slow life – TASTE MEMORY

Flights make me dizzy, pray harder, cuss a bit and more, but here I’m, ready to take a flight to Delhi. At present, we are at the airport. And I’m happy to see so many shopping outlets at the Mumbai airport. I could easily kill two hours at these stores, but today, I plan to skip these entirely. We are situated near our gates. And ten minutes into entering this space, our food bag is wide open. The kids eat some roasted Makhanas and I snack on my roti-achar. I try to see the travellers around me and guess who is taking which flight. After an hour, I kind of guess who’s flying to Delhi with me. A guy who is wearing a nice pair of sunglasses, a family of two couples and kids, and some more people. Ours is a connecting flight, so of course, not all will get down in Delhi. I do pity those people for their long travel hours.

The sun is out and about. We sit near a coffee bar, and I see different folks using the chairs and tables but hardly ordering anything at the bar. There is an infant around, but I can only hear his cry. My son is now showing off his Rubic’s Cube skills. I’m amazed by this family of seven. Looks like two sisters are travelling together with their kids. I LOVE how one of the sisters is conversing with the kids. The kids are partly bored but patient enough to talk to her. It’s so important to enjoy this pause. And perhaps that’s the only reason I sometimes wonder to take my kids on long journeys and show them how to enjoy these pauses we get now and then. To breathe, to look out of the window, to just stare and perhaps read a book. We can’t be always doing something, be it playing games, sharing heavy information, or solving some problem. We still can keep it light.

I have checked my busy bag that I got for my two kids some odd five times. And re-packed everything as our gate calls started off. It was an utterly smooth ride to Delhi. The flight we sat on was an international flight, though our journey was from Mumbai to Delhi only. And hence, we got to explore some maps from our seats and some down- and front-views from our plane.

We are soon united with my father-in-law, and the kids are overjoyed. There is some Roohafza that he got in a bottle. Such a refreshing drink. And in less than 80 minutes, we are home in Rohtak. Thanks to all new roads that have come up recently.

Winter hasn’t kicked in yet, but this mixed weather can really confuse you. I did miss doing a proper Diwali pooja in my Mumbai home, as I very well know where all the Pooja stuff is kept. In my MIL’s place, it’s nice but I kind of make-do with what we have in hand. But Diwali is truly the time to be with his parents. It feels complete. Shows me what matters the most. Not the decorations or Instagram-worthy home corners but a feeling of togetherness.

The pollution on the next day of Diwali sometimes makes us cuss for the fact that we are out of Mumbai, but the feeling settles down soon. We try to catch up on reading and sleeping early here. It’s also nice to dry your clothes in sun on ropes lined up on huge verandahs. Something that I don’t even dream of in Mumbai.

I like looking at the way people garden here. Mint is everybody’s favourite. Rose is next. Curry leaves. Some people also keep little boxes near their gates to store grains for the birds. Some people are fond of fragrant flowers like Madhu Malti, Raat ki Rani, Harsingar Parijat (night-flowering jasmine). People also like to grow bougainvillea. I also love those white and red brick houses. It just adds to the whole countryside view.

Rohtak is also a birds’ paradise. I see bulbuls, babblers, sparrows, parrots, robins, kingfishers, bee eaters, mynas, drongos and a few other beautiful birds around in gardens and kitchen windows. Once, I happened to spot a pied kingfisher. Didn’t know such monochrome-coloured kingfishers existed too. From the house terrace, the sound of the chattering of parrots is a constant.

When working in the kitchen or sitting in the corridor, I hear various announcement-making vehicles crossing by. Some sell veggies, some buy scrap materials. Some fix khaats (a locally made bed that can be assembled and dismantled in seconds). Around evening time, you’ll see women going to get milk in huge steel cans. It’s kind of an exercise for them and they thoroughly enjoy chatting around.

During winters, you’ll see men and women selling kacharis on their carts around the city. Which is why, it makes entry in our chutneys in the mornings.

The greenery, women sweeping leaves in parks, laid-back schedules, birds chirping around dense trees, the crushing sound of the leaves, ant colonies, droplets of water on grass that you find in the mornings, flowers laid on the roads—every sign of winter in nature is a beautiful revelation.

It was my first Goa trip back in the year 2012, and a much anticipated one all because of the rains. We boarded the train and then soon I was greeted by lush green fields and hills as my window view while I read my Ruskin Bond book. There were lots of waterfalls, streams and tunnels that made my ride a dreamy one. Although I did start to feel a bit uncomfortable in my chair but the views didn’t let me care more.

We had booked a room at the beautiful Turiya – a boutique villa in South Goa. And when we made an entry, I was already getting into a calm zone, thanks to the fragrant incense sticks and candles everywhere. I was a bit disappointed to know that the bathroom was not attached to our room. But as it was an off-season, and there were no guests, I knew the space was all ours! I was pleasantly surprised to see the bath area and could see the designer touch that the owner Sandesh Prabhu had given to it. The open-air corner with a huge stone tub-like structure looked stunning, if not less. We had four days to be spent here and now I was thrilled!

The food came next and Sandesh’s sister and the caretaker, Tukaram, made us a delicious yet homely meal. I was already in heaven. The reading area or the patio with the drizzling rain in the open garden looked inviting, and we were already in a zen-like mood. The afternoon tea and snacks that we had made me totally forget about the long train ride.

I and my husband next hired a two-wheeler and I took the plunge to drive it. We visited the nearby beach, which was big enough, but as it was rainy season, we couldn’t really walk on the beach for long. It was getting a bit windy, and the tides were getting a bit high, which is why people didn’t allow us to go near the waves. But I have no regrets because what waited for us next was breathtaking!

We started driving around the area and discovered tiny yet clean beach corners with no one around. We parked our two-wheeler on the road many a time and kept walking in the bushes; and after getting welcomed by a secluded beach corner with a few wooden logs kept near the shore, it felt like a reward. Stopping on one of those tiny river bridges and laughing away without reason made me forget all the frustrations that the city life gave me.

One of the days, we drove a lot, so much so that there came a peak point where it was getting difficult to drive the two-wheeler, given the hilly road. We were heading to North Goa, I suppose. Luckily, I happened to look back and there we saw the coastal curve adorned with coconut palms and rocks. My metallic digital camera couldn’t capture the entire coastal range; it was that huge, the view. We just stopped the wheels and adored the view for as long as we could.

Sometimes, we used to park our vehicle to see young boys play football in lush fields in the rains. Those little pauses here and there were filled with empty noise but I totally loved the experience as I was busy soaking the greenery. And you know what, there were no irritating bikers around us that one usually finds during peak season. South Goa was lazy and tranquil at the same time. Soon came our last evening at the villa and I decided to go for a spa session at Turiya’s in-house spa. And that was like a cherry on the cake!

During the nights, we had the old Goan villa for us alone, with Tukaram somewhere in the kitchen area. And that was another experience altogether. While during the days, it was lovely to curl up with a book on a rocking chair in one of the balconies and watching people walk up the road or cats cross walls. And the yum and homely meals made it even better for us.

The neighbourhood seemed to be in sync with the weather with laziness in the air. We didn’t party with loud music or soaked the sun on the beach. But, what’s a relaxing holiday anyway? This was it.

While going back to the station, we hired a cab and visited a beautiful church; I was almost out of words to see the grey sky in the backdrop. There was another secluded church that we found around the place; after climbing up the stairs, we could see the river Mandovi from afar. Ah, those early marriage days of mine when I giggled away looking at secret corners; after seven years now, I don’t think I would have been the same me. Just a thought.

A good thing about us as a couple is that we don’t take those mobile apps seriously. I mean, we don’t let five-star reviews run our trip. We can easily slow down and spend our holiday days simply without any to-do list. That’s something I have got from my husband; because only then you can face little adventures and your trip becomes even more memorable. I went to South Goa in July 2012; and I definitely want to relive those tranquil days if given a chance.

TASTE MEMORY

Tag: slow life

A laid-back Diwali

Goa in the rains