It in now close to a month since our arrival in Goa. Most of this time has been consumed in getting the place up and ready for occupation by a bunch of city slickers with honorable intentions of embracing "rural" India. Delighted to report that there have been no significant disasters till date. The highlights so far:

1. The kids have been wonderful. They are the ones who have made an almost seamless transition to their respective schools here. Doting parents that we are, trepidations abounded about their ability to do so. In retrospect I realise that we were stacking them up against our own low "adjustability quotient". Touch wood, both of them love theie new schools, friends, teachers, text books, and even subjects. Tikku is particularly overcome with joy at the prospect of being able to walk to school !!. They have raised the bar for the rest of the family to follow.

2. For the first time I actually get to drop and pick up Trusha from school. This is likely to continue, although more out of compulsion than choice because the school that she goes to does not have school buses for hauling the kids. Our exposure to schools till date being restricted to Bangalore, where they hardly miss an opportunity to generating revenue streams beyond tuition fees, this came as a surprise and now we are left with the option of making arrangements with private operators.  Here again, Curtorim in South Goa where we stay, is not exactly bustling with children requiring private transportation to schools in Margao and hence there is no economic incentive for any of the chaps plying to the schools to make the detour and pick up one passenger. So there we have our first real challenge to overcome.  

3. Foxes co-inhabit the property with us. There is a pack of them which makes regular nightly visits into the property. The first time we heard them we actually mistook their howling for post communal revelry singing by a set of hot blooded Goans, of whom there is no paucity of. Only a careful scrutiny revealed that the sounds which were being transmitted are humanly impossible, however debauched the group may be. We were then informed by our neighbours that it was a group of foxes who were responsible for all this. Given that the house itself had been unoccupied for a couple of decades and the property itself had not been tended to during this period allowed these foxes to make it their own especially for their nocturnal activities. Subsequently, we have seen them at various points slinking in and out of the grounds. This continues to be a source of excitement for all of us, more so the kids.

4. I am invariably woken up by the loud chirping of birds. I am not a bird watcher myself, but I understand that Curtorim is a bird watcher's paradise. The fact that we have a seasonal lake overlooking our place and the consequent profusion of herons, storks (and such like) to train one's binoculars on makes the place even more interesting for people who pursue this noble interest.

5. One particular hardship that I have had to endure is the nonavailability of Classic Milds in Curtorim. This has also made me realise that my commitment is more to smoking than a particular brand and following on the example set by Trusha and Tikku, I can, with a fair amount of pride, announce that I have made a seamless transition to Gold Flake Kings. For me, the pleasure of smoking a Classic Mild these days is equivalent to a visit to Baskin Robbins for the kids.

6. I have sought to renew my love affair with the cycle. The first momentous step in this direction has been taken taken with the purchase of a sparkling new, black and silver, Hero Nu-Age Hawk. Progressing beyond this milestone has been difficult and I have to guiltily admit that I have done about 3 kms on the odometer. Both my previous attempts, in Chennai and Bangalore, ended up as tragedies and I hope this one will have a happier ending.

If reading this makes any of you want to hop on to the next train, bus, flight to Goa, be our guest. All you need to do is send me a mail with the itinerary and it will be a delight to pick you from point of disembarkation.