A Day with the Odds...

               Last weekend I was at a wedding with my dad and we were killing time between the Wedding and Reception. He realized that he saw a decent vegetable market on the way but doesn’t recollect where it was. So, we asked the Security person at the venue Bhaiya Vegetable market kahan hai? (Where is the Vegetable market?). And he responded Sidha jao aur signal se Right lena (Go straight up to the junction and take a Right) but his hand gesture suggested the opposite. Dad got confused and it just made me laugh as it reminded me of the day when we had one crazy time with the Odds. I told dad he meant Left as the words that come out of mouth could go wrong, but the body language is always in the right direction. We reached the junction and took a Left. The market was right there as the hand suggested. We got our stuff and, on our way back, dad asked what made you laugh. I told dad about that crazy day as it was one fun instance to recollect.

               It was the monsoon of 2015 when I and my wife decided to go for a trek nearby. What we were looking for was a simple trek since my wife was new to this. We narrowed down on Mahuli Fort trek at Asangaon. The view from this range is beautiful and the monsoon adds its charming beauty which is surreal. So, we decided to go with a famous trekking group from Mumbai and had decided to catch up with them at Thane railway station. We had to reach Thane sometime by 6.30 in the morning since the train to Asangaon was scheduled at that time and the next train was sometime around 7.45-8.00 AM. We got up late and instead of catching a train to Thane, we decided to ride till Thane station from Navi Mumbai. We quickly jumped on our ride and were off to station. Luckily there was no rain in the early hour that day. We reached the station on time around 6.15AM. However, the parking guy took a lot of our time and few remaining minutes we had, we had to buy the train ticket and cross the foot over bridge from platform no. 1 to 4. Alas, we missed the train while we were about to descend towards platform no. 4. We called up the group leader to ask if we have any alternate option or may be some other train. He suggested to look for a train that goes towards Kalyan junction and then catch another train from Kalyan towards Asangaon. By the time we had this discussion, it was already time for the Kalyan bound train to leave from platform no. 1. We quickly ran back towards platform no. 1 to catch up and missed that train too. Missing 2 trains back to back, we jumped on another call if we do have any more choice. And the group leader asked to check for another train towards Asangaon however, that’s not a regular suburban train. This was some intercity type train which required prior booking and General class was a big No No. We still took our chance and thought of trying out that train. Not to be surprised that train was scheduled on platform no. 4. We hushed towards the platform pulling our bags rolling from side to side. This time we reached before the train arrived however, looking at the crowd we barely had any hope of getting in that train. I might have taken my chance if I were alone but not with my wife. We gave up as the start of the day was already so disappointing and called up the group leader to proceed without us.

               Tired with the juggling between platforms on an empty stomach amidst the peak hour crowd had already taken a toll with absolutely no hope of doing a trek just killed our mood. We went back to platform no. 1 thinking of an alternate plan. My wife was very much excited for the trek since it was all new for her. So, we sat on a bench donning our thinking hats and the only other option I could come up was a bike ride till Malshej or Igatpuri and back by evening. I was looking at a practical option since reaching any other trekking spot would take time and starting a trek this late would barely give us time to relax on top and would need to rush back down before the light fades away for the day. By the time we discussed this, it was already 7.45AM or so and there was a train to Asangaon right in front of us. So, I told my wife lets catch this train and will try a trek on our own since that is the only trekking option. Women you know, now her mind changed, and she didn’t want to go for a trek to Mahuli. I kept pleading her and when the train was about to start, she quickly ran off in the train. I fumbled for a second thinking what just happened all of a sudden!! I quickly grabbed our bags and jumped in the train. She is one crazy women. We finally had a laugh and went on to a happy day ahead.

               After more than an hour, we reached Asangaon and took a share rick to Mahuli fort base village. We even made a deal with the rick guy to be here in the evening around 5PM to take us back to the station. He agreed and we exchanged our phone numbers. We then quickly grabbed a bite of whatever was available there. One would primarily find either Poha or Vada pav in the interiors of Maharashtra. While we were having it, we noticed the group who was still gathering and having an intro among themselves. To our surprise, it was the same trekking group that we were supposed to join. Looked like they would still take time to start. Without wasting anytime, we moved ahead of them and started on the trail. There were couple other small group of friends on the same trail. The trail could easily be managed, and we enjoyed our good time on the way clicking pictures and munching on quick grabs we had for the day. We reached the top of the fort even before the group did and enjoyed our lunch in a cool breeze. By the time they reached it was almost 2PM and we were ready to descend. We took a head start since it was about to rain, and we had to be at the base before 5PM. However, the weather was at odds too and playing sun and shade with us. We reached the base village well before 5PM and grabbed some quick bite before we head to the station. We waited and the rick guy never came back. So, we started looking out for other options and made a deal with the vendor who agreed to drop us in his rick.

               Surprisingly, the owner sent a kid to drop us at station. Halfway through the engine cranked off as there was no fuel left. It was almost getting dark and in the middle of nowhere, we desperately wanted to get to the station coz if we miss this train, the next one was after an hour at-least. We asked him to call up the owner or a friend for help. He made a few calls and finally someone was on his way with the fuel. When the person reached, he came along with his friends thinking this guy needed help instead of getting fuel. We smelled foul play here and pressed him to get us to the station ASAP. So, his friends waited near the rick and we were off to the station on a bike. Yes, a triple seat with the kid riding, followed by me and then my wife with the bag. Just before the station, even the bike’s fuel got over and we were stuck a few min walk from the station. The kid and his friends being gracious, we gave some extra money for helping us and we were off to catching the train just like we did in the morning. Jumping another band wagon, we got in and were laughing off as to how crazy a day could get than this.

               We relaxed and took a power nap on our way back. We got down at Thane and it was raining cats and dogs. We waited a while for the rain to slow down and got our bike. Since we had barely eaten anything since morning, we were in a mood to sooth our souls with some Pizzzzaaaaa!! We took off finding a Pizza outlet and asked a guy where the nearby Domino’s outlet is? He said go straight and take a right with his hand gesturing towards left. We went on and took a right and kept on looking for it with no avail. It was raining and were trying to think back on what the guy said. And suddenly it hit us that his hand was gesturing towards left. So, we trailed back and took a left turn and the Domino’s outlet was right there. We sighed a relief and quickly went on to order our meal. Just then we realized the guy whom we asked for direction was himself hogging onto a Pizza right in front of us. From that day on, I always focus on a person’s body language. It never lies!! What a crazy day it has been. From switching stations to trekking ourselves (read it as my wife’s debut trek) and riding on a couple reserved tanks and misdirection’s galore. We had a sumptuous meal and were riding back home with a day full of memories to behold.