Chalte Chalte... Ahem...!

June 6th 2009 will be one of those days which I will look back on with a smile on my face. It’s one of those days I will remember on a day I’m feeling sad, or just when I want to recall a good time I spent at Drexel. It wasn’t a very drastically different day from a normal one, just that it was eventful, and I spent it with the people I consider special.

It being a Saturday, we obviously did not get out of bed till late in the morning. We had a play/walk date with a dog named Sammy at 1. So out marched Rosh, Arch and I to Kelly drive, where an impatient and (pretend) annoyed Greeshma was waiting with perhaps, the world’s friendliest dog, Sammy. When we were 10 metres away from them, she rang us and said don’t get too excited, or Sammy will snap his leash. And then, there he was! The friendliest dog I’ve ever met. He sniffed around all of us, getting to know us better in his way. He took to Arch like a fish to water, and it was love at first sniff. They couldn’t get enough of each other, and Sammy gave Arch her first smooch, well, he slobbered her with a huge kiss which spanned most of her face! We spent around an hour, just giving in to Sammy’s whims and walking him around the river bank. Then we dropped in at Greeshma’s place for a drink of water, and then returned home to get ready for the Pragathi Board dinner in the evening.

After a lot of getting ready, and people calling us to ask why we were not there yet, we finally made it to the Pragathi event. The event was good, and the food was wonderful, judging by the amount we stuffed ourselves with. The fun part of the event was the incessant clicking of pictures, though. Taking pictures is perhaps one of my favourite activities. It’s like I woke up one fine day and decided, oh what the heck, I don’t look that bad, let me take pictures! And that was the beginning of the whole ‘click’ phase, which I haven’t gotten over since. We took pictures everywhere possible, including the restroom, and in every imaginable pose we could think of.

While walking back home, we stopped at another place and clicked away, so much so that we filled up Rosh’s memory card, and had to switch to Greesy’s camera now. After clicking a whole bunch of pictures in a whole bunch of poses and locations, we finally got tired and decided to come back home. We had changed and just settled down with the intent of studying for the final, when Anup called and said he was bored, so can we please go for a walk? Not towards campus, maybe to Upenn, just for a half hour or so, to digest all the food we ate. We decided, well, we are full, so let’s go anyway. So off we marched, Arch, Anup, Rosh and I, walking with no destination or route in mind. We wanted to take pictures in front of the LOVE symbol in the Upenn campus. But there was just one problem there: The sprinklers were running. We tried going through without getting wet, but failed miserably at that. We were all but ready to give up, when we noticed that the sprinklers were slowly dwindling. So we promptly returned, and clicked away again. Once satisfied with the number and quality of the pictures, we meandered on to 40th Street, and walked into Ben & Jerry’s to eat ice cream. Well, the store keepers would have never had a more confused bunch of people in that store. The four of us took an eon to decide that we want Chocolate Therapy, and whether we want it in a cone or a cup. Well, three of us decided on chocolate waffle cone, while Anup decided on a cup. Rosh found the cone more edible than the ice cream while I favored the ice cream over the cone, so I ate her share of the ice cream as well, and the cone served to be my Statue of Liberty picture’s torch. Only Arch ate both cone and ice cream, and Anup scooped away at his three scoops with heretofore unseen determination. High and drunk on chocolate, the four of us went a little loony in the Upenn walk. We decided to take pictures on Ben Franklin’s lap while he sat in the park and read, also pose with the receiver of a payphone.

It was all good, till I had to visit a restroom. Unfortunately for me, the Penn campus is on a break, and no buildings were open, and there was no restroom in sight. Or a bush for that matter. Just kidding, I wouldn’t go behind a bush. Well, Anup being the sweet and helpful person he is did point to a Port-o-Potty on a construction site, but that was just way too icky to go to. We decided to finally walk back to Rosh’s place, all the while making jokes about Nature’s call, and trying to make me laugh while I was desperately in need of a loo. The second we reached home, I made a beeline for the restroom to get some peace of mind.

At long, long last, we decided that it was time to call it a day, or night. We did of course, stand outside our house and chat for some more time, and then decide to call it quits and head our ways. Well, this isn’t the most interesting or the best thing I’ll ever write, it’s not the most articulate entry or one that showcases that I can write. But this is just a record, for me, to remind me some day later in the future, of the fun I had this day. It’s just to tell me someday that I had some good days in my life, and this was one of them. To look back on this day when the going is not so good, that there will be days when I will go to bed with a smile on my face, glad for the friends and well-wishers in my life.

PS: This post dedicated to Roshni, Archana, Greeshma and Anup! :)

PPS: As mentioned by Arch, I forgot to dedicate this to him. So, here goes: This post is dedicated to the world's friendliest and kissiest dog, Sammy.