Rust In Peace

Experimentation continued…till…I got busted .For folk’s, at home it was blasphemy…needed to move into a fresher pasture…

Better late then never…

Herby had no qualms …his escapades got wilder…Manali…Arangal….Rave parties…

Moolah was never an issue for him as he was very well off……

I got domesticated with marriage and the perspective towards life changed for the good………..Moved based to Dubai…Work, wifey & kiddos were the focus…

Isolated cases of Bohemian-spirit taking over, were gradually curbed…

Herby  got a gold -digger as a live-in….She ..gave her best in changing him but got sucked in….Both…nose-dived into a escapist existense….literally ….Khamset…became the catalyst and Para-gliding the bonding factor…….Extreme Sports…

Caeaser & Daisy…poor dogs..could sense ..the disaster in waiting….but like the owners had lost the will to fight…Inhaling the potent stuff …day-in day out, they could bark no more…..

Touching base home, during September first week…annually,  is when I used to catch up with good ol Herby…..We had our Birthdays….4 days..apart…Invariably…I used to fly into Mumbai around 3rd Septemeber and we had a joint party of the 6th………For me it was a stop-over……..but Herby was the King of good times…..He had taken partying to  another level.

…My first visit to Khamset with Herby & his new junky friends….was shocking…Early morning trek @ 4 am and sitting on the cliff….rollin..with Rizla’s….waiting for the turbulence to subside…they used to take off….Mostly touch-downs in their gliders……..Crazy stuff….All of them were soaring higher than their machines….with all the smokes lodged in their head….

Melissa’s Lake side pad…was the base….Surreal….such a beautiful villa….Ravaged by this bunch of Junkies…….

Worst was when I saw…Melissa….joining the gang with a Bazooka dangling on her lips……She used to fly for Cathay and had taken an early retirement and with her savings had opened this pseudo…Base camp for all ….weirdo’s…For her it was business & pleasure together…and for the Junkies….a safe haven to reveal their dark-side…

For Herby it was home as he had no other side………….

Rattled by this experience, I was too worried about Herby….but had no say…..Sometimes, I used to envy them…..If not for the timely marriage, I would have been one of them…

Ronty- a common friend of Herby & Myself joined us in Vashi…his home-town,….very agitated …He had to leave a Rave party in Goa ..for his father’s funeral…..Euphemism…is not the word….when I saw the next series of episode…Ronty’s father on the pyre and …..Junkies rollin a joint….I distinctly remember..one weed told Ronty…..why lose time on bathing the body…Splashing the Bisleri on the old man’s face ….will suffice….

To top it off….Ronty was distributing some printed CD’s with Invitation…for the next Rave party in Pune…Partying had to continued…..even before the old man’s soul could reach heaven……

Thanking the Lord for …putting in some sense to me…..I got too involved in my work…Was abreast with latest antics of Herby and his clan ….either from some common friends….or some time from the Horse’s mouth….especially when he was in the Detox trip…..Withdrawal sysmtoms were severe…and he used to cry out in anguish on the phone….I could see that Herby was on a slide…..All this wild deeds had taken a heavy toll on him….He was in a mess……..and he had become a Slave….Gold-digger…made it worser by cheating on him….She could n’t be blamed…Herby had become an animal….

Ocassionally, he used to drop in to see my folks and have some home made food….My Mom used to like him as she could relate to his trauma……..Herby’s dad had remarried on his mom’s death and the groin rulin the brain….He was too harsh on 7 year old Herby….

He had literally lived alone all his life ……With no one to drill in him the values of life……Nevertheless, Herby should have faced his past…..head-on….I made all attempts possible…whenever we had a sensible discussion…I thought he could be a Late Bloomer….

My wifey used to detest him and considered him as a Satan hovering around ….If  she lets me off the rein…..Satan will take over….

It came as a surprise in September 06, when for a change, I took my family to Bombay…Possibly as a shield…I had anticipated fireworks, when she confronts Herby at the Arrival…But they hit off very well….


Herby had changed…He was glowing…Had became a Fitness freak and a decent squash player…My kiddos warmed up to him and for the first time of my life….I was not on the edge…as Herby was not only talking sense….but also had a new girl in his life……..

Met up with him on our Party night and got to see his new girl….Very Sane & Pretty and I complimented her for the Metamorphosis….in Herby….

Great 4 days, I had in Bombay, Herby insisted on seeing me off…Family had to stay back …

We had a blast all the way to the airport….stopping at our regular watering holes…to grab a beer or two….Herby was in high spirits….He had asked his girl to join us at the Airport and he had plans to go out with her after seeing me off…..As expected, we got drunk to the core…..and kept the poor girl stranded at the airport for 2 hours….Finally at the Chakala crossing, Herby stopped at the signal and caught hold of the Vendor selling heart-shaped baloons……and got his Car filled with them…..She will undertstand was his repartee….

Last I remember, I saw them hugging each other at the entrance gate of Departure terminal….Madly in Love……Herby was so lost in her…..He even forgot to give me a hug…..I had to rush…Happy and contented…..Seeing my Herby in command of his life was very satisfying…..

Second day of my reaching Dubai, …I  was having missing my kiddo’s…..To top it off…..Ramadhan fasting had sapped me off all my energy….I got a call from Bombay….Herby had shot himself….straight through his heart…..

He had a minor tiff…with his girl….and in a moment of madness all was gone !!!!

PS: To be read in conjunction with my earlier post……Born to be wild….!!!