If Turtles Could Fly!

A birthday usually means getting together with friends and bringing the house down. And when you have two surfers sharing the honour of a common birthday, the party has to be double the fun! So this time around, the plan was a day picnic to a location previously undiscovered around the precincts of Delhi NCR region. A few hours drive from any part of Delhi, the venue was an idyllic picnic spot called Turtle Farm Resort in Manesar. We hit the Delhi-Jaipur highway by 9 am and after a brief stopover at a McDonalds outlet on the way for a power breakfast, we made good speed to reach the location by 11 am.

Slightly off track from the highway, you need to keep your eyes out for Uppal Farms and take a dash towards the left off the highway to hit a rough dirt track with sunflower fields before you finally see farm houses with massive gates to your left. A short drive down this road takes you to B-14, Turtle Farm Resort. What hits you immediately as you enter is the greenery and the well maintained infrastructure. The reception is an example of desi chic with art work and design inspired by North Indian and Rajasthani folk lore. A grand stairway on both sides takes you up to the rather steeply priced duplex rooms at the resort.

A welcome breakfast of tea and sandwiches awaited us but we preferred going ahead to explore the location further, happily satiated on our burgers at McD’s. The boys being boys hit the cricket lawn where they quickly teamed up with another group of boys to play a round of cricket leaving us girls on the sidelines. Much sweat and grime later, we were ready to hit the poolside where a mini waterfall and a rain shower with a DJ awaited us. Very soon, other groups joined in, dancing, swimming, playing, drinking and enjoying a tasty barbecue on the side. The summer heat bore down on us making us take refuge in the pool for hours, and I doubt any of us regretted it! It was only at 3 pm that we finally pulled ourselves out for a lavish lunch with bhindi, mixed vegetable, dahi vada, papad, pulao, rotis/naan and chicken, topped with piping gulab jamuns. After such a heavy meal, it was time to head indoors for games like carrom and table tennis and before we knew it, it was time to head home! A quick chai session and a last pic of us together later, we drove away from the resort with lots of happy moments to savour in the form of memories. 

Overall, this is a place where you can enjoy with a group of youngsters given the kind of activities they offer but if you are planning a family get together, think twice as there is not much to do for aunties and uncles, mummys and papas and senior citizens. If you are really keen on taking your folks along, try the resorts in Shogi, Narkanda or Dalhousie also maintained by Aamod who run this resort. As for Turtle Farm Resort, it’s a decent daytime getaway for a bunch of indulgent youngsters.

Note: Make sure you go at a time when the weather is favourable.

Give us some Relief from this Fund!

Calamities can strike big and destroy all in its wake. No matter how powerful man becomes, nature has a cruel way of justifying its presence. The recent floods in Uttarakhand further confirmed the hatred that mankind has been calling upon itself with the numerous sins we commit in the name of religion. Even the Gods couldn’t take it and finally unleashed their wrath on the unassuming pilgrims out on their chardham- one of the most coveted journeys undertaken by devout Hindus at least once in their lifetime. Old men and women, pregnant ladies, handicapped citizens, toddlers and newborns- none were excused as the raging rivers plundered and took away lives, saving little and sparing none. The damage caused is a testament to the fact that we are indeed more vulnerable than we think in the hands of fate. And yet, we don’t learn do we? If we go by the news, widespread corruption in the midst of funds trickling in, child trafficking and rape incidents are also feared apart from the outbreak of disease and loss of property earlier estimated in the state. There is no end to the evil in our disposition and in a dog-eat-dog world where every man is fighting for the survival of the fittest, it seems just another day in the life of India. 

In the face of such calamities, every citizen of this country is asked to take a stand. Donate for the cause of the victims’ rehabilitation. The Government we are told, is doing everything in its might to turn the tide and revive the livelihood and infrastructure as soon as possible which is an estimated three years. The Army is engaged in emergency operations to save as many lives as possible. And the ordinary citizens of the country are requested to pledge their support though financial contributions which will help the victims caught in the terrible quagmire. All is well as it may seem when it comes to disaster management. But hey wait, are we missing the bigger picture here? Why is it that time and again, whenever such natural calamities strike are we middle class people invoked to dispense with some cash? Pardon me if I seem to be sounding a tad too heartless but my intention is to know why we are a class that is taken for granted. 

A class that is learning to cope with the recent recession by probably being stuck in jobs we would love to give up but can’t because most of us are breadwinners. A class that is probably facing the worst inflationary situation in decades with the fluctuating rupee. A class that has to bear the brunt of rapidly increasing fuel prices everytime we take our car out. A class that must pay its bills after getting its meagre salary cut by taxes. A class which must pay heavy VAT charges everytime it drinks out. A class which must struggle for its pension after retirement. A class for which the current situation in the upper North region has already meant insanely escalating prices of vegetables and fruits, making it think twice about the next meal on the table. And yet, we are the class who are looked upon to save the victims of every flood, famine, storm, tsunami and what not. If poverty is like facing imminent death everyday, belonging to the middle class section of society is like a living curse daily. You are answerable for every expense you make, saving in the face of a zillion EMIs becomes an impossible task and the thought of retired parents, medical emergencies and family planning can send us in to a tizzy. And yet, we are the class that is considered to have the luxury of a surplus which we are supposed to shell out in the name of relief funds for the victims of so and so. This while corrupt politicians, indifferent billionaires and Bollywood celebrities sitting pretty in their 100 crore clubs in this country make merry while the sun shines.

Who is being victimized here, I want to know please. Or is victimizing one section of society to cope with the damage caused to another is this country’s accepted way of tackling with disasters of every nature? Please don’t assume my heart doesn’t go out to the flood ravaged citizens of Uttarakhand. Any help I can provide in person or in kind is my way of reaching out to them. But that’s about it as I myself am a daily victim of this very society we live in, disaster or no disaster and in the urban milieu, unfortunately, every man must look out for his own survival first and then the rest of the world. We live in such times and there is no escaping this fact. To be financially sound, one has to be financially able oneself and as far as that goes, judging by the economic uncertainty in this country, we are standing on unpredictable and rocky terrain at present so please, give me some relief from this fund!