Pocket Diary Book Club

Retreat Diaries: A Journey of Uncertainty, Chai, and Quiet Connection
Time: 1:00 AM.
Ghar jaa raha tha, sab kuch thoda uljha sa lag raha tha. Dil mein ek doubt — “Yeh retreat kesa hoga?” Manisha aur Sameer — dono ne mana kar diya tha. Team chhoti ho rahi thi. Lekin subah ek call kiya . Manisha kind — shayad kuch badla ho.

Phir waqt aa gaya. Is baar retreat alag tha. Naya tha. Aur fir bhi, ek purani kahani jaisa lag raha tha. Jaise ek safar jo pehle likha gaya ho, hum bas usse phir se jeene ja rahe the.

Departure & Familiar Faces
Safar ki shuruaat tempo se hui. Neel ka studio mila. Shaant si jagah, aur ek instant connection. Laga — haan, is baar baat hogi. Accha lagega.
Retreat for Pocket Diary Book Club has never just been an event for me — it’s like returning to a chosen family. Har edition mein naye log hote hain, purane yaadein rehti hain.

Kaafi log kaam ki wajah se nahi aa paaye — but kuch ne udaipur tak ka rasta pakad liya. Srijan Dilli se nikal chuka tha. Anusha aur Abhishek bhi on the way the.

Pick-Up Chronicles
Subah 4:15 pe Samir aa gaya. Bus 4:30 pe nikalni thi.
Route is baar one-by-one pick-up wala tha. Mitesh thoda late tha, uske baad Priya, phir Nija ji, phir Sneha.
Akansha, Shivam aur Alifya — sabko call ho chuka tha. Location group mein daali ja rahi thi. Har stop pe excitement badh raha tha.

Chai, Music & Mood Shift
Gandhinagar mein humne apni fixed chai ki jagah pe break liya. Subah ki thand, ek kadak chai, aur woh sukoon jiska naam retreat hai.
Baatein ab khulne lagi thi. Maine clear warning de di thi — “Sona allowed nahi hai!”
Music shuru ho gaya — Himesh Reshamiya se Coke Studio, Ghazals se leke purane Bollywood classics tak.

Aur phir — woh moment jab sabki kitaabein nikalne lagi. Koi kahani, koi poetry, koi silence ke saath apna pyaar jata raha tha.

The Nature Call Adventure
Lekin safar ho aur drama na ho — aisa kabhi hota hai kya?
Hamare “shortgun DJ” ko nature call aa gaya. Sab kuch slow ho gaya — road bhi, music bhi, hum bhi. Tabhi Srijan ka call aaya — wo log Udaipur pahuch chuke the.

Akansha ne ek light conversation chhed di. Woh typical community ban gayi thi gaadi mein. Driver bhaiya bhi hansne lage the.
Tension tha, but timing perfect thi — hum chai-poha stop tak time pe pahuch gaye.

Turning Point: Arrival of Comfort
Us breakfast ke baad sab badal gaya. Ek invisible barrier tut gaya tha.
Log freely baat karne lage. Priya apne rag mein aa gayi thi. Wo hesitation jo pehle thi, ab dissolve ho gayi thi.

Sabko ek alag energy feel hone lagi thi. Retreat ka asli safar abhi shuru ho raha tha.

And So It Began…
Ek retreat jo doubt se shuru hui thi… ek comfort zone mein transform ho gayi.
Tempo mein chai, music, kitaabein, thoda sa comedy, thoda sa traffic — aur dher saari yaadein.
This was not just a journey to a location — this was a return to ourselves. One page, one stop, one song at a time.

Written at 8:56 AM, laptop on my lap, window open to the highway breeze.