memories83’s blog

9 of us…all girls…the place for an ideal getaway was Panchgani…

I have had some of my best memories there..and the best stories too!

The chilling winter of 2009 and the greener pastures were outstanding for a jump in the valley. We booked our set of flyers and were all into sumos trailing across the wonderful mountains amongst wild flowers. Our jump-suits with our jumpers were our set of drivers too. This is that one moment I had been waiting for to check off from my to-do list. We got off at several places to check the wind and it was never visible as per the riders of the giant sky waves. The girls were howling mad on who would dare the go first as we managed to finally find a windy spot. And I without doubts was the one to willing give my life in the hands of a stranger.

 
The huge curtain was opened. It looked like it covered most of green land. A rider was busy strapping himself to the seat of the joy-ride, while I was preparing for my safety gears. The feel of the huge cloth waving happily against the winds and making a howling sound already took my excitement sky-high. And even before I could realize it, I was running the length of the mountain with my rider in full swing to jump off the mountain. He yelled out to me ‘Quick sit down’ and I was in the joy-ride seat, miles above the earth, in a valley with tall trees towering high, its tips almost touching my feet. I could see the village real tiny, kids running in the fields and pointing out amazingly at the gliders. I was in mid-drift when I heard a soft moan pass my glider’s mouth who was enthusiastically speaking about his past experiences at diving out of a mountain. Excitement was too high, but I managed to grasp his pause in story-telling to realize I wasn’t feeling the air through my face sweeping by. And all he said was ‘ Don’t panic, we need to do an emergency landing as we wont be able to get back to where we took off, the wind has stopped flowing and you are too heavy for me to maneuver back’. Well I definitely hadn’t panicked but really wild as the half-my-weight glider was blaming me for not landing safely. Well it wasn’t much use arguing in mid-air, least he might just drop me off the belt saying ‘goodbye’. And as we started to glide down towards the huge fields, the village kids ran across its length chasing us. Well they weren’t the only ones chasing our glider as I almost kicked a pack of dogs who were howling madly behind us all through the narrowing valley.

 
With a soft thud I landed in paddy fields with the huge curtain following us covering most of the field possible. I looked at the sky and the 7 minute ride, felt like I made an exit out of space and life. I can only envy the birds and bees for the most exquisite gift of their life, the ability to fly.

After landing I almost had a 100 kids and dogs around me, giggling, talking, barking and explaining how risky it gets for gliders and how they manage to rescue a few off the trees all blood-stained. After seeing my horror-struck face they managed to cool me off by telling me they were all ‘firangs’ trying stunts on their own. I then asked my glider ‘So how do we get back?’ And he said “We have landed kilometers away, would have to take an ST through the village to reach back in approx 2 hours”. This time my face never left the horror struck expression.

But what an experience it was!! Reaching the house where all the 8 girls were awaiting my return with ‘garam pohas and garam chai’ after my dare-devil adventure, I managed to fill them up with my story of the flight chased by dogs, to the ride across the Wai village with loads of white-caps who seemed like members of the panchayat in the bus, awed by little school children, the cattle and goats grazing in meadow, of the ladies carrying pots towards the well on the kachha roads…Oh!! India is just the same as mentioned in books hundreds of years ago…every little detail as I sat in the window of that bumpy ST, remembering my flight and hoping the seats of the ST were made of cotton!!!!!!

…Mana….Paragliding at Panchgani (its a must)

Chap 1- A week of planning .

One whole week, we were planning where do we go, how to get there, what all to carry, who all are joining in and   would it be one day or two days, how to convince people who aren’t ready to join in? and a hundred more unanswered questions. It happens every time we are planning a trip. Half of them are not sure, the other half not interested and with so many things I still don’t understand why me, osci & kamal always take initiatives for most trips and parties.

So after the frantic week of planning none of us were still sure who all were joining in, till Thursday. Most of the girls had denied & the boys were at the level of cynic breakdown trying to take care of every girl’s request. I picked up the phone & called up each girl & tried my level best to convince all of them by the end of the day. But on Friday I could hear all “NO’s” inspite my 2 hours of coaxing the previous day. I gave up too. So I guess the boys had to go without the girl gang, which wasn’t so difficult tough sad for them. But I have an incredible group who knows to enjoy no matter what & stand by whenever required. Can enjoy in the most serious issues & yet come up with solutions.

My last hope, Ulka also said a no by the Friday evening. “Just the 2 of us? Would be more interesting if others joined. I think we’ll plan out some other time” she kept saying. And I knew the other time wouldn’t come for a year or ever.

And then, when we had informed the boys we weren’t coming, my unexpected ray of hope messaged at 10:30 in the night. “Don’t tell anyone but I am coming. Would be at the station at 7:30 sharp.” Now how was I supposed to tell Kirti that the plans were cancelled. Wait a minute if kirti was planning to join in, that would make 3 girls & Ulka wouldn’t have a problem with that now. A quick call to Ulka and Kirti & we decided to go for it.

See you at 7:30 tomorrow

Chap 2 ' The Morning journey

      The morning journey was quick. A quick switch of all modes of transport and we were at the Kalyan Junction before 8:15 which was supposedly the only train in the next 5 hours. Well that is what was informed to me and the rest, by our very own Doggie, that's Swaps. So when we finally reached there by 8:15, we realized the train was actually scheduled at 8:45 and it was just a means to get everyone before time at the Station (Our doggie sure has his own tricks). So breakfast was it. The one hour of train travel till Kalyan which was a pretty shaky and bumpy one sure had our intestines wobbling by 8:15. So the dozen of us which included the eager to go, ever ready people and a few surprise packages like Kirti and Akshay hit off for a Hotel. After a lot of don't eat this and don't eat that's before travel I had to wobble down my entire Masala dosa amongst a lot of scoldings & "Hurry Up" yellings. Finally too bugged  by the constant jittering I rolled the entire dosa in my hand & off we ran to catch the train. Remember!!! If we had missed that one we were stranded for the next 5 hours.

      The next one hour seemed even faster. First it started with a packed train with all standing, then the girls managed to get seats & Dino got a place which he referred to as "Window Standing". Finally  all of us managed to get seats and with maddos like Dino, Osci, Ritz, Swaps, Kamal, Aks, Ram and Amar, it was an absolute Laughter Riot all throughout, with Dino checking for Bombs in the train, he being hit by Osci & Ritz over every "Check out the waterfall" statement, a lot of snap clicking in the shaky train and the usual "Akshay sing a song" jitter. Ulka, Kirti and Me did the good audience act.

      "The next stop's Khopoli." We picked up the bags & ran to the door. OHH WOW!!! If I could describe that place, it was no less than heaven. A huge Mountain, fog circulating it at the extreme top and a thousand of waterfalls, which seemed like the lightning Strokes amidst clouds. There was no end to the number of cracks that mountain had with water pouring out from all possible places. "Is that where we are headed" was the question all of us asked. It couldn't get any better than this.

Chap 3: The GAIKWAD House

     "Chetan,Chetannnnnnn, Chetannnnn " they just wouldn't stop screaming their asses out and the 3 of us (the girls) were making sure no one was watching us and if they were, we made an extra effort to prove to them, we weren't with these guys. As for Chetan, who happened to stay in Khopoli, and I guess would have been half way through to receive us, would have gone back home hearing these guys yell. After a half an hour walk, enjoying the scenic beauty amongst the pouring rain which never seemed to stop in khopoli we reached Chetan's home. It was one hell of a relaxation, a good tea & snacks break, a quick tour to the washrooms & changing rooms, a TV refreshment and a few hilarious scenes there before we hit off. His family seemed really cool and very simple and as far as Chetan is concerned, well yes the same guy who doesn't leave one chance of taking anyone's case, seemed extremely quite and shy in front of his parents. The most hilarious statement which he said was then, when he got out his parents for an introduction with all of us. And out of I dunno what the rest would call it, but I'll put it as something you say, when you don't know how to get the conversation going above a plain " Hello", he had said "Mom, she's also a Gaikwad". I didn't find it hilarious, because I feel that would probably be my way of introducing him too when I get him introduced to any of my friends or family. After all its another 'Gaikwad'. But the jokers in my group just couldn't help laughing over it. I had no option, but to join them.

Chap 4: And off we go

      Finally, at around 11:00 which might not be the perfect time to start a picnic, we guys hit of the roads in the still drizzling rain. "Lets do a head count before we go" somebody said & I replied "Its 13 of us". After an hour's walk we reached this huge mountain, which I assume was the same one we saw while getting off the train and now we could see them more clearly..thousands of waterfalls all over. Excited, eager, energetic, enthusiasts any adjective might sound small to the level of Enigma we guys had. Our guide had let us perfectly to the destination & it was Heaven. A quick cross over of two small rivers..one minute I cant say it was a quick cross over and nor were the rivers small..with a very big effort for us girls & a lot more helping hands of the boys all of us managed to pass both the huddles of high current water bodies in the hope of reaching our destinations fast. And as we trailed down the path of Zenith, I dared to take off my cam in the rains to catch all the silliness of these guys which I couldn't afford to miss. The views were magnificent and my gang was awesome. I don't remember Dino walking on the straight road even once and all through the walk we were only worried about this Stuntman, who was capable enough of throwing himself in any pool or waterfall & bring up his biggest smile of ignorance even if he was flowing away with the gust of water.

      Whoooooooooo Whoooooooo I couldn't hear a thing..i was trying to protect my cam..but the wind was too much..WAS IT WIND??..what was that noise after all And as we climbed the last rocky stone, there it was, the most forceful water body displaying its force and power. I couldn't help muttering " Nature's soooo beautiful". The enthusiasts all ran to the top and again with a bit of help from each other we dared to go a little closer to the waterfalls. It was an experience I cant write and explain, coz u guys need to be there to know it. Its like a powerful windmill throwing a lot of wind with water and its so forceful that u cant even open ur eyes to those little droplets which aren't that little.

      Half an hour in it and when we were satisfied that we were drenched enough, we walked out the same route crossing the two rivers which was another interesting run, with chappals flowing. Chetan managed to get his Chappals for the 2^nd time in that gust of water and as usual the PJ king ran for it to display yet another victoriously SILLY effort of his.

Chap 5: The 13^th Member

      Hot Wada Pav's are the best food when u are chilling cold & wet. It was freezing cold once outside the water and the hot wada pavs were the best remedy at that time. With a slow start of kicking the football whie eating we started off playing with the ball all through the road. First it was a catch and throw & then it extended to football and HEADERS right in the middle of the road.

      "One of us is missing", someone yelled.."we are just 12 right now"..but even in the vividness we could not make out who was missing as all were there. "Dinn Manali say that the head count was 13", Chetan exclaimed. Well yea I had counted the FOOTBALL as the 13^th head. I had too. These guys were so cynical for that air-ball, they tagged it along everywhere we went & they took care of it more than a life. Let anything happen to anyone, but the football shouldn't be drowned or swayed away. From the train to the waterfalls to the hotels for lunch, they made sure they never forgot the ball anywhere and double checked with everyone that it was still amongst the 12 of us.

      The lunch was over in a jiffy with Coloured biryanis at our table & a full course meal at the other(half the people know the reason for the full meal at the other table).
 So where are we going now?..It was just 3:00 and I seriously did not want the picnic to end in just 4 hours.
      "We are going to some place."  That's all I kept hearing whenever the 3 of us asked the boys. Some place, some place..for heavens sake, what is this some place?? We just had to wait till we reached there coz no one was gonna tell us what it was. 3 ricks and a 10 minute ride we entered something which seemed like a private colony. It was were Chetan did his schooling and for a small town  building the school seemed pretty grand compared to any infrastructures in Mumbai. Lawns and meadows followed the buildings backyard. Oh!! I should have guessed it. It was just the right place the boys required for a game. Tough I liked the greenery I wasn't ready for a boring game. Lets go a little further. Amongst the puddles and slashing waters under our feet we strolled along a little further. A wall divided what seemed like a dead end or a new beginning and as we crawled under the 4 feet door to cross that wall, we all realized we should have been here in the 1^st place. A small field, with a plain green lawn, a stream flowing right beside it which came from the mountains that surrounded us and the water never stopped flowing. It was above Heaven. MAGNIFICENT!! The fishes..well that's my gang and I have to call them fish coz they were so accustomed to water by now..ran through the stones..up the rocks and dived right into the streams without even caring if they would get hurt And thats when I said to the girls "I am so glad we came to this picnic, I cant stop admiring the nature, I cant stop laughing, tough I hate water I am loving it and above all I can plainly watch these guys all day, enjoy themselves and crack up".

      A game of volleyball in the stream with half the time running behind the flowing ball, time just flew by very fast. But u think they'll give in without a game of football. So after a lot of time in the stream we all hesitantly moved out of it for a game of Football.

Chap 6: Now I know WHY ITS FOOTBALL!!!

      Watching a game of football was fine, but playing one naah!!..i don't think the boys will let us play either. But it was a surprise when they said "No one will stand and watch the game". Okies so I landed with the Goal keeper roll along with Ulka and Kirti as a Refree.

      And I forgot to mention the great fall before the game where our Madman(Dino..adjectives never stop for this guy) came running from God knows where and since he isn't smart enough to realize that the mush green grass below would be slippery he took poor Ritz off his feet in air and collided little Ulka for the great triplet fall. Ritz and Ulka never realized what happened until the rest of us picked them up. But the laughter was unstoppable.

      The game started It was me, another Gaikwad, Akshay, Dino and Swaps in one team vs Kamal, Osci, Ritz, Amar, Ram and Ulka in the other. A lot of falls after every goals(that's when they managed to reach goal posts)..threatening looks and shouts to the goalees a lot of pulls and drags by the winchi hoods and the 360 degree rotation rounds for poor Ulka the game was a real hilarious one. Ofcourse my team won, thanks to 2 people. First, the Goalee Ulka who was busy chatting with the Refree Kirti miles away from the Goal post. And Second to Swaps for his innocent looks coz till the end Ulka never realized Swaps wasn't a part of her team and made sure she passed the ball only to him. Like I said, it was a very hilarious game ..

      Time passed by and it was time to hurry up the 5:55 train was scheduled and we were still on the ground..

Chap 7: I wish it never ended

      A run to Chetan's place to change & pick up our bags and we were at the station at the blink of an eye. Surprises are never too less in my gang. By the time we went over to pick up the bags, the guys had managed to get a Monginis cake for the b'day treaters Kirti, Dino, Swaps and Ram. Standing at the door of the ladies compartment we sang the song, cut the cake, gobbled and finished it up in blank 5 minutes. A few more snaps and the train hooted. It was time to go and I knew the guys were gonna enjoy a lot more over the nite-out and the next day.

            And as the train started and crossed khopoli station all 3 of us smiled and said "Wish it hadn't ended..wish we could stay back" .


***Mana***

Continued from Part I (Darkness) ….

The morning hours came in a jiffy. But we were all under bed covers trying to forget the night. The sleep was a restless one. And we were lazily sitting on the bed. At a distance we could here the koel sing. And the night images were still bright in our minds. We went to the washroom one by one. Took a bath quickly. All four of us did not leave the room for the next 1 hour. Our bags were still unpacked. The only time we opened them was to get the towels & the clothes from the bag. We put in the other belongings back & were ready tying our shoelaces on the bed, when the housekeeper called up on the line and told us he was getting coffee. We thought of breaking the news to him after he got coffee for all of us & pay him whatever rents for the night stay.

We walked into the living room. The sunshine was into the room through every possible window or glass door. In the brightness all the things, which seemed age old shone to reflect their beauty. The little glass sculptures kept on various tables were master pieces; delicate & tiny. The 100 year tea-table was a marvelous carved antique piece of selection. "Lets have coffee at the center table. And then we can leave. Should we get the bags out?" We got the bags out and gathered around the table top; and as we sat there without exchanging words, we heard a morning prayer play in the background. It seemed like we were in some heavenly abode. Were we dead? We pinched ourselves. Naah!! We were very much alive. And we heard it again amongst the soft music. The soft laughter, but some how we did not dread it this time. As the voice neared us, we saw a tiny figure jumping around the entrance of our cottage, followed by another tiny body. It was a small girl, the age of 2 yrs followed by a small boy, maybe 5 years old. They both were playing some game very near to our cottage door & we could see them clearly now, as the door was made up of glass. We all got up & opened the door for the first time. And the little duo smiled at us. The girl was very pretty with large brown eyes & the guy I assume was her brother with similar features. They were singing some song in the native language there. We saw them play. It was so good to see how the older brother took care of his little sister at every jump she took. They ran bare-footed towards the wired-fence & that's when all four of us actually called out to them. They shouldn't be walking in the Grave-yaaaaaa .."Since when did a graveyard look so beautiful !!" I exclaimed. We all exchanged glances & without any second thoughts as though we understood each other, all four of us ran the same length of barren land towards the fence. It was beautiful. It was not a grave-yard, it was a strawberry farm. A tiny one, but it had such beautiful fruits, huge ones all pink & yummy at the sight of it. This was the most pleasant sight to watch in the morning. And it suddenly struck us, that, what we saw yesterday night in the backyard must be a bigger farm. With new found excitement, like the two kids, we went running through the cottage door, across the living room, to the other door. Opened it with great effort. It had a swing beyond the door, the trees which looked scary in the night had beautiful white & red flowers which were scattered all over the ground. And the Ramsay film of the night suddenly seemed like a Yash Johar movie, with leaves , flowers, colors everywhere. There were a dozen people in the pit and it sure was a huge strawberry farm. The area was no doubt restricted, because they deffinately did not want outsiders to get in & crush the beauties. As we walked around in amazement, one of the localities working there called out to us and handed a handful of strawberries. That's the only time in my life I have absolutely loved Strawberries. And to think, they were straight from our graveyard. We went dancing inside, with stuffed mouths. And then one by one we opened all the doors of the house to reveal the rest of the rooms. The cottage was one of the most ancient & beautiful things we had seen. It was one of the most romantic places too, its just that we never realized it in the darkness. We planned our next 4 days, gathered our money, picked up our bags & went straight into the bedroom to empty out the contents in the wardrobes. We already had our shoes on & we walked up to the caretaker's cottage, handed him the keys & said " We'll be here by lunch & thanks for the place ITS BEAUTIFUL "

This is another Extract from my diary… ‘Travel Buggies’…

It was a cold December night. All four of us - Me, Crash, Moony & Reddy were at the peak of Excitement. We were waiting at the Volvo stands for our bus. We were on our way to Panchgani. ‘Ohh!! theres the bus’. We got in and were expecting to reach Panchgani at around 6:00 in the morning. Our parents werent really happy, with the thought of us travelling in the night. But all four of us preferred doing the night journey & we also wanted to check out the Express highway in the night.
Our exitement thumped a bit, when the travel agent told us that the Volvo would not be taking the Expressway & we might be travelling through the Ghats.
We just thought, why get our moods upset because of a little thing like this. So what if we are taking the Ghats, finally what matters is our company & the next 4 days at Panchgani. After the usual night stops at Foodmalls we finally went off to sleep at around 12:30 in the bus. But I guess our sleep was too short-lived. At 3:45 the cleaner of the bus announced that we would be reaching Panchgani at 4:00 Am. The four of us were shocked. We hadn't informed the Hotel that we would be reaching that early. Crash was the one who did all the reservations every year for the 4 of us. And she always settled for the best.
At exact 4:00 AM the bus halted. All four of us were ready with our bags. And as we set our foot in the cold, dark morning , we realized we were the only souls existing there at that time. The bus actually threw us out & was gone in a flash.
“Where have we landed ?” asked Moony.
Crash looked around for sometime & said “There it is”…
“Where?” we chorused…. we were searching for something big..Our hotel..when Crash replied, ” There’s the depot”. She was talking about the bus depot. But then it was better than standing in the middle of the road. It didn't matter as even a mosquito did not fly by. But we wanted to keep down our heavy bags, so we just thought we’ll rest in the depot. And we also had to wait for the morning hours, coz Crash did not remember where the hotel was. We all sat on the bench there, when Reddy took her cam & said lets take a pic. Suddenly something shined against the flash. And all 4 of us almost skipped a heart-beat. There was a tiny man standing in front of us & smiling. He thought we were taking his pic. And God only knows where he rose from, but he sure managed to scare us. He walked up to us & asked in the local language , where we were heading to & if we required his help. And the minute he spoke to us, we realised he was drunk. We were very reluctant to take his help at that hour, but then Crash said “We are 4 vs 1, plus we have heavy bags. If anything goes wrong we’ll bang it on his head”. She sure was the courageous amongst us all. Another reason for her to be courageous was, she wanted to go to the washroom real FAST. We let that little drunk man guide us after a lottaf arguments amongst ourselves. But you can trust the local public there. They would ask for money but make sure you are at the required destination. And thats how they make good guides. It was still pitch dark. We knocked the door of a room, which looked, like the reception area. The owner opened the door & after Crash had introduced & confirmed her name, the guy led us to our reserved cottage room. The walk was a real scary one. It was almost 200 steps away from the owner’s cottage. He showed us from a distance, “That's your cottage”. With a shaky voice we asked him, “Wont you escort us”. He had to agree. He said his battery was low, so we had to walk in the dark. We cautiously walked the entire path. Leaves rustled beneath our foot. And then there was a big patch of empty land. We could see it was fenced by a thin wire from all four sides. The guy who was escorting us said, "Please look down & walk and do not go in that area which is wired." We did not ask him any questions. Ohh God !! It was a graveyard. In hushed voices, we enquired Crash, if she had checked the details of the location before booking the resort. She did not have any words of explanation. This was our 2nd disappointment. We really did not want to stay at a place like this. When we neared the cottage, it gave the eerie look of a Scenic location of a horror movie. It was a huge mansion. We initially thought, it might be an entrance for the inner rooms where lots of people could accommodate together. But as soon as he opened the main door a wide living room revealed beyond it. And then the caretaker of that house & our escort for the night said ” That's your cottage for the next 4 days & it has 8 rooms.”
Ohh gosh!! It was a humongous cottage, straight from a Ramsay movie, with old furnitures and glass doors, huge windows for an entire man to crawl in, creaky cupboards, a tea-top, which could have been easily 100 years old. The man left us without even saying a good bye. This was turning into a freaky movie. What do we do with 8 rooms. Damn!! none of us even had the guts to check out the rooms. The living room had two main glass doors; the one we entered through & the other bang opposite to it at a distance of over 30 feet. We walked the entire length of the living room to the other door, to take a peek, what was at the other end. Our heartbeats were now pumping wild. Through the glass door, in the darkness outside we saw, huge trees spread across few distances & a big pit which was dug till we couldn't see the bottom. It was not very close to the cottage, but it was close enough as no-man’s land existed between the cottage & that pit. It did not take time for us to realize what it was; the same wired fencing as in the front yard. This was just a bigger place to rest people. We did not even see the rest of the house. We picked our bags & went straight to the nearest accessible bedroom from the living room & closed all the rest of the rooms. As all 4 of us sat there, drinking Orange juice, we all said the same thing “Its a big mistake. How come you did not check out the location before booking?” Nothing was going according to our plans. The trip was turning from bad to worse & to think we were in the middle of dead people was like watching a Scary movie. We decided we'll switch hotels the minute it was daylight. In the midst of this discussion, we heard a faint chuckle outside. It was a soft laughter. It ceased in 2 minutes & if it hadn't, I am sure most of us would have got our pants wet. The laughter was back again. Another soft chuckle. It was around 5 in the morning but the light hadn't dawned. We just moved the curtain a bit & saw a small figure in the middle of the graveyard. This was scarier than shit. Nothing was visible as there was fog outside. Our decision got firm. ' We would be quitting the cottage first thing in the morning.' We closed all the curtains & inspite of having 8 different bedrooms, we decided to sleep in one room. The traveling had worn us out & we fell asleep instantly. And I do not remember if Crash went to the bathroom

..Continued in Part 2 .

It was the last day of our Summer trip. All four of us were making breakfast at my friend’s vacation home not far from Mumbai. 9 days was a pretty long time & we were homesick. And I guess our parents werent really bothered to call us back home. None of us, 4 girls, received a call from home asking what our plans were of returning home. We thought we’ll give them a surprise by reaching home a day earlier. Reddy asked us to quickly pack the bags, so that we could go out for a quick morning walk along the hills.
The most boring part of the whole trip had come.We had to pack our bags. Agrahhh!! packing is so boring. Especially when not a single thing is left inside the bag & you have to search the whole house for your belongings. We started gathering things. I was in the balcony taking out all the dried clothes, Crash was in the bedroom closet; she was hardly visible trying to figure out where her clothes were amongst all the clothes hung on those hangers. Moony was in the kitchen. No, we dont leave our clothes there. She was just clearing the vessels. And Reddy was in the bathroom.
I was stuffing my bag with whatever belongings I could recognize as mine. I took out all the lingeries off the hook & walked in. I was about to stuff it in the bag when Crash came out of the closet and said “Hey Mana, do you have an extra of those??”
“Yea !! , Why??”
“I need one, I am outtaf stock.”
” I would have given it to you, but i dont have a new one.”
“Thats ok, I dont want a new one.Gimme the one you have.”
I was too reluctant now. So what if we were friends for 20 years. So what if we shared our T-shirts, Jeans, Earings, belts, mobiles,lipsticks, hairbands, scarfs, shoes and a lot more countless things. But this was still different. We would not share inner wears ever. Not even Singlets or pajamas; so why was Crash demanding for it today. I guess she really wanted one, so I just said,
“Lets go and buy one for you,”
“Why should I buy one, & where would I get it in this jungle?”
She was right. There was no life for miles from the place we were.
” We’ll go downtown and get it.”
“You must be crazy Mana !! I aint walking all that way just for this.”
“Listen Crash, I am sorry, but I really dont think I can give it to you. You know I would have given it to you if it was brand new.”
” Whats your problem, I said I do not want a new one. Are you going to give it to me now or not?”
Our tempers had flared up by now. And we never realized when our voices were beyond the average. By then Reddy was out of the washroom & Moony was done with the dishes. They both walked into the arguing room & were trying to figure out why I & Crash were slashing at each other.

”NO !! “, I said, “You are being unreasonable & I am surprised that you do not even understand a small thing like this, especially after I have given an explanation”
“Ohh Please!! Your explanation of giving me only a NEW one is seriously outtaf my understanding. I donot even understand whats the big deal. Reddy do you think its a big thing to ask for. Wouldnt you have given it to me if you had an extra one?”
Even before Reddy could answer her I jumped in saying, “Then why dun u just get it from her.”
“I would have not asked you if i knew she had one. And I know Reddy doesnt, coz she asked me for it in the morning.”
“WHAT!!!”..these girls must have seriously lost it. It was the first time in 20 years that a situation like this had come up where we were arguing over a silly piece of lingerie & now it was turning into more than a heated discussion. Reddy & Moony were dragged in the conversation they were not expected to be in. And now it was Me-Moony vs Reddy-Crash. This seemed like a MESSED doubles.
“Ok enough is enough Crash, I am not giving it to you & we have just some hours to reach home. i think you can manage”.
“YEA sure I could. Infact I could have very well managed this trip without you. And to think we were pals for the last 20 years…………” she stomped.
I know where this was leading. We were on the verge of breaking our friendship, for a silly reason like this.
Everyone in the room was quite for another 300 seconds. I couldnot take the silence. I finally walked upto her & said, ” Listen Crash, i am sorry. But you gotta understand my point of view too. If I DONOT want to give it to u , & theres a reason…”
I was waiting for a reaction. After 10 whole seconds & trust me it was a long time, she finally turned towards me & said, ” I am sorry too. I shouldnt have argued…….But Mana just one question….Would you have died if you would have given me that Plastic Bag?…I mean whats so special in that?”

“WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT !!!!!!!!”, what did she just say ???
“You were talking about the plastic bag in my hand?” It was the same one i was stuffing my lingerie in……
Even Crash was a little confused with the last reaction I gave. i realized she still hadnt understood the rest of the story. I just picked up my other hand and said, “You forgot my other hand’s full too”…….
“How could you Mana..how could u even think I would ask for that..Shiiiiii..”, yea right, now she’s saying a shiii..& she really thought I was disgusted to give her a PLASTIC BAG…duhh !!!

I wish she had just mentioned once in her argument that she needed the bag or the vice versa for me….
and I can still say..WE ARE FRIENDS FOR THE PAST 21 years………