Technicolour Dreams - II

It was pitch black by the time we reached our camp site, as soon as we stepped out of the comfort of our car, there were flies and mosquitoes buzzing all over us. The sound of crickets, the hooting of the owls and with the shadow of the night falling on us, we felt being watched all the way. Just then we heard the rattling of a rattle snake, that was the last straw, we dropped our bags right there and ran towards the camp. Our driver, John just burst out laughing, he was like, 'After kangaroos, rattle snakes are the most common thing on this continent, so better get used to it!!' Aanya was not pleased by his attitude, she said to me, "Let him come to India and I’ll make him sleep with King cobras and then let’s see who’s laughing!!"

The camp site was more of a secluded spot in the woods, the only notable difference was that there was a huge bonfire right in the centre and there were others like us who had arrived just before us. Our friendly neighborhood driver introduced us. There was a young German couple, two super hunks from the US and a lone girl from Sweden.

Sometimes I wonder why Indians don’t ever have the courage to just go backpacking on their own. What really stops us? Why can’t we just take a break from work for one complete year and just go explore the world and do what we want. I ask Aanya the same thing, and according to her it’s more to do with our culture and responsibility towards the family and how we like to save each penny for a rainy day.

And just in the middle of that discussion Aanya pops out, "I think I have a teeny weenie crush on the white guy".

I had to somehow control my emotions and not show it to her that it really bothered me and it meant anything to me.

I spoke like a typical macho guy, "You want me to head over there and ask him out for you??"

Aanya now all blushing "Don be mad, I was just kidding and wanted to see your reaction"

I was like "WTF, why would you do that?"

Aanya "Just for fun, leave it"

What with these women, when they say it’s the end, that means it’s the END, if you say anything after that, it will only start a new fight or you will labeled as pushy, So I just put my tail between my legs and just let go of that topic.

Our hosts had provided us with our individual tents and there were arrangements made where we could just freshen ourselves by the campsite. The mood was festive in the camp and our hosts had arranged for a small revelry with barbequed lamb and wine flowing freely. After dinner we just sat there eating melted marshmallows by the bonfire and it was so magical to have Aanya by my side at that precise instant. I could just go on looking at her forever if I was given the opportunity but I had to settle for stealing some sideways glances. .

(To be continued...)

Technicolour Dreams

I met Aanya in my dreams and she is a wildlife photographer, she is so passionate about the animal kingdom that she wouldn’t hurt a cockroach, let alone kill them. The story begins with one such adventure, where I had the fortune of assisting her on one of her wild back campaigns in the land down under. Aanya had received an invite from Steve Irwin himself to document the great outback.

As we arrived at Adelaide airport I could sense the nervousness in Aanya's eyes to be able to meet the great man himself. We stepped out of the airport and the breeze literally hit us like a breath of fresh air. It was so humid that my glasses became foggy due to the temperature difference inside and outside of the airport, that sure made Aanya chuckle like a little girl.

Our hosts had made arrangements for us to be taken to the great outback straight away. We were taken to Wyandra, which was an 8 hour ride from the airport. As soon as we stepped outside of Adelaide city the landscape turned from concrete to the great opens. You could see the red soil as long as your eyes could travel; the road felt like God himself created a great divide across the desert in form of a two lane road which was magnificent in its own way. Even though we were tired from the long flight, we couldn’t stop admiring the beauty that was so full in our face. Aanya's shutterbug instincts kicked into action, she clicked anything and everything that came in front of us.

4 hours into the journey and I could sense Aanya was truly exhausted, so I tell the driver to pull over so that at least we can stretch our legs. Picture this: The sun was almost setting, the sky had turned into a lovely hue of orange, birds in flocks flying back to their homes, the afternoon breeze was still humid and hot and just then we spot our first kangaroo. Aanya just stopped breathing, It was a sight to behold; this one had a small baby tucked in its front pocket. The driver looking at us said "Mate, you’ll see so many kangaroos from now on, that you’ll be sick of seeing them". Aanya just gave him a dirty stare and went bonkers clicking; her weariness vanished in a vapor.

We were on the road again, it was dark by now and it was both scary and thrilling to cross that wild outback on our own. This was the moment we thanked our hosts that they sent an experienced driver by our side but somehow even that failed to pacify Aanya. The way she held my hand, I could sense that this experience was making her jittery; though we were good friends this new found intimacy had profound implications on me. I mean who would not fall in love with a human being who was so passionate about nature, wildlife and her work and to top that she looked so pretty and attractive in her jumper suit that she specially bought for this trip which made it very hard to resist.

(To be continued...)

P.S: I am penning this down as a series of adventures that appeared in my dream as is.