Kullu Manali Trip (2005)

HDC, the most enthued club on campus is known for it’s varied activities all round the semester, be it their excellence on stage or the off stage enthusiasm they show. The HDC trips perfectly epitomize the true spirit of life.

"16^th -20^th March 2005"– those exuberant golden days of our bitsian life. How can we ever forget those precious moments of togetherness, unlimited fun and freedom from the busy test schedules?

16^th March 2K5, at around 2.00pm an enthusiastic group of 16 members set off for Manali, away from the scorching heat towards the beautiful land of snow.

The car journey in itself was very exciting, with people exchanging places very often from one car to the other. All through the day, we sang songs, cracked jokes, discussed the previous club trips and yes discovered the “gautam bhawan” on the way. Our 1st halt was at a food resort where we played Chinese whisper.

As the dusk set in, small signs of exhaustion came along but it didn’t dampen our spirits. A Dhaba, near Himachal was our next stop, at around 3.00am(when the driver slept off while driving). Some members crashed down on the beds put up there, while others got engaged in an old Hindi movie being telecast. After a round of snap sessions we again continued.

At around 5.00am, we finally entered the beautiful vale of Himachal Pradesh. The rising sun, the cool morning breeze, chirping birds, the picturesque snow clad mountains and the lush green forests around us simply mesmerized each one of us. However this magic spell couldn’t last for long as our beloved secretary (Raheem) in his quest for adventure fell 4 a bull…or should I say bull shit ;) and donno what charm it spelt that even Mummy couldn’t keep herself off it. So we had a lovely couple- Ms and Mr. Stinky.

Our final halt was in Manali at “Himanshu resort”, our abode for the rest three days. The rest of the day went by going off to nearby tourist places, which included the Buddhist monasteries, the famous Hidimba temple and a water spring. At one of these places, all of us stopped by a local vendor where we purchased small wooden mementos with our own messages inscribed on it. Even now these mementos remind us of the golden days we spent there.

Then comes the famous mall road shopping. Be it window shopping or the gifts we purchased for our on campus friends, we enjoyed each and every moment. What was exciting was not the shopping, but the heavy downpour during that time. Add to it the hot jalebis, chilled ice cream cones and the momos. In short, each and every moment was worth cherishing.

This was followed by the next day’s visit to the Rohtang pass. Clad in the warm fur coats and hunter boots, we set out for skiing. The severe cold weather, strong winds and the large snow covered fields welcomed us .Running, racing, toppling and tumbling over ….that was how we skied!!! Making snow man, the snow fights and the rides added more to the fun we had. Finally shivering with cold and red nosies, we settled down in our cars and reached our hotel rooms.

The first yearite ragging sessions, confessions (sshhhhhh), night jashns are some more things we associate with the trip. The music of Maaeri, Ab na jaa and other euphoria numbers still strike a chord in our hearts and takes us back to those wonderful days.

The return journey was equally good. We stopped by a riverside in Kullu, where we made sand castles, threw pebbles into the water & wrote our names on the moist sand. Halfheartedly, we all bid a goodbye to the place and drove off. Razooooo’s health was a matter of concern during the return trip, however the atmosphere got the lightened up by Prat and Chacha’s awesome video shooting of Razoooo’s vomiting .LOL!!!

There was one more surprise element, which cheered up our moods…Gabbar’s birthday!!! Yeah the most memorable one. Our group landed up at 00.00 am at CCD (Chandigarh) and surprised her by singing the b’day song there, which was followed by a dinner at a nearby restaurant where we enacted a court scene. Our energy levels shot up again and we spent the rest of the journey singing in the car.

Finally, the 20th morning dawned on us. As the rays of the sun fell on our eyes, we realized that the desert sands & the hot ‘loo’ replaced the soothing greenery and the cold winds….and whew we knew we are back in Pilani. At a distance, we could see the Clock tower hailing us, back to our normal schedule…All what was left was just impressions on our minds and the precious moments we captured in the camera. Wherever we go and whatever we do, these loving memories will always remain saved in our heart, they always were and they always will!!!

- Aqsa(2004)