Gesco Boyz at Zostel Lonavala
The annual outing of the “techie boys’ group” is something we have been having regularly, starting with the first one in October 2012 over twelve years ago. This is an event which everyone dearly looks forward to with always the lurking fear that a work-related travel would crop up on around that very day; having said that, not much coaxing is required for the folks to join this annual weekend break. After every such meet we always wonder if we will ever have a better event the next time around, but Sunil and Laxman have been raising the bar continuously over the last decade or so and this time it was no different. The rendezvous selected this year was a quaint little place called Zostel plus right on the edge of Pawna Lake off Lonavala. The scenery when we first hit the cottages which are a part of the resort facility was breathtaking; normally such a scenery you don’t usually associate with Pawna Lake or maybe it was the heavy rains over the last few days which were part of the retreating monsoons that added that extra magic.
The group met as usual at our customary meeting place at MacDonalds at Kalamboli where a South Indian Fast food joint has sprung up next door since our last visit. By noon, the full group had assembled at the resort, and soon it was time for an afternoon round of songs and beer followed by a sumptuous buffet lunch. Soon, the more aged members of the group quietly vanished for an afternoon siesta whilst the rest worked on their afternoon plans for a bit of hiking in and around the resort and kayaking on the lake. Of course the senior brigade soon made for the loss of sea time by diving straight into the pool in the late evening with the setting sun for company!
One of the things we got to see this year was the flowering of the Karvi plant, which is a true marvel, with its vibrant purple hues gracing the hillsides only once every seven years, and this was one such lucky year for us. The karvi flower normally blooms between August and October, depending on the region and climate, and when it does, it's nothing short of magical. This year we were lucky to see this flower in full bloom in and around the Zostel premises.
For our evening performance we had some old old participants launching themselves as brand-new singers and their performances were truly memorable. Of course the old work horses for such singing sessions like Pranav Shah and Samir Sagvekar did not let us down. A birthday of an attending participant, Biswa Prakash Nayak was also celebrated in earnest along with the customary cake cutting ceremony.
We had to wind up this session early to listen to a live band which was playing that evening in the premises. The music band with Ankur Pathak on the vocals, Varun on the guitar and Abhishek on the drums/percussion really hit their groove with some rocking numbers and their performance through the evening was truly magical; in fact we refused to let them go and continued even after they had vacated the stage.
The next morning many of went for a nature trail whilst some who still had the energy went for another round of kayaking. After breakfast, it was time for the customary photo shoot session and unlike the last few outings there were no giant cameras that were being fished out and it was very evident that the mobile phone as the defacto camera was truly here to stay!
It was then time to say goodbye to all and head home on the ride back to Mumbai. We all had one thing on our mind when we reached home – when do we repeat this outing, and can we possibly raise the bar to the tempo of such events any further?
And finally, what’s a trip these days without an online album to savour the wonderful memories of the trip and for sure we have one for this trip at the web-link below:
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