Memorable Trip To Goa

So, today we said goodbye after spending the most memorable four days in Goa..'Me' time (as promised,) was spent eating, drinking, dancing with thirty two single women. (er..not single actually, some of them have large demanding family at home, but they decided to spend some ‘Me’ time with friends whom they had not met for a very long time) They all lived in Mumbai (once upon a time) when they were in school but now scattered all over the world, North, South, East ,West of India and also far away places like USA and Canada. There was not a moment of silence (how could that be.??.Women always have much to share)

Most of the women I was meeting for the first time, although I had interacted with many of them on social media and on private chat. I had climbed into a cabin of close knit friends, (who were class mates some forty odd years) and were celebrating their class reunion. But, although I was odd person out, the love and warmth that I received was monumental.

The friendship started two years ago, when I was invited by a close friend for a short trip to Lonavala with her small group of school-friends. Some people are destined to be the part of your life, so although, I was a stranger,(a student from another school, with no friends of my own ) I was able to squeeze in (they were very generous) and I found a comfortable corner for myself. I became a part of their group (pretending to be their classmate) and started attending their parties. I was invited once again for a bigger trip to Goa with a larger group of friends from different parts of country. (I was hesitant at first, since it was their class reunion, but many had become my good friends too and insisted that I join them, so I checked in on their last call)

It is not easy to organise such a big event single-handedly, thus the most talented persons in the group, took upon themselves to come forward and work in the interest of everyone. It was excellent arrangement and they have to be applauded for the efforts they had put in to make this the most memorable trip for all.

The days were planned meticulously, attention paid to every detail, so as to get the best deals with maximum comfort. The team took trips to Goa (at their own cost) and explored the city for best deals for place to stay, eating places to dine and places for shopping and entertainment. The air and train tickets were booked in advance, few months ahead, knowing not if the trip would materialise (some doubts about health problems and family responsibilities are likely to arise). Luckily, everybody was able to come, and surprisingly, many of them, finding a helper to do their chore, stole time to spend their ‘Me’ time with their friends.

The fun started at the train journey itself. We were separated into smaller compartments, scattered all over, but that was resolved as soon as the ticket-checker arrived. Some shuffling with other passengers seats, and we huddled together again. It was a night journey, but most part of it was spent chatting, eating and celebrating (birthday of our team member).

Aguada Anchorage, a beautiful resort was chosen for our comfortable stay. Surrounded by lush greenery and neatly paved path, I was happy with my 3-bedroom villa, that was closer to the dining area and to the main large 4-bedroom villa with attached swimming pool, where we assembled during our lazy hours for chitchatting, swimming and for interacting with each other.

First evening was spend at Chalston, a restaurant closer to the beach. After a light snack of sandwiches, cakes, puffs and a cup of coffee, I found a comfortable seat closer to the beach to spend the rest of the evening. Many of the girls went for a long walk closer to the sea shore to wet their feet in water, I just basked in cool breeze, laying stretched on an easy chair, watching the sunset.

The darkness set in, the whole place lit up with hundreds of twinkling bulbs hanging down the branches of the trees in the large garden, and the live music started, clear and loud. The girls hopped on to an uneven floor and swayed with fun and laughter. There was dance, drinks and dinner.  Everything was forgotten, family, home, pets, the friendship reached its peak.

Second day, morning was planned purely for individual entertainment and outdoor activities. Some chose to tour around the city, some for a swim at the resort pool and then go for local food (Fish Curry is the the speciality of Goa and everybody loved it)  and some went for shopping. Due to the pain in my ankle, I had limited movements, but I was so grateful to a friend, who drove me in her car through this shorter distances while rest of the girls walked. Thank you Universe for blessing me with good people!!

Second day, evening was dinner at Chinese, (with menu previously planned) vegetarians dined at separate tables to avoid the confusion by the waiters. It was the best meal we had, I loved the TomYum soup and after a satisfying dinner, I walked over to an open kitchen to watch the chef fry ice-cream.

Third day, morning was a Sunshine day. All the girls planned to dress in yellow, we had a photo-shoot and then went for a boat ride to watch dolphins. There was so much excitement during this morning, the yellow color reflecting on all faces with pleasant smile that was so infectious. The cameras must have clicked thousand times and moments captured in every mobile.

Third day, evening was to mark the closure of the trip. We walked few blocks away(some shuttled in a buggy) to the large general bar by the pool at the centre of the resort. We feasted on drinks and snacks (and another birthday celebration of our team member). Together we played entertaining games like DumbShera, passing the parcel (each one of us had brought a secret gift for a person wrapped in brown paper with a punishment inside)  and opening our hearts (all of us had sewed a heart on a patch of cloth, that would further be joined to form a warm rug, and these hearts were presented to the moderator of the Watsapp group, it was a thoughtful show of appreciation to one, whose sincere efforts had brought all school friends from different parts of the world together)

During our moments together, we chatted freely, picking up the missed moments, sharing our ideas. We learnt the beauty tips, the cooking tricks, the sewing techniques, all women from different walks of life came under one roof and  they shared their talents. There was laughter, joy, companionship and a promise that there would be lonely moments no more.

It was the most memorable trip of our lifetime. Here was the group of matured women, who listened attentively, talked freely and extended their friendship joyfully. This week there has been much excitement over Powerball in America (I kept getting messages from my cousins telling me that I would get a share if they won) and that had raised their expectation to win and become millionaires, BUT, here I was, already RICH with most lovely friends that I had been blessed with. Truly grateful to the persons behind the scene, the most talented organising team amongst us, who had spent nine months planning and bringing us all together...

Thank you Universe for providing me with such happiness………

PS: See the Video of this trip on U_TUBE at Memories Of Another Day

Christmas Celebration 2014

The party had started two weeks before the real event. Since I was recovering from my illness, most of my time was spent at home. But thanks to the technology, I was not really alone. WatsApp was my contact with outside world. Messages kept pouring all day long from the different groups keeping me entertained throughout the day.

And so the planning for the Christmas party began with my friends at ‘Elbow Room’ a group of friends who have lived at 36^th road, Bandra in the past and now are scattered to different parts of the Mumbai and some out of Mumbai too.

First discussion is always about food. 

The menu was sorted out assigning different food and drinks to all members. Two friends (one from Australia and other from Pune) promised their presence spiritually while one friend (from Bangalore) decided to send a Christmas cake. Over fifteen days, we discussed about the party, of what we plan to eat, (we wanted only home-cooked food made by each member, Red was the theme, so we asked everybody to dress in red, and we ordered Red-velvet cake) Watsapp messages were mainly chatting and joking, the celebration growing its momentum as the day approached.

 Since most of our planning was done on Watsapp, our cake was unique with smiley that we normally use during our chat.

On Christmas day, two friends arrived at 11am to help me with party preparations such as packing of gifts and sorting things for the party (balloon, party caps). The greatest charm of any party is the gifts, no matter what value the gift may be; it’s the wrapped surprise that brings joy. I had wrapped lots of gifts to give aways during games

By one o’clock most of the friends had arrived, (we were nine of us) after greeting and chit-chat, we sat for lunch. We had wanted everything home-cooked, therefore everybody had spend the morning cooking (someone complained that she was late because chopping took too much time) We had potato and cauliflower Parathas,  Channa Masala, Dhoklas and patras with spicy green chutney, mung salad, Bhoondi raita, berry juice, and one sweet dish.

Passing the parcel was the interesting game that had the most creative ‘punishments’, which was not actually a punishment but a creatively told story on the topic given, with mime and action. The winner was the one who expressively discouraged a friend from coming to Mumbai.

This was followed with the game of Bingo, no money exchanged for buying the ticket, but three surprise gifts allotted for full house.

The next game was the hilarious one that has us in splits. The person had to be blindfolded and was given a basket of cotton balls on her lap. One hand held the plate above her head, while the other hand held a spoon. In the fixed time of one minute, she had to pick the cotton ball with a spoon and place it on the plate above her head. The person with maximum number of cotton balls was the winner.

The final session was on karaoke and we spend most of the evening singing.

By 6pm, goodbyes began, everybody leaving in small groups, the last group left at around 9pm.