We started early because a lot was to be covered before noon. Kalatop was not friendly after 4 pm. We were briefed last evening that people should move in groups. Wild animals were seen now and then near our prepared camp there.

We came out of Dalhousie town and marched right into thick forests. I recorded many moments on my handycam. For the first hour, the trek was smooth. Then suddenly we were told to start climbing a huge mountain in front of us.

As we moved higher, it looked the path would never end. There were few places to rest -but only for few people. We came out of the steep trek over a mountain. The cold month of December and a sweating exercise prompted us to take a tea-break and have our lunch. Kalatop was still some 8 km away. Being a part of 44-strong team, most of whom are strangers to each other, is an unusually entertaining and engrossing situation in itself. Bhaiya was capturing the beauty of nature and took some great pictures from his Nikon camera.

The foggy weather added to the charm of hills. We were told that Kalatop is one of the chilly hilltops in the region and we should expect cold feets. Muddy trails and smooth roads criss-crossed our trekking route. We had ample opportunities to rest and move intermittantly. We enjoyed a long stay at Lakkar Mandi. Beyond that, the trek curved through small hillocks to reach Kalatop. It was more of a walking exercise further.

Still, when we approached Kalatop, it was clear that temperature was dropping. Reaching there, we realized the reason. Its an open area. Cold winds from high-rise mountains, visible from Kalatop, struck hard on the bones. We were happy that we need to stay here for a night only.

It should have been the ‘M Team’ but two of us went away and subsequently got married (few months later). However, that is another fairy tale. Here, I will recount what exactly happened to the rest five of us who actually ventured to enter Nainital on that fateful day.

‘Mukteshwar’ is one word that would bring a broad smile on at least seven faces on this earth, me included. We were coming back from a lovely vacation at this place when we decided to spend a day at Nainital.

It was a picturesque journey from Mukteshwar to Nainital. The month of August and colourful surroundings made it a perfect start for the day. However, as we closed by Nainital, the weather deteriorated and it was quite foggy when we reached there. The Naini Lake was not completely visible. We parked our Innova near the lake and after having a breakfast cum lunch, decided that its time to go into the middle of the lake. A deal was finalised and all five of us – jeeves, seemu, yogi, sabiha n me (all on the same boat) started. Exactly at the middle of lake, we were informed that we should shelter ourselves because the rain is coming. The boatman even showed us the showers at the right side, some hundred meters away. Seemu, by that time, had decided to row the boat by himself. Rest of us found tarpaulins to cover ourselves and left seemu wet and rowing. Seemu was, of course, furious later and declared that ‘maine tum jaise kamine dost nahi dekhe.’

Jeeves started a row of discussion when he divulged that ‘meri to panty geeli ho gayi’. Situation was later cleared by jeeves himself although with tremendous difficulty since we had already accepted his earlier statement.

We started to look for the ropeway since we wanted to have an arial view of this hill station. The ropeway man told us that the last one went up half an hour ago. So we asked him where to go for ice-skating. He said that even that option is over since it is at the hill top only. That was a double whammy, according to seemu.

Finally we decided to go for the hill top on our Innova and it proved to be a good decision. We spent time at our own ease and then started for Haldwani where Vihag and Ruchi were waiting for us. We received a warm welcome at Ruchi’s home and then started for an overnight journey back to Delhi. It should have been the ‘M Team’ but two of us went away and subsequently got married (few months later). However, that is another fairy tale. Here, I will recount what exactly happened to the rest five of us who actually ventured to enter Nainital on that fateful day.

‘Mukteshwar’ is one word that would bring a broad smile on at least seven faces on this earth, me included. We were coming back from a lovely vacation at this place when we decided to spend a day at Nainital.

It was a picturesque journey from Mukteshwar to Nainital. The month of August and colourful surroundings made it a perfect start for the day. However, as we closed by Nainital, the weather deteriorated and it was quite foggy when we reached there. The Naini Lake was not completely visible. We parked our Innova near the lake and after having a breakfast cum lunch, decided that its time to go into the middle of the lake. A deal was finalised and all five of us – jeeves, seemu, yogi, sabiha n me (all on the same boat) started. Exactly at the middle of lake, we were informed that we should shelter ourselves because the rain is coming. The boatman even showed us the showers at the right side, some hundred meters away. Seemu, by that time, had decided to row the boat by himself. Rest of us found tarpaulins to cover ourselves and left seemu wet and rowing. Seemu was, of course, furious later and declared that ‘maine tum jaise kamine dost nahi dekhe.’

Jeeves started a row of discussion when he divulged that ‘meri to panty geeli ho gayi’. Situation was later cleared by jeeves himself although with tremendous difficulty since we had already accepted his earlier statement.

We started to look for the ropeway since we wanted to have an arial view of this hill station. The ropeway man told us that the last one went up half an hour ago. So we asked him where to go for ice-skating. He said that even that option is over since it is at the hill top only. That was a double whammy, according to seemu.

Finally we decided to go for the hill top on our Innova and it proved to be a good decision. We spent time at our own ease and then started for Haldwani where Vihag and Ruchi were waiting for us. We received a warm welcome at Ruchi’s home and then started for an overnight journey back to Delhi.

It was Jeeves’ idea to celebrate my birthday party by going to a disc. Being a clumsy fellow, I love to hate dancing. Hence that evening, when Jeeves asked me to come over to Gurgaon, I had no idea we would be following his original thoughts. So I wore my floaters, clothed a dull t-shirt and started for Gurgaon on my bike.

Heavy rain started pouring as I reached Mehrauli, half way to Gurgaon. When I reached Jeeves’ office, I was drenched to my undies. As usual, Jeeves was in a jovial mood and made some light comments on my situation. I asked him which retaurant they have planned for my treat. He said we all are going to Deck, the disc at the top of Sahara Mall. ‘No way’, I said.

Yet they took me there and made me dance in floaters. We had fun. Even if I did not get a bean bag to sit, it was an ideal birthday party. Everyone paid for their share and celebrated my birthday. Thats what I call ideal friends. At 1 am Yogi joined us and the ‘M team’ was complete. That was the last time we were together. Vihag, Ruchi, Seemu, Sabiha, Jeeves, Yogi & me.

There are lots of things to talk about that night out. And there were lots of things I cannot talk about. Cutting a long story short, we ended the fun by going to Genpact at 5 in the morning and having a stomach full of food (can’t say it was dinner or breakfast).

It was the last stage of what I remember as a perfect journey. Day before we were in Diu. Manoj, Vandana, Thakur, Pats, Naveen and me. The isolated and calm island of Diu, forces you to feel that you own this world. Its a remarkable blend of old Portugese architecture and modern India. The next day we went to Somnath Temples, one of the twelve jyotirlingas, and enjoyed the huge waves of Veraval coast.

Sasan Gir was a two-and-half hour journey by bus from here. After reaching Sasan, we took a safari and moved inside the jungle. En route, we heard that a family of lions have just moved ahead and we tried to follow their trail. It was a waste of time. After searching the forests for 3 hours we were completely exhausted. So we settled down for the flora of Gir.

We had to come back to Veraval before 8 as we had already booked tickets for Ahmedabad by a sleeping coach. So we left Sasan at 5.30 by a local bus. We had our dinner at one of the stops and were fortunate enough to reach the city of Veraval on time.

I call this as a perfect journey because we started for Diu on Friday night and reached back to Ahmedabad on Monday morning. Every thing fell to its place on its own and hence we managed to have a perfect weekend.

It was my idea to go for a safari at Jim Corbett. Gyanu was working in Kashipur. Ramnagar, the gate town to Jim Corbett, was an hour journey from his place. It was the month of December. Chu, Aman, Dabas and myself started from IIT Hostel for the Old Delhi railway station. We boarded the Jim Corbett Express, although without reservation. When we reached Kashipur at 4.30 am, some of our body parts were numb with cold. We moved to Gyanu’s house like five ghosts of the dawn.

Gyanu’s was a modest accommodation. We had Maggi for our breakfast. At 8 am we started for Ramnagar. Gyanu informed us that the cine-crazy public of Kashipur rejected Veer-Zara in a week while movies like Sexy 16, Reshma ki Jawani and Ganga Bai were enjoying silver and golden jubilee there.

Ramnagar is at the foothills of the large forest of which, Jim Corbett is a part. We booked a Safari and filled it with ample food and drinks. However, when we reached the forest gates, we were informed that the time for entry is over. Our safari-man told us that he knows another way which goes all the way from the other side of the forest. We had no other option and hence followed his suggestion.

Five friends, a sunny winter day, a safari and prospect of watching a free tiger are enough conditions for an out-and-out gossip. That was all we did because after scavenging the forests for hours, all we could find were deers and elephants.

I was working in the Dye Lab those days. One of our night shift Lab Assistants resigned and hence I was asked to replace him. I accepted the task because I had heard a lot about the night shifts in production floor. Ours was a continuous dyeing and finishing plant and extra-ordinary things was expected any time during the night in the absence of resources and HODs. Anyway, that night I took my bike and started from home at 11.10 pm. The night shift started from 12.

Arvind Mills Bottomweights Plant (Trousers Division) is located at Kalol, some 25 km from the Satellite area where I lived. One has to go through a forest area and few small villages to reach the factory. That night I crossed the forests, for the first time, in pitch darkness. It was some experience. My plant looked like a glittering palace from far away.

As I entered my plant and punched my card, some of my collegues welcomed me. They told me that its my ‘Suhaagraat’ and I should give a party. The ‘party’ consisted of snacks worth 15–20 rs bought from the vendor who supplied us the 2 am tea.

I took charge from the lab assistant of the second shift and completed my activities within 40 min. Vijay Bhai, my collegue, told me that now I am free to roam or sleep or whatever, till 7 am when we would have to wind-up and hand over the charge to first shift guys. That was a shock since in day shift, one had to improvise work so as to look busy in front of the Boss.

My boss, Smarita, was a strong lady and it amazed me even now that how she managed to remain deplomatically cordial with each of the other department heads. In any production unit, inter-department friction is unavoidable and even necessary. Being the only woman on the production floor, she had the guts to even challenge the operations people.

Coming back to that first night, as I walked to the Pad-batch dyeing area, I found some disturbance. The entire floor was filled with water as some pipe had leaked. The dye incharge assured me this is nothing new and I will get used to such scenes in next few days.

The major events in night shift were the tea at 2 am and 6 am and the relieving exercise at 5 am. We had a small lake at our disposal for this purpose. From 7 to 8 am, we had hectic hours when we prepared reports for the night and kept samples in place.

In later months, I worked in other departments and even handled an entire department. Yet the charm of night shift never ended. Sleeping on a comfortable sofa and writing this blog, I can’t believe I have spent months of nights in the great school of Arvind Mills Ltd.

Raghunath mama decided to take us all around London on his new Volvo. I knew it would be a pleasant trip with my small cousins around. Already the weekend was a hit. I had just returned from mysterious Stonehenge located near Salisbury and now it was mama ji ready to entertain me. It was going to be a perfect Sunday.

The first place we visited was Tower of London. It had the famous Kohinoor diamond in it. London bridge was quite a view across the Tower. We moved to St. Paul’s Cathedral which is a huge structure. I had already visited it once with Naveen.

We moved to Trafalger Square. I could see a tall structure towards the end in the direction we were moving. As we moved closer I could hear a familiar musical note. Mama ji parked the car at some distance and we walked closer to the square. When I reached there, I could not believe my eyes.

The place was thriving with a crowd most of whom were Indians. I now realised what I heard earlier was a chorus singing “Hare Rama Hare Krishna”. There was a tall structure right at the centre of Trafalger Square which resembled Jagannath Temple of Puri. A stall nearby was distributing Sabji Rice for free. British women in sari were looking hot. Still my mind was in a shock. Am I in the middle of London?

Nana ji used to tell me that Indian polulation is a strong community within UK. I had a clear evidence that it was much more than that. It was not Indians but Britons singing in chorus. It was not Indians but Britons who were dancing to the tunes of the chorus. We had conquered the Trafalger in a true sense that day.

I never told anybody but I didn’t sleep on 3rd August. You may say that who the f**k is anyway interested in knowing. Still I will tell because its my blog. I can write anything here and it is this independence that drives me to write one blog after another.

So I never slept on 3rd August. I started early morning on 4th from Rotherham taking a 5.41 AM train to London. I kept reminding myself that this was a stupid idea until I reached a place called Ware to meet an old school friend. I had come to meet him because I really like this guy. Ware sounds like warehouse and somehow I could not relate a beautiful place with this name. Of course I was wrong.

It was with this state of mind that I reached Ware at noon. Its 35 minutes by train from Liverpool Street. Ketan took me around. It was some experience and since I was not expecting it, the place looked all the more beautiful. The little town had a lot to offer. A sunny day, uncrowded street, numerous pubs and a pleasant walk on the banks of River Lee. All the words like cool, calm, serene, tranquil and peaceful could be related to this one place.

There were overgrown trees under which a pathway went alongside the river for a mile or so. The place had a charming effect. We had our share of eventful afternoon.

I was on plane on my way back to India and hence couldn’t sleep on 4th August also. I watched three movies on board. Hence I broke my own record with 52 continuous sleepless hours. And that is something to talk about.

The three of us walked out from school for the last time – Adi, Ankur & me. We decided to spend some time together at my home. Mom & Dad were not coming till late in the evening. So we decided to play. But what should we play? It was a day that would never come again. It was a day of extremes in many ways and yet there was nothing remarkable about that day. It was just another day and so we decided to play.

We made paper planes. Lots of them. Then we decided to have a competition. Whoever’s plane stays in air longer, wins. It was a stupid competition if you ask me now and yet it was so symbolic of the day. We were free for now. We were the paper planes – trying to stay afloat as long as possible.

Those hours were timeless. We laughed at things we will never think of laughing at. We were more than friends, we were brothers – the blood of common past ran among us.

The two years in Colwell & Salmon had characters and twists that could make a masala movie. There was ruthless ambition, misgivings, travel to exotic locations, confusion, blankness, flexing of moralities, indecency and of course an out and out engaging fun.

In my second week in the firm, I was flown to a small town near Sheffield with a bunch of bright domain experts who became like family in the one month of stay there. It was there that I realized how strong a factor of binding it can be to stick together in a foreign land with nothing but each other to fall to.

We used to have a couple hour session at the end of each day where we would share jokes and make fun of people around. It was our only stress buster there. Often the confusion there made us quote the famous lines of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron – ‘ Ye sab kya ho rahaa hai beta Duryodhan?’

Once the project ended and we settled back in India, the time of the grapevine ripened. The next one year was an exodus of near and dear colleagues of mine. I took pledge not to switch into a job that did not give me good company at office. I was that alone.