Janaki

I’ve got no snaps of my freaky outings with Janaki. It started with New Year's night, which was pretty low key in Bangalore thanks to the shootout at the IISc campus. As usual, most of the guys didn’t turn up and we two were the only blokes at a party on the outskirts of Yelahanka. Needless to say it wasn’t that fun anymore even after a few hours of getting completely drunk. Then on a spur, Janaki says, “Let’s go to Mysore”. So off we went on his 100 cc motorbike, in the middle of a cold night with a few warm clothes for comfort in the freezing cold . He drove almost 6 hours in the night with a dozing pillion rider, always at a steady speed with an occasional break for a hot cuppa or a smoke. Mysore was a good experience, with visits to the palaces and I managed to pick up a couple of really beautiful silk sarees from the Maharaja’s trademark collection for my Mom.

The second outing with him was also quite spur of the moment when I landed in Bangalore after a visit to Mumbai. There was a long weekend ahead with nothing planned. One phone call and Janaki lands up with a rented car and some cronies to head for Kabini. Not that we found any accommodation there, and the lake was covered in fog, but the drive through Nagarhole National Park in the early morning was quite an experience. There were packs of wild dogs (they're called dholes in the local lingo), and more wild fowl than I‘ve ever seen in my life. Not to mention, deer, but we narrowly missed sighting elephants. Then we headed for Cauvery fishing camp, where we spent some time fooling in the water.

Made for an altogether satisfying way to spend my weekend.