Its sunday morning.....10.00 am.......J just called a while back asking if i wanna join him for breakfast at Vaishali.....never say no to Vaishali.....i have already made up my mind.....one idli vada sambar...one cheese toast and a strong coffee...maybe two.....winter in pune is just about getting over..........even at 10.00 in the mornirng its still a bit chilly....i get on my 1983 Bajaj Super....Bro wants to use the bike today.....( my jaan ...my Kawasaki Eliminator )......as usual the Bajaj needs to be tilted before kick starting it......tilting and starting done.....i come to the end of my lane....even on a sunday there is something going on in abhinav high school ...how i long for summer and diwali vacations...not a single kid around there running across the road......so peaceful....

coming back to reality...as always i am running about 10 minutes late....J is gonna kick my ass....but all i have to do is make that sorry face and he cant say a thing to me.....(fyi J is my pal from nursery...we went to the same pre school and later studied together at LHS before he entered the commerce stream and i went onto study science)....law college road i guess will be crowded ...even on a sunday morning.....so i decide to take the canal ka raasta.....winding along and enjoying the 'gaar vara' i take the right turn on prabhat road....the canal road beyond this point is not well maintained.......moving along ......i take a right to reach kamala nehru park.....aaah the park where i have spent practically every evening hanging out with the 'galli ka public'.....it all has become so familiar.......there are those medical shops to the left.....Dr Oturkar's dispensary.....that laundry too.....the bhelwala's and the dabeli ka gadi to the right.....and munna ki paan ki tapri......the nariyal pani wala........moving on ahead.....right onto bhandarkar road.....past Neeru's house...and Samy Boy's house......i see the shutters down at the pav bhaji stall that was open into the wee hours of sunday morning catering to the crowd after the were done with their partying at Thousand Oaks or maybe 10 Downing Street.......as i pass the PYC gymkhana grounds i see kids dressed in whites practising in the nets.....

i reach fergusson college road and take a left onto it......i see the present junior college students hanging out outside one of those new ishtyle coffee shops that have sprung up on F C road....there's barista....there's cafe coffee day...and the list goes on..i've heard its not considered cool anymore to bunk lectures and spend time in Vaishali.........any coffee will do as long as its at Barista........how times change......i reach Vaishali and find a nice parking spot right near the entrance...i walk in and find it very crowded.....sunday morning na.....families to be accommodated........there on a corner table in the smoking section...on a table for two i see J seated...fuming 'cause i am late......and puffing away on a Benson and Hedges lights......he makes a gesture as if to question me why i am late.....and i make my sorry face......and he smiles.......i sit and we begin ordering.........

And then i wake up...if only all dreams were this wonderful!!!!!!!