I admit stars define their own path and thus the course of events in one’s life. Every shooting star falls where destiny wants to take you. And mine fell somewhere over Pune. How else would you describe the way things have fallen in line for someone living miles away for the mermaids’ song to reach. However, it didn’t stop me from contemplating the serene sight of a sunset over the breakers and foam at the shoreline of a beach. I got to visit one. What’s more, in the company of my partner in jollity, the Honda Jazz X. Kayaking, jet ski, banana boat…. the list of things I wanted to do was long. The first week-end of last month was to be the day of this outing and the place Alibag! 
About 150 km of lovely open roads and ghat take you to Alibag, the famous seaside resort town and headquarters of Raigad district in Maharashtra. The normal route for someone starting from Pune would be the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, later taking the Khopoli exit towards Alibag via Pen. However, we decided to make the journey even more interesting by going via Mulshi with a brief sing-along through the Tamhini ghat to reach Kolad. The next step was to take the NH 17 until Wadkhal and then a final left towards Alibag, a distance of 180 kilometres. The route was a bit longer, but splendid enough both for the Jazz and yours truly. It was a treat for our eyes to admire the scarlet-red Jazz X against the green foliage and the blue of the lake we crossed on our way. This called for numerous photo-ops too.
Our preparation for the outing was, as usual, meticulous. This meant a number of bags and sacks. The Jazz’s cavernous boot proved its usefulness once again, taking in all the luggage we dumped inside without grumbling! Tamhini was full of similar looking tourist vehicles and family cars with kids hanging out of the window. The Jazz looked like a refreshing change among all those. We lowered our windows to welcome the breeze coming over the hills and turned the music off to listen to the song of nature.
