In company of Prasad

Last weekend, Pune was shot by riots. Who cares, Prasad was in from Ratnagiri and we 12th buddies planned a meetup.

Fun and Play:
Saturday evening, Prasad, Andya, Nilu and me were chatting our guts out over many things. The venue was our very own adda Rutuja. Rutuja has changed since the last 12 years. They have this concrete floor and now a not so parlor'ish sitout. Well the discussions went from what everyone was upto and planning a re-trip down to Ratnagri in the peak of monsoons.

It was around 9pm when Pritam teamed in as we left Rutuja. We decided to go for dinner somewhere at Chandani Chowk. So we reached the distant hotel of "Khana Peena Jeena". Nice place, it was all cloudy and cold but just a few drizzles here and there. We kept cursing Andya for not geting his camera and had to suffice on his mobile cam :).

The talks went from all range of topics... we even got down to one of our favourite 11th std. pasttimes rating the opposite sex :). It was fun trust me! Andya got a little drunk over his sip of vodka, kept smiling all the time. It was a pleasure to have the great Mr. Pritam, for the fact that he is such a rare appearence.

Prashant contacted Nilu as we dined, and boy was it a surprise for all to talk to the guy from the land of Uncle Sam. We joked over the waiter having us order out grub soon, as the kitchen closes at 11pm. So we joked over the fact that our wallets too close after 11pm! :)

Well it was roughly 11:30pm as we left the hotel all stuffed and happy over everything. The drive back was very smooth through the quiet city streets.

I luved Prasad's dialog at his gate- there was this cow and a calf sleeping along side a visitors parking near a colony in the MIT suroundings, Prasad says "Cows bhi samjte yaar -visitors parking kya hota hai!".. it was coool

We decided to meetup on Sunday(next day) at around 11am at Nilesh's new house.

Riots and Tranquility:
Sunday morning: Prasad, Andya and me drove down to Wanovari to Nilesh's new house. Nilu said he had to go out for some last minute new-house ganapati visarjan and stuff, so we lazed in the empty furnished house. I was particularly sleepy over the fact that I had stayed up last night to watch Portugal's defeat to the Germans. Well everyone was sluggish and running on a bad stomach. So we put Nilu's new w/c to a complete stress test and gave it the O.K. ranking! :).

Nilesh was back, and we decided to have lunch at some place- We decided on Mathura at JM. road. Just then Pritam called in to give us the news that riots had broken out in Pune near the Alka Chowk (Near my house!). Well post assurences from everyones parents over the mobile we drove on to Mathura, just to find its front shutter closed, as JM road bore a wierd deserted look. But still the dining hall behind was overfull, and we got our place in the front room as we made our way in through the kitchen.

Overfull souls left Mathura at about 2:30 in the afternoon as we planed our way for a movie or shop around. But all shops, malls, theaters and multiplexes were closed with riot police standing with their protruding bellies at every nook and corner. This is the first time I had actually seen riot police in Pune!

So we decided to have a break somewhere on the outskits of the city. Simple choice- Kanifnath. The fuel incdicator was low, but we managed to spot one of the political petrol pumps open to fuel in some gas. The drive was excellent as we dove away from the city into the mountain greens.

At Bhopdev ghat we stopped at a preplanned halt, just that here we decided to venture to one of the plateaus in the near vicinity. Trek and hike in the cool wet and dark clouded surroundings was amazing!

The hike was refreshing and very soon we reached the edge of teh plateau which was littered with rocks, as we spotted a shepard from a near by village overlooking his sheep. So we spent some quality time seated on the rocks and let the O2 energize our dead veins. This is when I recalled- nike would be atop Torna!

In about an hours time we decided to head back and complete the drive to Kanifnath. Poor Pritam had to keep his shop closed due to the riots and miss this amazing trip at the same time :(. Well we reached our car and drove on till Kanifnath and spent some time chattering around at the open plateau surrounded with littered hills, mountains, fields and valleys.

Post some photography and chito-chat and tea we descended back to the vehicle. The drive back was cool but also we were tired. Soon we reached Nilu's house from where 2 cars went back to Nilu's current place at Netaji Nagar. There we were treated with amazing tea and snacks as we watched some portion of the movie "The Terminal" over Nilu's new video player.

Soon we dediced to call it a day and end of all adventures and retire back home (I was the culprit for this full stop- as all I could spot was the bed and a warm rug! :) ). So we drove back as Prasad confirmed his travel tickets back to Ratnagiri. All along the various spots of the road we saw littered glass pieces- just a remindal that riots were underway and probabbly over, since many shutters were opening up.

Finally dropped Prasad home as we (Andya and me) headed back home. Bid my farewells to Andya as I settled down to watch France's defeat to Italy and Ziddane head-butt Materazzi!

Btw. the highlight of this entire meetup was.. MY HAIR!!!! :)
Enjoy the pics [1] [2].