Did I come up with this title. Definitely not! She did. Cara. And that is how she is – full of ideas and a running tap full of energy.
In the twilight of my first day in Bharmour, I found her sitting near the bed sipping from a Nalgene bottle. Sometimes you wouldn’t realise she was there until she spoke. But later I realised that was only because it was her bedtime and also because of racket in the room. She came there with lofty ideas of cleaning a pilgrimage town and went back with a truck load of stoned friends.
As my nights turned into days there, she turned more pages in the books she was reading than anyone else I knew. She would escape into the animal jungle of hers when she got tired of the orangutans around her. Oh! Yes, she loves animals more so she bleeds them. Any sort – wild or tame. They all seem to come to her as well. Jane Goodall seemed to be her imaginary friend.
As I started to get around her sharp tongue and weird voices, I saw the mischievous glint in those hazelnut eyes and the child-like heart in her. More so when she took on anyone with a spirit to spur her into a battle of teasing. While she warred with Seana Paula about marriage, it was sexist in Sameer that she liked to punch.
Not surprisingly, as the three of us squeezed in to one bed, we got around talking about chimpanzee rapes, male chauvinism and of course the community flour mill by our home.
Just as quickly as we trekked up to Manimahesh, I began to like this bundle of energy. With Shiva Tandav Stotram bubbling in the background, we got around talking about our lives. Around every new discourse, I would revise my stories until she knew the truth. She always took it with gusto usually over plates of noodles, pasta and dripping Hello to the King. Always vegetarian, only the food! Not the conversation!!
She loved food and loves it probably more than I do. That itself made life easier! To have an eating partner while you are out is just as warm as the fleece jacket she wears around.
And like the kiwi toppings on my cakes, she loves travelling and is a good hiker. And I can eat the cake too. Because she can walk ahead of me during the treks and still talk long distances and not get annoyed!! To make things easier, she speaks her mind too...
To my crazy travelling and dining partner...
