Teachers, Preachers, Saints and Kings...

As a preview to Camp in May we celebrated Fr.Robins 45th Anniversary as a Jesuit  with a select bunch of people who love him & his camps.  An early morning drive from Mumbai into the chilly mountain air brought us sleepy headed early birds to the gates of at St. Stanislaus Villa. to In all we were 3 families & a couple of Helpers thrown in amounting to 15 people including Fr. Robin. who made our way up on Saturday at different times of the day depending on the modes of transport we chose.Giles, the caretaker & man in charge of the property, mildly apologetic that the chief Chef was on leave,  made us feel at home as we settled in.What better place for the celebration of this event other than Khandala, where his vocation blossomed as he pioneered the Family Camps that encompassed a myriad of people?

Soon after our arrival we unpacked and occupied the rooms allotted to us before milling about the premises or indulging in a  conversations with fr. Robin..Ginger the camp dog, starved of human interaction was at her playful best and kept us entertained as we waited for the rest of our gang to show up. A school of teachers also arrived, and one of them even set her eye on a couple of spirits (we'd) hidden in the fridge.Defensive action was taken and not one was lost, showing you cant put a price on mans most cherished possessions.No sooner had I returned from the market place with supplies, we had mass at the Gazebo. After a sumptuous lunch I escaped from the dining hall just as a couple of spirited teachers attempted to do a jig on the table. We rested and lazed about the rest of the afternoon as the last of our group joined in. At tea time we had Fr. Robin cut a refreshingly delicious cake from Monginis that disappeared almost immediately.

Later that evening we played throw-ball and strolled about the forested grounds, exploring the now defunct swimming pool, & stacking up bits of wood in case the night got nippy and called for a campfire before attending mass in the chapel (for Sunday).After an evening of merriment a small band of us took a Night-walk alongside the Canal, to the accompaniment of dogs howling as we crossed foreign territory conjured up human monsters in my mind especially after a ordeal a girl I knew faced rather recently and I made the group do a quick about face and herded them back to the safety of camp. The teachers seemed like a classroom of children left unattended, wining, dining & dancing -having a good time and it amused me to see them indulge in the sort of behaviour they're stereotyped to chastise! That night as the teachers talked the night away we did a few Teachers too! (Relax... They came in a Can!) I had earlier envisioned a long drawn weekend unwind from the bustle and stress of city life but one among my kin had a prolonged bout of purges that progressively worsened through the night and we had to rush back to Mumbai early next morning for medical assistance.