Friday, January 23, 2009

A Typical Indian Road Trip/Picnic

I start my first post with an Indian flavour..
Indians are always comfortable in groups( iam talking abt normal indians).It can be a group of friends or group of relatives. 
Picnic enthusiasm starts from the day u book ur tickets/resort and the fever increases and reaches the highest peak when there r only 2 days to go ,purchasing for the picnic..wow..it is the moment i enjoy the most..it can be a faltu item like a comb,,,but sends a thrill in my nerves and if the group consists of enthusiastic members..then it is just fun..to go around the markets,buying disposable plates,cups,kurkures,wafers,cakes and ofcourse planning for yummy lunch packets .This phase is pre picnic fever.
My favourite travel food is Picnic Curd rice,my next post will deal with that recipe,bcos it requires a special skill to prepare Curd rice with such an interesting prefix.
If it is a big group ,naturally a vehicle will be hired to accomodate all the members,as no member or subgroup wishes to travel in his/their own vehicle., just for the happiness of travelling together.This paves the way for harrowing experiences of the picnic,mostly all such tourist vehicles have worst silencers which can damage a peacefully (?!) sleeping tourist's ears or a worst driver who can make all the passengers inside feel like riding in roller coaster while travelling on curvy,bumpy roads.Anyway a picnic needs a thrill quotient,so we can use this vehicle experience for that, right?..


Each group normally consists of various types of members..
1.Subtle-they just keep on smiling throughout the picnic observing various gala proceedings and they r solitude lovers.
2.Gossip mongers-love to gossip about persons who r absent in that gang(so give frequent visits to that area to avoid ur head being rolled)
3.Enthusiastic-these r the members who hold the spirit of picnic high throughout.
4.leave me alone type.
5.Non stop eaters- who start munching from the starting point to destination,munching can be stopped only if their bowel movements become mischievous.;)
Normally the tour starts with a loud chant from an enthusiast like "ganpati bappa moraya" or 'sainath maharaj ki jai"which echoes and reverberates in the air causing the atmosphere so electric.
As the vehicle zooms on the long roads with beautiful trees on the side,breeze blows on our face caressing us,settling down takes a little bit of time ,adjusting to the seats arrangement,..
after 2 hours a wayside dhaba is chosen for tea and smokers have a puff.,;) (sorry! health minister!),and again jumping into the bus,counting heads to ensure all r present, and the accelerator is on..
By this time ,some kid would have spilt one cup of water making atleast 2 seats messy :)..
mats,satranji/jamakkaalams r carried along and a beautiful location with lots of shade is a must for having lunch,Spreading the mats,having yummy food and just strolling around some alien land,where we may never return again gives a different feeling,bidding adieu to those trees,,again we jump into the bus..
One group starts playing cards,kids start jumping from one seat to another running amock in the bus,members like me prefer to have mobile siesta amidst chaos,jerks and bumps.
Evenings are beautiful while travelling,watching sunset through the windows when crimson sun plays hide and seek behind mountains and trees,watching the hue of distant sky changing ,
darkness creeps in,mountains and trees start appearing like big monsters,kids who were busy all the day start sleeping,One sudden voice( normally it is a besur(abhaswaram) voice ) disturbs the peace lovers by starting antakshari..of film songs..music connoiseurs !pl.keep away from this gang bcos there will be no music here but mixed sounds..;)..we should understand that the person who starts antkashari is terribly afraid on seeing this dark monsters outside and to hide their fear they ve started this ,but better don't reveal;-)this to them ,it may spoil the picnic spirit..
Now we have reached our destination ,band of 206 bones dancing for different types of rhythmic
jerks in travel lead to varieties of aches and body longs to throw itself on a cosy bed and pulling over the blanket ,body pains,,but heart starts longing for next trip...

15 comments:

Raja said...

Nice one. I still remember our trip to Shirdi during my last visit. I don't recall the name of the place where we stopped for vada pav and chai, it was nice. Road trips here in the US are slightly different.. but we still maintain the indian flavor ..by carrying puliyotharai and idli/milagai podi for rest area stops..

Padma said...

Yes! that was a great trip except for the vehicle and the delay :)..why don't u publish a post abt a trip with US flavor?

Raja said...

you read my mind..that is what i was exactly planning to post next..

Rajendra said...

Padma, How true... The hogging & the bowel rolling was very intersting. It was so true... I am sure most of the readers would have seen themselves in this character ;)
Also the Antakshari part... a free for all event, one has remind himself that the guys are singing when it sounds like braying... still its interesting & the most popular entertainment in the journey. Keep blogging...

Padma said...

rajendra ! i knew that i would receive a positive comment for the 'mischievous bowel movement' subject...anyway thank u for reading my blog

Unknown said...

Vrushali Kulkarni really i remembered our road journey with family. It was same experience with me also. We r waiting for ur curd rice recipe.

Padma said...

Hi vrushali!Thank u for ur comments!Curd rice recipe is posted..to end ur wait :)

Suha's Blog said...

Hi padma akka,
Pl. excuse my delay in replying,ur lovely nephew and niece keep me so occupied that it has taken me these many days to even comment. i guess,iam living in a very different world anyway coming to the topic i really enjoyed reading this typical indian road trip post.Nice interpretation of different characters. sure was a fun one.
suha

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

hi padma akka,krish here (KRISHNA PRASADH)It is a very good idea to post this in ur blog,i enjoyed all the words,b coz its damn interesting,my mother enjoyed the curd rice tips,my father enjoyed the politics,me an my sister enjoyed EvErYtHiNg...iThink its cool to have an interesting blog like this,BUT I CANT GUESS WHOSE IDEA IS THIS!!!

Padma said...

hi krishna!thank u !at present u r the youngest reader...Raja helped me and taught me abt blogging...but ideas r mine ..ok keep reading my blog!

Raja said...

Wow..a comment from Krishna Prasad..I am stunned by the influence of the digital revolution on the younger generation..KP you truly rock..What is up with your sister Thara these days?

Padma said...

yes!it was a surprise for me too to receive a comment from KP..whether contents r dictated by our raji mami?..;)..would luv to check it out...;)

Unknown said...

hi padma akka i dint expect such a wobbling response from all around the world (meaning raja anna)many many thanks for that and i have posted a comment for raja anna too...i expect many posts like this...
expecting posts
KRISH

Unknown said...

THARA TOO ROCK....