All along the journey, everyone comes home. The fascination of the trip is incomplete until shared with few near and dear ones. On 8th August 2009, after a period of year and most importantly after graduating as an MBA from a prestigious US university, that too in flying colors, Sagar landed in India. We friends along with the family welcomed him back to the motherland. All the wishes and the dreams seemed fulfilled in the eyes of his extremely proud parents. They are now looking forward to extending the family by adding a daughter-in-law in there gorgeous family-home. The circle is on its way of completion. As I write this, Sagar is on his return trip to US for completing his specialization.
Dhawal, who has recently joined an international engineering company at Aurangabad, managed to reschedule his dates to get maximum possible time along with Sagar. Me, Dhawal and Sagar has a chemistry of our own that makes possible however complicated equation on this earth. We three have a varying academic background. Dhawal is brilliant at figures. Sagar is sparkling at results and I dazzle with the co-ordination. Our intellect matches that bonds us together. We respect, we acknowledge, we sport, we laugh, we pun and we celebrate together. It’s not that there are no differences or week links. But we always empower each other with the positives. Never said in words, but always followed.
The next 20 days of Sagar’s in India had to be aptly divided amongst a very huge list of groups. The family deserved the maximum time. I had witnessed the inner pain of his mother and advised him to stay home for the most possible time. The relatives, the Accenture team, the Vikroli team, the Kaddu-Rupu-Teju team and the rest of us (MASK team) need to satisfy ourselves on whatever left. Moreover Sagar had to meet Sampada too, as he won’t be here to attend our marriage. Also, the revitalized relations with Sudhir had to be shared with Sagar.
Dhawal had a tailor made plan. On 14th we called Sampada to my house wherein the two were introduced to her. Although Sagar was friends with her on gTalk and Dhawal had talked to her on our engagement day, it was a moment of honor to meet in person. 
We shared the ‘tribute video’, viewed the engagement snaps, enjoyed a wonderful lunch prepared by my loving mother, had a great chat and later snapped by Amu in his mobile. It was heartening to see the entry of a girl in our team as smooth as I could have only imagined. Hat’s off to both of you. It is being great pleasure having you as friends. I savored the occasion by gifting red roses to each of them.
By fall of the evening Sagar congratulated Sampada and me for the upcoming journey of life. He wished us good luck as Sampada left to her residence. Later, three of us left towards Thane for enjoying a night of the lifetime. We three were invited by Sudhir for having a night-out in his beautiful apartment house. His lovely wife Sucheta and magnificent kid Paritosh welcomed us with arms wide open. Such a wonderful hospitality it was for three of us. On reaching Thane, we enjoyed Badminton at the court of his building. Sagar partnered me while Dhawal accompanied Sudhir. On paper it looked like a cake walk for me and Sagar. But as the saying goes “Lethal in his own backyard”, Sudhir demonstrated zeal of a youngster and blew us apart to a sensational victory. Cheers!
Meanwhile Sudhir’s Dad came back from his routine evening walk. We three bowed at his feet and seek the blessings. He was excited to see us after almost a decade. Over a quick wash we settled into Sudhir’s house. The party began with Sucheta baking ‘maythi bajiyas’ and exclusive garlic-chicken. The booze and fizzes of bottles engrossed us into a world of our own. We touched every possible topic and had a fruitful discussion with supportive proofs. The recent mayhem in our town of Virar, the life and style of the people in the US, the vacation spots around Aurangabad, the careers of each of us and the plenty of other thought food were discussed. Mr Raiker was happy to know about the other members of our old society. Sucheta chipped in too with her worthy comments while Paritosh sat aside with all eyes and all ears focused on us.
As the night grew, so did the mood. Sudhir, in his own class, made a pun out of a marathi serial and we enjoyed a deep laugh. The historic characters which includes Mevalal, Mul-padle, Baba aahet ka?, Sutesh, Yeh Suddssss, Watan etc. etc. was excavated from the memory stash. Sharing them at this juncture in our life was very heartening. One of the best things that can happen to a child is to have a happy childhood. With the grace of God and of our parents we indeed are the exemplars. The sleep overtook our senses unknowingly.
On 15th August we left Sudhir’s place at around 6:00 am. Sudhir and Sucheta took us to the temple of Lord Shanker. Later, they went back to Thane, while we came back home. Surprisingly I found two friends of Amu deeply in their sleep over my bed. They had begun celebrations of Amu’s birthday since last night itself. I didn’t bother much and switch on the TV. His highness, Mr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India was addressing the citizens of our country on the eve of its 62nd Independence Day. The speech covered the richness of our cultural history, the advancements in various sectors and the hope of a better future.
Later in the day Sudhir visited my place along with Sucheta and Paritosh. Although brief, it was pleasing to get a surprise visit of his. We visited Sagar’s and Dhawal’s residence and bid bye to Sudhir. The two eventful days of each of ours lives thus concluded.
A day earlier of Ganapati bappa’s arrival i.e. on 22nd August, Dhawal returned from Aurangabad. I took him to a very quiet and peaceful place in Virar. We witnessed a soul pleasing calmness and superb scenic beauty of a setting sun. At the fall of night we came back to Sagar’s place and went to the Talav with him. The next thirty minutes were high-level intellectual forum, beyond understanding of anyone except for us three. During night we played Carrom. It was Kailash, our mentor, who surprisingly joined us at Sagar’s place. We cherished a wonderful game of Carrom.
Next day the Ganapati Bappa took guard in the residence of Sagar. All the charm and the enthusiasm were observed on faces of each of the family member. Sharad and Meenakshi had specially arrived from Hyderabad to seek blessings alongside meeting Sagar. The special prayer of ‘AtharvaShirsya’ was chanted 11 times by Sagar’s mother. An ‘Aarti’ was sung post it which was concluded by ‘Mantrapushpanjali’. The family had arranged ‘Prasad’ for few close ones. I too was invited. The Prasad comprised of full fledge lunch, puran-poli (with ghee), modak, sweet kheer, panchamrut etc. etc. I was full to my throat and was barely able to talk. I escaped the scene in silence and enjoyed an afternoon nap.
By evening Sagar’s house was full with guest. Me and Dhawal visited the places of few others and came back. It was blessing in disguise to exchange few words with Sharad over a dinner plate. This guy is made up of some supernatural material. Despite being studious and having degrees from IIT-B and IIM-A, he has followed his heart and soul to become an entrepreneur making a difference in social wellbeing. Later we shared carom board too. As the team ganged up, we began ‘Maha-aarti’ chanting prayers at the top of our voices. Ravi, Rohit and Amol were the peak performers. Bidding bye we disintegrated.
Two days later I developed red rashes on my legs. The itching sensation over them was unbearable. I could hardly ground my feet. I somehow managed to attend office on Wednesday. But by the dawn on Thursday, the infection was spread over to hands and ears. The burning was excruciating. The rashes were replaced by the thick layer of red skin on hands and legs. The ears were swollen and the eyes were red. The experience was novel and I had no clue as to what had happened. I found out it to be an acidic reaction for excessive consumption of sweet and sour delicacies. The lack of sleep has exaggerated the pain. I have to miss the office on Thusrday. Seeing my agony the home maid brought Neem leaves to apply its juice upon the infected skin. My mother grinds those leaves and applied the paste all over the body. She also dripped the Neem juice over my hair. I found this kind of natural remedy fresh and innovative. I dared to taste the Neem leaves and split it the next moment for the extreme bitterness. The maid provided valuable information about the Neem leaves and the various advantages of using them more often. Leaf or bark is considered an effective pittha pacifier due to its bitter taste. Hence, it is traditionally recommended during early summer in Ayurveda (that is, month of Chaitra as per the Hindu Calendar which usually falls in the month of March - April), and during Gudi Padva which is the New Year in the state of Maharashtra, we find an ancient practice of drinking a small quantity of neem juice or paste on that day before starting festivities. Like many Hindu festivals and their association with some food to avoid negative side-effects of that season or season change, neem juice is associated with Gudi Padva to remind people of using it during that particular month or season to pacify summer pitta. Also I have drunk litres of Amla and Kokum juice to negate the effect.
Later I plan to shave. These days I postpone the activity for three to four days and wait till it bushes over my check. For some mystic reason I pulled out Vicco Shaving foam that came along as complimentary with the Turmeric tube. And to my astonishment, I found it more soothing and calming then the costlier foreign brands. The spread of foam was thick and fast. The aroma was stress relieving. And the shave was fantastic and clear. Alike the Turmeric tube I am now in love with the shaving foam too. The value and importance of domestic product is far less then the immensely advertised foreign goods. But I can say it with experience that the benefits are exactly converse.
Now it was time to bathe myself। Mother had prepared an herbal water solution which had Neem leaves in it. The boiled water had a greenish look and the smell of leaves sanitized the air. This time around I locked my lips tight preventing the inlet of the bitter herbal water. The Neem juice in my hair proved to be a perfect shampoo as the hairs regained its shine, softness and luster. All in all it was a rich experience of an assortment of natural beauties. The adversity of acidic reaction over my body caused me to unearth the mysteries of nature. The nature had a date with me. It has wide-opened another closet. Care for the body and nature.
