Rejuvenation @ Pondicherry.......

Sunday, September 09, 2007
10:10:59 PM

I never had the feeling that such a disorganised trip with just 2 on the roll would ever work. But it did and that is the Pondicherry trip I had with Pulkit. I tried to rope in as many as possible and was kind of quite discouraged when the number went down to two. If it had not been the word I had to honour, I would also have backed out. Even I was finding reasons for the same, but luckily nothing came up.
So there we were, working our way out to Pondicherry on Saturday morning. Morning in my sense of the word, does not end till 12 and hence the bus with me inside smoked its way out of the Koyambedu bus station at 11 30. Through the winding crowded roads of Chennai, with people out in crores I guess, and after so much confusion and chances of missing him, the bus finally stopped to help Pulkit make an entry.
It was a good six months before that I had seen him, and he hadn’t changed a bit. But his attitude has taken a boost. He used to be a kind of a loner, and that has grown. I played my part to the best, as even am beginning to love the loner part of the life. The best part is nothing holds us back, and here also nothing did.
After a worst start of searching for a bus in the scorching sun, finally we were in an air conditioned bus, flying all the way to PONDICHERRY. The decision to booze our lives out was already there, a bit more spice was added to it during the bus journey. That spice really had our tongues in flames.
We reached Pondicherry with the sun in all its blooms. We landed rite next to the beach, our destination, but the hurdle of finding a hotel for us laid in between. This was smoothened within the help of some local guys and some hoteliers itself. Hence Continental Hotel of Pondicherry had the most controversial and infamous guests it had ever had, just looting us of Rs.200. The rooms were neat, though cannot have the entire name room. Most important, the bathroom was enough for multiple usages. Since we expected spice-in-life and the rooms were also cheap, we booked two single rooms.
Now it was time to find means of transportation. That too worked out easy, hotelier itself provided provisions to find a Bike rental. We rewarded ourselves with an Activa and were on our search for God-knows-What! And soon we found something, God might have wanted us to find out.
It was in the second floor of an handsome building, facing the beach, and there we found a sea-face bar. The bar had a sit-out that had the full sun and the beach at its face. It was so good to be there, that we didn’t know when the bill went to Rs 500, at a place where booze is meant to be cheaper than water. But that was an experience of life time and Pulkit shared me a devastating piece of knowledge as I was expecting the sun set that Pondicherry is in the East and will not have a view of the sun set. This disappointment, led me have one more beer, and then out to the beach in staggering feet.
Staggering feet was not an issue, as in Pondicherry people walking in sense was counted in wonders of world. Fully drunk, we sat on the rocky beach trying to put senses to next days plan, but beer and whisky would not just let our brain work. But we had them so tired working against our brain, that in an hour or so, we had to have one another go in the pub beneath the sea-facing bar.
Thanks to the person who had discovered Activa and also to the person who taught Pulkit to drive, else Pondicherry would have found us crawling back to Hotel. But as soon as we reached hotel, the spice we had tried caught fire and burned us so badly that the neither the whisky nor any kind of alcohol mixture could have helped us. But later it turned out to involve so funny incidents that we could laugh all way through our return.
After the fire, we went again to the beach to douse the burns. It helped and we came back as normal as possible.
Sleep was not a difficult thing, with more alcohol in vein than blood. The humidity, the heat, the noise around, the peeking servant, not any one could disturb our sleep.
Before sleep, I did a stupid thing, which did torment me a bit for the next day. But as it is said alcohol is an excellent solvent.
Next day, the world saw one of the biggest wonders; I was out with Pulkit to see the sunrise, before the sun had risen. I myself could not believe I woke up at that time as the sunlight streaming in even before the rise was so bright, that it could be called about noon, any where else in the world. But the scene was worth missing the sleep and the burns. But the heat made us return back to den soon.
Second day of ours got more divine as we could find the peace of heaven in two places. The first was a beach called Auroville, which extends to lands beyond horizon. People could be seen playing around in the sea, but the heat discourage further venture for us.
Second was a place called the Boat house, where we had the entire day. We had all what we could have in Pondicherry in there. Booze, water, sun, greenery and peace. For the entire day, we had all these in parts and in full, finally to be sloshed out by around two hours after noon.
Then it was time to be start back home and we packed our bags for the same. Even the journey back was an experience with just one thing enough to explain it. The ticket price was only 1/3rd of our To trip. In the crowded corporation bus, we found solace and fatigue enough to stay sleeping for 2 hours. Finally the hustle and bustle of Chennai brought back to senses, and to home.
In the prime time of our lives, which we waste doing things we dislike, this trip was relief to me. But then the question arises, what in the world stops me from finding myself in Pondicherry for all the time. The reply could be that, the fun would not have been there, then.