Some said they would make it, but they did not. Others told they would make it too, while we fervently prayed they don't. We were as confident as pulling it off as Pakistan cricketers are about winning these days, but we did in the end. 'It' being the recent trip with my friends.
The places we visited were varied and equally breathtaking. Yana with its majestic monoliths, the graceful Vibhuthi falls, Sykes point which was worth the wait and the gorgeous Sintheri Rocks were a treat for the eyes.
But a trip can be never be described in terms of places seen, it also needs moments that one can cherish. The moments, in our case, were plenty. We made Shrestha think twice before speaking. Pragathi saw 'the actual world', be it forest, village or buffaloes. I was set up by my friends, of my friends and for my friends. Shivanand, Sandeep and Sai demonstrated that eating a lot of grapes (9 kgs, in fact) is the same as getting drunk. A future conglomerate was planned, inspired by Sushanth. There was also a lot of unmentionable talk about the unmentionables. Shivanand tried to climb every tree in sight and succeeded. We slept under a blanket of stars, started a camp fire and frolicked in the water with all the elegance of a water buffalo. The only people who maintained a semblance of normalcy were Shwetha and Nagesh.
The train journey from Bangalore to Hubli consisted of a lot of chatter, emptying of the train's food stocks and a game of dumb charades. The return journey was comparatively serene, probably due to the lunch we had although we managed to surprise a couple of senior citizens with our antics.
Special thanks to Shwetha and her parents who made the trip enjoyable and ensured that the expenses never got out of hand.
