Lost&Found

" || Not days, not hours or not a portion of  some experience! It is the little moments that can change  life forever!"||

 The morning i got down at Chennai Koyembedu bustop. I was sleepy and walked with the stick in my hand. " Look dud he looks like Bodhivarman" said a guy on the road. I rode in a share auto and got down near my room and walked. In the shop near by home i brought some rice and potato. I had lots of cloths to wash and i was not able to walk. That day was a Sunday. I washed my cloths and cooked the best food ever. Fried potatoes and rice! 

As the evening came , the gentle wind blew open the door and i sat on the white plastic chair looking at the tree from my terrace. All those moments came back, there was silence all around. Just me and the sound of wind and that Tree. The same time yesterday i was in the woods and now in the four walled room. Both these places i was and im now , had loneliness in common but when i was in the woods i never felt lonely, but here yes it was sad and lonely. Good days are over and i had to get to work tomorrow. The same excel sheets, the white monitor, black phones and watery coffee. There will not be a time when my mobile will be switched off, there will be no black coffee like i had in Vellakavi, there will be no trees and sound of cricket. Man i don deserve to lock myself in career that makes no sense to me!

I was Lost in the woods, but found ideas or thoughts , I was Lost in tiredness, but i found a guy who made me realize what i was searching for. 6-7months from the Trek I Lost hope on the Job i was in, into Recruitment. i Lost Interest and i quit and now im Finding what i want! I lost a brand value but i found time to observe my life, be more lazy, write more, fight for justice and do the new job with creativity i like. I also found the Hotel Room key in my bag !!!!

Lost is just another way of saying I found something new. Lost and Found, what ever you loose, its worth loosing because you would Find what you want!!! All i say is. Just go do what you want!! society, system and people perception should not contain your spirits! its your life and you decide what you want!!!

We are all like the Little kid who i met near the lake, we are all Lost and we walk wherever we feel we would be safe! Lost is good! use it as an opportunity to discover something new! something about you and don't try to be safe! Find a way to get Lost!!!! Get lost, Find Yourself!

The God Theory - Reloded

 || " Anything that's immeasurable, undefinable, non-calculable , not understandable and unthinkable, is not God its just lack of reasoning " ||

The bus has to start by 7:30pm and i was inside it by 7:15pm. I removed my shoes and socks, what a relief!! but few minutes later a horrible smell was knocking my nose! 4hrs30mins of trekking, a lot of sweat, mixed with the oil from the foot, yes that smelled horrible! " What is that smell???" a guy mildly yelled. He was around 5 feet, wearing power glasses, dressed in read T-shirt and Blue jean and looked around. "Yes its me, i had been trekking all day! cant help! sorry!". He nodded and sat in another seat. The Bus was about to start and conductor came near my seat and asked the guy to sit next to me. A group of old  women sat on the left side seats and i was with this guy on the right. " I pity you" the conductor said to me and why did he say that? because i was trekking alone like a mad man and still carrying the stick! I smiled and ignored it

"Where are you trekking from? " asked the guy next to me. I explained him the whole route and he said " Well you did not trek 14km, you should have trekked at least close to 20km". I was happy it made me kind of proud! as i was mentally updating it in my FB status and imagined friends liking it " Are you vexed with your life? any problems? why im asking you this is because, you know people do all these trekking just to give themselves a break from all their trouble!" I looked at him for a second and said " Yea, no problem in my life. Have you seen the movie Into the Wild? " he replied " Nope! but what did you feel about trekking?"

"I felt peace! i like to have some adventure for my own!" he smiled at me and said " You seem different! so what do you do? and whats your hobbies?" I explained him about my work and also said to him about my interest in the Aliens and writing stories! He was excited!! " Wow!! im very much interested in the same subject!!" i explained him about the Roswell incident, Betty and Barney abduction case and told him about the "Chariots of Gods" book. He suddenly said " Yes i have read that book in tamil and its wonderful!! "Do you believe in God?" This is what i was expecting !!! Goosebumps in my body and i became High!!!!

"Yes but not the god we think as God you know!!".. He replied " Exactly Boss! i too have the same problem! i was very spiritual once, in the name of religion and God, few so called holy men ruined my life! but still i did not loose faith! what would poor Jesus do for some guy guiding me wrong!. Every morning i open my shop and play devotional songs and then start with business! after reading books like chariots of gods i realized, Aliens may be the gods but still, it has become like a sentiment i cannot start the day without playing the devotional songs. I feel uneasy if i don't do so! " I smiled at him and i realized that i had the same problem!

One thing was bothering! what is the beginning to the Beginning! If aliens have created us ?( which is very convincing) , then i assume some more far intelligent life has created our creators and so on!! but were does all these start from? who started all these? Like the Hindu script claims are we all the stuffing's in the God's dream? but still who the hell is god? and why do every religion threatens people especially the non-believers to Hell? we talked and talked and had several things in common, i forgot his name, but we still talk over phone. He also made a short film called "Theeveravadham" and he is a budding director!

When he entered the bus and yelled about the smell from my socks i thought there was going to be a fight, but few hours of talks and  we had each of us to support to break the illusion of god ! As he was talking i fell asleep, the morning i woke up , i saw flyovers and busy roads, the bus was near Koyambedu and he was packing his bag and got down a stop before Koyambedu.!

So what was LOST and what was FOUND?

The Two hours in the Bustand

" || When a man searches for truth he becomes a part of an adventure. When he understands the truth , he becomes The adventure and they call him GOD " ||

"Can you drop me on the way or somewhere near the bustand? " i asked, " Sure no problem , i will drop you in the bustand" the guy riding the bike replied. He signaled his friends who were in the other bike. They all slowed down and had water borrowed from a house, as they discussed, 2 guys bid adieu and left. Along with the rest i was in the bustand after a10mins ride. I jumped out of the bike and i was not able to walk! Lifting my legs few inches in the air was difficult and painful. One of the Guys ran to the ticket counter and asked about the bus. He came running and said " 7PM the SETC bus leaves to chennai!" . Chennai?? i did not know there was a straight bus from Thumbakarai to Chennai. As i looked around i noticed something shocking!!

If i wanted to know the place im currently in, i look out for the shop boards with address. I saw one such board and it said "Periyakulam" I looked at the guys and asked " The place were you picked me up, is it periyakulam? " , "Yea the outskirts" they replied. I was confused! I should have taken a bus from Thumbakarai to Periyakulam but, i have walked all my way here!! Oh My God!!!!!!

My mind was repeating this news again and again! One of the guys came closer to me and pointed his hands to a distant mountain that was covered with mist and asked " Do you see the mountain there", "yea i can see it, why?"

 He said " Well that is were you have been trekking from! the Dolphin NOSE AND THIS IS PERIYAKULAM!! were did you get this crazy thought to trek?" The mountain he pointed was far to my eyesight and i cannot determine how much kilometers i have walked and its definitely not just 14km. I was not even able to say how i had trekked this far! somewhere, sometime i had missed a route and walked all way here!  i laughed out loud and brought cool drink for those guys. I introduced myself to them and i came to know they were all college students doing final year engineering and out of them few were working.

"You guys need not wait for me, i will be here till 7pm , just take rest", they all smiled and one guy said " I thought i will take you to my home but its 3km from here. We will reach there and in another 15mins we have to start back to catch the bus, there will be no time to rest" . " Thanks, but no problem , i will just have something and sit here for a while and then sleep inside the bus" Before they left , few of them added me in Facebook, i bid Adieu and dragged myself to the ticket counter.

I brought the reservation Ticket and I was Hungry but i was not able to eat! i took 30mins to finish one Dosa. The hotel looked weirdly at me when i took the stick in. After eating i asked a waiter there "Can i fill my empty bottles with the water here? " the man replied ": Why are you even asking! its water please take as much as you want!" I realized this place was far better than Chennai, people in the city !!! my god!!. I filled my water bottles and stretched myself in the platform. I was looking at the people there, i asked a guy to click a picture of me, poor guy took a picture while the lens was pointing at him!!!  My bus had come and the conductor came out and he took a pic of mine!

The Trek was incomplete!! The God theory danced in my mind. God exist or not? Aliens are gods? or is there a God somewhere? Stories or thoughts from Trek never end, but my trek became Complete. I did not have answers for my questions but i found something helpful!

The Kodaikanal Trek - Phase-4 - FOUND

                        || " Everything is just probability!!  it become Luck, when the probability is at 1"||

It may seem normal when you read, but it was totally something there. Few more meters of walk i would be damn tired and anything could have happened. By calculation i knew i have walked 14km. It's just 14Km but it was in the woods and walking down the slope made me shaky! Gravity was all pulling me and the heavy bag i carried pushed me. My Jeans,T-shirt everything became heavier and i was sweating like hell! my shoes lost its souls and i was able to feel the ground, my foot burnt and the socks scratched it every time i walked. The two paths in front of me put me in chaos, deep down my instincts were screaming a thing. It was like " I would easily get out of this place" and i reasoned it in all logical ways i could.

Walking faster or getting a help from someone were the two logical possibilities. I'm sure i cannot walk faster and i cannot expect someone in the woods to give me a ride, it is woods after all!! As i was in a chaos on which path i should choose the bushes began to shake! i gripped my stick and made myself ready to run or make peace. Wild Bufallows / Ox were said to be the living creatures of the woods. I was longing to see one or even imagined even like i was chased by it. But not now, definitely not now! i cannot! but it was not an Ox. It was a young dude coming out of the woods from my left.

5 more people followed him and they were totally 7 -8 guys and as they came out and i asked "Which way do i go to get in town?", follow us he replied and i walked with them. "Where you from and what are you doing here?" he asked " From Chennai and came here for trekking"

Suddenly the other guy " What alone? trekking from kodaikanal??",  "yea from kodaikanal, i started at Dolphin nose this afternoon and im here now! i will be leaving Chennai tonight". They all gave me a stare as if they saw a Ghost! as i walked i thought, i should somehow reach periyakulam by 7pm and get the night bus to Chennai, as i planned. All of a sudden, 2 of the guys whispered loudly "Stop stop!!! i saw something there!! i think there is an OX". We marched slowly and 2 minutes later we were all fools! including the 2 guys. They mistook a cow for an Ox, the cow was standing under the Mango tree and i was stunned to see myself there! im finally out of woods!!! I have made it to the outskirts of the town and landed in a private land filled with Mango / sapota trees.

I was happy and sad as well. I became more cheered when i saw these guys parked their bikes! I don't remember the bike or its color, in which i had a ride. All i remember, that it was a triples ride and i was sandwiched between two guys. The Bike roared on the well laid road, the place resembled the outskirts of Thumbakarai village, The sun was sinking in the clouds. The bikes raced and wind blew over my face. I FOUND peace and freedom! A freedom  and victory of winning my own battle against time. The clock hit 5:30pm and i knew the last bus would have gone but i never cared.I closed my eyes and a flash of all the incidents played like a movie, the people i met , the trees i kissed, the places i sat and those mountains and steep path which had a promising light at its end. It was awesome!! i just looked at the plain blue sky and LOST myself into something!

The good twist for stories are always in the end. Finishing my trek and coming back home is not the end..I'm sure this is not the end or Well i don't know if it has really ended!

The Kodaikanal Trek - Phase-3 - LOST

|| " Eyes cannot escape the Green, ears cannot miss the sound of the leaf

 I was Lost in woods, tired of beauty and  no minute for  relief" ||

Minutes of walking, things turned heavy! I felt Gravity was pulling me hard,the music became a burden to my ears, everywhere i look i see mountains, trees and brown leaves. I was somewhere in the woods, by calculation i should be able to see some human activity or a promising road ahead but i was in the middle of the woods. My Bag became more heavier, i started to sweat and a bad thought crept in " I'm may not reach on time and im going to miss the bus". A bottle of water, box of chocolates, 2 small pack of biscuits, weak leg and a burning foot. I was still walking hard to make out of the Woods.

As i kept walking, i saw a steep path, shadowed by plants and trees. To my Left i saw thick tree covered mountain and as my eyes ran through the mountain, something Blue showed up. i just stood still and observed! It was a bus and what i was looking at was a road!i was so happy that i had finally made it! I looked at the steep path and started walking faster.

The path went on , it was endless, endless scene of green on both the sides, i switched on the music! I was loosing hope again, my foot was burning like Hell and i knew, if im going to stop and sit down for few seconds, i will not be able to get up to walk again.. As i listened to music an inspiring line showed up from my favorite song, 

Angels and Airwaves- The Adventure 

" My dearest friends,
Even if your hope has burned with time,
Anything that's dead shall be re-grown,
And your vicious pain, your warning sign,
You will be fine."

Yess!! God exists!!!!! said one of my sense!  "Shut Up!!, this is just a random probability, the music is in shuffle mode and any song may pop up! since you are in isolation you are able to hear the Lyrics clearly! " said my other sense, as i battled within, the steep road came to an end and i was engulfed by the dying sunlight! The sight gave me a shock! the place was just an empty space and there was another path leading into the Woods again. I imagined a road leading to the village but i was still in the woods. I have definitely Lost my route and have been traveling all these time in the wrong path!

As i walked closer i found 2 paths. I was stunned and not in a mind to analyze and make decisions on which road to choose. I was bending down to see were these paths go and how should i choose one.My mind did not work right, i was weak , tired and my foot was Burning and im LOST

As i stood clueless, i heard something to my left, i saw bushes move as if someone pushed it ,i gripped my stick and stood still to see what comes out.

The Kodaikanal Trek - Phase-2 - The unexplained God Theory

|| " Man witnessed a miracle by a powerful being and declared it God. 

      Hearing this and looking at the man , the Being whispered "Oh my God! "!!

Vellakavi, was just a normal village. I came through the mountains, so i assume i should have been to the outer part. I approached the 3 men and asked them if i could get water. One of the guy pointed to a small street and said " ask for water in that 3rd house, its my home, my dad would also be sitting outside and he would fill your bottle". I walked on the cement road were gutter intersected and the hens played. I saw 3 men sitting in the veranda and i asked them if i could get some water, i did not even know if was in the same house the guy referred to. They offered me a seat in a wooden chair and they continued sitting down. A very general talk emerged.

"So are you working in software" asked the 50yr old man, " No im into administration and im from Chennai".

"You have come alone? or your friends coming behind?". wow! the same question again. i replied as usual and asked " so, how long is that you are all here? have you been to Chennai?" . " We all are here since birth and none of us have left this place ever! few guys in village moved to some other place, very few to Chennai for work. ", i smiled at them and said " Hmm.. you should never leave this place! Chennai is not peaceful and will never be!". The guy laughed out loud " How can it be peaceful sir, if there are so much people there!",

 " exactly!".

Before he or i could start a  conversation i was offered a coffee in metal tumbler. I was kind of hungry and i quickly peeped into the tumbler to see how much coffee i got! it was full, but wait! it was Black!! The guy said " That's Black coffee sir!, we never use milk here, we don't have milk here! we are all used to Black Coffee!"

i smiled at him and sipped a pinch. The Coffee ran into my tongue and there was a huge applause from the Reflex arcs and the taste buds. The coffee was amazing!  and i said  " Coffee is great sir!, you know in Chennai even water is scarce!", he smiled at me and said " Kodaikanal is not what people think, its becoming dry these days, no rain in recent times! and its no different from Chennai, except for the weather and people", yes the people , he is right. " when i turn old, i will start agriculture in some village and get out of corporate or whatever i do!", hearing this they all laughed, the coffee was done and they filled my bottles.

"Sir can i take your photo?", he agreed and i clicked a snap. "Reach thumbakarai before 5:30pm to catch the bus, next time come with friends" and he waved at me. i started walking straight and i crossed the curb and im into a narrow path like before. It was 2:35pm and i started walking towards Thumbakarai! 

People said Thumbakarai had a waterfall but it was dry! i thought i will pay it a visit if time permits! Not more than 1km i saw a pony and a guy reaping grass, few people harvesting something and what Mr. Natrajan said  earlier,came to my mind, after snapping the pony, i started a brisk walk and again the slopes dragged me down! I was alone in the woods, the sun was bright and the sound of birds and cricket's accompanied me! The woods were thick with weeds, tall grass and no trace of a plant or tree with flower or fruit! The bag turned heavy as i walked, there were 2 liters of water, my jerkin and my other cloths, i soon began to sweat and my foot started burning and i felt hungry!

I sat down on a rock and opened the box of chocolate and had one! i removed my shoes and the socks exploded with a very bad smell and my foot was all wet! My foot had turned reddish, especially my right one. i took the investigated the shoe and to my surprise the soul has cracked and has started to tear apart!All the stones and thorn could easily penetrate and hurt me! Getting hurt is not a problem, but it will slow down my speed! I had hair oil bottle in my bag, i quickly applied few drops and changed the other smelling pair of socks and started walking.

I felt better and the isolation of the woods invited my mind to debate regarding the existence of GOD. I was brought up in a family were we worship Lord Vishnu. Religion and spirituality were planted into my mind. Later in my school days, i started reading about life's on other planets, after so many years, few months before the Trek, i brought a book called "Chariots of Gods", the book reflected the same idea, what i had in my mind, as a theory! God never created us! something or some far advanced intelligent life created us, witnessing its ability, man declared it as God!

All our mythologies are true! but we never questioned them! There are lots of things that are not explained or there are lots of loop holes! like  - were was Jesus at his young age and what was the light that showed up during his birth? why was Lord Krishna Blue in color? How did they even build Vimanas ? we have so many to question , but we never question and we have one blind stupid answer, its a God thing, its all miracle, it cannot be explained because it cannot be understood! But we take no pain in understanding  or questioning!. Truth is people don't want to believe the truth , they are comfortable this way! easy to blame destiny and fate for their irresponsible activities, easy to watch people steal and say God will take care! Even if God exist, he will not give a shit!

God is something of higher state and he / she definitely be not interested in micro managing your life and protecting you from problems. You have brain to think, an heart to listen to and organs to move! run search and know about your life! Becoming someone or something is no use, but to know were you are from and who you are is all you need and that IS meditation or science research is all about!

As i was thinking all these, i was shocked, stunned and frozen! my eyes were fixed to the point that was few meters away! A stone structure. I saw 2 stones standing vertically, one shorter than other. These 2 stones were surrounded  by a Fence formed by piling up stones one over another. I went near and saw the stones. One stone was supposed to represent Lord Shiva and other parvathy! and for first time in the woods i saw flowers. The stone structure rested under a tree that has showered white flowers all over the place. I laughed to myself and said " Fuking coincidence! excellent probability and the outcome is 1, exactly 1". i sat there for a while and looked around! there was a small Bell hanging from the tree, thought i will hit it!

What if the Bell is put there on purpose by some burglars? , i hit it and Burglars find that some one is there and they trace and then Rob! I'm not taking this risk! , as i planned to stand up and walk, the Newtonian gravity thing occurred again! a flower fell over my head! i thought it was some bird shit at first :P when it turned out to be a Flower i was happy and i put it near the "Shiva idol" . With chaos i started walking. Almost 8 months from this incident now i truly believe all our gods are aliens and im still not ruling out the possibility of God.

I started walking with a load of stuff on my mind, the sunlight became lighter. I switched on my mobile and the time was around 4:15pm , i walked listening to some music!

The Kodaikanal Trek - Phase-1 - Into the Blue!

 || " Innocence is not dumbness, its a kind heart that welcomes even the little good out of the immeasurable bad " ||                                     

The route was muddy, dry and filled with gravels. several U - turn's and it was all slope, dragging me down. At times i was even running or jogging. I  was getting down from the mountain and the view was so plain and open that i was able to see the other mountains, trees, rocks, i was like the lonely ranger marching into the woods to conquer something! after 10 minutes of trek, i saw 3 guys sitting on a rock and i asked them " Where are you coming from?", they were able to understand me but not able to give clear replies, they asked for water! Water! the most precious thing! everyone warned me how the woods would make one a thirsty crow! My brain said no and my heart said yes. I handed over a bottle and asked them to drink only a little. Well they understood that and drank very little.

"How is the place down?" i asked, " No water, very interesting , no cool, its hot" were all the uninvited replies i got! i smiled and started to move. The gravity was pulling me down and i never cared! i was brisk,  fresh and lots of energy in my heart and i kept walking. My aim was to reach the next village, Vellakavi in another hour or hour and a half, get some water there and if possible any food and from there to thumbakarai. The routes were not complex! you just have to walk on the path were ever it drags you and you will be there!

As i was walking i remembered a story or the culture about this village Vellakavi. People in that particular village walk bare footed , they do not use slippers or shoes or even a cloth to cover their foot. They respect and feel the land is sacred and walk barefooted. Any how they don't mind passers by using slippers or shoes.As i started to observe, it was lovely in the woods, the climate turned chill, the ruffling of green leaves, sound of the cricket, butterflies, chirping birds and unknown creatures suddenly creeping into bushes before i see them. 

I was expecting two things in this trek. Seeing a snake and jamming in with an OX. People, though did not mention OX as a problem , they say, even if it comes on the path just allow it to move, its harmless.I had all the lessons in mind and my eyes wide open and my senses cautious.I know i was getting down a mountain, but i did not know were or which direction! i lost sense of time and distance. I did not know how far i have come but i knew that i was some were near Vellakavi. As i was walking, i sensed a human activity at a distance. 

I was Bit unsure, who it would be! a common man or some burglar waiting to loot me, i gripped my stick and walked, i found a man reaping grass. He looked fair than brown and had a tired lazy eyes, white hair and a green T-shirt with Lungi. "How far is Vellakavi?" ,with his soft voice he replied, respectfully "Should be 1-2km ,were are you going?", i briefed him my trek route and he said " hmm.. but i think you know last bus in Thumbkarai is at 5:30pm, if you miss, you will have to go to forest officer bungalow, from there call up an auto and then you will reach periyakulam", "oh! but i can reach there by 5:30 if i walk fast ?". "May be not, its quite a distance!, for people like us its easy , but you are carrying a bag and you might not be familiar with the track and you have to be bit faster, but yes! if you try you can reach!" the last three words gave me hope. How far it may be, i will even stay in the woods at night and trek there, Now it was more interesting when he said " else you wait here with me for few more minutes, we both will go to Vellakavi and you can stay in my house! morning you can trek back to Kodaikanal and move to Chennai" Interesting offer, i gave a thought of staying with him! it will be more adventurous!

I can stay at his home, make memories, talk to village people or even spread awareness about corruption, hear to their village's myth and horror stories! as i though that i looked into the man's eye, i saw a flash of Dr.Hannibal in his face! I was like aahhhh!!! and quickly came back to the world of reality! I will have to reach Chennai tomorrow morning so that i can rest and then go to work on Monday. I turned down his offer and bid adieu to him! Natrajan was his name, he also explained why he was there! According to Natarjan, villages down kodaikanal are in drought and people now a days come into woods to reap grass to feed their cows. He wished me a safe journey, as i bid adieu to him. without looking back i started walking fast so that i can reach Vellakavi and find if there are any alternatives! and Yes, he definitely resembled Dr. Hanibal.

Vellakavi, water and alternatives were on my mind, i was in a hurry and less observed the Nature around me! The sun was on and i started to sweat! My Jerkin was of no use and it had become a burden. The path became steep and was dark , covered with thick trees and plants, i walked passed it and at the end of the path i saw a bright light and i stepped in Vellakavi. I saw  a high laid square shaped curb was built surrounding an idol, putting it in the center. 3 Men were sitting on it and to my right i found a small temple and i walked towards these men.

It was around 2:10pm, i reached Vellakavi quite early than expected! i can relax and trek to Thumbakarai and catch the bus easily! but my dear friends your  plans will never dominate the plans of nature!