The trip

Vacation time, a time to let the hair down, and breath the clean air. .I don’t quite know the expression you use for people who are bald. Anyways., I just did that and well am glad that I finally did.

Ill get into details now, but before I do that I guess I have to tell how it all began. Life was tiring, I was surrounded by people who were negative, cheating, lying and crying most of the time and that’s I guess what was getting to me.

Work was the only release and that too had become tainted with a taste of repetitiveness’. It was surely time to break or to move and I decided id move on.


Me and this stinky friend of mine decided that we would vacation together, now that I think about it I dint even realize it but if she wasn’t involved I might not have done it al all. Well but then maybe I would have cos I was really getting suffocated. Anyways so after a planning of god knows how many days, in which I think we changed over a million destinations it was finally decided.

Manipal is a beautiful little town, just slightly more than a village actually, situated in South Canara area of Karnataka, it’s an educational Hub and probably not very interesting for people who were not from there or who have not studied there at some time in life. But then I have, and so we went.

It took a 24 hrs bus journey just to reach there, level of motivation talk bout it. Never realized how tired I was and the journey was a blur of places, faces and a lot of sleep. The journey though had immense scenic beauty, specially raichur such a dirty town but such an interesting Bus stop I mean it was like a bloody castle with a moat and all, that too on a hill. It was beautiful with these really pretty kid Beggars, I remember them cos they were making a lot of noise and man were they persistent, I think if I had stayed there for long I probably would have had to join them.

I also met a dude on the Bus studying his final year engineering, and I tried to act all hep and cool, soon I realized probably I was making a fool of myself, so I stopped pretending and he was good. I saw his energy, his youth, not that I was older, but manipal was his present and my past, and it was scary. We made some insipid lukewarm conversation about soccer and the places I needed to visit. I think he was just being kind to the old fuddy, but I was grateful, things had changed and he prepared me for them.

I reached Manipal, but then by that time my destination had changed, well not by much just an Hour and a Half, it was Mangalore. The land of the Mallu friend, lol. Anoops this funny creature, brilliant most times, fundoo totally, Funny completely but cold in a similar fashion at times, I guess he’s very logical , or rather driven by logic. And at some level I feel all those things, which are very logic driven, are a bit strange and non-emotional. Well it’s probably like even if he cared he’d never show and most times hed not really care.

And then of course Stinky, Anoop and me went for this trip , in the luxurious lap of a hired taxi and the first thing I could think of was that we were tough when we were kids . I thought we had grown old yet once again, but it wasn’t really scary, we smoked up and flew a bit, it was all alright most of the time, the places had this rustic beauty, that really at first stung the eye, but then in bits and moments took your breath away, I would call it momentary beauty something that would not last something that would not enchant you for more than a minute but that one minute that it caught you it gave you all. Its difficult to explain how I felt ( I was under the influence of stuff that time so these thoughts might have been slightly distorted).

The conversations were really weird to begin with I think they are most of the times if I meet someone after a real long time, but then by the evening they had gotten better, and by that time Anoop my favouratest friend in First year of PG looked and sounded like the old days it was time to leave.

Anyways the night was dark, and well unconscious, the morning a goodbye and the bus journey again a glance through heaven, it was strange I mean the place is so green and beautiful, it looks like all this trees and grass and u can almost see yourself sitting on it and looking at the river, beach, sun. However though it’s aesthetically pleasing, probably if you sat on it functionally it would be a complete pain in the ass.

Anyway Manipal here we come, and finally that’s where we came. If I was to build a story that’s exactly how it would be, however there’s so much to be written on this and I cant at present so I guess ill spend the last hour of tomorrow in this futile exercise.

Its been more then just a few yesterdays, and life’s back to a blur but this needs to be completed cos its very important for me to complete it.

And so I arrive back in the land of golden years Manipal , a little perspective now, the last time I was there I was this young stallion just out of school facing the world for the first time, fortified against all ill and evil and well willing too woo everything in sight, well and it lasted for a bit too. Man was it fun. Anyways so here was manipal a different town now, like a beautiful lady who with age hides her spots with Makeup. But she was still pretty and well it was a new romance, or rather it would have been except I didn’t get enough time with her, it was rushed and actually I think I hated it the most not being able to stay on in Manipal , and living the past once again in a different color.

Anyways Manipal is also a home of one of my good friends Mr. Ranganath, and we were in manipal together at one time in life,. With me almost married and he a stark bachelor. I guess life has this funny gimmicks lined up for us and in the end I was there as a bachelor and he a married man with a kid and all. Anyways Manipal is a beautiful town and well some of the changes that are there now making it even look better. The football field is something else its like a part cut out on a plateau and is green , the grass is beautiful both aesthetic and functional there. Anyways its like a field been cut out in the sky . Anyways it was nice to see and to learn from the Simple things in life.

From there straight to Turtle Bay with a well heavy heart for me atleast, turtle bay is the beach in my most famous bday story, but when it rains it rains and well no beach is really worth it specially when it rains. So there we were luckily with our bit of alcohol, a heady mix, the night was beautiful, but actually I think it was a night out of a horror movie, I mean more haunted than beautiful, no moon in the sky, no light, yet the waves the repetitive waves, so enchanting and Hypnotizing. I think the night was dark.

Anyways the Morning was better and then there was Manipal , and then Manglore and finally Banglore. Banglore is this city, which as soon as I enter it brings peace to me. I don’t really know why maybe cos its almost like home, in terms of my cousins Hospitality, but maybe cos I have always had a good time there. Stinks was the best there at home and then the Tea Place, though a bit pushy shes become that I guess at some level all the Gals staying in big towns and working become like that, or maybe its just the working part and nothing to do with the gendre. Anyways the tea and breakfast was delicious, and the Book store even better , I think even if I would have asked for god in that store they would have gotten him for me, well I couldn’t have borne that price anyways. A trushed meeting with a feew people that I didn’t know but really ewanted to know , but couldn’t really know , and the flight back.

So here we are in the world of the living dead yet once again living the life we have always wanted the Indian dream of Freedom, the Indian Dream of Independence, Momma im coming home…………. .