Lonavala 2013

We made it! After more than 20 months of planning, much procrastination and repeated cancellations, we finally made it to the ‘queen of hill stations’ half way up to Pune. The trouble was all of Mumbai also wanted to reach Lonavala the same day. Or so it seemed. Pushing through terrifying traffic gridlocks amid incessant rainfall, treacherous potholes and crooked cops determined to send us back, we finally landed on the salubrious lap of nature early afternoon after a gruelling five-hour drive from Mumbai.
But it was all well worth the effort. Along with the swirling mist, bone-chilling breeze and blinding rain, what would also stay with us was the spirit of bonhomie we shared in our small, cohesive group (yesterday’s post) right through the journey. It all began at the Garden itself with Teja Singh Bhambra making an unexpected appearance and declaring he would join us in the waiting bus. Overwhelmed, Ved Prakash Grover simply went up and hugged him hard, followed by an equally gleeful Srichand Arora and joyous Tara Chand Seth.
Then it was Monthi Serrao’s turn to spring a surprise when she produced a breakfast spread of idli-wadas and green chutney, replete with paper plates and napkins inside the bus. Before long, Ramila Mistry came up with the Gujarati muthiya. That saved us the halt at Chembur, but we did break journey for tea and to pick up wafers and savories on the way. Meanwhile, Arun Patil put on his tiny music system ('a mouse that roars’) with vintage film songs, triggering debates on how the minds of yesteryear lyric writers worked.
Arora wanted to know the logic behind Talat Mehmood’s evergreen hit, Meri yaad mein tu na aasoon bahana. “Which idiot would like to remember someone and weep?” he demanded. “I would rather forget and stay happy!” He went on to seriously explain the meaning of his name – a derivative of Aurora or “arrow that pierces the heart”. Promptly Monthi quipped, “Poor Aro-ra, ro-rah hai… he has hole in his heart.” Arun chipped in by declaring that the “hole has been filled with rain water”.
Suddenly Ram Shankar Shukla raised an alarm. He said he had lost his wallet, only to find it half-an-hour later in the bus. By then, everyone – from Sunita Jajodia and Santosh Tyagi to Bhaswati Bose, Kiran Arora and Kiran Makharia had got into pulling one-another’s legs. But ultimately it was Tara Chand who took Arora’s case most – whether it was about picking up Lonavala’s famous chikkis at ‘our age’ or bananas turning into wafers in the stomach… It was a pity that he slipped on a rock and suffered a nasty fall at Tiger Point. Luckily, no damage was done. Many others did not take chances and stayed put in the bus till they heard of a spectacular waterfall down the bend and they all rushed out. Even Shukla, who was complaining of the crippling wind chill, came out for a dekko, only to dart back in moments.
All through the trip, Shekhawat was in touch on phone to monitor our movement and ensuring all went well. Even at lunch, he called up to check whether the food was fine and if the arrangements he had made for freshening up suited everyone. It was just our bad luck that he could not be physically present on this trip.
Harish Wadhwa:
* I missed a nice picnic due to my own compulsions. But I am sure you guys had a great time as it appears from the pics. The smiling faces of the group having a nice hot meal, shows the enthusiasm of this fun-loving group. Yadein, Yadein/ Bus yadein reh jati hain/ Kuchh chhoti, kuchh meethi, yaadein reh jati hain...
* Sade Sher Singh-ji (Teja Singh) da jawaab nahin. Vadde sone te sherdil lag rahe ho, Badshaho!