Three

Sanjan.....A small coastal town on the border of Gujarat and Mumbai.....Historically it was the place where Parsis first landed in India.. The King of Valsad (city close to Sanjan) asked them how they would adjust/adapt and the reply was "jaise doodh mein shakkar mil jaataa hai waise......" don't remember the rest of it but you should have gotten the point by now...........We (my parents, few of our friends and I)went there on Saturday.... stayed at my dad's friend's house (I don't want to get into the architectural details....maybe the photos speak the required language)....There were one too many stray dogs there....and most of them looked as if they had never eaten before....There is a horse stable behind the house...it has a small ground afore it....Somehow the smell of horse shit didn't feel repugnant as it might have elsewhere....Someone said that it gave the place a rural feel!! I just got used to it....The beach was about 500m(as crow flies) away from the house, but hidden from direct view by a small jungle of trees, a seasonal river bed and some more trees....Sunset approaching rapidly, we went there in the Scorpio....the undulating ground made the ride feel no less than a camel ride....At the beach was a dead Dolphin! For the first time in my life I saw such a massive creature...and its prehistoric appearance made me want to look at it closely, touch the teeth, but for the stench and the dirt.....soon the dogs came and started their feast! We walked back to the house through the woods....Had some four dogs as escorts, who stopped immediately as their territory ended....and some two others joined us when we entered theirs....Next day did some target practise with the Walther CP gas pressured air pistol..simillar to the one that Mr.Bond uses (Walther PP)...I managed to hit the bullseye more than 5 times.....mighty proud of the achievement....Saw one house that is for sale....Reminded me of those bhoot banglaas from the old hindi films.....complete with one number photo of two cats along the staircase....It was a compact house. the drawing room had the upper level overlooking on it....a narrow staircase leading to the terrace and a room from the side....the openings on the wall above the drawing room allowed light to enter and gave the small place the spacious feel....ENOUGH of the architectural discourse........ but somehow it felt Parsi.....nice, sweet, gentle, kind....!!!!

I got to drive our car later in the afternoon.....albeit for a very short distance, it felt GREAT!!!!....

Well, not having seen the town as it is and being amidst parent and friends I never got the taste of Sanjan...except for the absolute relaxation and peace due to the absence of pollution and other banalities......(the word had to come somewhere;)!