Baby Steps

There is nothing so pleasing and healing as shopping. And when its Diwali time, shopping must necessarily follow. I want to buy dresses for Runa and her M-I-L and some gifts for Rahul and his father. After a hearty breakfast of tasty sabudana khichdi, off we go to the shopping malls. I have already explored the malls of Thane and now I am anxious to invade the Nashik malls. Excitement creeps in the moment we enter Central Mall. Without wasting much time we make a beeline for the ladies section. After pondering over a few dresses I select a red anarkali outfit on which Ashok has already set his eyes. Size perfect, colour complementary to my skin... but after wearing the chudidar I realise that hips never lie. A disaster! Another search begins. This time we select not one but two dress materials, just so we can avail of the added discount on two purchases. Runa, as usual, does not like anything. But then, what is a shopping spree if it concludes with just a single trip to the mall? We decide to head out again in the evening. Our afternoon siesta is interrupted by a sudden cacophony of sounds from the neighbouring Wisdom International Schoolhonking car horns, women guiding their children to school, students greeting their friends. The flurry of activity brings me to the balcony. The unsynchronised orchestra continues for a short while, all children soon disappearing inside the school building. Suddenly everything is quiet. We try guessing the occasion for this untimely gathering. Are they having a farewell party for tenth standard students or is there a camp? We have no clue. The puzzle resolves itself at night when all children gather around a campfire that is lit in the centre of the ground. Soon they are giving performances. I expect free entertainment but from the balcony where I am standing, I cannot hear anything clearly. So I go off to sleep. In my dream though, I find myself sitting in the audience enjoying campfire performances of my friends Bhavana Gaind and Roma Joseph, from the first row at my school Queen Marys Delhi. It amazes me that though I was not a bright student myself, my friends were always from the top bracketJayashree Thatte of Hyderabad, Shashi Kunte of Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya or my present friend Samaj. Even today when I try to analyse myself I cannot find anything that would have made them befriend me; nonetheless I do cherish their friendship. Bhavana was quite golmatol and when she played basketball others would snidely remark that two balls were running at the same time. But she was my partner in the three-legged race and we won it each time despite the difference in our heights. The campfire gives me the idea of having a barbecue party in Runas balcony. But it is too narrow and cannot accommodate six people. It i snt wise to have it in the rooms either, so we decide to have it on the terrace after obtaining due permission from the secretary of the building. It turns out Rahul is the secretary and he gives us permission immediately. Our next hurdle is acquiring a shegdi or ghamela for the barbecue. This is a difficult task and requires that we spend a few hours in the congested by-lanes of old Nashik which is quite far away. Even if we do find it, we wonder what to do with it after the party is over. Ashok has quite a few suggestions, but none very practical. For all our discussion, the problem does not arise at all as there are many other preparations and lots more shopping to do, and there just isnt enough time to go to old Nashik. The idea of the barbecue is dropped although the idea hasnt gone out of my head. I am certain we will have it some other time.

Next morning sounds of several pairs of feet running wake me up at six. The campfire has long died out and the kids are emerging out of the school gate for a run, under instructions from their teachers. For a minute I feel tempted to join them. Wont it be fun if we remained children always? But then, there are so many activities taboo to children that I can engage in as a grownup. I must learn to enjoy every phase of my life. That doesnt stop my mind from rummaging through memories of my school days. I admit I only have a few memories of Queen Marys. But it was a prestige to have studied at Queen Marys School, Delhi. When I look at Wisdom International School, I cannot help but compare it to my own. Though not bright in studies I was quite good in sports. My interest got a boost at Queen Marys and I was able to pursue it further at my college, Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya. There I won many certificates in ladi es events (never mind that architecture colleges had few lady students then). I was the only girl to play in the staff versus students cricket match. My liking for sports even got me an honorary job as sports and PT teacher in A.K. Joshi School after marriage. As a teacher I could use my imagination and design different drills and yoga formations for sports days, and these were greatly appreciated. I even got a certificate from then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi for the work I got done from my scouts and guides unit as part of a competition vying for the prime ministers shield. Needless to say, our school got the shield. My love for sports helped me later in my life, when I did trekking in the Himalayas. It is impossible to forget my first trek. Why dont you join us for a small trek in Yeoor Hills? I am sure you will enjoy it. We will be back by lunch time, asked a friend who was working with Hariyali, an NGO working on environment-related issues. I did not know then what trekking was, but as Nature lovers Ashok and I immediately accepted the invitation. We got up early, had breakfast and then joined the others for the trek. Since we were new to the group there were introductions. We hit it off with Mrs Samaj and Dr Rajput and Mr Sheikh almost immediately, and would go on to do quite a few treks together. I quickly surveyed the group and found that something was amiss. The others were dressed in tees and track pants whereas I wore salwar kameez and chappals, yet everybody was cooperative and nobody made me feel out of place. We started our trek at nine through thick trees and vine-covered trails. Many a time I tripped over entangled creepers, but a rightly-offered helping hand would save me from falling. After an hour of ascending and descending the rough, less travelled road I became very thirsty. I had not carried a water bottle and since we were to return by lunchtime, I had felt no need to carry food either. Runa, who was out of town, had returned late the previous night and we were awake until three in the morning. As a result, I was sleepy as well. To make matters worse, since there was no proper road and no directions in the forest, we missed the right turning and were lost and simply wandering. I was dragging my feet and kept chewing on some lozenges to moisten my dry throat. Our trek guide knew quite a bit about the treasures the jungle had to offer. He, I dont know from where, would bring karvandas and bors to quench my thirst. The trek, which was to finish by lunchtime, was nowhere close to its finishing point, so we found a nice place under the shade of a tree and sat down for lunch. I had no desire to eat. I just lowered my head on somebodys bag and closed my eyes. Everything was moving around in circles. After

lunch we set off once more, the guide trying desperately to find a way to descend to a point from where we could get some vehicle. By now everybodys stock of water had finished. At one point we found a ditch full of muddy water; we filtered it with the help of a handkerchief and, hold your breath, I drank that water. Dr Rajput said there were mosquito eggs in it but for me, it was a life-saving potion. After wandering for about an hour more there was a smile on our guides face. He had found the right trail at last. And I, with help from my teammates, was able to finish the trek. Hurray. Did I enjoy the trek? At that time, I didnt think so. In fact, I promised myself that I would never go trekking again. But if you ask me today, I think I did enjoy the adventure. How else would you explain my joining the trekking group again afterwards? Since then, it became a regular practice with me. After every trek I would declare that it was my last trek only to rejoin the group for the next one with double the enthusiasm. After my first trek I joined Hariyali where some of our like-minded friends worked. Right from the start, I got greatly involved in activities like tree plantation and rainwater harvesting. At the same time I was introduced to another group also working towards protecting the environment: HOPE (Here On Project Environment). We had just stopped being part of the Rotary Club and had plenty of time at our disposal to work on conserving Nature. Through Hope and Hariyali I got some very good opportunities like bringing out their monthly bulletin and anchoring their programmes. As an active member of Hariyali I also got the chance to participate in the TV programme Hariyalichi Bhatkanti along with founder-president Mr Punam Singavi. We trekked in the lush green environs of Yeoor covering different subjects like different species of trees, flowers, birds, landscapes, availability of water, etc.

Valley Of Flowers

We also did some treks in the SahyadrisAnkai-Tankai, Bhimashankar, Peth, ChandanVandan to name a fewwhich increased my confidence as a trekker. It is during one of our Hariyali meetings that the group started planning a trek to the valley of flowers in the Himalayas. I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Was I really ready for the trek? I would have to increase my stamina and for that I would have to exercise and practise climbing. The idea of exercising brings me back to the joggers from Wisdom School. By now they have started returning from their morning exercise. Today is a Saturda y and it is Rahuls day off. It is their practice to go out for breakfast on holidays. If Rahul has a holiday, Runa must have hers too. So we make our way to Madras Cafe for breakfast. We havent purchased our Diwali gifts yet. So we go out once again after having our baths. Ashok wants to buy something for Rahul in the form of an investment. And what could be better than silver for Diwali? So we purchase two silver currency notes of 100g each. From there we head to the City Centre Mall. Here I purchase a dress for myself and Runa gets some candles. One important thing remainsthe lantern. After many discussions between Runa and Rahul over traditional versus contemporary, we get a round pink akash kandil. It is really heartening that Runa and Rahul never stretch their arguments; they quickly come to a common conclusion. Loaded with gifts we return home. It is then Ashok and Rahuls turn to fix the lights and the kandil. Adding to the dazzle are the uniform, external lights draped over the building. Revati Magic sure looks magical with colourful and decorative diyas all lit up on this festival of lights. ***