Goa - April 2010
It all started around a table at greens, back in feb 2010. We decided to close the year as fast as we could and head for a rendezvous in goa. Vaidyanu got the ticketing done almost immediately which was good. that sealed it. Nakita was to be our home once again. Alpesh, Santosh and Dinya could not make it.. agli baar…
8th of april, fantastic start to our trip, Vaibhav’s mail set the mood. I have always maintained that VV should write, his sense of humor is amazing and the way he narrates, simply superb . We assembled at around 9 pm at rishi restaurant outside dadar tt. Dinya came over to see us off.
Took the kokan kanya, spent most of the night in the corridor exchanging notes over nothing in particular. Finally slept off to the sounds of the soft and sometimes loud snores of co-passengers; am sure they had the same complaint of us. Next day saw us reach Thivim at around 10 a.m. Hired a car to take us to the hotel; stopped at the first watering hole we could see, about 45 seconds from the railway station.
We have a photo of ‘doc’ with a beer can as well, which can be reproduced at the appropriate moment. All set, thirst slaked we reached good old nakita- in god only knows how many minutes. You see, by now time did not seem to matter. Our sense of serenity interrupted sometimes by our cell phones and kaala jamuns; the only link with the lives we lead back in mumbai.
The pool appeared like a long lost friend and we thought it only appropriate to renew old ties, in we went, feeling like kings.. Vaibhav had missed out on the gastronomic pleasures offered by O’coquerio the last time, so we went over for lunch, said hello to charles as well, Doc was busy clicking photographs of birds, flowers etc…
A good siesta left us recharged for more kingly experiences, kamikaze and mango panna disguised as chasers; as we sat around plotting the reception for rao saheb the next morning.
and what a raosing reception it turned out be…
Featured here with ‘chutki’ maala, needless to say the welcome drinks were chilled. Off we went to madgaon for a paatal bhaji breakfast, picked up some fish for lunch from the local market and headed home. Shiroda, for the uninitiated. Brief nap over, we hit the fishing grounds called ‘moos’.. score was sarang two, vaidya/naik one each. The doc flirted with some crabs on the river edge, tough luck kj- surely you will be third time lucky. Rao got the fundamental of fishing right away- patience and loads of it.
after a meal at my place we headed back to Nakita, pool and kings. There was this minor riverside episode featuring sarang and a boatload of people and another narrow escape from the vile grip of CNG. I can’t say more, what happens in Goa and all that.
Sunday, breakfast at infantaria, lunch at martin’s corner and off to the airport.. back home.. Have written about martins separately.
The gang featured here with my chacha, mama and grandfather, Doc is missing, someone has to click the snap, this was before we got good with the whole selfie thingy.
All in all a great trip; a trip which cemented our friendship, still going strong.
