Yesterday was a big day for us in NCST. No, it was not some examination or even a company that had come to recruit us. No, it was not an MGPT. So, what else can be big, on the austere campus of NCST??? Well, it was a picnic. Yes, we at NCST headed to a picnic at Bordi, a beach on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. I was a five hour bus journey to the spot. We left here at six and reached there at about 11. The waters looked inviting and the people were more than charged up for a full day of fun, however I was not exactly in the best of spirits. Moody person that I am, mood swings are something that are not new to me. I had just spoken to a friend in Bangalore, one that I have set my heart upon. I was pleasantly surprised when she called, as her calls are very few and far between.

I had observed that most of our conversations had been initiated by myself and so thought it prudent to hold myself back, and as a result, it had been more than a month since we had spoken, but apparently, it was just a clarification of some sort that she wanted, something that was as personal to me as Bush’s eligibility for another term as president. I gave her the information that she wanted and hung up feeling blue. My friends couldn’t wait to get into their beachwear and hit the inviting waters, but my mind was elsewhere.

The water, I found was pretty shallow, so I waded in, fully clothed, and started to take a couple of snaps and video clips on my mobile phone. The peace of the place was beautiful and it relaxed me totally. I handed over my phone, wallet and watch to a friend and proceeded to jump in the water. I ought to have handed over my gold ring too, a mistake which proved to be very costly as I lost it in moments, when I was playing water volleyball. The party ended for me as I was desperately trying to hunt it down, but the water was not clear and I suspect that it must have been inadvertently kicked aside or driven deep into the soft soil underneath. Whatever it was, it was lost and I was shattered. My friends consoled/chided me alternately, but I was clearly too sad. After prolonged searching, the hunt was given up. I came out, bathed and ate lunch, halfheartedly.

After lunch, I put my loss behind and spent time with friends, cracking jokes and having a good time. I even sang a couple of Kannada songs (my mother tongue). We left Bordi at about 6 PM and made the trip back to NCST in good time, singing songs, playing Antakshari and Dumb Charades for almost the entire way. It was only towards the end of the trip that a couple of friends fell asleep, out of sheer exhaustion. Packed lunches were awaiting us, which we devoured hungrily and dispersed. It was a nice picnic, but it could have been so much better, if only I had displayed some more common sense, but then, ifs and buts are really nonsense. On a happy note, the photographs that I took look great and the video clips too make for good viewing!