sleep and smelling the aroma of freshly baked bread we all made our way slowly towards the dam.



By the time we reached the dam it was dawn. We spent our time there doing random things. From talking about random things to staring at the beauty of the calm waters of the morning, from taking a walk along the water line to slipping on the slippery grounds near the dam, from taking mad pictures to going for a walk in the morning light, we covered all ground in the short span of 2 hours. Then it was time to head back. We were all really tired by this time but we had a long walk ahead of us in order to reach back the Lonavla station. We tried flagging down the early morning traffic (which was not much) from autos to buses to motorcycles, sometimes even cycles..:D but had little luck. Finally a bus took pity on us and dropped us back to the station.

The passenger train to Pune was jam packed on our way back. Many of us had the experience of being hurled and pushed around in a passenger train for the first time. It was not too much fun, I will like to say. Finally we reached Pune station. We were all hungry yet again, (we are all growing up children, so understand people..:D) so we decided to make our way to Good Luck Cafe (our favourite breakfast joint in Pune). One of our friends, Arjya had her birthday treat due so we happily robbed her that morning. Happy, well fed and contended, we could hardly keep our eyes open. So we all took the next bus back to out hill and slept the entire way back.

That trip will always carry a special place in my heart. It was the first time we had gone completely mad and done something so out of character. Till date whenever we meet, the mention of Lonavla brings back memories we all with carry us the rest of our lives.

Religious at Shirdi

One common complaint that most parents have with their Generation X kids is that most of them do not believe in God, are atheists and would rather spend their time going to discoes and listening to Bhangra beats than visiting a religious place once in a while. What they don't realize is that somewhere in the rap loving, salsa dancing hearts of their brats is a feeling, which might not be devotional, but is certainly not atheism. My trip to Shirdi with my college friends is an extremely good illustration of this fact.

Let me start at the beginning. In my college our weekend started on a wednesday night, giving us "Friday" blues instead of "Monday" ones. We had been having a rough time at college so one tuesday we decided that come what may, we will take a break and go somewhere, anywhere far away from our college premises. Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar, Shirdi, lots of ideas were thrown around. Finally, surprisingly Shirdi was the chosen spot. There were many reasons behind this choice (overall cost being a major one, college students you see..:D). Whatever the reasons may have been, we decided to go to Shirdi that Wednesday and be back by thursday night.

The best part of the trip, (I am not ashamed to admit) was that it was completely unplanned. Wednesday evening, immediately after classes, we caught a bus from our hill down to civilization. On reaching the city, we mde our way to the station in order to plan our trip ahead. At the ticket counter we discovered that the only train which would take us there was at 1 30 at night! It was barely 10 pm so we had loads of time to kill. All four of us, me, Padma, Nikhilesh and Rohit discovered that we were famished. We went to a number of eating joints to while away time. Good Luck cafe, German Bakery, Comesum, all were covered in that one night.(Yes, those extra few pounds are because of that night only, huh..:D)

Around 12 30 am we made our way back to the station. We managed to find ourselves sleeper seats in the passenger train we were travelling in. Then started the actual journey. We enjoyed the train ride to the fullest. Singing songs, playing card games, pulling each other's legs, the calmness of the night after the hullaballoo of the city was an amazing experience. We even sat on the steps of the train gate (Jab We Met revisited...:D) and enjoyed the scenery passing by us in a whirlwind. Unfortunately for me, I was tired and zonked out at some 3 am. The next thing i knew it was 8 am and we were about to reach Shirdi.

The station was some 45 mins away from the main Shirdi temple. After getting fresh at the station, we hired a three wheeler. On arriving there we realized that it was Thursday when the rush at the temple was at its maximum. But we just went with the flow. Surprisingly, things worked out well for us (good for our nerves that we didn't know at that time that Sehwag was also planning to make a visit the same day). We easily got into queue, took some 40 mns to reach the main idol and had completed our darshan in a total of one hour. till it was 11 30 by the time we were free from the temple and were ravenous again. While eating lunch we found out that the only train which would take us back to Pune in time was at 1 30 pm. Considering it was 12 30 pm already now began our race for time. Running helter skelter we made our way back in time to catch the train back, barely.

The trip back was a ghost of our trip to Shirdi. There were many reasons for it. We were all tired out with one sleepless, long night and a journey full of excitement. All of us took turns at sleeping and passed the time. However, our adventure did not end there. The train was a chuk chuk in the true sense. It was 2 hours late than its scheduled arrival time and we realized that we will miss our last bus back to the hill. Also, we were all almost broke. Counting all our pennies we discovered that we had just about enough to hire a cab and get back to campus.

Finally we reached back to our campus, safe and sound and also strangely at peace. There was a strange sense of achievement that all of us felt at accomplishing the goal we had set out to achieve. For me, it was like foraying into unknown grounds and coming out victorious. Then, of course, at the end of it there was this smug feeling that Generation X is not as atheist as our parents would like to make us feel. Three cheers! :D

Breakfast at Flurry's

I am from Meerut, a small town in Uttar Pradesh. Kolkata is my mother's hometown so every summer vacation right from junior school was spent at my grandparents place there. The few things which had left an impression about Kolkata on me were Victoria Memorial, Rasgullas (droolllll), no power cuts (I am from UP, this aspect seemed like a miracle) and pastries from Flury's.

Now Flury's as a name did not really ring a bell at that young age. For me, it was just another pastry shop which made the most amazing rum balls and chocolate truffle pastries. The first time the legacy of this place struck me was in college, when I went to see "Parineeta". Set in Kolkata of the early 1900's, this movie had a constant mention of Flury's throughout. I was doing my graduation in History so this fact set me thinking. My curiosity about the place rose by leaps and bounds since I realized that by some amazing chance I had never been to Flury's in all the sixteen summers that I spent in Kolkata. For my family Flury's was such a common name and so far away that the pastries always came home.

Due to some unlucky circumstances I was not able to go to Kolkata in succession for a long time. So my dream to finally go and have breakfast at Flury's kept on getting delayed but was never forgotten. A lot of time passed by and I reached my final year of Post Graduation. Usually we hardly have time to breath here but swine flu came to Pune with a welcome break for all of us (desperation personified). Finally I got the opportunity to go to Kolkata and explore my much awaited dream of breakfast at Flury's.

The first day itself i told my cousins that whatever we may do I have to go to Flury's for breakfast once. We fixed up the plan and finally the long awaited day arrived. Since Flury's is a little far from my place in Kolkata we had to go really early. It was a weekend that day and even though we were there at around 9 in the morning, the place was absolutely crowded and there was a long line waiting outside. I was without a doubt, totally and completely amazed. We had to stand in queue from around an hour before we got a place to sit inside.

Flury's has been renovated from its earlier British setting. My mother told me that previously there had been two entrances, one which led to the breakfast section and the other which led to the pastry section. But now there is just one single entrance. Tall arches and high cielings, they transported any visitor there back to the pre independence period where Kolkata was the britishers seat of power. The authorities at Flury's have preserved some items from the earlier British Flury's like a teapot, some cutlery etc in an Almirah. Eyes get drawn towards the ambience which includes some photographs from the earlier period.

The actual breakfast itself was an unforgettable experience which went by in a blur. Muffins, different kinds of oven warm breaks, baked beans on toast, croissants, the list just refused to end. The pastries and cakes section was another paradise altogether. One can easily spend hours just drooling over the smells and decorations on those delightful sweets, I can guarantee that (I did'nt drool, just gaped openmouthed at the counters). Our stomaches were full but we still wanted more.

I came back from Flury's with both my appetite as well as curiosity satisfied. It was very easy to dissern that Flury's is not just any regular eating joint but is a landmark which the people of Kolkata understand and respect. To be able to enjoy a quiet breakfast at Flury's is an experience which can never be forgotten by anyone. As for me, I finally understood the legend that Flury's is and lament on all the wonderful breakfast opportunities i missed out in my earlier years. But now I have promised myself that whenever i find my way back to Kolkata I will make sure that I go and pay my tribute to one of the landmarks of the city by having Breakfast at Flury's.