Hey There Pondy! - Part 1

Now I turned 19, sweet 19, and it immediately started messing with my head. The last of my teen years and what have I done to be proud of? What every other guy does: score a couple of distinctions, make your mother proud, get addicted to Facebook, Tweet your life out, find the love of your life, give in to your calling, fail only the most prestigious institute's entrance, make the best of friends, rot at home, become fat, struggle to become thin, try everything your mom says to stay away from, etcetera etcetera. Yeah, not much to be proud of.

So, I get together with the gang and Kritarth gives this great idea: "lets go to Pondy". At the time, that sounded like: "lets go to vegas". FYI, my exams had finished a couple of weeks before that and all the action I had was a little *stuff* from the net and of course, my beloved guitar( for another time). So when Kritarth said "lets go to Pondy" we all dreamed of a bling-life. What with all the tight pockets we had, the cheap life of Pondy was an allure to the teenage mind and body. Everyone had their expectations. Pondy lived up to it. Period.

Let me tell you something about Kritarth. He is a lousy student and a pain in the ass son. But he is one heck of a travel manager. But for the short patience fuse he's got screwed into his amazing brain, he is flawless. He planned the trip from the scratch and made sure we didn't go running to mummy-daddy to get bookings and make the trip a comfy experience. We lived the three days like the Teenagers we were. Respect dawg.

Now this trip was a big deal for me. I was looking forward to a lot of things. One: three amazing days away from my mom's over-protective mushiness. Two: the rocky beaches of Pondy. Three: cheap rental bikes and cheaper fuel. Four: Three amazing days with the gang. Five: refer one. So I did a lot of research. Looked up places to get the bikes. Looked up affordable hotels for rooms. Looked up stuff to do in Pondy. I started hyper acting and forgot: Kritarth was there for all the work. I am the guy who wants the highest level of assurance before doing something new. So I naturally tried bookings and stuff. Kritarth put his foot down *thank god* and asked me to chill. If we have to sleep in the railway station we will. But we will not act like 40 year olds. Good advice.

It was hard enough to convince Kritarth to book the return tickets. Good we did. Airavat is a blessing in disguise. Slept like a baby. Thankyou K.S.R.T.C.

Train tickets booked, Garibrath A/C coach. Seats 25-30, 52 and 53. Anmol*youuuuuuuu sonofabitch*left to Andaman and Nicobar a couple of days after the ticket booking. I've already mentioned what a Pain in the ass he is*refer "A Friend To Remember"*. He was coming for the first day of the trip only. Returning the very day we arrived at Pondy. Anirudh had already left for Saudi Arabia. Anmol arrived 22nd and Anirudh arrived 26th. So the plan had to start on the 27th.

25th I find out Anmol isn't coming. Why? Dad not allowing. Why? He spent a lot for the Andaman-Nicobar trip. He apparently took the family scuba diving and all. Respect for his dad. But I still fail to understand why he wouldn't spare a little more and let the guy come with us to the damn trip. Anyway, F@!k Anmol. He'll never change. Neither will his father.

26th was a full day. Ankit has a little calculation attack and is convinced that our 5K per person budget wasn't enough for the 3-day trip. My whatsapp screen was full of his gory calculations. He murdered the teen spirit that day*youuuuuuu sonofabitch*. We finally told the guy to shut up and that if need be, we would sell his kidney for the right price. Yeah, we're a shitty lot.

Packing was an affair, it was! My mom made me shift from my wildcraft backpack to an american tourister travel bag. Mine was the biggest and he heaviest bag of all. Thankyou mom. You held my head high for me. Again*main reason for the trip*.