My kids have been a part of
many school trips and when they returned from their trips they would have lots
of stories to tell me. Hearing them I used to always wonder what it would be
like if I went on a trip with my school friends.
In 2010, the Internet
played a huge role in helping me reconnect with my friends from school. I had
entered my school details in one a website called namesdatabase.com. It was through
this site that one of my classmates, Arun Saksena, touched base with me. It was
a pleasant surprise to find that Arun was working in the same office building
and on the same floor. Meeting him after 37 years was a pleasure. He was the
one who found out everyone from our class and planned a school reunion in
Mar’2010 in Jodhpur. The reunion was a great success. For those who could not
travel to Jodhpur, a second reunion was planned and hosted by Sharad Bhansali
in Mar’2010 where once again we all had a wonderful time. We all kept in touch
and met on and off since then.
Earlier this year, Sharad created
a Whatsapp group and completely changed our lives. Now, we all are connected
day and night. Our Group Admin, Sharad, floated a brilliant idea for a trip to
Ranakpur in the first weekend of Aug’15, but this trip did not materialize due
to various reasons. However, Sharad & Jyoti, Arun Saksena & Vandana, Kandy
Anand and I met in Delhi for dinner in July, 2015. The idea of the trip was
discussed once again and Sharad took upon himself to again try and convince
everyone to take part through various hilarious messages on the Whatsapp group.
I was the first one to say yes as I was very eager to go on a trip that too
with my school friends. Deepak Singh Gehlot & Shyama, Arun Chordia & Anju,
Jyoti Prakash & Jyoti, Naranjan & Sanju, Jaswinder & Lati, Harjeet &
Gurusharan and Gurucharan and Neetu also agreed to be a part of the trip.
With Sharad at the helm of
arranging the trip to Ranakpur, the smaller details were taken care of with
help from each of our friends in Jodhpur. Sharad was kind enough to book my
tickets and I travelled with Sharad and Jyoti by train to Jodhpur on 21 Aug’15
evening. Even though Arun S could not accompany us on the trip he played a vital
role in ensuring that I was a part of the trip by getting my tickets to Jodhpur
confirmed. On 22nd Aug’15 at about 5 a.m. Arun Chordia received us
warmly at Jodhpur Railway Station. We reached Arun’s home where Anju was
waiting for us with breakfast and hot tea. I was lucky enough to have a nap for
half an hour or so before getting ready for our journey to Ranakpur by bus.
After the delicious breakfast we were driven by Deepak’s friend to Jyoti Prakash’s
showroom where the bus was waiting for us.
The enthusiasm with which
all of us boarded the bus would have brought many youngsters, especially our
kids, to shame. After boarding the bus Sharad, Jyoti and I were welcomed with bouquets
by our friends from Jodhpur. The journey started with chanting and Gurucharan
sang a beautiful shabad in his melodious voice. Sharad had taken over the
charge and managed to keep us entertained throughout the trip. Gurucharan,
Sharad, Deepak and Niranjan, with the help of Neetu and Sanju sang beautiful
songs and also fulfilled our every‘farmaish’.
Back on the road, we had a lot of fun with everyone sharing school anecdotes and stories. The singing was resumed and the merriment continued till we stopped for lunch at a resort on the way.
Following our lunch, we
drove for another half an hour to reach our destination—the Maharani Resort.
The property is simply amazing with lush green surroundings. The sounds of
birds chirping were a welcome change from the urban noise our ears are used to.
After a wonderful nap in
our respective rooms, we all assembled near the swimming pool for evening tea
and refreshments. We had a good time chatting and sharing our school memories.
Some of us shared college memories too.
In the evening at about 6:45
pm we re-assembled in the lawns for the party and dinner. Gurucharan, Neetu,
Sharad and Deepak started the show with karaoke songs and entertained us for
quite some time. The highlights of the evening were a number of games that Sharad
and Jyoti had prepared. Jaswinder and Lati won the first game, a game for
couples, with their beautiful answers about each other. In the second game for
the evening Sharad and Jyoti asked each one of us to describe our spouses by
singing a song. All of us enjoyed this game. Lati cajoled me to sing and thanks
to her, I sang a song for the first time in my life. I don’t know how I sang
but I enjoyed every bit of it. Sharad had come prepared very well. He had
brought a set of photos of celebrities and we had to recognize the
personalities by their eyes alone. In the next round of this game we had
recognize our school friends by their childhood photos. It was fun to see all
our friends when they were young children. Niranjan and Sanju danced on a medley
of old Hindi songs sung by Sharad, Gurucharan and Neetu. Soon Deepak and
Niranjan began to dance and gradually we all joined both of them.
A lavish Rajasthani spread
was arranged for our dinner. I was fascinated by the thick rotis made on a ‘mitti
ka tawa’. They were crispy and delicious. With our stomachs full and hearts
overflowing with joy after an exciting day and an even more exciting evening,
we called it a day.
I got up next day to a
beautiful morning with birds chirping near my room window. I made a short video
of the chirping birds. This was my way of bringing back a little piece of
Ranakpur with me.
Before heading for
breakfast we packed up our bags. We all gathered at the hall and had a fresh,
hot and delectable breakfast. Soon after filling up our tummies we began the journey
back home. On the way back, we stopped at ‘Haathi Nahar’ and witnessed
beautiful falls. Hope these photos do justice to the beauty of the place.
After the brief stopover we
went to the famous marble Jain Temple dedicated to the first Tirthankar Adinath
at Ranakpur. (Over 1444 marble pillars, carved in exquisite detail, support the
temple. The pillars are all differently carved and no two pillars are the same.
It is also said that it is impossible to count the pillars. Also all the
statues face one or the other statue. There is one beautiful carving made out
of a single marble rock where there are 108 heads of snakes and numerous tails.
One cannot find the end of the tails. The image faces all four cardinal
directions. In the axis of the main entrance, on the western side, is the
largest image. - source Wikipedia) The beauty of this temple has to be seen to
be believed.
Photo credit : Sharad
Bhansali
At the Temple Bhojnalaya,
which was very clean, we had food which was simple and tasty. I had my favourite
Gatte ki sabzi that afternoon.
After lunch we resumed with
the journey. A surprise awaited us. Sharad announced that an award function
would be conducted in the bus. The first award was given to Niranjan and Sanju
for making the best of efforts to join the trip. Both of them had to make a lot
of effort to change their earlier scheduled plans. Gurucharan and Neetu were
awarded for their fantastic singing. Jaswinder and Lati were given an award for
the couples’ game that they had won the night before. I was awarded for the
game of Eyesight that I had won. The award ceremony was another chance for us
to be enthralled with Sharad’s wit and humor. He was amply supported by Deepak,
Niranjan, Arun C and Harjeet. We were
approaching Jodhpur and the trip was coming to an end. Lati spoke on our behalf
when she thanked Sharad and Jyoti for all the preparations.
I think I write for
everyone when I say that these two days were among the
best two days of our lives. We all had forgotten our responsibilities, worries,
cares, ailments for the time we spent with each other. We all had forgotten
that we all were 58-59 years old. Those two days were totally carefree and
filled with joy.
Photo Credit : Sharmila Gaur (Sanju)
The trip will be cherished
by all of us throughout our lives.
