Visit Goa - Check.

It was Goa all over again for me in a span of 5 months, only this time it was driven by sheer desperation for a break. The earlier trip had a more touristy approach whereas the second trip was more aimed at chilling out and relaxing.

This relaxing bit was done in its true spirit when my cousin booked us in five star resort (I spent several restless nights wondering how a douche like me would fit in there) and driving all the way to Goa in a Jazz (very classy, I know).

So there I was, with two of my cousins cruising along the streets of Pune with a not-so-reliable navigator to guide us(The navigator actually proposed a route THROUGH a mountain, maybe there was a secret tunnel there. Hmmm. ). After a eight hour journey, which included a stopover for breakfast and soaking in the waterfalls at Amboli, we reached our hotel. I am sure the staff will talk about the girl who was gawking at anything and everything inside the hotel. I could actually see the beach through the lobby windows and smell the salt. And I think my heart skipped a beat when I stepped into the room. Can you blame me?

I have been craving for days when I could just sit back and watch life pass by me. There are a hundred things gnawing for my attention and I know that I cannot possibly sort them even if I put in all my energy. But to let things just be is not in my nature. As I lay back near the pool, curled up with a book watching an orange ball of fury sink across the horizon, I realized this is the closest I could get to relaxing. And what a feeling it is.

Good-natured bonding. Breakfast that makes you loosen a few buttons. Staring into nothingness while chilling at a shack. Sinking your feet into sand and hearing it scrunch Letting the salty breeze mess up your hair. That is Goa for me.

Puppy Endings

It takes an overwhelming moment to kick you out of a self-imposed reverie. Of late, things have been moving pretty fast and with the multitasking slowly affecting my health, it has been a crazy start to this year. Not that I am complaining, but there are some things that I miss so much. I miss staying up late and gobbling an entire book just because it is tough to keep it down; I miss watching back to back episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and How I Met Your Mother; I miss the smell of the musty watercolor paint box when I start painting; I miss the sane life. Unfortunately, there is not much I can do about it so the dull ache of memories is a constant companion.

Lately, I had something to look forward to - the friendly street dog had given birth to a puppy and was the cynosure of all eyes. Everyone would lean out of the window and watch with excitement as the puppy first opened his eyes, took the first steps and after a few days, bounced around happily.

The windows which had watched its progress each day now started dropping little pieces of biscuits, bread and  fish bones. The enterprising young kid in the building finally gave it a name - Guddu. It became a weekend ritual for me to go downstairs and sit besides him while he went around his daily activity of toppling over the water saucer, dig the lawn and look longingly at the windows for his treat.


Then one fine day, he disappeared. Guddu's mother's howls all night were a constant reminder of the pain and loss. It goes without saying that I was very upset by this turn of events; it felt as if every good thing in the world is meant to be temporary, ultimately meant to leave you with memories that would sustain happiness only for as long as your optimism lasts.


While I was contemplating putting up his picture on Facebook in case anyone spotted him, a familiar yelp had me rushing to the window. And there he was, looking upwards with a limp foot, a few scratches but the same bright eyes staring back at me. The milk-soaked bread came out, so did the biscuits and the water. So did our emotions of elation at seeing Guddu back with us. Good things being temporary is not always a bad thing, I suppose. They stay around us long enough to miss them when they are gone and realize what we will miss if we continue to make the same mistakes.

For now, it is all celebrations around me. The doctor has assured us it is not a fracture and Guddu is on the path to recovery. Here are the pics of the little tyke who made me write this post and update the blog after two long months :) It was a puppy ending after all.