GYPSY RIDERS

This story is dedicated to my friend Akanksha without whose advice I wouldn't have even tried this realm again. I had tried my hand in romancing nature in the past, but this is really different and i felt a tad eeroe whe I wrote this one. Thanks to my friend Akanksha once again.



GYPSY RIDERS

The engines roared, the choppers set off for another day. The Gypsy Riders – Johnny ‘Big’, Joey ‘Fat’, Mikey ‘Tall’ and Roger ‘Lean’ set off on their journey covering all the locations in our country spreading their motto
“ Let love be the Juggler, entertaining your life!”
Their flags wavered to the breeze the choppers extracted. The motors raced towards the State of beach life – Goa, the mother of all romantic locations in India.

*****************

A new bond was born as “Love after Marriage” was the shibboleth in many homes here. The couple climbed the train hand-in-hand showing the world that there’s no force that could break this beautiful bond which always proliferated our race. The train roared like a hungry lion on prowl as it embarked on its journey. Relatives wade their hands saying “Have a nice trip!” as the couple screamed “Thank you”. Such scenarios were quotidian in every train station and so was it at Mumbai CST that night.

“What are your berth numbers, Sir?” asked a fellow passenger.
“ seven,” replied the man.
“ Newly wed?” investigated a lady who happened to be the neighbour’s wife.
“ Yeah!” replied the man’s wife.
“ Wish you a Happy married life!” the neighboring couple blessed as the newly-weds thanked them.

The ticket- collector came and checked their seats. “ Is there a chance the other seat gets confirmed?” the man requested.
“ No chances, sir,” the ticket-collector replied.

This journey would serve as a great platform for this new couples to know each other. They had met only twice before their marriage. Once, when they had a formal meeting ceremony and the other time it was at engagement. The third time they had been tied to the world of marital bond.

The coupled felt crowded with all eyes set on them and so, they reached out for the door, to enjoy the winter breeze which was pleasant. As usual, the winters were warm during days and cool during nights and the train was on an ascending mode and hence the breeze turned cooler by minute.
“ It feels very weird,” said the lady breaking the silence.
“ Yeah! We have just met twice before and now we are together for life,” retorted her better half.

They were enjoying the twilight trance, the lady looked like a stellar constellation shining beautifully like another cosmic coruscation. He kissed her on her lips, the whole train was fast asleep then. The darkness was masked by the moon who donned his full avatar for that night. In intervals arrived those beautiful tunnels that defined the darkest of darkness as the train passed like a shuttle cruising through the space, it was like a star-lit odyssey. Through the Western Ghats the train traversed where the stars appeared like beautiful sparks on a celestial canvas.

The chilliness in breeze was inevitable, the whole bogie was dark with people dropping off into their daily slumber. Children had been cajoled to sleep and silence was written everywhere. The couple settled on their single berth. He placed his hand over her shoulder as they looked at our satellite who shone like it was his day of the year, over the hills. Through the relections from the lake they enjoyed the moonlight. Words have become numb as they communicated with their eyes,

“This world is far more beautiful than we assume, isn’t it?” Interrupted the man breaking hours of silence. “Yes! Dear,” replied his wife “ We just live in a busy world where we have no time for ourselves, where materialistic needs are above anything else.”

“You are right! Honey,” continued her husband “That’s why we have these Honeymoon concept, we can go away from our busy world and calm ourselves down through enjoying the nature.”

The conversation went on for couple of hours as they had rewinded their brains narrating incidents that had occurred since their childhood till recent day, with each of them taking turns. The train roared once again, not even a limb moved. Its speed slowed down, a station was clearly approaching as the night fires could be spotted. It was dark and they couldn’t make out the name of the station owing to lack of electricity. The sound of those screeching brakes was so high that it gave a feeling that the train wished to go no further.

“ How much time will it halt here?” inquired the man to the Ticket-Collector.
“ Another fifteen minutes, sir. There’s a Goods train coming in the opposite direction,” replies the ticket- collector.
“ Oh! Thank You, Sir,” said the man.

The couple got down at the station. Their bogie sixth from the engine and the signal was clearly visible. They sat down on the bench and glanced at a couple who had lit the twigs to keep them warm. The lady shivered to the winds as the man gave his sweater to her.

“ You know, when I was a child I never liked the idea of sleeping while travelling in a train. I used to get down at every station atleast for the sake of knowing its name. My grandpa used to mock at me saying ‘You can get down at every station, you can miss its name but do not miss the train’ “ the man narrated.
“ Ha ha! Yeah! Old people are always cheeky with their philosophies,” she replied.
“ I didn’t get you, Honey!” he said, “ I meant that his words had a philosophical touch,” she elucidates.
“Yeah! May be, I never pondered about it,” he replies.


There was silence again, this time it was disturbed by the screams of the Goods train. As that train passed ours in the other direction, the light turned from red to amber. They boarded the train. Drowsiness was written all over their faces and so they fell on their berth hugging each other.

It sounded as if thousand cornu’s went up in air at the same time, but it was the train shouting the morning alarm. The couple rose to the thundering sound. The beauty of nature was elevated by the Sun as he was slowly emerging from his shroud. A perfect dawn it was, as it had spread a wave of calm and an assurance of warmth all over the train. The glass Windows acted like prisms diverging all the rays displaying different shades of white in the halos and converging all the beauties that nature had concealed to display under brightness.

The screeching sound was back again, which meant that a station was approaching. The railway cabin was painted with the name ‘RATNAGIRI’ which meant that the coming station was that. It was a station set up on the western ghats on decent elevation from the ground.

“Kaaa-uu-phii, Kaaa-uu-phi,” shouted the mobile vendor.
“ Two Coffee,” ordered the man.
“ How much?” he asked.
“ Ten, sir,” the vendor replied.
He took a ten rupee note from his pocket and gave it to the vendor. The train was scheduled to stop for ten minutes at this station and this made most of the passengers to get down for their morning drink and enjoying the taste of sun over the hillocks.
So did the new couple sucked in to this momentary trance of nature as they enjoyed their Coffee.

“Your Attention Please Train number 0112, Konkan Kanya Express from Mumbai to Madgaon is ready to leave from Platform number one,” Announced the anonymous lady in the speakers as all the passengers got into their bogies. The train moved as if it was reluctant to desert the beauty that’s around, but there was more to come.

The train served as a see-saw ride as there were ups for few hundred yards and then there were downs. The sun played peek-a-boo with the train, gathering help from the tunnels. A beautiful journey it was through the safest railway passage in India. The couple were still tired of previous day’s activities were fast asleep on their berth. Now the train had taken to a steady descending path. The destination was just an hour away.

Madgaon is a modest railway station, which can hold four trains at the same time at its peak. All the passengers got down and marched towards the taxi-stand, so did the couple.

“ Colva Beach Resorts,” said the man as they swiftly got into the taxi.
************* **************
The choppers thudded past the mountainous gates of the “Vicious Villa,” a personal property of the riders. The Villa did look like it was centuries old although it was built in 1950 it looked like a decrepit monument that needed immediate attention. The gypsy Riders never let an outsider enter their villa and repair, they did it themselves and so they geared up for another fix-it-by-yourself program. Their reflexes have slowed down, their stamina had gone down, their blithe was higher than a child and that’s what kept them going. But for the first time they had to call people to lend a hand in their cleaning ceremony.

“ Robby! When is the show at your resort?” inquired Johnny.
“ 6:30 P.M. Sir,” replied Robert Sebastian, the head of the Colva Beach Event Management.
“ Okay! I need some men to clean the villa, send five. All the sound equipment and instruments have arrived yesterday itself, didn’t they?” Johnny questioned.
“ Yes, Sir they all arrived yesterday and all arrangements were made , Sir!” replies Robert.
“ Alright, we’ll be there by six then, Bye!“ replied Johnny as he hung up without waiting for the other end to return his gesture.

Johnny ‘big’ assured his mates that few men are on their way and so they all took a breath and stretched their limbs. They all dropped onto the plastic furniture that lay on their porch.
“ So, this is what people call ‘retirement’,” sighed Mikey ‘tall’.
“ Yeah! We are tasting what everybody call ‘anti-climax’ of our lives,” bolstered Roger ‘lean’ swinging the chair.
“ Whatever guys, but I ain’t gonna’ clean those ceramic pits in toilets, they must be smelling like hell,” sulked Joey ‘fat’ “We used to be here atleast thrice in a year. But, here we are after a year.”
“ Does it matter? We have some new shit to say and so we are here again,” reminded Johnny living upto his name as ‘big’.

The troupe had arrived and Johnny handed over the keys and gave them complete instructions as the Riders went to have their lunch with the Colva Beach Resorts Chairman, Rupert Amolraj. They are all friends since childhood and lived together for most of their lives.
“ Sir, the Gypsy Riders are here,” informed the Secretary as Rupert rose.
“SO the riders have finally grown old,” mocked Rupert.
“ Yeah man! The roads were fucking bumpy, our backs couldn’t take it,” explained Mikey.
“ Yeah! The doctors can prescribe their patients with motion problems to go for a ride on those roads, they’ll be off to the rest room in a jiffy,” ridiculed Joey.
There was momentary silence and a huge laughter followed.
“ Man! You’ll never change,” said Rupert laughing “ Lets make a move men, it’s already three and we want our riders to be Sober till late night.”
“ We gave up drinking, man,” said Roger “ You know, Johnny had a lot of problem because of this last year, So its time we threw these whiskey bottles into the sea and let those fish get drunk.”
“ Oh! Yeah I do remember, great resolution guys. We have few more worthy things to do before we wrap ourselves out of this world,” retorts Rupert with a tinge of philosophical tone.

“ I’m Hungry,” cried Johnny as they all left for their lunch.

***********************************
The Couple had checked-in to their room and they took a quick shower. They raced to the local shops out there for buying beach wear and swimming gear. They had registered themselves for the Gypsy Riders concert and were eager to be part of the extravaganza which had become an yearly affair rather than quarterly. They soaked under the sun, played in the waters and enjoyed the breeze as hours passed off like a flash from the camera.

Flags vacillated to the salty evening zephyrs as neon lamps tried to reinforce brightness but only to be dominated by the fires. Fifty couples gathered at the resorts and checked their chaperons as the show was about to begin. The sun was gulped by the sea as the crowds enjoyed that spectacle.

The Gypsy Riders always had a huge fan base from the aged communities but this year it was quite the opposite. There used to be a misconception that those who attend the Riders’ concert were buddy-duddies and this hurt many a young heart’s ego. Time goes on, the human lifespan is coming down, people are maturing more earlier than their ancestors.

The whole area was designed to epitomize a bull-ring as the couples stood in a spiral pattern leading to the stage at the end. The youngest and the most recently married couple was always priveleged to be inches away from the Riders and so it was this Young Couple who get this oppurtunity. The bull-ring was festooned with the banners of the Riders’ motto “ LET LOVE BE THE JUGGLER, ENTERTAINING YOUR LIFE.” The neon lights went dimmer by second, the fires were the only source of light, the crowd sensed the arrival.

“ Tonight, We proudly present the GYPSY RIDERS!” announced Robert.
“ Wave your FLAGS,” screamed Mikey.
“ Its been long since we have been here. It is a home away from home. Everybody scream ‘VIVA GOA!” shouted Johnny at the highest of his baritone voice.
“VIVA GOA!” shouted the crowd. For a moment the waves felt tamed by such a reverberating sound.
“ Are you ready for some SPIRAL WAVES!!” screamed Johnny.
“YEAH!” the crowd echoed back.
the spiral wave

Spiral wave is similar to the mexican wave except that it involved only couples with gents swivelling their ladies one after another just like one elctron hitting another leading to a spark at the end of a wire. It was made popular by the Gypsy Riders and it did grow up to be the major attraction in their shows.

“ Here we go, with our Twelve minute appetizer called ‘BEACH BOOGIE.’ Dance till the music dies,” screamed Joey as the guitars went up in air, the congo drums embarked on their beats, as the Spiral Wave had been embarked by a septegenarian couple. The young couple felt it a tad eerie at first as they were new to this concept but they were old to dancing, and they had every reason to enjoy. The intro spanned for two minutes before Johnny started singing:

“Everyday the sun crawled down,
So we danced till we went down,
Let us not let these fires die down,
Your love for her should never crumble down.

(Joey gets ready to play his solo as the spiral wave gets into its third round.)

Our mother always moves around,
These fires make us move around,
The gents twist their ladies around,
There’ll only be love all around.

(Mikey gets his harmonica out and competes with Roger and his Congo drums as Joey joins in with his 12-string and Johnny shouting few chants)

These guitars air a stringy tune
My harmonica settled for a windy tune,
The sand wavered to the watery tune,
We always jig to the nature’s tune.”

After the song was done there was a huge roar from the crowd, which the aging hearts of the Riders, young again.
“ The young guns right here,” beckoned Joey pointing to the new couple “ You’ll spark the wave now,” he ordered. The couple were flabbergasted for a moment but were ready for it.

“ I don’t feel like singing now, lets make our weapons sing for now with THE SANDY DUNES,” yelled Johnny as they played their instrumental as the crowd boogied their ‘sandy tunes.’

“You know what, we Riders and Bob Dylan started off at the same time but that man did it in a different hemisphere and got popular and here we are tasting popularity at the age of retirement. I envy that guy,” narrates Joey.
“ Stop faking man,” reveals the lean rider,
“ People ain’t duds to believe your stories,” assured the tall rider.
“ Here’s a song with dylanish feel called ‘PREACHER’ and HERE IT GOES!” screamed the big rider. As the crowd applauded with their hands up in the air as the night seemed to be perfectly made for this event with fires never going down and the sea dancing to their tunes.

“ Let us take you back to those days,
when were all imps in our school.
Don’t take your ears off our story,
It’s time we drown in this nostalgic pool.

Physics of life was bonded to the chemistry in our body, (revealed Johnny)
Economy of expenses was knotted to math in our wallets, (confessed Joey)
History of our quarrels masked the civic sense of our class, (narrated Mikey)
And Moral science was a total failure ha ha ha (with a laughter from all the riders)

Subjects changed but never did we,
Seasons change but never should you,
Stand by her till the end of your life,
We can promise that there’ll be no strife.

Let us move a little further
When we were all aimless youth,
Don’t move your muscles any farther, (the big rider lifting his arm)
It was time when we fought for a bowl of broth.

I aimed at those clays in the sky,
ended up shooting those birds that fly (said the big rider pointing to the sky).
I threw my bait for treasures in the sea,
ended up catching a Cod (belch) ,you see (said the tall rider pointing to the sea)..
I taxed from everybody’s wallets,
But forgot about holes in my pockets ( cachinnated the fat rider checking his pockets.)
I gambled with a roll of dice,
Sent back home with a bag full of mice (grieved the lean rider)
( The crowd burst into a huge laughter)

We had right soil but sowed wrong seeds,
Ploughed them hard for a harvest but realised they weren’t the best,
Plant the right seeds in your soil,
We can promise that there’ll be no toil.

Let us come back to the present day,
With over four decades of marriage,
Now you can take a breath,
As we never went on a rampage.

HELL YEAH!”


They finished their pantomime as the crowd applauded.

“ YEAH! Ready for another one,” screamed Mikey “Why do I even ask,” he mocked with a sardonic smile.
“ Well another instrumental for you guys to shake a leg and its called THE HIGH TIDE,” declared Roger.

The spirals were a sight for photographers with an aerial view. The song was groovy and the Riders had proved again that they ain’t ‘Old Rusty Guns which are better off in an artillery museum.’ The ten minute instrumental came to an end and so the spirals turned into concentric circles as they were all asked to sit down.

“Well, the next one is very close to our hearts and it’s called SAND CASTLES!” announced Johnny as they all geared up.

“On every dune she wrote his name,
but life was a bittersweet game,
her love for him wasn’t lame,
his ignorance was all to blame.

On those dunes she drew her heart,
But those waves tore her love apart,
He watched from the rampart,
Grieving about what he had to part.

Each sand grain thirsted her tear,
Sound of death made her fear,
Only his repentance could get them near,
He felt that he doesn’t belong here.


He arrived like a bullet from the gun,
Closed her eyes to conceal the dying sun,
She acted like he made her heart run,
Every finger came off revealing the rising moon.

Echoes of his love for her was grand,
Together they built castles on sand,
Burying those shadows that made their life bland,
Along the shoreline they walked hand-in-hand.

Two hearts moulded as one like clay,
Together they dreamed of their children play,
Their thoughts were now filled with gay,
It ain’t beyond the star-lit skies heaven lay.”

The applause was deafening and the whistles were never-ending.

“ I can see few people staring at the marquee, whats for dinner, Robert?” mocked Joey.
“ Why do you want?” interrupts Roger.
“ Anyways Joey is getting hungry and so we have a small recipe for you,” announces Johnny “ It is called THE FROZEN BLOOD recipe, we have been herbivores throughout our lives and we always spread the message to be herbivores this way,” contineud Johnny.

“ Mikey! Read it man,” said Johnny handing over the paper to Mikey.

“ The animal had a warm shower, not knowing that its head’s gonna’ be severed.
It could only scream, but no one to save it from this bloody stream. The crimson rivers flew across the roads, our coldest feelings for them froze the blood and here we are enjoying a Frozen Blood Delight. Day by day we got them down, with our bellies destined as mobile cemeteries for those animals that were deceased. A severed trunk from a tree grows back, but a severed limb?” finished Mikey throwing waves of contemplation for a moment.

“ Anyways, do ponder about this after you had your fill,” announces Roger.
“ We invite the youngest couple or the most recently married ones to dine with us tonight as per our tradition,” announced Johnny.
The Young couple were taken aback for a moment and then they leaped with joy.
The Gypsy Riders rose to take a bow as a huge roar of applause, whistles and shouts followed.
“ See you guys again next year, same time , same place,” all the riders chorused.

*****************************

Rupert hugged all the Riders and wade goodbye to his friends, as their Choppers roared for a two-mile ride to the ‘Vicious Villa.’ He signalled to the Black Chevy Optra in which the couple were chaffeured to the Villa.

The Riders’ were taken aback by the way the house was restored. One of the men approached Johny and informed “ Dinner is ready, sir.”
“ Okay, you guys can leave now, Thanks a lot guys,” retorted Johnny while paying a ransom as tip for their services.
“ Thank you sir,” said that guy as their group left the villa.

“ Our guests must be here any time,” pondered Mikey.

The young couple got down and looked around feeling tad weird coupled with joy.
“ WELCOME! To the VICIOUS VILLA,” greeted Joey.

“ How was your stay, so far?” inquired Roger.
“ Its great, you know,” replied the lady “ it is our first day here,” with a childlike joy in her face.

“ I’m damn hungry, lets fill our tanks,” bemoaned Joey as everybody laughed and went into the dining room.

The dinner was a quiet affair as none of them spoke. Their batteries got charged up again and so they started their chatter.
“ When did you get married?” inquired Johnny.
“ Two nights ago,” replied the guy.
“ Whoa, a brand new bond, eh,” joined Joey “ This is the first time we are having a brand new couple,” he informed.
“ Yeah!” Mikey concorded.

“ May your marriage last forever,” Blessed the Riders as the couple thanked them.

“ Well, I have a story to tell. It is a lesson I learned from my life and am passing it to you,” said Johnny as the couple showed eagerness on their faces.

“ Marriage as many young guns believe, isn’t about satisfying our randy desires. Romance, isn’t all about the bodily pleasure. We preached this throughout our lives.
We all have been successfully married for four decades now. Mikey’s daughter married my son, Roger’s daughter to Joey’s son for over a decade now. To us ‘Love after marriage’ was equal to its opposite- ‘Love before marriage’ as Indian society had proved it,” narrated Johnny.

“ Turn off that bloody Cigar, Joey,” yelled Mikey “You’ve gotta’ kick that habit out.”

“ So, I had another son who was very talented and I always felt he’ll grow to be a great artist one day but fate had it other way. He fell in love with Rupert’s daughter Maria and we were all happy that the bond between us five friends would get stronger with this marriage. His love for her ended few days after their utopian journey on the altar. All he wanted from her was to satisfy his bodily desire and the marriage was heading towards a painful demise. To rub salt, he picked up gambling and drugs and vanished into oblivion. He eventually surfaced as a cadaver on a road. My heart was broken to see such a loss and I took up drinking. I escaped from a huge disaster last year and I owe my friends a lot,” finished Johnny as the couple heard to his story without a blink.

“ We can’t define time, we can’t define Life, but we defined friendship, we defined marriage, these bonds exist as long as our universe exists. Son, never leave her hand come what may, you fight, you forget. You argue, you amend, I can bet you will last forever if you dump these things in your head. It worked for us, it will for you too,” preached Mikey patting on the guy’s back.

“ You know about Black Holes, they are invisible but their force can be felt. So is love it is invisible but can be felt,” preached Roger.

“ Hey! Cheer up guys, you are boring them with your sermons. Sorry guys its just that we don’t get any younger by day we tend to preach every now those lessons life had taught us,” interrupted Joey.

“ No, what you guys said was right,” replied the guy “ we met only twice before our marriage and now you gave us the right direction towards knowing each other.”
“Yeah! What you guys said was worthy and it made us feel more honoured to be with you guys. I assure that his pleasures are all mine and mine, his,” the lady replied holding her hubby’s hand.

“HELL YEAH!” screamed all the Riders in unison, applauding.

The young couple got to rest in the royal bed room in the Vicious Villa as the Riders rested in their own rooms.

*******************************

The Young Couple got ready for their second day of tour wherein they’ll visit Calangute Beach, one of the busiest beaches and go for a pleasure cruise in the evening.
“ What a day it was, yesterday!” said the guy in elation.
“ The best day of my life,” declared his better half.
“ Yeah! Time to get ready, I’ll take a bike for rent and we can cruise through the roads,” suggested the guy.
“ Whoa, I’m ready for it, Honey!” she replied without hiding her surprise.

The couple thundered past the roads like a juggernaut and so did their life unobstructed by hurdles that life proposed. The seeds of love have been planted perfectly by the Gypsy Riders.

********************************
The Gypsy Riders spent few more days touring other beaches having a new couple each night to be their guests. Finally, the day has come to say goodbye to Goa for this year and so they did.

The Choppers roared again just like a space shuttle ready for its new voyage. They cruised past the roads just like a cosmic voyage overtaking the asteroids, leaving back all our planets. This time it was a voyage to a different world or it could even be to their homes. Let’s see what difference they bring on their flags next time round.