So, where are you going today

? That was the thought I had in my mind on the morning of 08.08.08 or was it an ad line…and it was raining heavily (hypothecally speaking but it did rain bad by evening). Thought will meet bablu bhai and Ali bhai and see some stuffs that bablu bhai had bought. So went to their office at around 11 in the morning, bablu bhai asks to head to ali bhai place with him. I go there expecting kababs & parathas and what nots(I stay alone.. so nothing wrong in having expectation, now ali bhai you are force to feed me that

). Anyways after reaching there, ali bhai hand out some rods & says lets go and I ask where?? He says lets go fishing. I was.. now…I was not prepare at all… all spiked, gelled & perfumed with a expectation to woo a girl on a weekend

… not like this…but then I found myself in powai with Ali bhai & Bablu bhai….thats when I realized women has become a second fiddle to fishes and I am not married yet

…
Anyways bablu bhai drops us at the lake and we head for ali bhais machhan. I am all excited & zero patience.. .wants to throw the line the moment I saw water. But looking at ali bhai..all calm, poised, checking & working meticulously on the rods, reels, baits. Well that’s where he metamorphoses into a true ‘engineer’. Starts with preparing baits and boys I asked ali bhai.. are you inviting the fishes for a ‘food festival r something’ ..milkmaid, ghee, coconut milk and the works…I was hungry. But that was for ground baiting.
Then he fixes the rod, says he is going to use feeder rig with pop up hooks(I have heard about them, never seen one working and forget catching a fish). Ali bhai tests the water, throws in the line..lines (three), watches it for sometime ..no movement, the lake was dead….nothing. I go out to meet my bro, get some sandwiches & beers. Come back and sees some good movement on the float…it went vertical in for the second time and I screamed for ali bhai and I strike…and I scream with the expectation that something was hooked, ali bhai comes looks square on my face and says that’s the weight of the feeder and you are not supposed to strike with a feeder rig…and all my expectation went off

…was expecting ali bhai to say good strike….now I wanted to hide myself somewhere .(.but not much option ..you have to jump into the lake...but if my smartness was narrated even the crocs of powai lake will have a hearty laugh )..so I shrunk to a corner..
Anyway ..nothing much happened after that…and it started raining bad …and it became quite dark at 3pm..ali bhai retired for a quite nap
…and impatient me started throwing the ‘goli’…but nothing …no jumps, no movement , no bubbles…not even a ‘singy’ r ..dead…and I was man…..should have tried wooing a girl instead…
Bored, dejected….i also went for a short nap…by this time bablu bhai comes back its 6 or so…ali bhai asks for some ‘chutni’ says he couldn’t find them…bablu bhai gets it from somewhere….the moment ali bhai sees the ‘chutni’...something bright lights up in his eyes… and he say ‘I am going to show you magic’…I was ok…
He makes a new ground bait with the chutni, throws it into the lake and say…10 minutes …the fishes will come and ask for your health. And believe me….i was awestruck when 7/8 minutes and see a big jump right in front of the machan…then it was total chaos…fishes from all corner of life was asking for my health…I couldn’t believe the change….the dead lake has suddenly turned into paradise….bablu bhai was having a headaches and was down and itching to leave.. but the moment the splashes and bubble started popping, the headache was gone…but still no movement on the lines apart from a couple of tugs…by this time it was pouring mad..…and it was getting darker…still nothing happened…ali bhai asked a couple of times . chala jaye kya fishes are in no mood to feed’…but rain made us wait….and again when it was getting dull….ali bhai changed the feeder baits…dough a new one…meticulously used this powder, that paste some cakes and kajus(exaggerated). It smelled like carmel custard .. I looked at him thinking how patient is the person...then he threw the line…5 min..i was about to fall asleep…when I heard the ..keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.. of the reel and boy the ‘reel screamed and screamed and screamed’…ali bhai was on it in a flash…latter I told ali bhai…I guess this sound makes the best wake-up alarm for ali bhai…I was so excited…to see the rod practically doubling up and the line going this way n that way…ali bhai…was trying to get the fish in control but the guy was hell bent on making ali bhai use his every muscle, maybe he knew that ali bhai is nursing a shoulder injury. …what a fight… after about 30 min. we saw a glimpse of the guy…a decent size …and ali bhai threw a caution …the fish was trying his best to head for the marshy land or was trying to entangle in the machan poles…which he did a couple of times…dived deep . He said if he trying to pull the fish hard ..the hook might straighten….so, without exerting much pressure he landed the fish with all our help..i was holding the lantern n bablu bhai was holding the landing net…it was 8 pm… a 6 kg rohu…a beautiful fish…we didn’t have a camera( I told ali bhai…today I didn’t get the cemera, n we will surly catch a big one.)…but I clicked a few with my mobile …
Bablu bhai with the catch
…then ali bhai said…rajesh, this is a gift for you… and I was like…winning a Oscar…wanted to thank every possible person…then I realized maybe…ali bhai might have seen the ..fish pakkkors, the fish fingers and the fries and the curry that I was visualizing and thought ok…he needs it more than anyone else…then gave it to me…whatever..now I had, a 6 kg rohu with me and I am the only person to eat all that fish… it’s a feast…still is n ll be for a long time…
I was walking around with a smile

as if Katrina kaif said she will join me for dinner.. …and bablu bhai did ask.. rajesh, you okai..a couple of times.
In the end it was sheer patience and attention to details..i was converted to a feeder rig guy…and hopefully ll catch something big…but as reminded by ali bhai..time and again…patience no movement…be a fish till one is hooked.
I learned a lot on fishing with ali bhai, techniques, actions and the recipe. The great angling guru. His techniques are based on pure research.
…boy hats of to ali bhai
thanks for bearing with me…this was the first opportunity I got to watch a big fish caught and land and it was the first event that I got a chance to narrate…would have liked to include a few song and dance sequence…but thought otherwise…..
cheers!
Rajesh