The Pit Stop

Belgaum became a lovely pit stop on our drive back from Goa.

Belgaum is Sujata's in laws place, and I'd visited her there over twenty years back, also on a road trip back from Goa.  And that was a long road trip as Ravi and I had done Hyd - Hampi - Goa - Belgaum - Hyd, and when roads were tougher and we had no gps, a whole different adventure.

I remember the chicken curry her mother in law had made, the reddest and spiciest chicken curries. It was so traditional....all of us sat on mats on the floor and got served the old way, and we'd eaten with our eyes and nose steaming, it was so yummm. She's sadly no more. Her brothers in law, Venkat and Deepak were still kids, in college kinds. To go back now....meet them with their wives, their kids and then reminiscence from back then was a lot of fun.

And not to speak of the authentic local cuisine they had for us for lunch, including the red chicken curry. Loved it.

There are a couple of anecdotes from the afternoon there that stayed with me:

One was Deepak recalling the number of letters that Sujata and I would write to each other. Sujata and I pretty much grew up together in Hyd....we got married within months of each other and while I was in Hyd, she moved to Belgaum. No cell phones and expensive long distance calls, so guess it was those letters that bridged that distance. And like Sujata recalled "inland letters kahaan bas hothe apneliye, pages aur pages likhthe the"

Another was a surprise from Venkat. He blew me with his knowledge and memory on songs. Any song, he'd know the movie, the actors, the sequence, the singers, the composers....anything about it. He said he used to be crazy about songs and still loves them. He'd even gotten selected in an antakshari program for TV.

We got him to sing for us.......he chose 'kahin door jab din dal jaaye.' . It was lovely. And the surprise element was that it was to Sujata's utter surprise, as she said she'd never heard him sing :).

That added a wonderful touch to the afternoon in Belgaum.

Some pictures:

A nice family picture. Sujata showing them her jet ski video. R to L is Deepak, Anu, Sujata, Smitha (not me), Tanisha and Venkat

Another more candid one

The last leg of our drive from Belgaum to Hubli. That's the new Vidhan Soudha.

It was getting dusk as we approached Hubli

A nice surprise. Ten minutes before I was to leave for my bus back to Hyd, Sujata takes out her collection of smaller acrylics and says "Smi, as a gesture of thanks, I want you to have one of these, pick any one". I was touched and wowed.

This is what I picked. I've liked this painting ever since she showed it to me a couple years ago....and who thought it would actually reach me. Sujata, thanks much, I love it, and it will go up on my wall soon.

And the trip itself Sujata....kya bole....it was just so wonderful and so special, one that will stay cherished for times to come. It was adventurous and enriching and fun, yet chilled out and present, in fact so much of everything that it's taken me all of twelve posts.

Just so so glad we did it and I can't believe you're already planning the next one to Amarnath...that sure is inspirational !!