Camping Into The Moments

The most predictable rudimentary part of our lives is the routine and it is best to break it. While you curse the Mondays and office work piling up, you head into the mid-week crisis. It was getting too drab until, we called on a weekend even before the middle of the week. T for Tripping Tuesdays, carried a small bag-pack and we headed to a campsite. Situated off Lonavla, just away from the base of Tikona fort, lies the site called Rusticville. A barren patch, housing several tents with valley as a frontal view and Tikona fort in the background.

Like any group plan, we didn’t abide to a punctual schedule but then what’s the point if you do things sticking to a plan at all times? That’s where the unpredictability card plays in. You’ve reached the destination but still not reached there. So we halted at a point where stream flowed. The evening time offered a silhouette of a calm painting being displayed and we as characters immersed in the foreground. Splashing water, striking a pose, laughing out loud, the day was going on for the better.

A campfire is a vital element of any camping. Filling our stomachs with well-cooked food, we sat around the warmth of fire, discussing lives. Everyone’s face had the orange glow and as each one put forth their stories there spread smiles and of course warmth. Doing what youngsters do, drinking, dancing, singing to going into the somber mood of discussing the platonic relationships phase, the night turned dark. From being sophisticated to turning hooligans around the campfire, hooting like nomads, enjoying the drum beats, and pretending to be no less than animals. The ghost stories turned scarier as the wood burned fast.

We were surrounded by nature’s beauty, up above the skies lit up while stars blinked. Just lying along with your friends observing the careful placement of the tiniest shining rocks, thoughts swayed. Of course there were jokes and gags but the best part was saying things to make each other a part of the wider group. Honestly, it was a new group I’d been with, but within no time I was a part of their family. To be included in a perfectly hosted family themselves, there were no inhibitions to showcase.

Awaiting the sunset next morning, we went off to sleep. The day turned in quick. Rusticville has this beautiful space where childhood reliving is obvious, apart from the beautiful camping experience. Not every day do you get up to play badminton, volleyball, dodge ball, all in one place! Playing a bit of everything, the child within lived in nostalgia. Just run and chase or a ‘time-please,’ a term we had not heard long enough. The sudden realization of we running behind time, can we take a time-please from this hectic schedule? Please?

Every journey, long or short has its stories to tell, the span doesn’t matter the moments do. Be it swag dancing in the car or sitting in middle of the road to click pictures, the moments were lived. Phirrrrr!

Isn't that what living life is all about? Becoming a part of families from covering one destination to another.

Familial connections!