Unsung Melodies

I am someone who loves to document every bit of my travel stories and life incidents. But sometimes, many events remain undocumented, only because of being so engrossed in that moment or having much fun, that there was no reminder for grabbing the camera to capture them. Such times become memories that we actually never forget. They are the unsung melodies of our life!

This rainy season, we took a road trip to Sakleshpur from Bengaluru. Kris and he boys were with the cousins in their uncle’s big car, because they wanted to play road trip games and listen to their favorite tracks. In my sister’s car, it was just me, my sister and my father… Well, in hindsight, actually there was another unseen member traveling with us…my mother’s memories!

It was so natural for us to start listening to old Hindi film songs and some old Marathi “mood songs” from the 70s and 80s . One by one, they kept playing in a rhythm, unfolding one memory after the other… My mother used to listen to these songs while doing her chores. We used to do our annual Diwali cleaning and the same songs would play on an audio tape — side A for one film and side B for another! My father always has many interesting stories to tell about each film song , its music director, lyricist and the singers. His knowledge about movies is outstanding. As my sister drove, I was juggling between being a navigator and playing the songs. Baba was actually the RJ, giving us some trivia with every musical note! Honestly, the journey of about five hours through a hide-n-seek of rain and sun just went by in no time! It was almost like our mother was right there with us, letting us know which song she wanted to hear next..

That weekend, at Mugilu, a homestay in Sakleshpur, the rain never stopped! We had three cottages, separated by a narrow pathway full of wet leaves, ferns, leeches, tall trees swaying in the wind and constant rain! Reaching from one cottage to the other was an adventure in itself! There were four Indie dogs that selflessly kept showing us the way!

On one such drenched evening, the weather called for staying indoors with music, scotch on the rocks and playing cards! This homestay is designed for a screen -free holiday. There were no TVs. The kids were sitting in the balcony, looking at the dance of the tall spice plantations with peppercorns and bay leaves, playing some quizzes and eating onion fritters, noodles and nuts. The grown-ups, on the other hand, got engrossed in many-a- game of poker! Turns out that Baba is actually very good at it! He taught my newly-turned-fourteen son how to play poker. We used UNO cards as fake money and went on with our games as the frivolous windy evening melted into a night spiked with insect buzz! This has been my best unphotographed memory of the trip so far! We just lost the count of time. The dogs came to call us for an extraordinary country style dinner, served at the rain-deck, a five minute walk through the twisty rainy plantations! Of course, the hill treks with cows, muddy streams, leech attacks and strange insect bites also contributed to the ambience. Just that continuous hum of the rain, flavored with old Hindi film songs playing in the background, the humble meals and the most memorable family time was what made this weekend getaway so special!

In the earlier week in Pune, when I met my girls gang from school, the “Gol Gappa Gals”, we spent almost the entire night playing endless laughter-filled games of Pictionary with our unique combination of rosado wine and spicy banana chips! After a laid-back evening swim followed by a giggles-n-gossip stroll by the rolling greens, we spotted a dancing peacock surrounded by four peahens! Again, very special memories undocumented in pictures!

Each time, moistening my lashes, these unsung melodies still continue to play in my mind long after returning to the desert…