It was already 11 30 in the night, a few minutes from midnight. The boulevard of the Promenade was deserted. 7 noisy boys, a scared girl and a few local guys and the cop leaning on the lamp post were all that were left. The sea was rough and rising at an alarming rate. Yet, the few people on the boulevard refused to leave.
There is a little 24 hour cafe on the boulevard. The place was like one an author would describe in a book. It was just the right size. It overlooked the beautiful ocean. It was painted white. It had a little terrace where we could sit and watch the ocean. And by God! It had the best coffee I've tasted(This maybe because I paid 90 bucks for one mug!). So, all of us walked in on my insisting. The place smelled absolutely heavenly. I've never had a cuppa coffee at that time of the night. I must say, it feels real good.
For the 7 of us, time wasn't nearly enough. We would have loved to stay on the beach doing nothing but walk around in the cold breeze and keep looking at the waters of the Arabian ocean attempt to tear apart the rocks of the Promenade beach. Oh. Correction. For the 6 of us. Anirudh apparently was itching to take the FZ for a spin on the 2km long boulevard. Understandable.
The boulevard is a concrete road, 2km long. It is super clean. And that no soul populated the place made it even better. We were in no mood to refute the guy, so he got his way. The bike was out and roaring down the road in no time. It was like a game of tennis. We all were standing on the sidewalk and watching Anirudh whizz past us; From left to right and back again.
Unable to let Anirudh belt the bike alone, I brought out my own FZ and Sid, the Honda Shine. All three of us hit the road and had a blast on the bikes. Later, from what the guys said, the leaning cop was amused by the three of us repeatedly tearing up and down the road!
After a while, I stopped near the gang because my hands were getting numb. As we contemplated getting back to the room, a cop car stopped next to us, and they asked us to go home because it was late. Problem solved. We got back to the rooms.
Now, it was time for the great Bluff marathon. We had to spend the night awake because we did not want to miss the sunrise at any cost. Bluff was the game we chose to get us through the night. Since Krit's room had the AC, and the largest space of the three rooms, we chose it as the venue.
Thus began the marathon of Bluff games! Each one of us had a trick or two up our sleeves, and brought them out at the right times to make the game interesting. Ankit was the best player among the lot. He was like a master torturer with the cards, putting down one card at a time and calling most bluffs. There were spoil sports like Krit and Akshay, super competitors like Anirudh and me and of course, the quiet bystander waiting for the chance to strike like Sid.
As the night progressed, it became that the A/C in the room was definitely broken. The temperature shot up, what with all the 'Agarbatti' lighting up in the room every now and then. The fact that there were no windows in the room and that there were 7 of us in there did not help at all. The heat was getting to me. Badly.
Then Anirudh opened the door and walked out for some fresh air. He immediately asked us to step out and see the difference. When I stepped out, I knew we had been beating ourselves up in the heat for nothing. The corridor of the hotel was ice cold. It was a bad idea to remain locked up in the room.
By the time we realized this, it was about 5 in the morning. We decided to take a break from the game as it was getting monotonous and ill tempered due to the heat. We all went back to our respective rooms to get fresh and leave before the sun rises. By 5 30, we had left the hotel and reached the beach in 5 minutes.
The sea had subsided a considerable level. It was a lot calmer than it was in the night. A light breeze was blowing towards the beach. It was still dark out. The street lights gave an eerie feel to the boulevard. We waited for a while and then called up Jaishree, Krit's sister who is currently doing her Ph.D in the USA.
We found out that the sunrise did not happen till 6 30. We had a good 45 minute wait till the sun would be up in the sky. So we settled down in the rocks, staring at the lightening sky, and debating what each of the clouds looked like. Sushanth and Akshay were sleepy as shit. Sushanth was almost dozing on my shoulder. Ankit was plaing with the handicam.
In all this, there was a moment for me. One of those you want to paint. One of those you know that will happen only a few times in your life. It was a moment of perfection. I had all that I wanted. My life was devoid of all worries. There was a peace inside that lasted only for a fraction of a second. And then, it disappeared. Just like that.
Now, it was time for the great Bluff marathon. We had to spend the night awake because we did not want to miss the sunrise at any cost. Bluff was the game we chose to get us through the night. Since Krit's room had the AC, and the largest space of the three rooms, we chose it as the venue.
Thus began the marathon of Bluff games! Each one of us had a trick or two up our sleeves, and brought them out at the right times to make the game interesting. Ankit was the best player among the lot. He was like a master torturer with the cards, putting down one card at a time and calling most bluffs. There were spoil sports like Krit and Akshay, super competitors like Anirudh and me and of course, the quiet bystander waiting for the chance to strike like Sid.
As the night progressed, it became that the A/C in the room was definitely broken. The temperature shot up, what with all the 'Agarbatti' lighting up in the room every now and then. The fact that there were no windows in the room and that there were 7 of us in there did not help at all. The heat was getting to me. Badly.
Then Anirudh opened the door and walked out for some fresh air. He immediately asked us to step out and see the difference. When I stepped out, I knew we had been beating ourselves up in the heat for nothing. The corridor of the hotel was ice cold. It was a bad idea to remain locked up in the room.
By the time we realized this, it was about 5 in the morning. We decided to take a break from the game as it was getting monotonous and ill tempered due to the heat. We all went back to our respective rooms to get fresh and leave before the sun rises. By 5 30, we had left the hotel and reached the beach in 5 minutes.
The sea had subsided a considerable level. It was a lot calmer than it was in the night. A light breeze was blowing towards the beach. It was still dark out. The street lights gave an eerie feel to the boulevard. We waited for a while and then called up Jaishree, Krit's sister who is currently doing her Ph.D in the USA.
We found out that the sunrise did not happen till 6 30. We had a good 45 minute wait till the sun would be up in the sky. So we settled down in the rocks, staring at the lightening sky, and debating what each of the clouds looked like. Sushanth and Akshay were sleepy as shit. Sushanth was almost dozing on my shoulder. Ankit was plaing with the handicam.
In all this, there was a moment for me. One of those you want to paint. One of those you know that will happen only a few times in your life. It was a moment of perfection. I had all that I wanted. My life was devoid of all worries. There was a peace inside that lasted only for a fraction of a second. And then, it disappeared. Just like that.
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