last weekend has transformed into a beautiful memory. all thanks to a great time spent in the lap of kashid, amidst the warmth of sarve huts.

owned by mr sawant, this place is suitably small,

home-ish and wonderfully neat. you’ll have to pass the prakriti and kashid resorts to reach sarve huts, but once you get there, you’ll heave a sigh of relief. with a small yet shaded pool inviting you to take a dip, it isn’t a wonder why we all ache to get there and unwind. all you need to take are the beers and the breezers, and life is a party.

for those who want disco music, continental food and a/c accommodation, this is bad news. stay out of sarve huts.

on the other hand, if you’re looking for authentic and to-die-for coastal maharashtrian cuisine, neat and very affordable rooms with a view and a lazy time spent in the hammock, go definitely!

we were 8 of us and therefore had the entire resort to ourselves. they have five rooms, all of them have attached baths, none of them have a/c. the charges per person per day are 1000 bucks - which includes the most extraordinary food and use of all the facilities, whihc include pool, carrom board, a cute machan that gives you a great view of the place, the lawns where you can lie down and watch the stars at night, the hammocks that are ideal for lazing the afternoons away and the dogs who are always around for added entertainment. in the evenings, they have a cd system where you can play music and enjoy yourself.

we ate the most awesome prawns, chicken biryani, mutton rassa, bhindi bhaji (believe me, i loved it!), dal-rice, onion and chilli bhajias, tandoori chicken....all finger lickin’ good.

the beach was calm and safe on the day we went. sadly we had lost a friend last year at around the same time, and this trip served to exorcise the ghosts of the past. i’m glad we returned to sarve huts and to the same beach...just showed me that circumstances maketh the experience.

you can choose to go to kashid by launch that leaves from gateway of india at regular intervals. we took the one at 8.45 am and reached in an hour and a half at mandwa. from there, you need to take a six-seater auto (if you are a big group) or a three-seater auto and drive down to sarve huts. they charged us 600 bucks for a six-seater. the drive is around 11/2 hours long, so get ready to be rocked, literally! buying booze is fine at alibaug, but the prices are a bit more than in mumbai.

to do bookings for sarve hut you need to call mr sawant in mumbai and his number is 022-24320201 or 09820548997 or log on to www.sarvehuts.com for more info.

happy kashid-ing.