Flummoxed In The Forest

{1} Vicious Rucksacks

'Babuji, I'll carry your bags, umm, five people so I'll charge a thousand rupees.' A short, bent man with white beard and hair wearing a faded white panjabi and dhoti, and a stark red turban on his head said from behind.

Grandpa turned back to look tersely at the porter with a slight bent at his shoulders, probably from carrying too much baggage up and down the trek.

'Yes that would be better. I am, but an old man, its not easy for me to trek ten kilometers with this vicious rucksack at my back! And the children too can speed up their pace on the way without these criminal bags.' My grandpa husked in his deep voice.

The turban wearing porter scratched his turban at the barrel of offensive words for the bags he was about to carry. 'Yes, Sahib, the boys and girls can enjoy the view and flowers better and freely..' He stuttered, thinking of the right words to say.

'Okay, I'll give you the thousand rupees. But...how is it that you will carry these overgrown bags up the trek with dhoti?' Grandpa said. I silently smacked my feet against the wet soil at his vehement use of adjectives to describe bags.

'Oh..sirji, we are but experienced on these lands! Don't you fear!' The porter said with porter-like-enthusiasm.

'Karthik!' I internally screeched at the voice shouting my name. 'You must drink this chai here! It's heavenly! Peppermint in the chai! Never tasted anything like it!' An overly enthusiastic voice boomed from my left. It was Arun. How I knew the name? Well he was my friend (unfortunately?). Well there were other friends of mine too with him, Sheela and Bhavna. But from afar, they seemed to grimace at the booming voice of Arun and also seemed to look with contempt at their cups of Chai.

Arun strode loftily along the path and cheerfully wound his arm around me, and asked if I wanted some of the chai. The green weird colored vaporizing liquid in his cup revolted me. 'Absolutely not'. I said.

My grandpa, finishing his business with the porter turned to look at Arun, 'Chai with peppermint? Doesn't it goes away with the concept of Chai itself? I thought a chai must taste like..you know? Tea leaves.' He said gravely as he unwound his walking stick.

All of us started to laugh and even the grumpy looking porter flickered a grin. Arun had red splotches on his cheeks and gulped down the hot tea in one gulp and then mulched half of it out. Another round of laughter met his antics.

'The girls too have that chai.' He said defensively, waving his hands around dramatically.

'Yes, if u mean forced to have it with over enthusiastic and non interesting tales of tea.' Bhavna smirked.

Arun, unable to take another ounce of criticism turned on his hills and started to run and strut up the trek.

'Hey boy wait, I am supposed to carry your luggage up the trek!' The grumpy porter shouted from behind. He already had taken hold of our rucksacks with my grandpa voice preposterous bags while he handed his rucksack to the porter.

'Me? Oh no! I am the fittest! I don't need others to carry my bag! Meet you guys at the top!'Arun shouted at us as he turned on the path and disappeared among the mist.

'Well that decreases your payment by two hundred rupees, I take.' My grandpa smirked jovially at the crestfallen porter. 'Seems so.' He whimpered.

'Hey Karthik, doesn't the porter looks like Captain Barbossa from the Pirates Of Caribbean?' Sheela whispered at my ears.

'What? Heck! No..he had Octopus tentacles in place of beard!'

'Yes but that's after the curse..' Stared Bhavana darkly at me.