The trip documented

The sea fascinates me. Every road has a story to tell me. Every place has a secret to whisper.  When the whisper becomes a voice, I pack my bags and leave for some adventure. When the perfect monotony of life seems to discord your sense of satisfied living, you need to step out of the comfort zone.

December 16, 2011- we four ninjas- Jaya, Deepika, Nishat and Shivangi took the plunge. There are two types of travelers- planned and the unplanned. Then there is the third kind who plan and then the whole planning jumps out of the window. So the bunch of four was decided to hit the city of the sea, sand and sun (read Goa) come-what-may! My track record to get to the beach capital of India has consistently been adventurous.

After all the planning, to cancel a trip to the lazy land has never been an option. So when the train tickets did not confirm, of course we were supposed to hit the road. And here I will tell you, Sir, a curly haired, foul mouthed, mysteriously tragedy struck driver of the caravan or the rugged terrain, wouldn’t scare the ninjas. No, not us!

After hours of waiting for the curly weirdo, we finally left the “City that never sleeps” with the strike of the midnight amidst thick traffic. The long shivering night with the windows rolled down, the journey couldn’t have been any more icy cold. But what the hell, we enjoyed every bit of it. Whether curly trying to be smart with the women ninjas around or the 3 am tea at the highway corner dhaba, the journey charmed us to our toes. Ghost stories told by the caravan rider, didn’t do any good to make us comfortable in our 12 hours road-trip. Thanks to the technology of the berries, we kept each other awake and in spirits through the piercing cold and the very dark night.

The town of sea, sand, sun and alcohol (don’t mind the miss in alliteration) - is magical. The long journey did not matter, the sleepless night did not matter, and the fever I had did not matter. What mattered was the place, the people, the sea, the food, the books and yes the booze too. I will take several years to rise above the attachment to superficial things. I love my wine, I love the sea, I love the massage, the luxury of sun bathing, jazz music- sue me!

We were welcomed at our Goa home. Yes, you read it right. It felt absolutely at home in the nest of Sheldon and Maria. There were good people, better people and then with them I got to know there are selfless people too. With open arms and wide smiles, we were made to feel at our very home right from the moment we stepped into Goa- Or I should say right from the moment our Tavera set its wheels in Goa. If the stay is comfortable, everything else gets sorted. My stay in Goa hadn’t been so warm and beautiful until this trip.

After washing off the grease from the long drive, decking up for us ninjas was speedy. Mascara or the eye shadows did not make the sleep deprived eyes any heavier. The spell cast by the feni town is just too mesmerizing to notice the tired bones. Whether the crowded bus journey or the crowded Brittos, our enthusiasm was never discouraged.

Here is a small love story which happened by the beach. Ladies and gentlemen, the story of a masseur and one of Charlie’s angel (or were we calling ourselves ninjas so far?)! Never mind! While at our sun-baths, in unanimity we decided to get our tired limbs massaged. One by one all of us got our muscles fixed. But, then time stopped and universe conspired to make this masseur’s heart skip a beat when he came to massage Jaya’s legs. The almost set sun inspired our man to wear his glares while massaging our lady. He didn’t want our lady to see his lovelorn eyes! He massaged massaged and massaged, unaware of the world go by and the sun kiss the horizon. Ladies and gentlemen, here ends the shortest story of unrequited love. Our lady with the bat tattoo, don’t break hearts anymore! No, no more.

It’s a crime to be in Goa and not party. With our well massaged feet, we got into our heels to hit the dance floor. And oh boy! We danced till our every cell hurt bad. Whether Hype or Mambo, we moved like Jagger! We reached home, hit our pillows and took off to dreamland in matter of seconds I guess. At least, I did.

The following morning we kissed good bye to one of our ninjas- Deepika. She left for her country road to be with her mother. We missed her for the rest for the trip. Every fun thing saw the closure with our little disclaimer- wish Potu (read Deepika) was here! We dived into the sea, we bumped on the sea, we flew in the air, and we cruised through water at the speed of light. Every moment was splendid. It is official- I am a water baby! Go figure yours!

Goa became a democratic state 50 years back. Apart from the sea and feni, Goa is also known for its music, Portuguese connection, literature, and art. The Goa Literary Festival 2011 was one of the highest points of the trip. We all have our favourite authors- but to see them and to talk to them is a wish fulfilled. We were like kids at the candy shop seeing all our authors and literary geniuses under the same roof, umm err or was it under the same sky? The beautifully lit place, with jazz music to entertain and chilly weather, literature always makes me glad. Whether listening to “Translating Truth” by Gulzar or “History of Jazz Music in India”, glad we were every second at the International Center.

We covered every corner of Goa this time. We even reached Raj Bhavan (the state’s Chief Minister’s house) looking for our lame little Sea Pebbles restaurant. Circling around the same roads and following wrong directions, we finally reached the most beautiful place in the world (till we find the next one)- a small eating place with the sea hitting the rocks and the sound of the waves charming us with ever bites of our food. We got just the appropriate amount of energy to hit the Panjim Market road to click photos of the casinos along t he roadway. Brightly lit area, with Christmas looming large, we got the right night shots. We called it a day and one more time took seconds to reach our respective wonderlands.

December 19, 2011 we wrapped up our much famous Goa trip after a sumptuous brunch at Infantaria with pictures of semi naked men on the walls. Some closing shots at the pretty church and a few goodbye clicks at the International Center again- the two ninjas- Jaya and Shivangi hit the road again with the curly weirdo. Yes, he is still around and weirdness still exists. With Nishat taking the flight, our two Ninjas holding on to their lives, traveled in bewilderment with curly in their slowest road journey.  

It’s a short life, live it in your terms. Let’s raise a toast to the four pretty ninjas who went, who saw and who conquered. Many more such trip for the unquenchable hearts! Cheers Pretty Cheers!