We woke up to a super bright morning in the village scanning our surroundings.

It was 9 am and all that talk about waking up early and getting out for a walk was out of the window. It was summer and the sun was in all its glory.

Bhim was working, well officially he was. Bhim was a tech marketing content writer which  meant he could work from anywhere. As he put it, I just need to be connected and online that’s it.

In a way we three were kinda mavericks. Srini and me were retired and Bhim made a conscious decision not to take any extra work responsibilities or promotions so he could travel/backpack/trek whenever he wanted to.

Life was happening in front of us, the chance to be in the moment and savour it all, what could be more enriching than that?

Srini’s eyes were on the clock waiting for it to cross 10 am so he could drink beer! Bhim and I were having Chai and so we sat in the verandah chatting while he was working on his laptop.

We could see the parrots descending on the house and the trees, even a few cranes contrasting with the green trees. It was calm and silent. There was no sense of time really. The city seemed like another life.

We kept chatting when I noticed our man Srini  had already finished one beer bottle!

I was like hey hey hey if you finish up now, what about our share of beers which we plan to have in the afternoon huh?! And instantly Srini calls the caretaker of the house and says ‘Get two more glasses’ and yup so it was!

So here we were, 3 chums at 10.30 am with absolutely no food in our belly starting off on a beer diet that day. For Bhim it was the first time he had a beer so early and clearly Srini was making him join the club 😁😁

Over Omelettes(for Srini & me) and mixture(for Bhim) we beer buzzed our way well into the afternoon. Let me tell you we were not drunk at all but happy high. High on life, high on the moment and totally high on conversations and laughter.

Srini was regaling us with stories on his movie crazy so called hero/industrialist/hotelier /good for nothing cousin he had and how he would get Bella(our fur baby again) to contest the next elections in the village and she would be a much better poster child than anyone!

We laughed holding our bellies imagining a Saint Bernard in the posters and bowing her way through the crowds 😁😁He even coined a name for her’ Bella Akka’(sister).Well anything can happen in India I tell you!

The village atmosphere and the house was adding its bit amidst chirping birds, swaying trees and the fresh air hitting us. We became this trio that beautifully blended from silences to singing to conversations and rolling on the floor laughter.

We were also building up this whole jazz about Bhim’s date that was going to happen in Bombay the day we landed. Yup you heard it right! Date and not the fruit variety!

It was past noon and we continued the banter inside the house as it was getting too hot and that’s when Srini came into his element, with music playing in the background he danced and dissed Sushmita Sen’s (a celebrity for the uninitiated) current boyfriend 😁 Completely pissed off that his crush was dating some chap! The craziness continued to such a level that we got out, got some more beers and continued.

I remember the first meal we had in 24 hours that late afternoon. Rice, mango pickle and loads of ghee. You have no idea what it does to South Indians when they hear that combination! We ate to our hearts content and were ready to crash for some time.

With the slogan ‘Bella Akka’ in my head I zoned off that late afternoon. It definitely was raining beers and sunshine and 3 crazy characters in a small village in Telangana 😁