ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

                                        

 

I still have to figure out , as to why  do we attach or rather associate   ourselves with  a particular  number , colour , place , car , bike,  etc? My best  guess  is that we do so to satiate our alter ego . Mine , a mix of Amitabh Bacchan  and Clint Eastwood , believed , till date , that number nine was my lucky number. I don’t remember how that came about . Perhaps my birthdate  , a number nine, since it is eighteen of the month, or may be the notion that number nine is a strong number, both  as per Indian  numerology ,made me consider  nine as my lucky number .

However, I was to be taught yet another lesson in the Randomness of Life, a self-coined concept,  and doubt the veracity of nine as my lucky number before I completed  half century of my existence , in this world, by,  recently experienced , nine days trip to hell and back.This long note,which follows, is about that untoward journey .

D Minus 5  (5 April 21)

‘I formally accept that I am old now ‘ I told Dushyant, Dusy , my best buddy , who stays next door to me in Lucknow when he came to pick me  to the Hospital. We both are on study leave , basically a fully paid sabbatical for  two years , where we are re-learning how to do nothing,’ Nothing At All ‘, 24*7 ,365 days . Those who know us also know that this is  what we have been doing almost all our lives . I read somewhere, long back, that if you can pass a totally useless  afternoon doing nothing at all and not be fed up with it , then you have learnt to live .So I guess, we are  re -learning to live .

We, self and wife,  had reached Lucknow ,same day morning, after a short trekking vacation in Dehradun, Musoorriee  and beyond , Nagtibba to be precise .

 D , in the paragraph heading, stands for D day or the day when main action or attack takes place  , in military jargon, and   D minus  stand for number of days before that.

“And what about being an ass?”he asked .

”Was that not  confirmed long back ?,”I quipped .

When I reached Lucknow , that day morning by a night train from Dehradun, I could feel that there was something wrong with me, besides normal viral fever which I had since last 2-3 days   , I had trouble even  walking out of  the Railway Station to the the  Cab . When I reached home I immediately  called Dusy to take me to the Hospital. He , probably understood, on phone itself,that things are serious .He himself had suffered a life threatening health issue few years back and I believe when you experience something like that you tend to understand such situation much better and faster  than others .We, and both   our   families, were  to  later muse over the coincidence of us  being around each other in such   situations  .

Upsana,wife,  wanted me to take a shower and  then go , another thing that I have to figure out is  womenfolk’s  obsession  for showers .They should be educated on water scarcity in India in particular  and the World in general ,read Aamir Khan’s views on bathing  and also be told  that our  one shower fulfills a village’s drinking water requirement  in our country for a week .

  who is to bell the cat   so I quietly and meekly declined .

The Doctor at the Hospital , after seeing my state ,admitted me and suggested to not even go back, even arrange  to get my things delievered . Dusy did the Paper work and , literally, deposited me in  the Triage  , where they first test you for COVID . I was quite hopeful that I won’t  be positive since I was already  vaccinated , with both doses . But after one drip and two hours later , to my surprise , I was declared positive , one positive which people dread nowadays . I was shifted to COVID  ICU , to be monitored for some time . My  SPO2 level, made famous by COVID, was between 90-94 .

Upasna, who had been informed earlier , dropped my stuff, we could  only see each other from far . I was mentally preparing myself for a  short stay in Hospital. I  was to  proved wrong again.

After few hours of monitoring , in the night , I was  shifted to COVID ward. The Ward was in quite a bad shape and besides it was a common ward for Officers and men . The bad shape could be owing to the fact that COVID cases were ebbing slowly and complete country was under the impression that we had conquered COVID .  Pure complacency , for which the whole country paid dearly ,and continues to pay.

The  bathrooms were messy and the Ward was just a big  hall , with patients inside the mosquito net , as there were lot of mosquitoes too. I was allotted  a bed next to Bathroom . I knew it was going to miserable stay , besides my fever was rising and I was getting breathless too. My discomfiture was exacerbated by my fellow pateints, who wanted lights on in night and   talked on  phones with loudspeakers on.

 We, now, surely need lessons to be introduced in schools for  mobile phone manners besides   civic .

The mosquitoes were sorted by Army’s omnipresent mosquito net , which I had managed . The Ward boy , after he came to know that I am a  serving officer , my  long beard and  hair has been fairly helpful in my attempts to hide that , informed that  next day all officers will be shifted to separate officers’ ward . Relieved, I changed into relaxed clothes , and went to sleep .The fatigue , loss of taste along with pumping of medicine in my body had  started.

D Minus 4 ( 6 April )

Next day  , Officers were shifted to an ad hoc officers’ COVID ward , which was about hundred meters from  our existing location . I found it difficult to even  walk  those hundred meters  as my condition was deteriorating . New place was just a shade better , as it was still being organized  ,since COVID cases were rising . I got to stay in a room with two more officers with attached toilet, which was some  relief . My companions  were a retired Doctor and his elder brother.

Corona was gaining on me and the medical staff was still   in the  old location , hundred meters away .Besides  ,they had to go through perennially hateful inspections of the  Army. My stuff , which was in old place , arrived after two hours and five reminders  .

 My fever was high , whole body was aching , taste,smell had gone and mouth stayed  parched. Till this time the oxygen levels were safe and like always I ate , or pushed  down my dry  throat , whatever was given to eat . Upasna suggested ORS ,  a kind of electrolyte  .I managed two packets and kept on drinking water mixed with  it .Retired Doctor, fellow patient, was also eating and drinking  properly , while  his brother, a civilian, was not . We both knew this eating and drinking can save us . The continuous attention of medical and administrative staff  was missing.

Later , in the evening , when I could not  handle the onslaught of Corona and disorganized behaviour of staff, I rebuked at the Doctor , who came for evening round ; “Are you waiting for one of us to fall down ?”.

The Doctor apologized, explained their issues  and also informed that next day , since the current ad hoc  arrangement was not working out properly  ,  we will be shifted to a proper officers’ ward  in Base hospital, which would be quite comfortable .All three of us were quite relieved .

 Our room,  here, was a small dingy one with no AC or Cooler  . The doors and windows  were without any mesh , meaning that opening them to get   fresh air in would invite mosquitoes and we were without mosquito nets too. While we were preparing  to retire for the night  ,with hope of shifting to better accommodation next day , to our misfortune ,  there was an electricity failure and it seemed  there was no alternate arrangement . It was a typical hot April night of plains in North India   and it was, literally, a torture with no electricity,  high fever and fatigue   . All three  of us were in quite bad situation and were merely  enduring what could not be cured. My bed was next to the door and my idea, at night, when I could not tolerate the heat , to open the door after swinging the drip around  , which was attached to my arm , in a bid to let more air in was counter  productive with  hordes of mosquitoes coming inside .I  had no option  but  to close it back , curse our luck , hope for electricity to get restored ,  and till then sweat it out.

 There was no electricity the whole night and by the  morning we all were drenched with sweat  and how I  wished  sweat was COVID’s antidote .

D Minus 3(  7 April )

 By the morning   I was totally exasperated  , after having gone through that torture  in the night. I felt very weak though,to my relief, the SPO2 levels were well in safe limits  . We were shifted to Base Hospital and what a relief it was to move to a proper Officers’ Ward. This one was quite airy , had ACs too,  along with all other  required facilities and round the clock availability of medical staff  for supervision . After spending sometime there , when I thought I was getting better, they attached me to a machine,  to check my vitals as my SPO2 had started dropping.

  Next door guy , who turned out to be an Ordnance Officer ,  seemed to be in bad condition in high fever  told me “If my fever comes down I will live “

And I was telling myself why is this young guy talking about death.

Saw Upasna  , when she came to drop some stuff . We could, again,  only waive at each other from far . Things , to me , were pointing to an early recovery with fever coming down, reduced  body ache  and return of smell and taste .All this time I was having lots of water with ORS , along with fruits and coconut water , which Upasna had managed to be delivered to me every day ; besides the  food given by the Hospital .

While I was thought  that I am recovering COVID had something else in mind  as drop in  SPO2 level  continued.

D Minus 2( 8 April)

The routine had changed by now . I was getting sweetened hot milky water called Tea in the morning at six, breakfast at seven , lunch at 12:30 PM and dinner by 7:30 PM. A different kind of weakness had taken over, I found myself dozing on and off even while being on phone . I did not  have energy to reply to messages which I received being AOC(Army Ordnance Corps) Raising Day .

Since my SPO2 was getting low I was put on an  Oxygen concentrator. Now I had a drip in my hand , a finger clip for 24 hours in my finger to monitor SPO2 , Pulse  and oxygen tubes in my nostrils. I had lost count of injections, drips and medicine that I was given.

 I guess things took a southward trend when I noticed them increasing medicines and giving me two injections ,one in morning and one in evening in the stomach .These two injections would continue for next ten days. I had, literally ,left my body at their hands  and let myself be their   guinea pig ,  besides I had no energy or breath to ask or talk .

Trip to loo  had started becoming tiring and SPO2 had started showing high eighties after the loo trip initially and later  it started showing  low eighties . Empire , finally, struck back.

D Minus 1( 9 April)

The continuous drop inSPO2 made them consider shifting me to COVID ICU. Though  I was in constant touch with Upasna and Dusy I think I had started losing a grip on reality with hypoxia kicking in .

In COVID ICU , I shared my room with an old gentleman , who turned out to be a retired general of Army Medical Corps . By now I was losing track of things around me . Visit to loo was continuously dropping my SPO2 level to 81-82 and once it touched 77, which is reasonably dangerous and scary . I was on proper Oxygen now and all  my actions were in slow motions .

“Are you a serving officer?” , “Yes sir “I replied to the voice looming over me which had general’s rank on his shoulders . He was the  local Major General Of  AMC(Army Medical Corps),who was officially visiting  the Hospital.

“How come you have a beard  ?”was the next question , and I thought can’t he see I am miserable enough to not even mumble a reply.

“Because I always wanted to have one “was all I could say. He seemed to understand  my state.

‘Sir , Do you need an attendent  for the toilets visits ‘  my Doctor asked me during his evening  round .

I guess I did not fully understand what he meant but the Vijay Dinanath Chauhan and Dirty Harry, my alter ego,  refused in one voice  . I was to understand  what he meant, later  . I had this feeling that half the time I was floating, which I attribute to hypoxia . At times I felt , due to lack of oxygen , as if I was above 15000 ft in mountains  . I remember  telling myself this too shall pass.

Besides that , I started telling myself other positive things too, like” Tough times don’t last tough people do”,”There is so much to do and experience “  ,whenever I was in my senses, to lift my soul . Military training, if undertaken in the right earnest , has the potential to change you for a life time and  I  always like to believe that it did for me, besides  I had the best  being from National Defence Academy .

Besides Upasna , Dusy , family in Noida ,through Neeraj ,my younger Brother , there was one more person who was constantly seeking my updates and that was my nineteen year old son  , Nihal ( Rocky )who is studying in UK and is now a UK citizen . I often joked with him that I will stop treating him like a kid  only when he could  do more push ups than me . In  our  last two meetings  first one in Greece in 2017 and second one in Leh in 2018,   he could not beat me but his concern  now proved  that he has grown up and  not only in height, he is six feet two inches now .The joke has lived its life .

Sometimes when  you see your kids growing up you  wonder as to why do kids grow up . I wrote a short Hindi poem  on same subject, few years back,  whose  english translation  goes like this :-

“WHY DO THESE KIDS GROW UP

Why do these kids grow up?

Why does their smell ,

Which was so intoxicating gets lost ?

Why their touch,

Which was so sweet, changes ?

And they run away from our touch.

Why their world

Which used to revolve around us , changes ?

And our world , starts revolving around them ,

And they don’t even come to know.

Such are laws of nature .

This love is also quite perplexing.

May be we too , no,for sure , were like this .

But even then .

Why do these kids grow up?”

 

D Day(10 April) The Longest Day(Green Over Red)

Here I was , on D day , floating half the time , not able to grasp as to what was happening to me , suffering from low oxygen,continuously on drips with lot of medicine being pumped into my body including two injections every day in the stomach. I guess I was   talking incoherently too , I also remember saying something to the retired General ,my neighbor , who took that  in his stride .

It had been more than a week that I had taken a bath and besides  that torturous second night , when there  was no electricity in that small dingy room , had made me covered with sweat and I am sure I must have been smelling too. The long  thick matty hair on my head  and long beard , courtesy my sabbatical from Army life of regular crew cuts and daily shaves  , were itching for a clean up.

I made up my mind, after lot of deliberation , to go for a quick shower .So in the afternoon, when generally everybody is sleeping in Hospitals,I walked in slow motion  to washroom. I had got used to moving in slow motion , any normal or fast action would  immediately affect oxygen levels adversely and make me extremely breathless  and tired .  I decided to shampoo my head and beard first.

While  I was at it I had an eerie feeling that something is wrong . All of a sudden,   level of breathlessness and associated discomfiture started  increasing  and soon it was at a scary point . I could sense that I might collapse inside the washroom and things may  go south, I  also dreaded the thought of me found  collapsed in washroom  .  I dropped whatever idea was left to take a shower and  decided to head back to my bed, with my oxygen  support; so I  started winding up.  But like love this, winding up, also could not be just  hurried up . It  also  had to be done in slow motion even when   my anxiety levels  skyrocketing  with no air going inside my lungs ; I could feel my breath stopping at nostrils itself , I felt I was on a verge of collapsing .

Suddenly I heard a voice calling me from deep, down  inside “Tu aaj nahin marega  , beep (you wont die today  beep) , beep  for  appropriate  expletive .

  I think in Hindi  , my primary education has ensured that . This voice kept on  getting louder ,repeating the same thing over and over again  .I winded up and without wiping my head  properly  I headed back ,with that voice pushing me, towards my bed and oxygen support.

When I reached my room  there was a nurse and a nursing attendant   for some work,  as usually at this time no body would visit us .I caught a weird look in their eyes , through their PPE kit . I slumped or collapsed in my  chair and put my finger inside  the finger clip of vitals monitor. I looked at the oxygen reading which was running fast downwards , past eighties , seventies , sixties and finally it stopped at fifty seven . I heard the nurse utter something and   I have faint memory of what happened after  that  as I found myself on bed  breathing with oxygen cranked up to maximum .  The General told me , later,that they were up at me for quite  some time . I  think I stabilised   in some time  . Though it’s all hazy now , I think I passed out for a bit after collapsing on that chair and that nurse and nursing assistant  revived me .

I remember sharing the incident with Upasna ,afterwards,  and we both decided to go for a RT PCR test again. I had, now, understood why Doctor had offered me to be shifted  close to wash room . During his visit in the evening I asked him for RT PCR test , he was reluctant initially, as I had been admitted for a few days only, but later agreed  when I told him  I had contracted the virus 6-7 days before getting admitted in Hospital . That night I was shifted to a different room, much  closer to washroom ,where I was welcomed by an old patient with a saintly look and smile .

When I closed my eyes  that night  I realized that I  have  had a very close brush with the  End  that day.  I  have nothing but  flashes of that day , like Rocky says, most of the time , he has  flashes   , whenever I remind me of a story from his childhood , our best time together  .

Its so tragically  ironic that your best memories of your time with your offspring are, at the best  are mere flashes for them .Such is the nature of life and love , you can’t hold it forever.

D Plus 1( 11 April)

D day is followed by  consolidation or counterattack stage . I had a feeling in the morning that worst is over .My blood sample for the the test were taken , had the nurse had not told me I would not have come to know since , as I said  earlier , I had lost the curiosity to even ask as to what they were doing with my body .Upasna had sent  newspapers, that I had missed , so I spent sometime  going through them ,  I  also realized I was slightly better than yesterday . Saintly looking  neighbour offered more newspaper and fruits . I said no  to newspapers only. 

For reasons unknown,  he looked divine and God’s reminder for me to be thankful for letting me live  . He had a very soft and reassuring voice  .When I noticed ‘Gita , As It Is ‘, on his table , I could not but help talking about . I noticed that he had a bemused smile on his face all the time , when I was talking to him about Gita .Till date I find his presence, there, as divine .

 The trips to loo , which was nearby , were short and scary now .

I was woken up in the afternoon when the same nursing assistant , who was there yesterday  when I touched 57 , excitedly gave me the good news that I was COVID negative now . We punched our fists together .I was for them a strange serving   officer with long hair and long  salt and pepper beard , which was partly  pink due to  Holi colours put by Myra and Vihaan , our favorite kids and  friends’ children  here in Lucknow. The beard had been  drawing quite a bit of attention .

After the result it was decided to shift me to a normal ward . By evening I was shifted to normal officers’ ward in a wheel chair , with oxygen support,but since the SPO2 levels were still not okay I was shifted to Medical ICU , to be monitored for another 24 hours .

 This ICU was different , everyone was a critical patient there and hence  lot of action  .A doctor was always around ,with 2-3 stern nurses passing instructions in regular intervals  with  continuous beeping of life support equipment in the   background . It had those inclined beds that we see in movies, where they look extremely comfortable ,  they are far from it in real life , at least mine was .I was given different set of clothes , basically a loose apron and  a pyjama , lot of wires were attached to my body along with oxygen support making me much more uncomfortable  and, actually,  pitiable . Fresh ECG and X ray were taken , which turned out okay , I guess. Upasna came to see me .  Though she was visible relieved , on hearing that I was COVID negative but  in no time ,seeing me helpless and uncomfortable in that situation in that  anxiety raising place , she got  quite disturbed, could not handle it for long and chose to go back .My oxygen level was hovering around 91-92 and there was nothing alarming in various tests that they carried out .I was kept under strict monitoring and even visit to loo was not allowed , so I had to pee in a bottle . Washroom was allowed only for big job , that too with attendant .Whole night I was topsy turvy  in that uncomfortable bed  trying to adjust numerable wires attached to my body  ,overall it was another tough night .

Next day morning after brushing my teeth ,  peeing in  a bottle , I got used to it  , and breakfast I heard the good news that they were considering shifting me to  a normal ward, as I had been stable . I thanked God, as I had been really uncomfortable in that miserable place .The decision was confirmed after the morning rounds of Doctors  .

Dusy visited , he  too was also visibly disturbed ,seeing me in that attire and situation but soon was relieved  when our discussion turned to tricks to pee in a bottle , without spilling . He accompanied me to the  normal ward , when I was shifted there on wheel chair with oxygen support .

On reaching  officers’ ward , I met  the same retired general who was my companion in ICU  and learnt that  he was going to be my companion again in this ward, we both were pleased to see each other and  we  both knew that we were pleased because we had survived a major scare on our lives .

D Plus 2 (12 April ) to D Plus 5 (15 April)

I woke up ,relieved to have made it out alive . The weakness was killing , I was still on oxygen  and found it difficult to talk . Even a trip to the washroom ,would make me breathless with SPO2 levels hitting high eighties . 

I continued to be on oxygen support for next three days . Good thing was that I could be visited by family and friends. I slept a lot , ate a lot and did not  even think  of attempting to take another shower . I continued to be on intravenous drugs through  the  sixth cannula,  place from where the drugs go in, made on my arms .

On 15 April I noticed that SPO2 was not  dropping that much and on trial basis I removed the oxygen support on my own for some time and it turned out to be okay  , and I continued without it using it only at night . This was the time around which I wrote following  note, The Zest for Life, and messaged it to my close knit circle of family and friends.

“THE ZEST FOR LIFE

I was to learn the hard  way that even zest for life can cost you the Raison D'etre for it ie life itself. We had a Holi to remember, with plenty of  cannabis the head was reeling till late night and my favourite kids manage to colour  me real bad with an aim to dye my long  and much disliked , by the, beard.

Next day I got to know from Neeraj,my younger brother ,of his plans for a small trek ahead of Mussoorie, and I jumped at the opportunity. We reached Dehradun ,my favourite place , with a small cough ,and ended up drinking hard with my school buddies ,car- o- bar types ,you know how it is with school buddies.

On 1st April I was down with viral ,so I thought ,body aches accompanying and a hangover .I thought of cancelling the trek .The famous zest for life kicked in and I decided to give it a try till base camp .

The road head was five  hours drive from Dehradun and base camp was four hours of climb,about which we had no idea.By the time we reached base camp, at an height of 8000 ft ,I knew I was  done . The base camp itself was very cold and windy at 8000 ft.We decided not to go ahead and return  next day  ,which was two  hours of climb down .

We climbed down next day , 3rd April, and we could not make it back to Doon , so we halted in Mussoorie where  I had high fever .I was still thinking about  Viral /Asthma  attack as I had been  fully vaccinated around ten  days back .

On 4^th April I was in Dehradun ,at my Nani's place ,but in a bad state with fever, headache and body ache and  later took night train to Lucknow .First thing after reaching Lucknow, on 5 th April, I  went to hospital ,the Doctor  there did not allow me to leave hopsital and admitted in corona testing ward and lo and behold I was diagnosed as  Covid positive.

The torture began from 5 April till 14 April ,till I was declared negative and stabilised  .I must  have changed 5 hospital rooms in these 5 days .It was a torture like none another ,8 days on oxygen support and 5 days in ICU. Once my oxygen dropped till 57 ,they say you can be off in 60s.The torture part will stay with me to remember it by .I am better now ,in normal ward in command hospital Lucknow ,still breathing through a tube because of Covid induced pneumonia, which will take time to recover.

The grim joke in the family is that my ticket was issued, and it has been refunded .”

 

After monitoring my progress for  few more days , I was discharged on 20th April ,a total of fifteen days in hospital with five days in ICU and eight days on oxygen support .

Dusy , who visited me almost everyday , had come to take me back .On the way back from Hospital , we managed to laugh a bit on my condition as  I had to hold his hands  to walk even few steps , and he asked in a jest ,” ,Gin and Tonic , on the way back home , sir? “, and we ended up laughing a bit more.

I  am home now , first thing I did, after I thanked God,  at home was to take a shower, this one was after seventeen days and this time around there was no excuse for me .There is  a long road to recovery as I was discharged with  a diagnosis of severe pneumonia due to COVID , with the virus  behaving  unpredictably and affecting post COVID patients, especially severe cases, in many unknown and sometimes fatal  ways .  

Its been a week that I have been home, things which are normal  for all us are extremely tiring for me like taking a bath, talking in long sentences , going to loo, etc .These are   times when whole  world is yearning to be normal , a shift from  pre COVID times when everyone wanted  anything    but  normal  .   A reminder  to all of us that normal is fine.

 Those nine days in hell , from the time I got admitted and till I was on proper oxygen support after being negative    made me see life differently ,yet again,besides questioning the lucky part of number nine for me  .It made me believe in quotes like ’Life is a journey,  which you take alone’.  One may be blessed with co passengers for some time in this journey but the jubilations , the dopamine effect   and more importantly the pain is for one  to feel alone and go through , always and every time .

 Though  the Streets of Paris are always beautiful   but there is no point if you can’t share them with someone these someone being our loved ones  .These  loved ones can only be around us to share our joys and not bear our pain, they can only empathize  . Likewise  this  experience is for me , and me alone, to reminiscence  that pain  once in while ,when I need a course correction ,  for nostalgia or  when I need to thank God for the second birth I have blessed with .

. When I thanked  Doctor ,profusely , for saving my life he said ,” Its your will power ,Sir, because at that stage the treatment is same for everyone “.But , I count on following things, besides love and best wishes of family and friends , which saved me and gave me second birth in my fiftieth year (all other variables ,including  enjoying nature and life ’s bounty to the hilt staying the same ).

1.       The  medical care of Army Hospital . I was admitted at right time and the medical care of Army , which we sometime crib about , comes at number one

2.       A life lived of physical activity , which besides bringing a change in perspective ensures that most of the  body organs are exercised  and lungs are reasonably strong .

3.       For a year now , since  first lockdown was announced last year in March ,I have been  doing pranayama in the morning , though not very regularly. This made sure that my lungs , inspite of being  slightly asthmatic ,were reasonably  strong with increased capacity . I could easily hold breath for a minute and twenty  seconds and jog for twenty five minutes without being out of breath.

4.       A old man and  friend , who now lives   in Pune , inadvertently  encouraged me to start running again around ten  months back, when I heard that he has taken to running in mid sixties , something which he had never done  before .I started running again , something which  I loved but gave up around five years ago due to left  knee pain,    once or twice a week , that too not consistently . This little bit of jogging  coupled with pranayama  made me regain strength in my lungs so much so that on my recent trip to Gopalpur in Febuary  , a beach town in Orissa ,  I did a 5 km in the morning on the beach , without being  tired or out of breath.

 

I am alive , humbled and happy , to have survived a nine days trip to Hell. I also  realize that  I am  quite blessed as   only few  get back from the  place where I have been .

There is lot of love and concern pouring from family and friends and  I am limping back to normal health, which will take time , around three months I guess as severe cases have a lot of complications  .I wake up next to the person whom I love and who also alternates as a very good cook .I am eating a lot , partly because of her cooking abilities and partly because of heavy steroids that I am taking .Reading a little and watching lot of TV .

 And  for now I am staying alive and it’s just another day in Paradise .

WRITTEN :May 21, After surviving  the near fatal attack in Covid phase 2 in April 21

FOR HE REFUSED TO GROW OLD

It took me  days to get over the shocking news of Pankaj Uniyal’s   extremely unfortunate  demise in an equally unfortunate and  tragic  accident.  When I thought of penning my thoughts, after the initial shock, I just could not do it.  The shock would continue to hound me.  Later a  note written by Praveen (Ranga) encouraged me to say my final “Good Bye” to him. 

 

Tragedies happen around us all the time but when its closer home  like this one, it shows the unpredictable nature of life and our futile attempts to plan, save and hold it.

 

Learning about Pankaj’s death at a young age of fifty is shattering.  It is still difficult to believe that the  ever relaxed person with ever smiling face is gone.  ‘Hero’,  I would often address him as and he would reply , endearingly, with ‘Darling’, like a couple  of  teenage boys .

 

 Though I left Dehradun, long back, but Dehradun never left me and I make it a point to visit it often. In all such visits, few of us,classmates, ritualistically ,would get together for drinks where Pankaj was omnipresent,often picking me up and dropping me off.  For most of us he  was always the gook looking one, the lucky one ,without a care in the world.He was also blessed with a lean athletic frame besides an extremely relaxed attitude.  I don’t think anyone has ever seen him a wee bit stressed or disturbed ever.For me, as most would agree, he looked at fifty exactly the way he looked when he was in class IX.  I bet his clothes of grade nine or ten would still fit him.

 

As kids we were envious of his good looks, attention he drew from girls and of course his Kawasaki Bajaj. I think he got the bike in class IX and in eighties, and even  early nineties, having a bike meant you are a stud and a dude combined , if there is anything like that . Of course these words were not used then.

 

He never seemed to age and we often joked about this.  But in our last get together, on 01 May 2022, when once again  he picked me up and dropped me off, in that ill fated car, he mentioned something about him , also ,aging and putting on some fat on waist.  I smiled and said,” Finally,age is catching up with you too.”  We all had a good laugh on that one. While dropping me back I shared my plans of getting back to Dehra after retirement , I knew he would help me as he had helped me around twenty years back when I had bought a house in Dehra .He said “ Tu aaja , tab dekh lenge “

 

We almost grew up together bonding over cricket and a relaxed Pahari attitude.  A born athlete, he would never practice but end up doing well and had a flailing arms bowling  action  like that of Madan Lal.  Even in school days   he would often pick me up ,and later drop me ,for Cricket matches, as we stayed in same part of town. 

 

The good or bad part about Dehra, being a small town, is you keep bumping into each other and we would bump into each other quite often.  We grew up from carefree kids to carefree adults experiencing life’s milestone like marriage, fatherhood around the same time.

 

It is quite a coincidence that my first bike also was Kawasaki Bajaj, he had accompanied me to take its delivery and later for trip to ‘Datt ki Devi’.  My bike, as with his bike, stayed with me for ages before both of us moved on to Royal Enfield, Bullet, which we  own and ride, till now.

 

Around three years back, while dropping me off on his bike after our ritualistic  evening get together at President Hotel, a favorite joint then, he took me through some  , long forgotten, shortcuts trying to evade  Cops checking for drunk driving at night,they were quite strict then.

 

While he was the Relaxed one , I also had the opportunity of watching him  cry , literally shedding tears . I had hosted a Daru party , basically arranged Daru , for available classmates on getting Commissioned in 1993. This party was in Cheela Dam guest house , so that we can drink to our heart’s content and don’t worry going back home. Pankaj ,who was always a social drinker, sticking to Beers, got overtly emotional after some .He cried, shedding tears, for a long time on Nalin’s shoulder blabbering  sentences like “tu mera bhai hain”.

 

I can go on but strange are the ways of life.  It just passes by when you are planning it. He leaves a void among us and its difficult to even  imagine the void created in his family.

 

 

Dear ‘Hero’, I will always wonder whether you left because you just refused to grow old.

 

Good bye and rest in peace.

 

WRITTEN :2022 , Sometime after Pankaj's fatal accident

JUNGLE IN MY HEART (BAD BOYS BLUE)

In fact the jungle is just  outside my room here in Jorhat, Assam

 

Everyone says  don’t live in the past,  live in the present ,  well I  also  say that  and believe in .  But sometimes old fashioned me just can’t get the hang of it or should I say loose the hang of me. So these days I am reliving the past by listening to my   old  cassettes   collection.

 

I used to listen to all of them one by one once in a year or two and in the process  would  discard the ones which had gone bad .I had loads  of them , the number  crossed four hundred ,from Rock to Ghazals to the various mixes by the then  ,early nineties ,very  famous  Music Centre of   Dehradun called Venus Music Centre. I would have spent a lot of money on them. In fact a substantial part of my salary  and time would go towards  discovering  music. There was a joy in process , it always is . 

I had a decent music system ,my life lie , which would always be  on when I was home alone . To supplement I had two Walkman, pride possession of  young officer in  all field postings . One of them was Sony and other was Aiwa, which had auto reverse feature.  There has been numerous nights when I would sleep with the Aiwa Walkman on at night after a binge and wake up next day with music  still on. The sequence of songs in my favorite cassettes was  embedded in my mind to the extent I knew which song would come up next. In fact this sequence stayed for a long time in my mind and still it sometimes comes as a flash.

 

Those were the days when one aftershave   and a handkerchief was  meant only for cleaning the head of the cassette player . Many of you would scoff at me for indulging in this activity at this age and stage in life when the cassettes have  already,  officially, been  declared dead. I think that was two years back in 2009.In fact when I went with  Amit, a good friend in Pune , a year and a half back, to pick a new music system; I wanted it to have  one with a cassette player and he gave me strange looks.

 

I started this exercise of listening to all of them quite a few days back, this time around it was after many years, and lo and behold it opened the flood gates of memories .It also  brought back all those memories of  parties that we organised as youngsters in Doon , those unsuccessful ruses to get the babes ,dancing on ' Dirty Dancing,` ; nothing  beats that I guess .

 

 I can not  forget the cassette that I bought when Rocky was born ,’ Pyromania `by Def Leppard,(cassettes I recorded keeping Rocky's music interest in mind .He loved Rabbi’s “Bulla ki Jana Main  Kaun”, ”Azadi “  from Bose and ” Jine Mera Dil Luteya” by Jazzy B.

 

 

 

Every single cassette that I play these days has meant something  to me. I like to believe  I have  a reasonably good memory and   most of my  cassettes also have a note about the time and place when they were bought.

 

 Yesterday  it was Nirvana's' Nevermind` which was bought when I met Rocky for the second time after his birth , he was only two months old and in Delhi.

 

Some of these songs which have run in my head for such a long time now sometimes come out as my status on Facebook which only few understand and sometimes ,as design deficiency, they ring in my mind just out of nowhere. They take me to those beautiful moments which I spent with  myself in some beautiful early mornings , some very late evenings and once in a while to times when I had someone by my side with a drink who would understand, or at least try to act so, what this music  meant to me.

 

 

I want more , in fact  all I want is everything (Deff Leppard )

 

WRITTEN :2011, Jorhat . That was the last time , I did something like that . Later when I bought a Bose had to dispose all of them in one go and  they said "Good Bye cruel world "

WHY DON'T I RUN ?

 

It was around one year back, after I ran the Airtel Half Marathon, a long cherished dream, that I wrote a piece called ‘Why do I run’ ,but today while sipping whiskey and alternating it with a rich almond soup, at an official party, I asked myself “Why don’t I run”?.

 Its that time when the customary speech, in which everyone all of a sudden becomes very good, highly professional etc, etc. ,was being dished out . And  I am contemplating whether to fetch one more drink and  make people around me more interesting.

 The top boss is raving about a high ranking officer , how this guy had done so well in life and his children too, apparently, were following suit. I  wonder "Did I ever do well in life? Did I ever push myself to achieve?, did I really want anything ?" The answer , incidentally, is all in negative.

 It was one of those drab official get together, which are more of a duty rather than a party and ,like always, I was late. I  also wondered why I’m always late to these official functions. I guess it’s the thrill akin to bunking a class or just an effort   to be cool . It could  be anything but definitely not unpunctuality , since I am  quite punctual when it comes to private or friendly  get togethers .

 Anyways I reached late and entered through the back door and acted like I was already there, which of course is an art, mastered over a period of time .I quickly downed  a few drinks, before the normal praising or good bye speeches started, be  ready for what was to come .

 Here I was, trying to get drunk, hearing a mumbo jumbo speech about a guy who apparently had done well for himself. The kind of guy with whom I would never be friends with ,in younger days and wont be able to connect in older days .Topping all exams, ticking all boxes. Do they  ever  have serious  fun ?

 I had a flashback, alcohol helps I guess, and I thought about this fact that in my life, I never ran: after anything. I guess I have been lucky enough that things came to me or may be I was lucky enough to be enlightened at an early age ,saw the writing on the wall and realised the futility of it all . That could be a limerick. 

Saw the writing on the wall,

Early on realised the futility of it all .

Since, when there as nothing , nothing at all ;

There was The Wall .

( its an ode to guys, who got it)

 

I never ran to be in the school cricket team, everyone thought I should have. I never ran to be in the school football team & everyone thought I should have. I got decent marks in class X exam, before that I used to be miserable in studies, not because I ran for it but because my mother  used to make me sit on my study  table for 3-4 hours a day and without a mobile phone or internet how can you kill time .There is  limit to scratching family jewels even when you are  fifteen. So I sat for a year and a half for around 3-4 hours a day and did well. I never ran for the class XII exam and mother dear  could not make me sit at a study table for 3-4 hours a day so I did not get  decent marks  in class XII.

 

The story goes  on  and on for each and everything in my life.  I never ran for anything or anyone. Army happened without running though there was too much running in it. Love happened, no running, marriage happened no running. A beautiful child happened ,of course there is no running involved there too. Separation, followed by divorce, no running here too.  

 

I wonder whether it was my intrinsic deep rooted laziness or a laidback nature which discouraged me from running. May be how I grew up to life, may be what I read affected me. May be it was the famous song from the “The wall” whose  lyrics are “…. for I have seen the writing on the wall”.  May be it was an amalgamation of everything.  Whatever it was it nothing could  motivate me to run, or run after. While I did not run ,I enjoyed being there, being in it . I really enjoyed my cricket, my football.  I still do, till  this very moment too. I guess I just enjoy the journey, the process, with no hurry to get anything or reach anywhere. And all those who wander are not always lost .

 

Things kept happening, as they are happening this very moment too, but  I wont  run after them .Incidentally I started taking joy in actual running i.e. running on the road and  on treadmill . 

 It would be totally incorrect to say that I did not run at all. I tried to ,once or twice , but when I ran after  something , it ran away from me. My deep rooted laidback nature was vindicated and I then allowed things to happen without running.

 

Only time can prove whether I am going to rue the fact of  not running. I would like to  believe that I am at good place now. I have immense love pouring from  all directions which I value a lot.  I do not know whether I am going to regret not running , but I am surely going to regret one kind of non  running, which I still do till date , and that is not running after skirts.

WRITTEN :Dec 13, Exactly one year after I wrote "why do I run" 

ITS A DIFFRENT WORLD OUT THERE

 Day 2, SEA SHELL BAR, HAVELOK ISLANDS,  ANDAMAN

 

 I am  in an awesome bar located right in midst of palm  trees  next  to the beach, and there   is only  one  couple in  the bar besides me with   Boney M’s  ”Dancing Queen” playing in background.

 

First things first, after I got posted to Delhi the idea of visiting Port Blair  germinated and with Jo Sir, Brig Harish Joshi , there ,or should I say here now,  coupled  with government  giving you LTC(Leave Travel Concession) there could not  be a better time.  So I planned and booked my tickets in advance.  Though  none of  my friends could join me so  this  one  happens to be my  first vacation  alone but I  am not  regretting it. The beauty of the place, the  crystal clear beaches make you  forget everything.

 

I suffer from  this perpetual  problem of sleeping late, and very late in case next day I am travelling  so I left my place in Delhi at 3:45 AM after going to sleep at 2 AM just to make sure that I  stay  groggy at the airport and don’t break the jinx.

 

 Anyhow once again  I cursed myself for doing so and slept through the flight.

 

The islands arrived and I was taken aback with the temp of 28^o C at 9:30 AM. , when it was still cold in Delhi. I was carrying a jacket which was to be made fun of later.  Jo Sir was there at the airport to receive me , dapper as always  but now with salt & pepper hair .  We hugged and soon I was vomiting all the details of my recent life.  In between he kept on feeding me with small details like Andaman & Nicobar Islands being a group of 500 odd islands (Wow!) out of which only 35-40 are inhabited.  Most interesting ones , for a soldier ,was the fact about the bunkers the Japs had built all around the place when they stayed here for three years  in WW II. Other interesting fact  was  the  complete UT  (Union Territory) is on generators fr electricity, guzzling tons   of diesel every day.  Imagine a whole city’s electricity on generators,  subsidized so that these islands stay inhabited by Indians.  

 

Though I was sleepy in the afternoon  we  went to a place called  Chidiyatapu, Jo had scheduled it, via Marine  Drive,  Army golf course and the main beach of Port Blair, the name I still don’t recollect. The Army is good in building golf courses everywhere and this one has the only link course which means that there is sea between any two holes.(  Naughty minds to be at bay).

 

        The beaches in Port Blair had warning signs  of presence of crocodiles.  Crocodiles in sea, well it  is true and that’s why probably  this place was called Kalapani,during British rule

 

The beach in Chidiyatapu was beautiful with water cleaner  than that in a swimming pool.  Beer and Biryani was on  the itinerary and after a late lunch we drove to back to catch forty winks. Evening was a laid  back one, the one we all love, with  drinks at the local  Defence  Club. We wound up relatively early after paying homage to the other Sunny  , who made India proud recently.

 

Next day I was packed and ready early. I had dreamt of someone, from the past, and rains probably because Jo sir was telling me last night that  it has not rained hence the water is going to be crystal clear .I boarded the Govt yatch to  Havelok lugging my rucksack and soon  we took off.

 

The water was green at near distance but very clear and blue at a distance, changing colours , so much  for the refraction part of it or the beauty of nature , I thought loud.   Leave beside seeing I hadn’t  even imagined clearer beaches than these.

 

 I ventured upto the  Captain’s cabin, something  that I believe you can not do in famous Mackruze ride. The Captain turned out to be an ex navy  guy settled in Gurgaon he was a tad bit surprised to find me alone . I was wondering what  a sea change would be for this guy to go back to Gurgaon, the millennium city with all the chaos and back to this place often. I   enjoyed the beauty of sail from the dock and later settled for a   nap. Landed in Havelock two and a half hours later and it was heavenly in every sense of the word.

 

Soon  I settled down as the resort was quite nearto jetty. I  managed tea, breakfast  and a scooter  and moved to recce  Vijayanagar   side  of Havelock.  The only road  is  more or less  like a horse shoe with a tail end joining the jetty. I was mesmerized  with the ride and settled down to beach number five.  Beaches  supposedly have numbers here for  example, the resort where I am staying is beach number two.

 

        As soon I entered the beach voila, I saw  saw mermaids all over. Took  a dip amongst them  and then tried to  look cool by opening a book with Vodka (hip flask is one of biggest invention for  the guys like us).   I chatted with an Isareli mermaid  who was quick to  point out that she is with her boyfriend.  So much for  my initiative, I thought.  Soon I got back to Vodka & Abida Parveen.

 

Later a group of Isaraelis  joined  me who were having Kingfisher strong  and Bagpiper whiskey shots with gold flake small , living it up  after conscription .

 

Had the lesson  for the day  that one should not  sit  under  a coconut tree  on a beach or anywhere as coconuts do drop. This one missed me by a whisker

 

.Surprisingly enough  I learnt to float, for the first time in my life . I guess it was the  excess salt in the water as my body type does not permit  too much floating. What  a joy it was to be able to float and stare at the blue sky, glares help of course. Lunch was at Wild Orchid ,a Red Snapper platter and I had to head back to my room for a snooze.

   

Woke up in the evening and decided that I have to clear my head of vodka , cigarettes and Isaraeli mermaids so, decided to go for a jog .Nothing works better to clear your head.  The jog  was on  the beach which, because of  low tide looked devastated , beautiful like an old  beautiful woman .  The pleasured jog was  cut short  because of dogs on the beach which  Dulal , the owner at the resort, told me later  bark only at Indians and not foreigners . Nobody knows why ,some racism  these dogs practise, I wonder.

 

Another highlight  of the day was clicking  a live octopus, which the guy in the resort had  somehow caught.  A drive to the local market in the evening  on the scooty  to have  the single  egg rolls  at the market to satiate the  urge that I have developed  due to regular egg rolls  at  Satya Niketan after the gym .

 

        And now it is VAT 69, which is pretty cheap here, only 100 Rs for a small  which is  being compensated by the VAT in the  hip flask.  I love the guy who made hip flask.   Tomorrow is another day of introspection , as Jo Sir puts it, I am on four days of introspection, while scuba diving and ZNMD, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara , time.

 

P.S. Bharat the bar guy who played Boney M , chatted with me and later on request played country with the closing song being “You pick a  fine time to  leave me Lucille,  with 400 children ( very late in life  I realized it was 4 hungry children and all these years it was 400  for me ) and a crop in the field”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 3 ITS  REALLY A DIFFERENT WORLD OUT THERE  , MUNJOH ON A FRND ‘S RECOMMENDATION(HIP FLASK STILL LIVES)

 

 

 Woke up fresh in the morning  excited as a child to  hit the beach.  The place was nearby and I could see some Indian fucking tourist also before me.  Anyhow I changed fast and attended a five minute theory class which was to be followed ten minutes class in water.  The water was amazing and there   was a mermaid too.  

 

Anyhow I was quick to get into water, like always, and practice my newly learnt floating.  It’s amazing to gaze at the sky while floating.  The Andaman beach are custom built for scuba  diving and snorkelling.  Crystal clear  beaches with no waves apart from Radhanagar beach, which I discovered later.  I was enjoying myself in the water and waiting for my turn when I thought of practicing snorkeling on my own since  I was carrying a set , given by Jo sir   I asked for the  errand boy to get my bag and took out the set given by Jo, and soon I was snorkeling and it was a nice feeling to have these small fishes move  around you and being with them in clear water.  After about five ten  minutes of it I heard some  noise and  I saw a guy waving at me.  My  turn had come.

 

I guess I have had  enthusiasm  written  on my forehead (remember  Tom Cruise in Cocktail) I was given just two minutes of trial and just a dip to practice breathing and the guide said I was ready to go.  Initially  the breathing was erratic but I soon got the hang of it.

 

Here we go, I thought when the guide took me for diving.  He  accompanies you throughout.  The initial reaction was ecstatic.  It was amazing  with those fishes in all colours, transparent, opaque, transluscent  moving around me. I saw minuscule mounds of sand which resembled tiny volcanoes sometimes erupting.  Fishes appears and vanish around you as you go deeper.  The  whole sight  is colourful, all the fishes, look different, some cute, some naughty, some menancing; looking at you trying to question your existence in their world. Slowly  we moved from warm to cold water towards the reef  and deeper.

 

I was, as  if in a trance  seeing  things unknown to me earlier ,the corals, and things moving in them  some just like them with their colour and shape ,some different. I have no idea  besides the fact that it was heavenly.  It was a different world out there.  The flight of fancy continued and I  had to squeeze my nose and push  air out through ears to equalize the pressure  time and again as we  went deeper.  The guide  was good in continuously pointing to  everything beautiful around us. He once pointed towards a  thing with jelly tentacles and made me touch it, it  initially for a split second it stuck to hand then like “touch me not “ recoiled .He later  told me that it was home of Nemo.

 

We had facebook  moments  also when he made me stand next a rock and took pictures and a video.  Sometime he would let me alone  but kept pointing a hole at me, sign to say everything   good.

 

He did the tentacles jelly thing  again and since I was ready for it it was  amazing.  All this was happening eight  metres down in the sea .I did try to look up to guess how deep we were but couldn’t guess as  the water was very deep.  We stayed down for about fifty minutes, you come  to know that  you are out of reef when you feel the change in temperature of water .While  I was down and still reeling  under the after effects I could think that  only one thing can come close to this high and  that would be  jumping from the sky, which apparently is next on the agenda.

 

I came out of  water, I bathed in the sun and the experience for some time- and later hit the water again.

 

My camera went kaput , yet again, and  I thought of going to market to eat something  . When   I went to their office I realized it was only  thousand rupees more for extra  dive  on same day and  pronto I booked myself for that .My  brunch was  two egg rolls and I was back to the diving centre for the second  dive.

 

Second dive lasted for  about forty 40 minute this water had some dust and my suit was little tight but again it was an amazing experience.  Seeing my enthusiasm   he , the guide ,took me to fifteen metres depth which  is normally not allowed and I really had to keep pinching my nose, very often, to maintain the pressure and when we were done we had to take a safety break at 2- 3 m depth to  get the nitrogen   out of our body which is required to be done when you go  really deep.  

 

After  second dive I was so tired that I skipped  lunch and went to sleep because I wanted to see the  sunset at Radhasagar beach.  I woke up in time and   drove to Radhasagar, beach number  seven, which has been voted as the best beach in Asia.  I reached in time the  sun was setting and the beauty of the beach with the setting sun was spell bounding.  I was  numbed, just sat there and later lied down on the white sand to savour the experience of sun producing various hues of colour in the sky. Its pristine beauty of white beach with waves hitting it at regular intervals unlike other beaches of Havelok that I had seen so far.  After the sunset , which was captured on my phone I took a walk on beach. In the distance in the sky a  maverick  had left his mark.  The walk was soothing so was the sight a two years old kid playing in the sand with his doting dad capturing all the moves on a camcorder.

 

After the walk tried to have food in  Bare Foot Resort which is  nestled  deep in  jungles, well preserved but since  these guys did not take card had to go back  and do with  a lousy veg sandwich.

 

Dinner on reference  was at Munjoh , whose  board almost read like Munich. The  ponytail   guy was kind enough to allow me to drink from the  hip flask , food was tantalizing and  so was the clear sky  when  I drove back to my room after dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 4 EL DORADO AND THE MERMAIDS

 

Day began with a short drive to the jetty after applying little sunscreen  and arranging for a snorkeling trip to Elephant  beach.  After  a wait of an hour we took off to Elephant beach where water was again very clean, an obvious requirement for snorkelling.

 

I was ready before  everyone  else and required no lessons  but before we went for  snorkelling  there was  this that ride in a glass bottom  boat which would give us a exquisite view of the corals.  Before the ride  there was this  boy who was cleaning up the bottom of boat from under the boat that is under water.  The sight was unusual but amusing and I couldn’t help but take a picture from  the phone.  The  short sail was  very beautiful with  oohs and ahhs coming from fellow  passengers. Another interesting observation is that  50% of Indian  couples are  honeymooners here.  After the  ride in the glass bottomed boat it was snorkeling time .  I took a 20 minutes swim and came back  satiated and hungry for more.   I had four of such trips  till I was tired.

 

The  first half was well spent, Snorkelling  is a fix which needs to be experienced.  You feel in the frame  to  draw a parallel- it’s like driving an open  jeep and  scuba diving is riding a bike.  You are in the frame.  My jest   for getting in the frame makes me  explore more   I guess and the more  I explore  I   find  there is more to explore.

 

Had plans to go to Radhanagar beach for the coconut fish at the Bare foot Resort but  was tired and after the  gulps of  Vodka and  the shower  I felt like sticking to rest.  Had vodka with  egg curry  and saw Sachin batting in form , thought he might strike a ton but he got out soon .

 

When I was going to my room I met the French couple who were staying in the same resort with two cute kids . I thought of complimenting their kids by calling them cute but it was hard to explain the meaning of cute to them. One my head was heavy with vodka and two it seems that they don’t use the word  normally.

 

The couple have two kids  one of them is by the name of   Machis whom I am   going  to teach cricket tomorrow  morning. The couple has been staying here in the same resort for a month now and have a content look. Once I found them clearing the beach of the bottles something that we cant even think of.

 

I just took  initiative and helped two Russian mermaids.  I like my initiative  streak.

 

Hand too much to drink in the afternoon watching India struggle against Sri Lanka and went to sleep  after Sachin got out.  Woke up late and toyed with the idea of going to Radhanagar beach for a jog  but since it  was late  I decided to hit the road  itself and a small jog of 22-23 minutes did clear my hand again of Vodka and  sumptuous lunch of egg curry and rice.  

 

Evening was for drinks at the  resort  with Dulal  the  owner of the place who  told me  that its  572 Islands and only 37  are  inhabited and also about the  famous  Coco Islands which are part of Andaman & Nicobar Islands but with  China  now with a airport at that place.

 

After couple of drinks with Dulal I went to a shady bar called EL Dorado  .Royal Challenge is for Rs 30 a small. What else can you ask for .Two babes smiled at me and I helped them in choosing a drink but soon they were joined by their male friends. Though later after the inhibitions were down I chatted with all of them for quite some time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 5 BEACH SIDE BAY VIEW

 

  El Dorado was really cheap and good.

 

Woke up in the morning  and it was time  for cricket with Machis and Tiu.  I began  with customery and amusing   ‘Thank you God for cricket’ howl  on the beach (remember the “Beach”) and made Machis follow it who is a cute nine yr old with  mischievous  eyes.It was fun with cricket  on  the beach . Both the kids had  a  knock of hitting the ball.

 

Snorkeling followed in Bay  View reef which is now preferred  for diving.  It was  mesmerizing again  , at one particular spot there were so many colours on  the rocks which were opening and closing.  Violet, brown, sandy making a heady mix. The diver told me that they are clamps and if you put a finger inside it bites and then its difficult to get it out.  Machis  in the meanwhile seems to have taken a liking  for me and he was trying  to wave  at  me during Snorkeling too.

 

Snorkeling and cricket tired me out but I pulled myself to Radhanagar beach where the water had waves.  After  a  customery  dip  sat in the shade  as it was hot ended up disturbing the romantic moods  of a newlywed couple  who due to heat had decided to share my shade.

 

I decided to finally have lunch at Bare Foot. I had been sipping vodka at the beach and ordered one at the resort .I asked waiter if I could add my own sprite , he obliged not knowing that it was already spiked with Vodka.  I did try  to look cool by reading a book but seriously enjoyed it too.

 

.  The resort is nestled in middle of  jungle and it was known as  the Jungle Resort  earlier and everywhere you have to go  bare foot (that’s why the name) . Lunch was Thai red  fish curry which was delicious.  Rushed back after the lunch  as was  damn  sleepy, cricket  plus  Snorkeling  plus Swim plus  Vodka had done me in.

 

 In the afternoon  I dabbled will the idea of going to Radhanagar beach  or playing cricket.  Finally I pulled my frame and drove  to Radhanagar just  in time for a  short jog all along the beach to clear my head.  It was fun jogging next to waves where the sand is little firm and at times the waves try  to kiss your feet  and you dodge them every now and then.  The  sunset  was beautiful with sky bringing up hues  of red and yellow. Crimson  red  would be perhaps the   right  word. One old couple was enchanted  seeing me jog  and sad  hello , when I finished my jog.  I am sure the guy would have loved running himself.

    

        Radhanagar  a beach or beach number seven is a  long  elongated white sandy beach with the width around  two hundred metres lined  with thick tropical forest.  It’s an amazing view.  The sunset had clouds from one side like  space ships from the movie” Flash Gordon” which I saw way back as a kid.  To make the picture perfect there was a yatch just kept on sea for the purpose of making it picture perfect. I felt like taking picture but since neither  the camera nor the phone was not with me so had to  keep it in my memory only.  I sat there for a long time trying to savour   it.  There have been so many times when you feel that  your eyes were a  camcorder  capturing things beautiful. I can’t go on  to tell you the number of  times, as for me it’s a huge list .Simultaneously it is  unfortunate that no camera or camcorder can  capture the real beauty of a place or the joy that it gives you.

 

The venue has changed after two drinks and two rolls   I am now at Wild Orchid where the bar girl is a  beautiful dusky woman.   After the sunset it was time to head back home after  a Nariyal Pani.  The drive was a cool  one as I had just sweated out  started Vodka in my system.

 

While  coming  to  the Wild Orchid when I stopped at the only tiny local market to have  egg rolls the masseuse ,who works for Wild Orchid,whom I have met couple of times  offered to  take me along to beach at night .  I thought he made a pass  as his smile was a little crooked.  I managed to ask him plainly as what the plot was he but didn’t come out with his plan.  Any how he has told me that he will wait for me tomorrow night at the same place for the  some drinks , walk on the beach(with me) and gup sup .Eewh .

 

Well I am not here tomorrow.  Tomorrow after a early morning cricket session with Machis  and Tiu I am  off to Neil Island and  then to Port Blair.  My stay in Havelok has  come to end.  Next time, next  LTC it will be Diglipur  so that I travel  till Diglipur   by a sea plane & stay at Havelok too.Not to miss, I love a fascinating  tan .

 

       The bar at  Wild Orchid  has a smoking corner which gives eye a full view of sky above.  The clear sky of village or  unpolluted places always reminds me my childhood.  The bar closes early and I couldn’t  bear overhearing any more the conversation of the  two newly married couples in the bar  next to me where the men were  still  trying to impress  women and  women were trying to act happening by bragging of their escapades.  I reached home and I realised I stayed for four days at Havelok and not even once  did I switch on the TV in my room .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 DAY 6

 

Woke up next day and found Machis looking for   me for cricket.  Soon we, that is , Machis , Tiu his brother and I were on the  beach again playing cricket.  Must have played for half an hour   or so and soon it was time to go.

 

 The Havelok jetty looked very pretty  with  lot of birds hovering  around.  The cops at the entrance mistook me  as a foreinger  and asked for my passport and  pass, I had to tell him twice that I am an Indian.

 

It is like hour and half to Neil Island from Havelok.  Neil looked equally beautiful with equally clean water

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I was told that it has a population of just 4000 whereas Havelok had a population of 10,000.   I had  just a couple  of hours  at  Neil so the cab driver  took me to Rock formation , Laxminagar  beach  and then to Bharatpur beach.

 

  At  Rock Formation , a secluded  place deep inside  Neil, we startled  two gorgeous looking women in their two pieces  who  were frolicking in water without a care in the world.  With a customary  hello and smile we walked past and  repeated the same while getting back.

 

The Bharatpur beach was beautiful with very few people,  you could literally count them on your fingers .  It is a amazing feeling letting  your body  sink in the  crystal clear water and just to float and gaze at the  clear sky.

 

I was  tempted go for guided snorkeling at a spot which was a little distance away when it was praised too much by the guide saying that it is much more  beautiful than at the Havelok island.  He was right, the corals were little lower placed than at the Havelok and the guide showed a spot  for which I had to go down  by 4-5 metres to spot the lobsters among the rocks  and I succeeded in third attempt.

    .  Quick Vodka sips and a hurried  lunch of  fish curry and rice and I had to rush to, literally rush , run , to catch the ferry which was about to leave.  The sail back was fun with me trying to finish a book back in the backdrop of a couple of south Indian guys singing.  One of whom was a really good singer who kept all the passengers enthralled. The evening was spent with catching up with Jo sir at Port Blair.

 

 

 

 DAY 7

 

Day had a  mandatory trip to Ross Island, where to catch the ferry I again had to run.  I am getting tired of this running around business.  It was a nice morning with  a cool breeze. I settled myself in the ferry whose owner seemed  to be  stuck in a time wrap, where he has stayed  Kumar Sanu fan, which brought back teenage memories.  

You come across all kinds of people while travelling and otherwise too .  I was quick to help one very old lady escorted by  a relatively younger woman and family.  The relatively younger woman who had seducing eyes  of  a tease , reminiscent of her lucid past, did not lose any time to tell me that the old lady is mother of IG Police of Andaman.  I also did not lose any time to give her the look that if she speaks  more I might eat her bus ticket (Dev D )

Ross was beautiful like everything else here.  The first and  foremost thing which struck me was  the tactically  ,strongly built Japanese bunkers  which are still in good shape.  Ross Island was the place   where Britishers stayed during their stay it is now  controlled  by Indian Navy and  has a beautiful pathways which take you  meandering  through the  complete  Island where you get to see the ruins of  British Army’s Institutes and you cross path  with deers who are  are raised  here and move freely on  the Island.  

A mandatory trip to souvenir shop, a quick lunch in the Mess where  I curbed my introverted side and chatted freely with a lady on the meal table.

  Evening was for a visit to Cellular  jail and  the light and sound show.  The light and sound show was really worth  it.  I stacked up on history on India’s  freedom fight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 8

 

Next day early morning was the trip to Baratang reserve which is a lagoon   famous for  crocodiless and limestone caves.  The trip takes you through the habitat of Jarawa tribes which one of the very few nomadic tribes left in the world.  There is one single road which is controlled  by police.  The vehicles move in a convoy  escorted    by police.  When you pass through the jungle, the habitat of Jarawas, no one is suppose to take snaps of the tribal people but who can stop the Indian fucking tourists.  I was quite sleepy so onward journey was spent in sleeping only.   Baratang was  a nice experience though it was very hot ,and to top it all Indian fucking tourist added to irritation by clicking  romantic and facebook snaps in limestone caves.

For many years now I have this  word  for  a class of India tourists, I call them Indian fucking tourist.  They have been following  traits :-

(a) They are totally inappropriately dressed, high heels in place like national    park.

(b) They are loud, very loud they all become Punjabis of Delhi.

(c) They all are interested in ticking one more   place that they have seen and not in enjoying it

(d) They are  interested in clicking their own picture in all kinds of poses, we are really high on vanity I guess.

(e) They have special knack of  making a place noisy and dirty.

 

Any how after I came in terms with my  irritation for Indian tourists it was a nice trip and on the way back to  Baratang jetty  we spotted a crocodile in the  river.

Afterwards there was this quick trip to the only live mud volcano at Baratang. On the way back from Baratang we got lucky we spotted the Jarawa tribes  on three different spots which is considered to be lucky enough.  Stark naked supple & strong bodies  with strong thighs and protruding bums, mark of a  strong tribe looking at us they way we look at them.  I also spotted one Jarava hunter taking back to his hut  a wild boar on his back.  Since he was alone I assumed that he would have killed it himself.

The existence of Jarawa tribe in midst of normal people like us is astonishing, a perfect balance is maintained though I am sure this too would be stage managed .  I believe the Supreme Court had some objection on this road which passes through their habitat .  God alone knows as to how  many years more they can survive or the government can manage to keep them alive.  Its akin to virgin sand dunes at Sam  near Jaisalmer which are kept barren for tourist attraction or the artifacts placed outside the shops on the main meandering road of Jaisalmer  town where the shop keepers deliberately keep them to get a antique look on them.

The evening  was again with Jo Sir  in Mess and I also managed to get his  bamboo ashtray for our binges which  now adorns  my room I am yet to write a story on that.

The trip came to an end.  My first  vacation  alone which never gave me a  reason to rue  over it.  The plane  took off from Port Blair. I sank deep in the chair, looked outside on the mesmerizing islands, closed my eyes, thought of myself scuba diving and thought its really a different world out there.

WRITTEN: 2012, After the Andamans Trip . I visited  Andamans in 2019 , by then the domestic tourism had skyrocketed , "I had grown older and you had grown colder "