Manifested, Planned, Destined ~Part 3~

MY  WORLD..........

Manifested, Planned, Destined

Part 3

   The serenity, calmness, silence (not eerie) and cool atmosphere made the stay beautiful. Our room was parallel to where Prabhakaran had parked the car. We said bye to prabhakaran and appreciated the place. It was pitch dark, except the light glowing in our room. The room was kept ready and cleaned well by Anita (Anu Aunty) and her husband, Subhash. We entered the room. It had a lantern in the corridor at the entrance.  The room was totally made of wood and bricks. The table and beds were piled at the base with bricks and layered with wooden plies. The beds were loaded with heavy blankets. We did not have a sit out but 2 wooden sofas. Our room had three windows. One opened up to the cage where a pair of turkeys, a couple of hens and a few black and white rabbits. One opened up to the sit out made near the tea gardens. The last was the best and gave a view of the vast tea gardens, the salad garden which had pigeons in it, the lamb rock view point, at a huge distance the Coimbatore city and Aerodrome. The lights of the city sparkled and made the view even more wonderful. The vast tea gardens spread over the whole mountain. The jungle we left behind us was pitch dark. And there were no fans. Fans were not needed, yet it was unbelievable for us Mumbaikars to see no fans in the room.

     And the time? Oh! We had not known the time; we were mesmerized with the beauty of the place. We guessed the time. Seeing the darkness, I said 8:30, Mom guessed 8:00, dad said 9:30. And the time was just half past six. We were shocked. We confirmed the time with all our mobiles. Yes, it was dark. Yes, it was silent. Yes, it was the same as 4am in Mumbai, but it was only half past six.

 At quarter to eight, we got down to sit by the tea gardens. It was chilling cold and we all had our sweaters on. There was a huge dilemma, of whether we are going to Ooty or not the next day. However, coming to south and not visiting Ooty wouldn't be a very nice idea.We dropped the argument and sat in the sit out, enjoying the scenic pleasure nature had to offer us.

  Nature got the best of us , and we, too, got the best of nature.

          At eight, we were served lovely carrot soup at our sit out. The carrot had mixed beautifully and gave a wonderful taste. It was a much needed appetizer. The soup also warmed up our bodies, and tremendously helped us to bear the cold. At eight thirty we were ready to have dinner.

         It was a complete buffet. There was a lot of variety. Salad. All the vegetables, leaves and herbs were from the salad garden. The salad was blended with white mayo. Then, there was cauliflower. Rasam and rice was the item I loved and enjoyed the most. I licked the rasam off my plate. Then there was chicken curry. It tasted wonderful with the rotis. All items said and done (and eaten), the dessert was the show stopper. It was a brownie served in a small bowl. Cream, blended with orange peel, kiwi and guava was the topping. We were first told by Anu aunty that it was beetroot, however, Mr.Christopher, the cook told us what the delicious delicacy was made of. I tried out the dessert once more. I tasted it very carefully this time. First, the orange peel touched my lips. Next, the cake melted with the cream and kiwi in my mouth. The guava, somehow, came nowhere.

       The dining area was the coziest, cutest and warmest dining room I had ever seen. It had three tables. A four seater, one six seater and the third ten seater. The dining area was snuggled into the last corner of the property. It had dim amber lights, giving it a warm and comforting look. The buffet was well aligned on a long wooden table. Opposite to it was the dessert table. For younger children, Anu aunty happily served. And you always would want to go there again and again, because the room was beautiful and the food was delicious.

          That night it rained cats and dogs. The lights went out. We had no choice but to sleep. And suddenly, someone knocked hard on the door. Who was at the door at this hour? We opened it. Subhash uncle had come to give us an LED torch light. We gave a great sigh of relief. The rain drops fell on the roof, scaring us tremendously.I strongly feel Mr.Charles should have electricity backup as it is highly inconvenient. An intercom system should also be there as calling from the window for anything and everything is not very convenient. I silently slept, with a smile on my face and happiness and pleasure in my heart. 
Manifested, Planned, Destined continues in ~Part 4~
to read from the beginning, click> ~Part 1~

                                                                             by Shahen Pardiwala

©Shahen Pardiwala. All Rights Reserved.