The last day!!!!

A hectic month in the office. Chennai scorching more than ever. Sleep deprivation. Nothing much to write home about. Amidst all this , somewhere down the line, i hit "Z" on my keyboard and it appeared in the browser adress box. Purely unintentional. And then something happened, a really trivial thing on a normal day,. but not today. the toolbar prompts http;\\Zimblyboring.blogspot.com...
with work taking up my mind space and orkut taking up my freetime, my lil blog had slowly started gathering moss in some god forsaken place in some google server somewhere. I look back on the posts that i had written so sincerely and it all came flooding back. The Pondy trip and the way i had left it hanging in the balance. come to think of it, i really had a lot to write home about, but then anything new would require closure to the past and so here goes the final chapter in the Pondy saga.
I still remember clearly the glaring light that shone through the window, but me blinking in the bed wondering why i was still feeling cold. I gather myself and the chores pass of in a haze. the climb down to the reception quickly brings me back to my senses. We check out of the hotel and on our way ask for the restaurant, only to be shown to a hole in the wall behind the reception. Nevertheless, we settle down and ask for the menu. Everyone really hungry now. Time 10.00 - and i was thinking "so much for sunrises". We open the menu only to be greeted by illustrious names like "Black label", "Johny Walker" etc etc..NAh!!not the time ..not the place.
Out on the road, under the glaring sun, on empty stomach. we ride around for a while before stumbling upon a eatery. As the ad goes "Thodi si pet pooja..kahin bhi kabhi bhi". Breakfast done. i chart the route for the day. Nothing too demanding, a trip to the Chunnambar river on the cuddalore road. With me playing navigator, it is not long before we find out that we have overshot the resort by a good kilometer. Beating a quick retreat, we locate the resort.
And to say the truth, the first impression was not good. A shack made from concrete, a ticket counter for a boat ride and a boat that could seat 10 maybe?? now that we had come this far, we only had one option - take the boat ride. the "leisure" boat was packed with ppl like a PTC bus in chennai, the water too close to the edge of the boat for comfort. But the sight of a man standing in water that was neck deep right in the middle of the river was comforting. A silent sweaty ride later we arrive at an island. Cut of on the sides by branches of the river and the sea forming the beach. Something out of a picture postcard. We wanted to dive in, but then logistics and the thought of the ride back to chennai held us back. A gentle stroll through the beach, and a few refreshing sights and some blind point-and-shoot snaps later we slowly made our way back to the boat. only to see that there was none. It sank in slowly that a boat doesnt wait for ever we had to wait for the next "trip". Too dazed to keep track of time, the only thing that was crystal clear was the growing rumbling from within. A sleepy boat ride back and a quick ride to pondy we were just in time to get in to "Rendezvous" before they downed shutters for the noon. A not so relaxed lunch later. We began the agonising journey back home. Time 4.00
Next stop alambra fort. A breezy 40 kms from pondy. this was for me one of the highlights of the drive. The fort as such is non existent. All that remains are whatever that nature and man have deemed fit for nothing. The fort was one of Tipu's strongholds..or so said the rusted plaque near the fort. The britishers had part destroyed it and whatever was left was taken by time. and the killer blow came from the tsunami. A few enterprising villagers swarmed with some fresh toddy and a boat ride on the sea. The fading light forcing us to decline. It was already 6.00 and we were not even half way thru.
I switch places and get my shot at the road. Immediately flooring it, i start riding like there is no morrow. i realised that i was going berserk and i did not care. the dusk brought with it, an irritating amount of flies, which seemd to have this knack of getting into my eyes thru the helmet. And the glaring headlights did not help either. I watch painfully as the traffic increases as we reach mahabalipuram and the the kms go down. The final halt at the road side inn. A quick bite later, we join the long caravan of vehicles making a beeline to the city. I sink into my own thoughts. and anil into his. This time at the thought of the city. And as the city lights grow bigger and brighter all i can do is take a deep breath and sigh!!!!