Clandestine Escape
UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERY BEHIND THE WOMAN IN YELLOW SARI AT THE NEPLI RESERVE FOREST
Acouple, perhaps newly in love, is sitting very close. The stern looking woman is saying something to the boy. Two joggers appear from behind the trees, the logos on their track pants fairly prominent. The area is Nepli, a rare spot in Chandigarh’s vicinity that’s straight from the soil. No concrete or forced order here. Only rich melancholy and intense craving.
It has been secretly decided that the place needs to be reintroduced through someone else’s eyes, but the few people here seem busy. Very busy.
Under the trees on both the sides is a mud path. On the left is the artificial lake Sukhna, which dries up every summer and all conversations in the city’s page 3 circuit and newspaper supplements revolve round that. Straight ahead is an invitation to go deeper into the forest. An arresting bleakness and enigmatic darkness. It’s far from easy to walk in the heat, but one doesn’t have a choice when each day glides on the
wings of insomnia. It is 5.30 p.m., the sun is unrelenting and you know that this story on secret places in the city is going nowhere.
And then there is a woman in a yellow sari. Her rhythmic walk is like that of a secret-service agent. She is shy but still manages to say that she is no “serious walker” but comes often for a stroll and doesn’t mind a chat. Woman in a Yellow Sari Doesn’t matter that I stick out in a sari here. India Today Punjabi But people might think you are not for real. Woman in a Yellow Sari Maybe that is the reason I refuse to be photographed. India Today Punjabi And we thought it’s the silly husband.
(The photographer has disowned the reporter at this point. He is walking ahead and clicking what will never be published.) Woman in Yellow Sari I am not answering that. India Today Punjabi Tell us more about the place. And you. Woman in Yellow Sari That sometimes I come with friends on weekends when there is no office? Do an old-school picnic? Of course, the place is great for treks and all-terrain biking among closed adventure groups. I see them, all the time. I never participate. Just stroll. India Today Punjabi Not even strangers approaching you for a chat? Woman in Yellow Sari Never. This is the first time. That’s why I am escaping now. India Today Punjabi One picture. To let the world know we met. Woman in Yellow Sari Secret place has secret rules, leave no trace.
Geetanjali Mangal, 21, Sanya Doomra, 22, and Aastha Bhardwaj, 21, are from Chandigarh. They come to Nepli at least twice a month. And they love getting photographed. Mangal takes a lot of pictures too. All of them reveal that this is their best Instagram picture spot. They also teach us how to Snapchat between giggles.
During winters, Doomra likes to come here with a book. Mangal tells us that many photographers and models can be spotted early in the day. Bhardwaj thinks it’s not important to know the reason why one loves a place. And then there is CATS (Chandigarh Adventure Treks and Sports) that has been organising multiple activities ever since it was conceived in 2007. The founder Supreet Dhiman, 43, confirms, “This is definitely the best place to escape the city. Not only is it a stone’s throw away but offers something for every age group.” On your next weekend, go to Nepli. Find out if the part woman-part spirit in yellow is for real or Nepli’s own phantom.