Life Beyond Software Projects-Mother Nature is a good teacher visit her sometimes

There are phases in our IT career when software projects become the central focus of our lives.But its necessary to strike a Work-Life Balance if you want to keep on doing what you enjoy and avoid burnouts. If you want to be that "Lambi Race Ka Ghoda" in the IT field you need short breaks,activities that can rejuvenate you to go full throttle again.
One of such adventure to follow my pursuit of balancing professiona and personal life also taught me small lesons which I would like to share.
Heres it goes-

It was early winter of 2005, Nov 25-26 that we started for our weekend camping trip to Randha Falls. The Randha Water Falls are near Bhandardara, 225 Kilometers from Mumbai off the Mumbai Nasik Road.

As Usual we started late. The more the number of people the more the slippage in schedule (All project managers will agree!). This time the team consisted of Rajendra, the untiring driver of our old Zen, Pramod and of course me. We had yet to gain experience in pre camping shopping so attributed the delays to buying Knorr Soup, MTR packs, Noodle Packs, Tea Components and filling the Petrol Tank.
This time we had loaded the dashboard with our melodies right from Ghulam Ali to Bryan Adams as we were in for a long drive ahead.

The drive along the Mumbai Nasik Highway was pleasant until a nail ripped into the old tyres of our old Zen forcing a welcome tea break. By the time we reached Ghoti, the place where we have to leave the Highway we were well into late evening. Rajendra found a liking for this road and sped like Schumacher on the Monaco track at the same time finding time to appreciate the star struck sky. By the time he woke up from his dream we had missed the right turn to our destination and had gone ahead by miles. Lesson: - When the going is good, Good people can become lazy! We backtracked to the correct path and started our journey further on a hellish road that massaged our backs to such a extent to make you forget all the Kerala Ayurvedic Centers. I pitied the expensive cars have programs built in to give you a massage. Lesson: - When in trouble, see the brighter side, it keeps you going.
By the time we reached Bhadardara, it was pitch dark and it was midnight. Rajendra had been here a couple of times but failed to remember where the Randha Water Falls exactly were. Pramod had already done his best to convince us to find a Hotel (Bhandardara is a tourist destination) but we were hell bent on reaching our camp site. I forgot to tell you, Pramod is a Travel Consultant and runs his Travel company and we so we only respected his feelings/advice.

The cold was biting and he did a good job by huddling himself on the backseat while me and Rajendra tried to locate the falls by stopping the car every few kilometers, taking a walk around trying to figure out direction boards that always seemed to point in the wrong direction. Luckily we found two Samaritans who gave us perfect directions to find the falls. This entire problem was due to the fact that Rajendra was confident (or overconfident that the falls were around the Bhandardara lake) but in reality they were about 7 kilometers from Bhandardara. Lesson: - Overconfidence never pays. Please do your Home Work well.In the IT jargon it pays to do a google search rather than break head against a problem.
The campsite was the temple on the banks of the Randha Water Falls.
It was well our 1 A.M. in the night when we started to get the fire going on for our dinner. Preparing a fire is an art! The collected wood was wet due to due and proximity to water. We tried everything, rolling the Mumbai Mirror in the form of a pipe, so that we can efficiently pump air to light up the fire, burning parts of Times International but to no avail. Though we had Cheese, Bread and Omelets that we purchased on the way (Just in case you never know!), we wanted to cook. Your camping is never complete without cooking food on fire you have made with your own hands! The situation was enough to ignite Pramod out of limits, to wake him off his midnight slumber and get him into action. Lesson: - When the going gets tough, the tough get going. He did his bit by taking pains to collect dry twigs of all sizes and started work patiently to start the fire that helped us cherish the wonderful moments of having Hot Soup and Noodles on cold night. (We gave the MTR Pulao pack a skip!). He did lot of legwork to keep it burning after the fire had ignited.
Lesson Learned: - In any work (mainly business) the initial groundwork always takes extra efforts. Lesson: - Even after you get the fire started (i.e. the business going) you have to move around for more fire wood (more business) to keep the fire (the business) going.
The dinner (or the pre-dawn tea) was followed by good cold sleep in the temple which had had one side completely open and it took me 3 T-shirts, 1 Track Suit, 1 Jeans and 3 Bed sheets to survive till the morning. The wakeup call in the morning was shocking due to the fact that Rajendra had forgotten the Car keys inside the car. The situation was tense enough due to the mere fact that everything else except our sleeping gear was inside the car. (Even my shoes!). This time Rajendra got into action by getting a thin knife from the village nearby and slipping it down alongside the front window. Lo and Behold! The door had opened. Lesson: - Living expensive things in the car is unwise. Sinister thoughts of Rajendra leaving his noble profession of Printing and moving into another profession crossed my minds.
Sunday was cool and uplifting with the awesome view of the white waters of Randha Falls falling from great heights and then taking a cool dip in the mini lake formed above the falls. As usual Pramod opted for a nap under a trip because of his hydro-animosity.
Don’t forget to taste the home made Pedhas sold near the temple. They come in different sizes for Rupee 1, 2 and 4 and can beat the Chandu Halwais of the city hands down.
A small visit the MTDC rest houses on the banks of the Bhandardara Lake. The majestic fort of Ratangad provides wonderful background. The rest houses are a good and a popular getaway for people who like the outdoors but prefer to sleep indoors (Not our type!). On the way back to the Ghoti Junction try to look for a roadside Kulfiwala, more to rekindle the memories of your school days than your taste buds. You can also catch sight of the peak of Kalsubai, the heights peak in the Sahyadris and the steep forts of Alang, Kulang and Madan.
We officially ended our trip with a sumptuous meal at a roadside Dhaba at the foots of Kasara Ghat learning an important lesson of how to identify a good Punjabi Dhaba.
There should be plenty of trucks parked outside. (Strictly avoid places where cars are parked). Look for lots of Khatiyas strewn around unevenly in a maze, of which even Harry Potter (of Goblet of Fire Fame) would be afraid of, with truck drivers either eating or sleeping on them, with atleast few of them snoring. There should be a STD/ISD phone booth as a integral part of the Dhaba itself. There should be moderate amount of mosquitoes to prevent you from being plain lazy. All subzis should be in the price range of Rs. 15 to Rs. 20. No one should give you cold stares even if you spend hours finishing a meal. The cold drink bottles should have outlived their expiry dates. The total bill for 3 people (even if you eat as if you have never eaten before) should not exceed Rs. 200.
I thanked God that Rajendra, even after sharing equal part of this calorie ridden, killer meal, was able to drive us safely back to city, the city where we come to work on weekdays from our homes at the camping sites.