The long weekend towards the end of Jan saw me head out with friends to Satara. Now to a Mumbaikar, Satara doesnt exactly sound half as exciting like say a Lonavala or Alibag…its much farther out in the hinterland, conjures images of a sleepy rural town, is never a part of the ‘WTF..you havent been there?!’ types casual conversation…bottomline – perception is much stronger than reality and almost everyone we asked whether you would like to join politely declined and basically conveyed that they had better things to do with 3 full days of their lives. The effect of this was so strong, that I myself who had floated the idea of going there, started getting a bad feeling about the whole thing. I love travelling and there is nothing more exciting than exploring a new place…but even one day prior to our departure there was no such feeling…it was almost like lets go there and get done with it types attitude. Even on the morning that we left, I was hoping that it would be good…not so much for me as for my dear friends who had agreed to go there on my recommendation…
As it turns out Ladies & Gentlemen, when you really want something from the heart, the Universe has its own way to make you feel special…the two evenings that we spent around that place were absolutely divine..reaching at the Kaas lake in perfect time to see the colour of the sky changing magically in the serenity of the lake…and then at the breezy Panchgani tabletop to see a star studded crystal clear sky and shooting stars…i have a strange feeling that those were sights that the Universe had specially orchestrated for us..the sunset could have been ordinary, the skies could have been cloudy, the lake might have been crowded…but no, nothing of that sort happened…it was ONLY US at the lake and at the tabletop when we experienced divinity….and it was perfect!
And of course, the days werent any less super…we got a taste of rural India like never before…sitting on tractors and bullock carts…plucking tomatoes and uprooting turmeric…venturing into 10 feet high sugarcane fields…have authentic maharashtrian food and ‘gavran’ chicken…it was an experience like nowhere in the world!
Those were 3 superbly beautiful & unforgettable days…Long Live the Universe! 
