Butterflies and Hurricanes

There is no such thing as a perfect trip. People post their best photos and use a million hashtags to tell you how awesome and ‘supa fun’ their trip was, but they don’t tell you about the bad decisions, the bad meals, the drivers who dupe you and the weariness that comes along with it.

I recently went to Pondicherry, and for some reason, in my head it was a much more glorious place than it actually is. Anyway, I used to be really big on lists earlier, and I decided that for this post, I would look beyond the shitty bus rides, the heat, sweat, and the bad service at a couple of places and write about my top 9 favourite moments during the trip. Why 9? Because I like that number. Not everything has to be 5 or 10 or 15!

1. The moment I sat on the brand new Activa that I know was mine for two whole days. The feeling when I rode it all over Pondy, swerving through tiny lanes and revving it up on the highway.

2. The feeling that came over us when we reached the Promenade at 7 in the morning and were greeted by the clear, sparkling water. Taking in the magnanimity of how vast the sea is always amazes me.

3. The food we had at Baker’s Street. Chocolate escargots, mushroom and cheese quiches, omelettes and coffee. Yum.

4. The afternoon nap in the hotel room, then ordering food in and watching CID.

5. The pizzas we had at Xtasi. We were hot, tired and famished after visiting Auroville and walking in the heat, and we drove a long while to get to this place. It was so worth it. They were one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.

6. Sitting at a night-clubbish sort of place, trying to enjoy the loud music and gawking at drunk people dancing, only to steal out of the place, sitting by the sea and realizing that we have grown up. That we would rather have a comforting conversation in our jammies than pretend to be 18.

7. Playing with the water at the Paradise beach. Fighting with the waves, watching the sun go down behind the palm trees and turn the water in a glorious orange. Looking at the sky change its hues while we the waves playfully pushed us around.

8. Sitting on an abandoned boat for a long, long time after drying ourselves up and looking at the sea, while it turned completely dark around us. Everyone had left the beach, and we were the only ones there. The sea looks even more splendid at night. Just the feeling of you, and the sea, and the sound of the waves. It is an amazing memory, and one that I will always remember.

9. This is easily my top favourite moment. On our way back, we were on the top sleeper seat in the bus. As we started moving on the highway, I stuck my head out like a dog and felt the sweet, chilly wind evaporating all the sweat away. It was beautiful. I could smell the forest and could see the window’s curtain fly in the wind as my hair blew away from my face. I remember smiling, closing my eyes and thinking to myself how perfect it all was. I sat like that for about an hour, and when I put my face back inside I couldn’t hear properly for the next few hours. Worth it.

So, there we are. I’m so glad I didn’t have to think much as I wrote these down 🙂

In other news, it has been raining in Bangalore for the past 2-3 days, and if I overlook the muck, the traffic jams and the power cuts, the weather is surreal. I found it hard to concentrate at work because it was too dreamy to be sitting inside and working. Oh, work reminds me, my new office is pretty great, and so are the people. But more on that later.

Will be back soon!