Campfire

The night air was chilling at 14 degree celcius. It was my second day at the “Wildcat Resort at Tadoba National Park” I had called one of our family friends to visit us. They  came at 6 pm and after the usual fanfare we decided to sit at the campfire. It was a perfect choice for a chilly winter evening with friends. The campfire is a round structure built with rocks and—.There is a pit well in between meant for the bon fire. The resort staff lit the fire for us and in no time there were nice orange flares dancing in the gentle breeze. Soon we were feeling comfortably warm.

Along with the bonfire there was also a fire starting in our stomach. We were so delighted to get hot onion pakoras served by the fire. The aroma filled the atmosphere. We relished eating the hot, crispy and tasty pakoras and drowned hot cups of tea.

Soon we all were energized and started talking about everything under the earth. But the setup was not complete without music. We three ladies from our group loved to sing and did not wait for any invitation. It was spontaneous singing and all three of us started singing old melodies. Initially the three men sitting with us, My son, My husband and my friend’s husband clapped each time we sang. Me and my friend totally enthused by this started singing one after the other till the smile on their faces started fading and their claps looked like they were killing some mosquitoes. We were in no mood to stop and did not notice the two men getting bored. My husband and my son did not belong to the species who enjoyed group music or dance. They were trying very hard to fit in. Then suddenly my son shouted “Spider” and there was a big stampede in our women’s camp. All three of us ran away from that place and soon the men started discussing politics and machines.

We looked at them from a distance and understood their game, laughed at them and went over to the swings to continue our singing……