*The diamond jubilee trip.*

 *Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ..* .Helen Keller

 *Like they say there is no life without some fun* and so to take a respite from our busy hectic schedule,

We again set out in the wee hours of the morning in four cars.

 Unfortunately my driver got delayed because some *hooligans punctured not one but three tyres* . ( This was the best adventurous trip I guess we had in our car. Starting our trip with punctured tyres to knocking down a biker on the slopes of Mahabaleshwar to tyre burst and broken axle right in the middle of express highway in scorching burning heat. The respite was, we could still sit the car with the air-conditioned on.Glad that we are safe in spite of the eventful drive )

 Despite the set back we made it on time with some delay on our way to *Mahabaleshwar* .

There was nothing that we didn’t do . Right from boat ride on the lake to eating coal roasted corn on the cob, swimming in the pool , played all kinds of board games, to strolling in the marketplace ( plus the heavy *shopping* ).

Highlight of our second day trip was meeting *IWC Mahabaleshwar* members.

We met *President Trupti, Secretary Vandana Pallod of the famous Pallod shop in the main marketplace* and the *club ISO Shubangi,our ISO Ismat exchanged club flags with her.* It’s a small club doing projects in and around the villages of mahabaleshwar. What is truly commendable is that all these women and members of the club are business or shop owners and entrepreneurs in their own rights and handle the entire over the counter sales in their respective shops.

The ISO was the owner of *Gift land* a toy shop, the *President was owner of Toshaniwal shop* known for bags and all fancy home items, the secretary was the owner of the *Pallod designer boutique* .

Mind you these women don’t mix business with pleasure or friends, not a single rupee discount we got for all the heavy shopping we did . ( *A good lesson learned indeed* )

Do check out our *insta reels* by Nargis, we had fun making them.

Throughly enjoyed every moment of the trip.

We bonded in a way that we will cherish for times to come. Got to know each other , bitched about anyone and everyone  ,bonded at personal levels  lots of chitter – chatter. A time truly well spent in the company of lovely friends with absolutely no inhibitions, formalities, modesty and complexes. It’s only with friends you forget all your woes and laugh to your hearts content.

Trips like these do leave lasting memories and strengthen bonds between friends. I am sure we will all cherish and treasure these moments. It was indeed a trip full of positive vibes and experiences to treasure.

 *Its like wherever you go it becomes a part of you somehow.*

This trip would not have materialized without the support of our *Centurion President Shirley Lazarus.* She is a company to cherish, she made sure we were all well taken care of and not to miss some of her quirky habits .

All credits to our *darling Sadhana* for her untiring efforts to organize this trip, right from getting a countdown of members to booking the hotel and the transport. Hats of to her. So a big huge applause to Sadhana .

Thank you my dear friends- *Pratibha Doshi* , *Sanyukta Doshi* , *Vimla* , *Ismat , Naseem,* *Nargis,Firdaus, Shilpa, Ameeta and Shabnam* for making this a memorable trip.  Now more than ever I am truly blessed to be part of you all.

Like Shirley said we girls had fun doing just simple things — *ENJOY* .

Yes Shirley it was a truly *YeH Dil Mange More* trip.

  For those who couldn’t make it I am sure you will enjoy reading every moment of our trip.

 *Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.”*

― Oscar Wilde

Dr. Vidya Mukund