Pocket-friendly getaway for honeymoon, courtesy Covid
Agetaway without frills can sometimes be as exciting as an ostentatious honeymoon to an exotic location provided one is privileged to have the company of a loving and loyal partner. Covid-19 not only turned our anticipated big fat wedding into a low-key family affair but it also put our plans to visit a foreign land in abeyance.
Two years into our nuptial togetherness and with the pandemic not over yet, it was time to revisit our plans. Hubby and I decided to explore a nondescript hill station in our proximity to mark our rather delayed honeymoon. “How about going by bus?” my spouse suggested despite owning a car. But the slow languorous drive of the bus winding up the hill turned our journey into a fairy-tale ride.
It was nothing short of luxury as we soaked in the breath-taking landscape, regally seated, holding hands as the gentle breeze caressed our cheeks. The sweet-sounding melodies of the bygone ’90s played by the driver were just perfect with romance in the air. One track that stayed long with us went something like this: “Agar asmaan takk mere hath jaate, toh kadmon mein tere hum taare bichaate (If I could reach the stars, I’d scatter them all around your feet).”
The trend of pretentious poses and pouts for selfies to be posted on social media was intentionally put on the back seat to create space for personal moments to be cherished for the rest of our lives.
Our window seat opened to a postcard vista of a mesmerising scene of undulating rocky massifs stretched to the horizon and at their feet, a river gently flowed, meandering through the heart of the ravine, resembling a slothful snake. Our bus had a brief stopover at an alfresco roadside eatery. The piping hot tea with deep-fried potato and onion fritters soaked in tangy mint chutney in an eco-friendly ambience and at a pocket-friendly price overpowered our yearning to dine at a chic restaurant. The fascinating sight of neat rows of terraced fields and steps sculpted out of incongruous steep slopes of mountains by tenacious local farmers left us in awe and guilt-tripped us for subjecting our little garden back home to negligence.
During our return, having had paid our obeisance at Mata Chintpurni Shaktipeeth, the shadowed clusters of khair and deodar trees enticed us into completing the last stretch of our journey on foot. We got off the bus before our destination and strolled down the hill, holding hands and merrily rewinding our best moments through the day.
Just as every beautiful journey is destined to come to an end, so was our tryst with Mother Nature. Ironically, our trip was in variance with the notion among today’s generation that honeymoons are to be swanky, moneyspinning outings teeming with photoops even at the cost of privacy.
As I catalogued the sequence of events in my journal and captioned it: Our late and local honeymoon, my husband asked impishly if it was being written keeping posterity in mind. I smiled and admitted that I was sure our simple honeymoon would be worth reading and recommending. My husband’s face lit up with a generous smile.
THE TREND OF PRETENTIOUS POSES FOR SELFIES TO BE POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WAS INTENTIONALLY PUT ON THE BACK SEAT TO CREATE SPACE FOR MOMENTS TO BE CHERISHED FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES