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!

The Dolphin Nose

                          || " Happiness defines you, not the words or what people describe" ||

Dolphin Nose! im there. This place is just rocks. Climb over the rocks and you will get a spectacular view of the mountains. Go to the edge, look down and you will become shaky and faint! Especially the rock to my left from the place were i stood. This rock was like a huge bench, flat and smooth. People crawled over it and carefully sat on it and photographers snap and develop the photos in a small camp they had. 50rs for one photo and no one else could make that photo and why is that? The camera angle, The photographers sat on a tree which gave a spectacular view of the background and the Tree actually rooted out from a rock and stood still above the forest covered mountains below. The tree was on the edge and if one falls from the tree, they will fly down, hit their skull on some rock, roll into the forest and die. Yes and these were the photographers to whom i was talking about the 5 headed snake when i was walking into Dolphin nose.

The Photographer quickly recognized me. I balanced myself by stretching my arms wide, as i walked over the rock and went to the edge! man it was thrilling and awesome. I just sat down on the edge , suspending my legs down in the air! The cool air ran into my jeans and the sweaty socks. Any slight push from behind, i will fall down like a bomb from the fighter jets! i sat down for few minutes and i felt i need to be doing something more to relax! as i pulled my legs over the rock i saw few people behind me crawling and the photographer asked me to join them in the photo! why not!! and i gave my camera and asked him to click! the guys who were crawling were already shaky and i helped them. No one wanted to go to the edge of the rock so i stayed there and said "Cheeeeese" for the photo.

They all got up and started to move, suddenly people screamed, looked me with their big eye expression and some panicked for what i did! i felt tired after the walk, so stretched my legs on the rock and started lying on it! i saw the beautiful sky, were the clouds played moving here and there, battling the sun! it felt cool when the clouds covered the sun and it felt warm when the sun broke through the clouds and hit on my face.
I was just reminded by the photographer that there were other tourist waiting for me to get up and move out of the place.i did the same! i got up and looked at the other end of the place and there came a more real thrill.

one has to lean over other rock and hold a tree's branch and climb on it. this rock was small, maybe 2-3 people can stand at a moment. okay so ? well , this rock has a single piece of square shaped rock on it  and it is at the edge. usually people sit on it and take pictures with the majestic mountains behind. well i planned for something more.i sat down and saw people climbing and happily posing to the photos, shaking and turning pale! it was all funny and i thought " shit im not going there!"

when you climb up to the single stone rock, the tree would help but when you come back to the other rock, someone has to pull you up. as i was sitting a girl from the single stone rock was been pulled by a guy and he was trying hard but he found it difficult and the girl feared she might loose balance i quickly went and held her right hand and pulled her.  Dressed in purple T-shirt with brown eyes, brown skinned and slim, she said thanks and smiled at me. i smiled back and thought "Shit! im going to that rock now!". i gave my camera to a dude behind me and i pulled myself on the other rock. i sat on the single stone and he clicked. Few minutes from now im doing a craziest thing of my life!

As i said before the single stone was on the edge. this was also called as "Ram paarai" (Paarai- Rock) after the famous movie Ram was shot in this place, it was named  that.I saw the rock and i quickly climbed over it and found a little place behind it! i got down and stood behind the rock. A harsh wind or small push im dead! i will fly down and scatter into pieces! The guy with the camera and others were like " hey heye heyyyyyy", i was like "Mu ha ah ah aha h", well i did not shout it out loud, but did within! i stood behind the rock and stretched my arms wide as he made a click ( Yes i made this to upload in Facebook, it was pre-planned), then i sat on the rock suspending my legs in air and then i stood over the rock and it was all awesome! or i will use awesomest!!!!!!!

When i was suspending my legs and sitting over the rock , i planned to make a picture, were i will be looking at the mountains and not at the camera. I still do not know why! i just started smiling and laughing. i also heard a comment " anga yedha paathu da sirrikura?" , "what is he looking and laughing at", i admit i was kind of crazy, but its still good. there is no harm , you might look crazy but  more important is you are happy! don't care a thing of what people think or describe who you are! i came back to the rock  thanked him for the pictures and i picked up my jerkin and bag, i was hungry!

I looked around and found a small shop. A young guy was selling omelets and bread omelets. i ordered for  2 pieces of bread toast. i had no other option! as i had it, i spoke with him and asked him about the Trek route and he replied exactly what others said. i then had a small chat with him and suddenly my phone yelled! The tower was full and the call was from office, my colleague called me! im on a place that shares a boundary with the woods and i get to see a full tower, which sometimes does not happen in my house! something amazing ! and i switched it off once done with the call.Minutes later i began moving, towards a small path that led down from the rock.The path that will lead to vellakavi. A box of chocolate, water bottle , a pack of chips and small pack of biscuit and i started to trek down!

Adventure is Born!

The Houses Opposite to the Mountains

|| Estate's and Bungalow's with Granite floors, decorated ceilings, Fancy bath tubs, sparkling Lights, paintings and Designed interiors are all no match to the house, were the door opens into a four walled room on one side and a view of foggy majestic mountains on the other||

Porkodi was her name. A dark skinned women with a smile and politeness on her face.She took me behind her shop and i followed her in a steep narrow path. Few seconds of walk i see a row of 2 houses surrounded by wet green mud and a banyan tree. She opened the thick wooden door that was painted in maroon. The door opened and i saw a room. I marched in and imagined this would be something like a lobby to the house. My head spanned 180 Degrees on each side looking for Plug points and i discovered that the Lobby was everything in the house. It was just one room. Till date im not sure if i saw the room clearly or she just brought me to a room and i assumed it to be her home.

On one end of the room the bed was rolled up and arranged neatly with the bed sheets and pillows, the room contained very few objects, like a old stool, a vessel etc..I pulled the Camera battery out and integrated it with the charger and hung it from the plug point. The current would be cut by 12:00 noon she said. i switched on and the power ran through  my charger and signaled with the brightened red LED.

I should drink the coffee as slow as possible and give time for my battery to charge. She just shut the door and we went back to shop. "Were are you cumming from? are you alone?' she asked. " I'm from Chennai and yes, i came alone and im going for Trekking" and i explained her the route. She listened to the route and said me a beautiful story. " Whenever there is elections, we will have to go down the Dolphin nose, and walk up to Vellakavi and there we would vote and come back. But the forest is merciless, it will make you Thirsty.We would be around 10 people, my relatives, my family and friends. We will make 40 Bottles of Lemon Juice, all 2 Liter bottles!. Each person will have 4 Bottles to drink. 2 Bottles while going down and 2 while coming up. We will not be able to carry all the bottles, so when we walk  into the forest, we will hide 20 bottles somewhere in the bushes and take the remaining 20 Bottles with us. You should also take Bottles of water but in your case,you cannot hide it!"

I laughed hearing the story and was very happy that they take so much pain to go and vote! I remember she saying that she had a son and she had been living in the same place for 40years! As my coffee got over, the sky turned dark and wind blew. Oh my god its going to rain!, i thought.There were suddenly group of college students passing by and few cam into the shop for drink.i just sat down and waited for few more minutes. "How far is Dolphin nose from here? " i asked,  "Just around 1.5 -2km" she replied. I thought i was just few meters away from Dolphin nose and now i better start walking . Porkodi just asked me to go, open the door, get my things and shut it. i did the same after snapping a picture of the room and Porkodi herself in front of the shop. My Battery bar showed green and i was happy!. I Grabbed my stick and started walking.

After some minutes of walk i reached Dolphin Nose! The crazy part of me jumped from inside and i did  wild things , which i thought i will never do, But the Truth is i did. My acts scared "hella lotta people out there"

The story of the Five headed snake

  || " Nature is beautiful, There is always beauty in we humans too , that ' s what we call it Human nature"||

Dolphin nose is just a narrow path, a slope that drags you down.With the so many twist and turns you will reach to a set of rocks that have settled in  the mountain top.The rocks were you can stand , if you are brave enough or have no vertigo and view the forest below. The height will give you natural fear and dizziness! I had something to drink and started to walk down the slope, there were several people. Families, friends and as i was happy to be alone. As i walked i got myself into a group of  men who carried sophisticated cameras and were making continuous jokes. I laughed together and started a conversation.

The man i was talking to was tall as me, with a beard, loose shirt, Grey pants and ordinary slippers. He said he was a photographer and as we were talking one of his friends asked "Have you heard about that 5 headed snake?"  Well i have been fascinated by several stories like the Bigfoot, Lonch ness monster, champ, Chupacabras and ogopogo. I felt bad that all these weird monsters were either in America, distant Himalayas or some other parts of world. Nothing in the main land India, Not so cool.

I'm basically from a  religion were we use a calender called "Panjangam" so in this cover of panjangam there is a picture of funny , poorly sketched 5 headed snakes (Never counted them.. just believe by what people call it). So i was  fascinated by it. I strongly believe that if mankind can explore all of Amazon and other unexplored forest he will end up finding unbelievable creatures. By that theory i agree this kind of snake might exist, but the story here was, 5 headed snake in kodaikanal.

I said ," haaaha ok fine". The man quickly grabbed his phone and showed me the picture. It really had 5 heads , but it's size was normal. like other snakes. Actually i have seen the same picture in you tube which said "5 headed snake in Manglore" and again the same pic "5 Headed snake caught in Infosys campus". single image and so many explanations and i declare it fake. More over im not interested if the snake is going to be that small. In my visualization 5 headed snake should be huge,very huge and highly majestic with an attitude , an attitude that a 5sensed creature dominates the 6 sensed human race with that one emotion called fear! overall i imagine it to be threatening. Threatening like what i read. There is a book called "Bizarre Beings" published by the History channel. This book was the eye opener, life changer and biggest enemy to my 10th exams and my dad.

The book had an interesting collection of monster encounters, Tollund mens, Neanderthals, and finally my all time favorite Aliens crash in Roswell! Yes Aliens did crash land on earth, but let me complete this first. There is this description about a sea serpent. i don't remember the exact details, the year and place. I'm assuming it to be somewhere in 1800's and somewhere in a sea near Britain.A ship was sailing , it was almost put to stop in the middle of sea! reason? The captain claims a big sea serpent about 1mile long crossing the ship. Till date i did not take anytime to look this on net. but i always wish, i could have been that captain and i really did see a 1mile long terrifying serpent. If i ever watch that in real life, i would be terrified and become more allergic to water and might even stop trekking alone  !

As we talked and walked , a guy from the group gave me an green, round fruit to eat. It was in the size naphthalene ball. It was kind of sour and they all loved it, but when they all turned around i threw it on ground.As i walked i lost them or i intentionally did. I wanted to walk alone that's why i had come this long! I was thirsty and kind of hungry.

On the way there were shops, that is were i detached from them.As i approached near the Tea shop a man dressed in pajamas, suddenly slipped and rolled down for few seconds. I went near him and he pulled himself and said " I'm alright, nothing happened" and smiled. and a female voice came from behind and said " Ya ya i can see that,  just saw your front tooth taking off and crashing the ground as you got up" ,everyone started laughing. Obviously it was his wife who passed the comment and it was his son  laughing along with me.

Whenever i wanted to charge my mobile or the camera in a shop , i don't go and abruptly ask them for help. I order something and start talking with them and when they give me the drink or food i quickly ask them and they nod or say yes. I  had a lime soda in a shop asked the lady if i could charge my battery. And as i expected, her answer was no and i knew she is lying, she said there are no plug points and i thought "Oh really!". After that lime soda, i went to the opposite shop and ordered a masala tea and requested for some time to charge.

She immediately nodded and asked me to come along with her!

The Edge

        || " Nature is choosy, it shows the unnoticed beautiful places only at the cost of Risk" ||

As Mr.Mohans bike moved away, as the sound echoed in the fresh air, i walked ahead to the curvy road. To my right was  a chain of mountains running and descending into a forest. The sun was on , the clouds were scattered and sky was clean blue, what do you expect a guy like me to do. After carefully inspecting and confirming the absence of human beings or other such living organisms which have the ability to sense sound. I took a deep breath.and there came  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" scream and i laughed out loud. If there is supposed to be a god , then he is a great interior decor and back drops for earth are awesome! The place was so beautiful, Mountain with fog covered on its tops is a kind of beauty and Mountain that lay under the clear blue sky on a fine sunny day is another kind.

Quickly my Casio Xlim popped out its lens and setting the mode to back light i quickly captured some shots and i sat on the highly laid stone curb and asked some travelers to take a picture of me. After sitting there under sun's warmth i started walking again waving the stick and tapping it on the ground. whenever i tapped the stick on the ground it vibrated and every time it vibrated i thought it was going to break or at least the tip that hit the ground, but so far so good! the stick did not break.

Whenever you are with nature, you should mind your surroundings. Nature is very good at throwing surprises or some kind of by products of nature will throw themselves on to you! Monkeys, Grey angry Monkeys! a bunch of them fighting with one another. they pulled each other when climbing trees and the slopes, typical Indian culture! Dear lord, Genetics, inheritance and theory of evolution is all at place!. Xlim into action, "Past video" mode, as i was recording, a grey monkey Urrrd at me and one was on the tree, just on top adjacent to me.oh my god they are getting closer! what if they take my camera and upload all the photos in their profile? , no!! i did not think that.. i was afraid about their sharp dirty teeth submerging into my skin! I put my camera pouch into my pockets and i continued video. 1 min after the video, there were happenings i had to shut the lens and as well as my eyes.I just realized that few minutes before the monkey's were not on a a fight, they were just...Censor is that all i could say and i had briskly walked in mid of them. The few second when i passed between them, my heart pounded. What if they come back silently , bit me or take away my camera!!!

Nothing happened and i got past them , videoed them for few more seconds and walked again.I always wanted to go to edge of a mountain that is isolated. The edge, were i can stand like a king and gaze at the forest below with an attitude! The edge gives me a feel of conquest ,i feel it even if i think about it. To my left i saw a open land filled with green plants and trees. It was actually the extensions of a house. A small green gate was wide open and the house was quite far. Even if someone wanted to fling stones at me or run and catch me, that's not going to happen with this distance.I entered the gate and yes I like breaking in , you know :). I walked in and there were people sitting outside the house and they didn't shout or Boo at me. So i walked further and there was a path leading down the slope

I saw a Bhutanese/ Nepali / manipuri /Assamese/Chinese??? .. i don't know . okay in American context i saw an "Asian" walking ahead of me. He carried a backpack that was a 1000 times cooler than mine and he looked like a real trekker, the one with a shorts and a sleeveless Tank.He changed a lane and went down the slope and i walked straight ahead. I heard a dog barking, still i continued walking. Looking around, down the slope i saw a white dog barking at me. How could even the dog come up here i thought. The dog was faster than my thought process. She came running , barking loud and with the Teeth ready.

I heard my 7th class zoology lessons. My mam Mrs.Preethi once said , you could run faster than PT Usha when a dog chases you, because Adrenalin is secreted. As the white dog came raising up, the most eminent nerves of my brain discussed among themselves and passed electrical signals.All i needed is a pinch of adrenalin. It was almost there and the electrical signal turned as an inner voice and insisted me to stand still!

I stood still and looked straight. Gosh!! there are two dogs now! The white dog looked comparatively thin with the other brown dog. The brown dog was silent and running towards me, i now know who would be my real threat!! As i stood still the dogs came near me and slowed down.The white dog started to smell my shoes. Bad move, i thought! I have never washed my blue canvas since i brought! A few seconds later the barking went down to the usual "Urrrrr" .

What next? i have to turn back and walk slowly and reach the road or i have to get past these dogs and go see whats there and where this slope slides to.I have come this far, jumped across several excreta in chennai bustand, escaped from the kids puke in bus, sacrificed flirting with that girl in football match! AND THESE TWO DOGS CANNOT SEND ME BACK.!!

Funny part is i started video mode! I imagined the video uploaded in you tube as "Funny, dog bites a guy" or "Funny, guy running afraid of dogs" but none of those happened.
I slowly slid my bag from my shoulder and opened the big zip. Wrapped in a shiny green plastic material and branded by name 20-20, i took  2 of those biscuits and decorated the grass ground around me. The "Urrr" become more like soft puppy " ummm". I have won the battle and the entry to the slope!! Ahimsa wins! :P I shared few more biscuits with the dogs and continued video as they had it. I bid bye to those dogs, happily walked and went down the slope .

A series of rocks surfaced out of the soil, the mud was dry and covered with few green plants and the sun roared in the sky. I put my stick on a rock and slowly walked down the slope and came to the edge.It just looked beautiful. Not a great height,  but a beautiful view. If  you stand were i stood, you would be seeing a broken tree with its trunk little shorter to my chest and beyond that is the beautiful range of mountains in shade of blue and green. it was beautiful to see the mountains through the broken tree! To my left was a huge tree. were underneath you stand and look at the mountains. As i approached the tree i carried a larger stick in my hand for support.

I stood there for while, listening to the sound of breeze, comparing the loneliness and the temperature of the mountains to the desert mountains in the USA near Las Vegas.I clicked few shots and  I had to make a pic of myself. I placed the Xlim on the trees branch and balanced it to make it straight without falling and the auto photo mode did the remaining after 10 seconds.I started again and climbed up the slope and picked up my stick and to my left saw a small wall, i thought i will jump over the wall and from there go to the road. As i approached the wall, i saw it was a private resort or a small cafe, on the other side. I walked along the wall and 3 white men were sitting in a cafe . One waved at me and i waved back. i went to the road and few more steps im all there!

The Dolphin Nose, im all there!... henceforth comes the craziness and fun out of me!

The one man Road

       || " Witnessing hidden Beauty is the price for the eyes that looks for trouble and adventure  "||

Remembering his words i walked and i took the left, a small cement road climbed high. It was just wide enough to fit a car.The road took a curve and 2 roads diverged. i took the right one . The road now become less wider and was surrounded by a greenish, grass covered wall on my right and on my left it was fenced and beyond the fence was  a slope with bushes, leading down to dirty water, which  flew over the dry rocks. The road went on and on and i was walking alone with the company of a butterfly, the sound of birds and flowing water. Human mind is amazing. It suddenly  gives you extra senses at times! suddenly a man was behind me. He was 5 to 5.7 foot, curly hair and unshaven bear. yellowish eyes and had a coiled cloth bag on one of his hand, his walk was vague and he seemed fearless. What if there might be a knife or a weapon in it and he threatened for money i thought.

I slowed down and he was in the same momentum. He walked over my right and the next second i saw his body elevate on air and a sharp blade held pointing from his hand approaching me. well it did not happen , the moment i realized that he passed by me. What a sign of relief. But still i wanted to know who was he. so i started a conversation " brother, can i get pass this grill go down the slope cross the dirty water and reach the other side? will there be snakes?". His looks were rough and i imagined his voice to be hard and he replied with his soft voice with respect " Yes you can go, but it will be slippery and yes there might be snakes". Snakes, shit!! im scared of those!! i thought. so far with 23 years on earth i have just once encountered a snake, when i was a kid, it was a green snake in water and i was standing in my house lobby, i trek through forest roads, sometimes to bushes but i never seen one! so weird!!! .

I saw him walking and i said  " brother 1 min can i take a pic of yours?", he adjusted his blue colored, checked dhoti (lungi) and stood like the leaning tower of pizza. I clicked him as the one man  road came to an end and diverged. He went straight and i took the left.

I felt bad that dirty, gutter water was  in a place filled with the green and suppressed the beautiful smell of soil. As i walked i saw a women and confirmed with her if im going on the right road. I stood in middle of road and was taking a random pic. A man dressed in shirt and a green sweater came smiling  riding in a bike. I requested him to take a pic of mine. He clicked and asked in English " You have come alone?", o god! same question everywhere.. " Yes, im on a trek to dolphin nose". " oh! good. you want room? already i have 2 Germans, 1 Swedish guy staying" he said . " No im leaving today. I'm trekking down to vellakavi and from there to thumbakari". "Wow nice root!! many people come from banglore, you from banglore? "
I smiled and said " no im from chennai. your good name?" . "I'm mohan.. next time you come you can stay in my house" ..  sure.. is it for free??? i will take an off from work and stay there forever, well i said that to myself. I shook hands and started walking.Nice guy though :)

Few more bends and im in Dolphin Nose. i did not know that.. well i never knew the route, that's what make me going!

Finding the companion

|| "  I n the woods, a walk with a stick. A silent companion in the hand is better than an squeezed empty fist having the taste of air "  ||

It was very sad and i was almost in tears when i saw the shutter half closed in Dominos, but still i took a chance to bend and peep in and i found someone sweeping the floor and there was no one else. New people you meet may be awesome but it does not mean that you will meet them again. Somethings might be awesome, exactly matching our frequency, we would meet someone just like us with great ideas and same minds or sometimes we might even meet "Soulmates" but just like that you meet and walk in opposite direction and never meet again! this might sound not possible but yes! you might keep talking to a complete new person for hours but you have a sudden bye , then you realize that you have not got his / her number or E-mail and all those conversations will never become a mutual memory, just individual, lone, happy and a memory of joy and a bit of regret! This is what happened. I used to imagine an alternate universe, were all these happen , i meet them again , get their number, become friends, may be i would have been invited for someones marriage! gosh above all free pizza's! This is life my friend, life is all about loosing something and discovering something beautiful!

I kept walking and still my mind and heart fixed to the dominos and the moment i had with them yesterday. It was like, you die with out seeing your loved ones face.I might seem more sensitive, may be true. But i value the few minutes i spent with them , few minutes of my life. I walked few blocks away and at the end of road i saw a small Tea shop. I purchased 2 packs of 20-20 Biscuit to have it on my way and a black, mid height man kept with a cigar kept staring at me, i thought i should ask him about the trek and i did.He put his cigar down, " You should have come early! walking in these places in early morning would be great , you will feel the isolation and the nature. Walking this time, you will miss the feel because of the vehicles coming around!" . He was right, but what i could do? i thought. " Go straight, pass by coakers walk and take a left and you will find a path deviating alone, take it.. It will be green and good and no vehicles pass by. It will lead to Dolphin Nose and from there you can trek down to vellakavi and from there thumbakarai falls and from there in bus to Periyakulam. There you will have bus to trichy or madurai and from there you got easy access to chennai"


What a man!! Why did not i meet him yesterday! he just gave the route i wanted and i thanked him and got 2 orange flavored candy in-stood of the 1rs change.I waved bye at him and started walking over the steep road. It was the same road i walked yesterday but it still felt new. Traveling the same road in different climate and under different shades of sunlight makes difference.After few meters of walk the shop on the left attracted me. The shop had Wine, homemade chocolates and other snacks items. After inquiring the rates and making tedious calculations i brought 250grams of chocolate. A mix of different varieties of chocolates. Milk made, dark chocolate , white and all of different shapes."Do not expose it to sunlight, you can keep it in bag for a day and after that you will have to keep them in fridge" the young shopkeeper boy said. Anyways im going to reach chennai tomorrow tomorrow so that wont be a problem i thought.

 I  got through Coakers walk and this time took the other road from the deviation. Everything was fine but there was something missing, yes a stick to hold. i went to the left side of the road, the thorn fences had some broken branches hugging it, as i dragged, a stick came out. The stick was tall and reached my belly from ground.The top portion of the stick curved to left and climbed up a bit forming an inverted, reversed L. The curved position of the stick was comfortable for me to hold.

As i walked i knew i might be going in wrong way. By wrong i mean,i had missed the isolated road which the guy said about. It was kind of boring, so to kindle my spirit I went to the other side of road and started walking through the bushes. It was a slop, the mud was wet and the bushes we chill. The bushes gave some surprise by placing some hidden rocks wherever i keep my foot. I got down the slop and jumped into the well laid road and walked. again humming and looking at the trees and travelers.

"Hello boss!! enna inga?? " ( why you are here?) the sound reached my ears and i turned. It was the guy in a bike with 4 kids along with him. One kid had volley ball, holding it tight as they sat on their dad's bike squeezing the space. As i was looking at their cute innocent faces, " You have come in the normal route, you missed a cut. now go straight take a left. that road would be nice", even before i asked him he had read my mind and given me the answer. I waved bye at him with a smile as he roared in his bike.

I held my stick tight, for it is my only company.As i dragged the stick on the road and my legs making moves forward, i was all pulling the adventure on to me and i never realized until i reached Dolphin nose!
 

Day 2 - The final Day

|| " I wanna wake up kicking and screaming, i wanna wake up kicking and screaming, i wanna know that my heart still beating, its beating, im breathing!! " ||

                                                            - Music- Switchfoot- Awakening


I had set an alarm for 6:00am in the morning, but as usual my phone messed up and it did not ring. 6:30am heard my mobile screaming switch foot's "Awakening" it was my roommate Yashwanth Reddy on call  and as soon i pressed the answer button i heard him say " Hello were are you??" , with a loud yawn i got up from bed and i replied " Kodaikanal", he was shocked to hear that. Few days back i had been telling him about trekking plan and he took them very lightly,  the evening when i started from Chennai i forgot to give him a call and inform him.

As i was talking the line got disconnected, i just realized that time is running and i chose not to call him back. I fed my mobile battery with more power.

The morning was chill and when i put my foot on the ground,  coldness penetrated through my skin giving me a whooo effect! then i remembered something missing. Last night was very cold and i even had mild fever and i remember wearing socks to keep myself  warm. As coldness penetrated my skin, my eyes and mind wandered hunting for the socks!socks, socks were are you! and how did you get off my leg?

Oh my god! what if a thief had entered the room and taken my belongings and my socks too!!  i quickly jumped over the side and checked my Wallet and bag. everything was at place, thank god everything is safe i thought. As i settled down, i found my socks just beneath my bed.
I could not explain , how this supernatural, paranormal thing happened!  may i got up during sleep and removed it myself, that's the possibility or may be i did not wear any socks at all!. What ever! As i was thinking about it i gave my face a splash of icy cold water.

The thoughts about the socks mystery vanished and the trek route came to thought. Outside the room was the dinner guy with a tea. It was already 7:30am now and i realized that its getting late so i had the say those hardest words "Boss please cancel my pooris", "Oh! i have heated the oil only for you, few minutes it will be ready" he said and he quickly vanished, vanished forever from my trip.I never had that poori and never paid for the stupid Tea. PS: Which i don't regret!

The Tea, worse ever. It tasted like some kind of brown coloring added to hot sugary water. I switched on my camera and swapped to video mode,facing the mirror as the video was running, i started talking about the day's plan. I thought that i should have something to remember the moment and the way i felt that moment. I could still feel the place, the morning sun rays got filtered through the glass window and the small ventilation outside the restroom gave the room a golden dim look. I could still feel the chillness on the floor, the cold temperature climbing through my feet.

After making the video, i was done with the tea and spent few minutes of my valuable time in restroom. Few minutes before the tea, the other caretaker gave a bucket of hot water. It is my tradition, not to bath in a cold place like kodaikanal.I used the hot water to wash my hands,legs and face. I did not even buy a soap!  My plan of not bathing was predetermined.It was 7:40am, knock on the door. The caretaker who gave me hot water was there and he said "Boss the customers are waiting, you will be checking out now?". Why don't you catch my collar, drag me out and throw my bag out? i thought and i replied " in few minutes" and i glanced outside the door and there were 6-8 people waiting!

I changed to the bright red T-shirt and Every other pieces of cloth sticking to my body remained unchanged. With the bag packed and the black jacket on i stood up packing my leg with the shoes and looked for the hotel room's key. I remember putting it under the pillow , i searched the whole bed, down the bed, i could not find it! first the socks, now the key!

Knock on the door again and the guy stood with the customer, it was a family waiting for me to vacate. I soon adjusted my socks and shoes and got out. I climbed the stairs and back to the top. I got on the road and i was clueless were and how to go. I thought i will start from the main bus stop, the kodaikanal bus stop and also wave a Good bye to my dominos friends.I asked a stranger for the route and he showed me a bustop near by from were i can get buses to the main bus stop. I started walking as i took some snaps of the plain blue morning sky.

The clouds were scattered along leaving way to the sun to shine on this beautiful place.I walked down a bend and took a left.I stood for couple of minutes and a bus came along. Just like everywhere, the bus halted few feet before the bustop. I jogged and got into the bus.20mins later i got down in the main Bus stop and looked around., I walked towards Dominos and on the way found a roadside Idly shop.The shop was on the corner with a table and some space to stand . Two men worked together to run the shop, one washed dishes and other served.

The sambhar was boiling in a big vessel and the idly was steamed in another vessel. when the Idly plate was taken out from the vessel, a hush of steam opened up and soon mixed with the fog. i was the first customer and I had 4 Idly's with sambhar mixed with a little bit of  white chutney. I'm actually a lucky charm for roadside shops!  years back in vellore when i was the first customer for a roadside shop , the business for that particular day was at peak! the shopkeeper thanked me the next time i went. similarly , as i was eating here, 5-6 people out of nowhere came and ordered food! and i thought " Yes i still got it!"

 "Dolphin nose, how to get there?" i asked the 2 men in the shop, " Take the straight road and left after crossing the coakers walk" they said. I also inquired about the route to Vellakavi village and from there to periyakulam. after waving a bye and paying them, i started walking. It was the same old route as yesterday, but a diversion after a particular point takes me to Dolphin's nose.I should meet those guys in dominos and even get a parcel. As i thought, i walked as the cool wind kissed my face and smelled of chocolate.

Rest In Peace!

          || " Even a four walled room can make great memories at  places, times and to ones minutes of experience" ||

" i need a room for the night stay , i will vacate in the morning" i said to him. " Hmm. what is the range you expect?"... " You will have to say, what are the various prices, you got?" i asked .. He laughed and said " Well 1000, 1200 and 1500. what do you need?" oh! crap i thought. All the horror stories are true!! Every person said that there wont be any rooms for rate below 1000rs. Having that in mind i said " H ah aha ha..i need a room with few plug points and a pillow to sleep", the guy looked at me and his boys, it was like making a drug deal with Most wanted people of Kodaikanal.

Of course he might be a Don in kodaikanal. The place i was sitting was his office , the walls were decorated with designed brown paper and filled with numerous photos. Some photos showed him making some protest with lawyers, getting some memento from a politician, some pictures of god and sight seeing places in kodaikanal. As my eyes inspected who this man could be , he replied  " Well i got a room ,it has no bathroom, but only common bathroom and many people would be using it!! you fine with it?", without hesitations " Yeah okay, i wold be fine with it!" the man was in quite a shock, he looked into my eyes and voice turned more serious " Common bathroom, you really fine with it?" and me " Yea. fine, if it had plug points". There was a silence for seconds and my mind went into thinking how ugly a common Bathroom would look. I was imagining all the worse, unhygienic, foul smelling and Insect breeding Bathrooms.

My Mind turned into a Google chrome Browser. It split up into several Tab's and each Tab started searching disgusting things. Here are the following , Images of puke, Human excreta, mucus, Animal Excreta, spoiled foul smelling food, fungus breeding Floor and ceiling, unwashed toilet seats, dark dirty water flowing out of flush  all these worse images combined to form the worlds dirtiest Bathroom ever!! and my friends im prepared and im not scared! Scariest thing was dead battery in my mobile and Camera!As i thought something got my attention.

The guy smiled " I have got no such rooms, but since you are staying just till the morning i will offer you a room, 800RS final. ". I gave thought and then " Okay, but does it have TV, bathroom? ", His smile got locked into his mouth and he went " huh! you  just said you are fine with a basic room with some plug points and pillow!". My turn to play the game i thought and i smiled at him and said " Well yea, but now im paying 800 so things change". The guy laughed and one of his employee said " Boss, it is a deluxe room boss! it is great!! ".

The guy looked at me " You come alone? or going to join someone tomorrow morning?". i was bored of replying to this question and i replied " I have come alone to trek. planning to go to Dolphin house and from there to the village down and to chennai". There was a silence for a second " Oh! i know a group of men from chennai , who come once in a month with some sensors and equipments. They are wild man!!. they go trek somewhere into forest and suddenly when our men goes and calls them , they turn out from some bushes, which we don't even dare to go" .

I was like, who are these guys! they are awesome!. The person i was talking and negotiating all this time was the owner and lot more about him i came to know when he talked to some one on phone and addressed himself as the councilor of a political party. I saw the picture of the party leader in the wall, it was definitely Photoshopped, that man in the picture looked brown and he could never be that fair!.

Apart from this, the councilor also had his own sightseeing cabs, which offered sightseeing across the place at various ranges.He suddenly said to one of his guys " Drop this person in our room and call those guys here now to fix up the door". There was small confusion and the counselor asked me to wait. Few minutes, later 2 guys came and talked something about fixing door. Later i walked to a car and sat in it. I was in middle, the two door fixer  were on the sides and the counselor in the front with the driver. As i sitting squeezed between the two guys, the councilor suddenly turned from his front seat and pointed a gun and said " You are dead!" , well that did not happen! actually I was not doing good and my mind wandered with crazy thoughts!

I was not feeling well , i had a mild head ache and a running nose. I felt mild heat in my body. I and the councilor had some words about my native and other things.The car went down the hill with several turns and finally reached the room. The place was built in such a way that one has to take the stairs to go down to the rooms. So logically, i was entering in the 3rd floor and my room was in 1st floor. I signed in a notebook at the gate and went to the room 105. The room was clean , with a good bed, western toilet, a TV and 2 plug points. As tears of joy came flowing out of my eyes, looking at the plug point, i recognized someone was standing behind me!  A man stood outside door and asked me order for dinner. "What do you have" i asked " Chapathi dhal , Dosa". I was not well so i thought i should have something very healthy and i asked " Do you serve Meals at night??"  "No sir just rice, but what do you need with rice?" .

" Well what did you say as the side dish for chapathi?" .. " Dhal". " Ya you can get me the same!. and how much is the total  cost?". He took a pen and wrote in a paper and said " 45rs sir". I was fine and i asked " Can i get a medicine or some Balm for my headache and also a soap". He scratched his head " I don't know! , but i can get you soap in the morning. Dinner i will get by 8:30PM as 7 to 8pm is power cut time", as soon as he said that i  quickly put my mobile and camera battery to charge.

The guy left and i changed and watched TV until the power left. I slept for a while and at 8PM sharp the current came back. I gave myself a shave and the guy came back with dinner. The food was hot and decent. I remember having some Nendra chips in my bag. I had it with rice and my head ache became better. He also took orders for breakfast. I preferred 4 pooris and he made a note of it along with a tea. I even discussed the trek route with him and he said a shocking thing " In dolphin nose, these foreigners use drugs. if you stay there in evenings and night you could see it". I did not think further as i was tired

.

I called up my parents and after a while i lay on bed power cut from 10  to 11PM . I switched off the TV and slept without knowing the light was on. Good night, Have to wake up at 6AM in the morning...As i closed my eyes i thought, the day was just okay, hope tomorrow's trek would be fun! and went blank into the thick bed sheet.

I was in sleep and i did not know i was just 15hours away from a challenging, adventurous trek! All i know  is Nature is watching you!

The Wild and the Park.

                          || " Loneliness is in the mind, not in the absence of something  physical" ||

                                                                                           

Opposite to the park was a fenced forest area. There were exclamations from the crowd and everyone moved to the fence with the camera, i too hurried up with the video mode on and ran into the crowd. Three wild ox grazed in the forest land and someone yelled " Hey don't picture it with a flash on, it will turn wild" i flipped to picture mode and killed the flash option. When you get connected to nature you will have a very special instinct, you cannot explain how, but the heart whispers something and it becomes correct.

As i and other people were snapping the regal animals, the show was off. The three went back into the woods and we were not able to see them anymore. The pictures i took sucked! my instinct asked me not to enter the park but go straight and take left and stand near the fence on the other side. Two minutes i stood there and from within the woods came an animal, as if he wanted to gave his fans another chance to picture him. It was like a rock star coming back from the backstage after the end of the show and performing the one last song!

As i watched, the Ox came closer and closer. The gap in the fence was good enough to get my camera through it.The flash was off and my fingers were ready to click continuous shots. The Ox was large, black, it looked quite and peaceful. It just hovered over my camera and with the  right click i made a pretty decent picture.I stood there for couple of minutes and saw the animals vanishing into the woods. My soul was full of satisfaction. I had a very close view of the Ox and also a good picture for memory.

Next place was to cross the road and enter the Park.I had no other option other than going to park.It was crowded , but still i had to go.A regular counter in the entrance and i  paid 50Rs to enter.The park was huge! as i walked in the entrance to my left they portrayed different flowers within wired fence.There were different flowers and there were name boards and the Latin name for those flowers. I put my Camera on the Macro mode and spent valuable minutes in capturing the beautiful flowers.

I was at the entrance , after picking up nice shots my eyes quickly ran into the park. As long as i could see, all i saw was green , trees and group of people sitting. I wanted to sit somewhere alone and observe people and take pictures. I started walking in and the park went steep. The high trees and moving clouds made me forget the dimension of Time.I don't remember the time, but it was almost sunset, cloudy and i liked it.

I walked and climbed the steep. I lay looking the sky and asked myself what to do next. Suddenly a Gardner asked me to step down the slope as no one should lie down there. I stepped down and sat in a place were i was able to see the whole park, There were several kids playing , running and screaming in excitement.The most funny thing was kids playing Frisbee.

A kid held a blue Frisbee that was larger than him, he aimed to throw to his sister who was few feet away in front of him. He held the Frisbee in his right hand, to gain power and give the Frisbee a good throw he folded his right hand to his chest and moved the arm forward with great speed, with great anxiety i saw how far the Frisbee would go! The kid released the Frisbee and the Frisbee went somewhere behind him!

I was not making fun of the kid but i started laughing! could not help , kids often forget that there is a dimension called up or straight. Give them something to throw straight to you, they throw it somewhere far from you and from them. Most funny thing is the way they look around searching were the thing they threw went! oh my god kids!!!! they are lightly annoying and highly cute and innocent.With smile i started from there, roamed the park for a while and walked out.

There were lots of shops in line selling cloths and gift articles.Tibetans living there formed an association and had around 20 shops in row.opposite to the shop i got a steamed baby corn with slight chilly paste rubbed on its surface and walked towards a crowd watching a football match.It was a small ground and i was watching it through a fence. A white man was hosting the match and in one corner i saw an Chinese/Tibet/Nepali guy portraying his tricks with football. He was more interesting than the match and more interesting was an average height , good looking, medium hair, lightly plump girl looking at me and i looking at her. I forgot the match and forgot the trick guy and we exchanged looks. Damn!! she was inside the fence and me outside the fence.

Its human nature , you get to notice people who have comparatively less clothing. Football dudes were wearing just shorts, they win!! the crowd cheered and the match got over, she was lost in crowd.the white man announced in mike " We will have the semifinals tomorrow at 5:00PM" and i thought may be i can be here again :p..(You know why). Looked at the road and started walking " were do i stay tonight, how to charge my mobile and camera" were the threatening thoughts, i called Karthi (the number given by bus driver) and he gave a place to meet " Durga tours and travels, near the SBI ATM, Kodaikanal bustand"  i went in search of it all by walk I had got passed by the place but still i could not find it.

After keen observation i found it hidden under a line of complex crushed near a electronic shop.Two North Indian girls one dressed in yellow and another in green T-shirt stood there with bags and luggage bargaining the rent for the room. 1400rs was the final settlement and  the dark man dressed in white and white in the table was the manager, he told his guys  " Get the luggage and bags, take them to room , give them 105" and said something in Hindi to the girls.The girls got the bill and walked out to a car and the dark guy looking at me said " Please have a seat, what do you need?".

Let the negotiation begin!!!

Welcome to the 90's!

                                                || "  A beauty missed is a smile lost" ||

A few minutes of walk and i see myself in front of a lake. I have heard people say that one can hire a Bi-Cycle and ride along the Lake.I approached a lady and asked were i could hire a bicycle, " You have to go to the other side of the lake. If you walk you will have to go 4KM else you can pay 5rs to boatman , he will drop you on the other side" she said. Interesting, i thought. An old man waved at me and i sat on a blue boat. The old man started rowing, " How deep is the water " i asked him in a normal tone he replied  " 80 feet at the middle, here it would be 20-30ft".I took out my Camera and made a video, i was very happy as my boating was done in just 5rs :P.

PS: my fear for water is directly proportional to its depth.

As the rows oscillated  in the water, as the ripples stretched far and as the video was on, the boat reached the other side in a strike of 6 row's. I jumped out carefully, picked my stick and walked along the curb. The street was crowded. There were several shops on roadside selling  bajii , corn , groundnut and ice creams. Every people there were very happy, there were cars parked on the sides and some with music raised in it. A few feet away there were a line of cycles, the shopkeeper rented cycles for 20Rs an hour with an advance of 100Rs. I paid him 100Rs and he pulled a wheel out of the line for me. The cycle was new, even the cardboard wrap covering the bars were not removed. I put my Bag in the back and ensured physics and laws of equilibrium would keep it safe from falling, Just 2 pedals my shiny Blue cycle gained momentum and raced like an horse! i left my stick with the shopkeeper asking him to keep it safe.

In late 1990's, when i was a kid, i used to take my dad's cycle and go to near by places and streets to discover new routes. I used to look at the houses in those streets and imagine how would it be furnished in and who lived there.Those memories lashed as i slowly gained momentum .Also speeding up in the cycle reminded me of the story in early 1990's. It was my half yearly exams, after the day's exams i hopped in the back in my friend sathish;s shiny light blue Gear cycle. It was a sunny afternoon, as he peddled he got mad, hunger for speed he was and me at the back screaming in joy, hunger for some adventure and obviously not prepared for some little tragedy.

Over speeding in cycle at the class of 3, bad roads, loss of control by the driver, domination of gravity from the ground and loosing grip of my sweaty little fingers from the back seat. Result,  swollen head, scratches in arms and legs and importantly  1-2 tooth's missing. More tragic was the Maths exam that i had to write the next day. Some guy on way picked me up and dropped me in house, i entered my house with my friend's Kerchief in my mouth covered with blood. Detol  burnt me and i was sleep till 3:30pm. Well i was good in Maths.. only when i was in school .

It was mostly kids who rode the cycles and i did not feel odd riding amongst them.Yes, im a grown up KID!

 There is a beauty in every little thing, we never look around and acknowledge things.I was alone and i learned to acknowledge some beauty around me. I saw a women and her kid riding a two rider cycle and peddling in rhythm, two kids racing and laughing in excitement, old men and women screaming when i went fast and opposite to them. It was all fun.  Tring tring!!. Get out of my way, im High and crazy now!!

The lake stretched to 4KM, it was a big bowl with a neat road and green trees on one side and the view of the lake on the other.One can ride, round and round the Lake.I felt this is the right time to experiment some stunts, Please do not try this at home!! Riding the cycle by leaving my hands free of the handle bar, i used to do it when i was a school kid and i would rate myself as an expert, but now when ever i tried the handle bar turned left and i lost control. Then and there i took some pics. Had a bottle of 7UP and continued cycling. I even asked the people passing by to take my picture with the cycle. I raced along with some running dogs, i even scared few and i tried to ride on a high slope, i was halfway through and that's it! things went in reverse mode!

As i said before i was i High and crazy , i stared riding the cycle on the curb, with high speed. At one point i brought some Boiled ground nut to eat and simultaneously riding over the curb in one hand. A passer by said " thambi, adhumela cycle ota koodadhu, fine  poduvanga" (Bro , you should not ride on the curb, they will impose fine). I quickly stepped down The sun was bright, it was neither cold nor hot, but the ride across the lake made me sweat.I parked the cycle near a Tea shop. An old man made me a tea and it was the best! There was another young man to whom i asked about cheap rooms to stay for a night. He said about a hotel called Tamilnadu were one could get very cheap rooms. i thanked them for the 6Rs beautiful Masala tea and for the information and rode back on the cycle.

I would have gone 2 times around the lake in 1.5Hours, I tried racing with my own shadow, singing out loud, riding like a snake, making Zig Zag patterns and taking pictures of trees, houses and people. It took me those 0.5hours to locate the cycle shop were i borrowed the cycle from. The cost climbed up to 40Rs, i got the change and started walking across the curb. A small cute little guy was running, people around me looked surprised and said " No he is not mine"! I stopped the kid and asked " Appa , amma yenga?? " ( were are your parents) and tried to lift him, he kind of hesitated, i took a snap and suddenly another little kid came running "Deei.." and pulled this little guy and started walking. I was suspicious and i followed them.

The kids father was there. He sells sweaters and caps on the curb side. The kids dad raised a stick and the kids face turned small and he started making the puppy face with tears ready in his eyes! The kid was so cute i pictured him again and started walking towards the park.

I had never seen an OX but i did not know that i will get a chance to picture it in another 20 minutes. Trekking alone is beautiful, you don't what going to happen next!!!!

Slow and steady Coakers walk!

   || " Some Happiest moments are just a random probability, they just come in unpredicted ways" ||

The wind out of the Dominos was chill and the sun added some warmth. at 2000m+ elevation it was just chill with bright sun, no fog, no jackets or sweaters required. You can just walk around with normal dresses you are wearing.To my left was a steep road leading to coakers walk. As i started walking  i imagined the road to be isolated, covered with green trees and thick fog. I carefully crossed the road and took left.The road was steep and in a distance of few meters i could see a curve. Interesting i thought, what would be beyond the curve.

Few minutes later my vision was shattered. The road was covered with green but had cars and bikes in it and no fog. With little disappointment i walked, i felt im missing something, quickly i went to the left side of the road and picked up a stick. Stick, only a lonely trekker can understand how important a stick is.

It was a normal, thin and long. clearing leaves on road, hitting stones to other side of the road was all the fun i had with the stick. As i walked, to my right i found a mysterious path leading to a place full of trees. My eyes were filled with excitement and i quickly hurried near it. The place looked familiar to the one showed in movies were a a man chases another in a  place full of trees and suddenly one hides behind a tree and play taunts.

I stepped in! As i waked  my blue old canvas started crushing the crisp brown leaves and hearing that my hand swung the stick across the path clearing the leaves or poking them. I walked further in and found a huge Log Inclined 60 degrees over another tree forming a bridge between a tree on the left and the tree on right.

Great looks like the one in movies! the place, the silence, the large scary tree, the gloomy temperature and dim sun, but still could there be any adventure??

After walking further i heard a howl, every step i took forward the howl came closer. The howl was familiar. It is the same kind of Howl i hear whenever i walk in streets at late night. Dogs! They are unpredictable! Daburmens, huge bull dogs, German breeds all scary dogs with huge tooth damn, all have the same howl! how could i even figure out what it was? was it a poodle? or some giant thigh grabbing dog?

The Howl came closer or i moved closer to it and  there was a old rugged house and outside it was a dog howling and barking at me. Suddenly there came a sound " Hey!!!" i looked around there was no one, i rotated my head and body round and round like the merry-go round. To my right, on a tree there was small kid ! " What are you doing here?? what you want?" he asked " I just came around , can i go further? whats there? can i see any mountains from there" and pointed towards the path ahead  " Yes , go" he said and i moved further.

A view of cottages on hills and the road to the hills were visible ,but this beautiful view was ruined by the overgrown plants and trees.The place was unclean , it had plastic bags, empty water packets , Bottles etc.. After taking a snap i returned and i thought i will have some chat with boy and take a snap of the dog, To my surprise both the boy and dog vanished! could they be Ghost?? hmm.. well good imagination, my mind applauded my brain.
The sun came dim and there was absolute silence. I saw the old rugged house again and walked past it. A couple of more snaps of the trees and the crisp brown leaves covering the ground and then im back to the main road..

The walk continued to the 1st gate of coakers walk with some pictures. On the way i saw 2 churches, both were small. One church by name salieth Matha was said  to be several years old (100yrs). Anyone who says about a church that is 100Years old, Anyone would imagine  the church  with a huge structure with glass, paintings and  an antique look with a cross on the top.But this church was small, just like an ordinary church and was painted in blue, disappointing! I stood out for a second with a smile and clicked a photo of it and continued to the Coakers walk.

The 1st gate of coakers walk was approximately 3km walk from Dominos. A board said 10Rs for an adult, out of my bulgy purse i pulled a 10rs note and in return got a rose colored 4cm square paper.With the entry ticket i passes by the grilled entrance.Coakers walk is nothing but a well laid curb which is a 5mins walk . On one side there are rocks and other side it is fenced and the view of mountains. As i walked the sun became dim and the fog covered the mountains, soon the mountains were consumed by a flash fog. All i could see was the curb surrounded by a white background. It was beautiful, cool and pleasant.

There were several people. Family, lovers, couples, group of friends and i was all single. At no point i felt bad that i was alone. i enjoyed walking on the curb looking those beautiful mountain tops colliding with clouds.Interestingly i saw few Trees in coakers walk. One tree grew horizontally! Someday a great nasty wind had made the tree bend down to its power and entirely changed its course of growth, this should have happened several years ago, when the tree was a plant. Bend it like beckam!!

The walk ended when i reached the gate-2, the exit gate.From coakers walk i planned to take a route to Lake. It was another 2-3KM approx. I took a road were no cars or bikes or even people pass. The road was dark and shadowed by the arching trees and i switched to music in my earphones and started singing! I saw different trees , large ones , small ones, branches bent and curved, trees growing from between rocks. I felt i need to sit some were and i found a nice spot.

On my right there was a small place fully covered with red autumn leaves, grass and green tiny plants. I sat there on something hard and solid. I thought it was a rock but it was a tree's root. The chill wind swept the red leaves and  my oily sweaty face turned chill as the grass danced. The smell of mud, the waving green leaves in the tree looked wonderful. I closed my eyes for a while and it was absolute silence. Some were within me a great joy arose and i opened my eyes, the sun brightened and i whispered looking at those green trees " You are beautiful"... picked my stick, bag and started walking to the lake.Happiness has no source, it is just like fresh air. Just relax , feel it and it is available in plenty.

The Pizza Experience

  || "Every place on earth has two great things, Wonderful people to meet and delicious food to eat!" ||
                                                                                  - By a wild man in a Cage



It was around 12:00noon, i walked back the route which the bus took to reach the bustand and for a second my memories backed to the moment when i stepped out in yercaud bustop 6 months ago. The bustop at yercaud was near a lake and it was less crowded. The fog was consuming the place and an alarm within raised a question " Have i done  a mistake coming alone?"

It was wonderful experience. The  place, the room i stayed, the people i met, flowers and tress i touched and hugged, the soil in which i drew lines with a stick. The yercaud trek, i fell in love with nature. It was all isolated. But here it was crowded and not surprising because it is summer holidays. It was full of people, cars , motors and buses.As i walked i gazed at the home made chocolate shop and entered Dominos. Dominos Pizza was my favorite, you get a Pizza for 45RS with a decent topping and a reasonable size. 45Rs  pizza was my choice all time, weather its salary day or month end it would be 45Rs Pizza.

I thought about Dominos at kodikanal and wondered how retail chains are becomming a boom in india.As i pushed the door and entered i found only me inside Dominos, it was all empty. Well i understood, i should be the only species in Kodaikanal who eats Pizza for lunch.The menu i had to order was ready in the edge of the tongue and deliver it on request. I looked around, the place was quite big. I walked and  went near the counter , a women dressed in the Dominos uniform came running and stood skidding in front of her billing system and smiled at me. It was kind of funny the way she hurried and stood in front of the system and i said "Slowly!!" and she smiled back.

I gave my order and saw a plug point near the counter. I had to charge my camera and mobile , lets give it a shot i thought and asked if i could charge my Camera Battery. she nodded and pointed to a plug point. I removed the "pizza Order number" display machine wire from the plug point and inserted my Casio Exlim battery charger and hung it down. Unlike the other dominos this one had seats similar to Cafe Coffee Day. The soft, Regal black / red Cushions

I sat down on a red couch and it pulled me inside, making the place a more heaven. The uncleaned mosaic table lay in front of me. 1 or 2 people walked in and started their order, i felt quite back into the normal human group now . The 15minutes wait of the hunger has ended and the 45rs Veg singles with Golden Corn topping hit my Table.

I found my name printed in a piece of paper and stuck on the pizza box. I teared open the box and my dirt covered fingers and hands reminded me some manners. i quickly went to the washroom, used handful of liquid soap and washed my hands.When chill soft clear water ran through the soap covered fingers and hit the mosaic basin, it turned dirty brown and the sight of my hands becoming clean was satisfying. I rubbed my face with the chill water and felt refreshed after smiling to myself in the washroom mirror i hurried back to my table to start the Lunch.

The pizza was  good as usual and i needed one more. Again the same lady stood and again i ordered the same menu with onion topping.  I thought it would be good idea to know about trek routes and to ask the workers there. I asked the lady and she called another guy and together they said me some interesting routes. He advised me to go for trek in dolphin nose and from there to Vellakavi village or got to coakers walk, from there to lake and park. His words reminded me of the driver.

As we discussed, we  became more close and I asked him about trek routes. My expectations was simple. I need a place to walk , isolated, lots of trees and some interesting things on way. They both discussed and argued about places and  said me a list of places. I quickly got a pen and started to write down. The square folded paper came into action. The names they said and the routes in the paper matched. The people here gave me more elaborate  routes and i jotted down in the paper. I took down the place which they said and I underlined some of the places in the paper for my reference. The lady also suggested me a hotel to stay were her  husband was working and also said that he might try to cut down the rates.

We then had a small fun chat , were the guy said he would be getting married this year. When came to know that im coming from chennai he said " i was working into marketing for Mahindra sathyam couple of years back.in chennai. did not like it, so came back here " As we talked the second Pizza with onion toppings came in. Food first, friends later! i thought and went back to seat and finished the second pizza slowly.

I was happy that i had given more time to charge my camera and also started my adventure with some friendly chat. The 2 Pizza's perfectly filled my stomach. After a glass of water , i removed the charger and took a snap of those beautiful , fun loving friendly people.

My bag was at its place , hanging down my shoulder, i waved them a bye and said " Possibly i try to be here for dinner or tomorrow's lunch" , they all smiled and i walked towards the door having Coaker Walk as my 1st destination in my mind. After i push this glass door out , a fresh chill breeze would hit me and i will take few steps and then the Left,The trek begins!!

Hot seat, The aweome driver!

|| " Our world is a collection of awesome people, 

few of them drive buses and others  i  have still not seen" ||

7:30AM my eyelids opened and the morning light made my eyes uncomfortable. I had reached Dindugal. The bus got into the Dindugal bus tand and i got down and just discovered another dirty bustand in Tamilnadu! Kudos colombus!! The guy next to me got down after me and i waited for him down. He once again reminded me about the place and wished luck. When he was about to leave i took a snap with the him and watched him walk away.

For next few minutes i  navigated around the bustand and opposite to the bustand i found what i wanted. A cheap dirty hotel to eat my breakfast and i found one. I walked out of the bus stand crossed the road and reached the hotel. To my surprise  it was not that dirty as i thought. It had wooden benches in a small room and the room was partitioned into two.one to serve and one to make food.Food was served on fresh green banyan leaves on the unclean wooden table which had stains of chutney and sambar. As i entered the hotel i saw  all people dressed in dhoti and light colored dirty shirts.One man was different, dressed in a purple T-shirt and to my surprise, this fashionably dressed man was the server! I had 2 pooris for 17rs. Normally in many hotels the servers themselves clean the table and pick the plates or the Banyan leaves once the customer is done eating.

Here it was different, everyone has to clean their own mess. You have to take the Banyan  and launch it into the dustbin. The poori and masala was OK.I did not want to  eat too much as i would be riding up hill and definitely with those kind of buses it will not be a pleasant journey.

I took a snap of the shop and rushed to the bustand. As i moved into the bustand , i saw a pecock green bus with name Kodaikanal , as i walked towards it, i imagined to take a seat near window so that i could shoot the mountains and wave my hands outside and feel the fresh air. My imagination just got assassinated, by my fellow travelers.

I stood near the bus and my Jaw dropped down, it was full! few people were already standing.Usually Buses that had to ride uphill dont encourage travelers standing when the bus is on move .The conductor of the bus said that the next bus to Kodaikanal was at 9AM and i did not want to wait that long.

I climbed into the bus and brought the tiket and there was no comments or arguements from the conductor with me or anyone who were standing.I was happy, i thought i will sit near the footboard which will give me a more awesome view of the scenery.The bus started and hit the roads. Again for the second time my imagination was assassinated, all those vision of me taking pictures and looking at the mountains vanished minutes later. The conductor called  me and said "Thambi neenga Kodai high road la yerangeekonga (Brother , you have to get down in Kodai High road) and just walked away and i had no words to reply or explain my plan to sit near the foot board.  I understood the reason why he said that.

I was thinking what i should do and suddenly the conductor voice reached my ears. Something sounded positive this time. My vanishing visions came to life and my imagination were raised from  death! Praise thy Lord :P

There were few more people standing, so the conductor juggled few people to different seats. He requested kids to be seated on their parents lap and offered me a seat on the engine and said i need not get down anywhere.I was happy! seat on the engine and i have to turn my neck 180 degrees to  my right and i get a whole view of the road ahead and via the drivers cockpit i will be able to take snaps, but the glass might reflect the flash on my lens and even that could be sorted by setting flash off.

The road to kodaikanal was neat, except there were some take diversion boards because of some highway improvising project. Both sides of the roads were covered with farms, barren lands, grazing cows and distant mountains and all these accompanied by a hush of dust, however the dust could not keep up with the speed of bus, by speed i mean the bus was gearing good and taking me near kodai, my trek spot, every minute and  the credit for it goes to the driver.

The driver asked about me and he started talking.He was a very nice man , adventurous and clever.He was tall, unshaven face with chandan on his forehead, over weight and an awesome tamil slang. I loved his Tamil slang, it was awesome!!. After few minutes of talking i was enlightened with a lot of information about kodaikanl and its numerous Trek routes. The man was a Riding Google Map! had a lot of information!

He gave me names of several villages, falls and sightseeing spots. Well im very poor at geography, till date im not sure what bus i should take to the Malls in chennai from my room or to anyother place which includes my office too!. Hearing all the names of the villages from the driver all at once was like watching Inception from the middle :P. He was a cool driver, he was looking at me and as well as the rear mirror and as well as the road and moved the bus like a snake when something huge came in the opposite.Man with such a rich driving experience and a multitasking expert.

The wind  outside grew chill and the heat from the engine penetrated my Jean and you know were it goes :) .Ouch it kinda hurts!!


After all the talking  he said " Neenga adhuthavati moonaru ponga, kodaikanala vida 10 madangu sooper ah irukum" ( next time you should visit Moonar which is 10 times better than kodaikanal".  Apart from telling the village names, he shared lot more information on what he did and how good was Moonar when he went there with his family..

As the bus neard kodaikanal , he pointed out to the mountains to his left and said "Do you see a line in that huge rock? that is were a falls was located, now there is no water" . The mountain was far away and my eye took time to reach and the line he was pointing out was huge! A long line it was and if there had been a falls now , it would have looked beautiful!. Just like the fantasy place in those Hollywood movies.The lines were formed because of continuous flow of water for several years .

As we were talking a sound of " whaaaaa" came and i looked to my front! A small boy in the seat behind driver was bending down and a gluey liquid, with white stinky particles flowed out of his mouth bounded with thick saliva, it was too late! the puke hit the Bus floor and a minute particle of it had hit my left shoe. Like a uncontrolled river out of a dam , the puke flowed and flowed towards my bag.Gravity had played with that toxic liquid and was about to bring a disaster to my bag. The disaster had happened in fraction of seconds but still i was able to save my bag, phew!!..

All this time i was sitting facing the seats and my hear  turned  back so that i could talk to the driver. After this incident, i put my legs to the right side of engine and never saw that floor decorated with white liquid.

After few more hairpin bends to his right the driver pointed and said  "this is silver cascade falls". There was water , but it looked like a shower and people were looking and trying to bathe in it, im damn sure these people should be from my place were you could not see a mass of water!!

After couple of stops the bus entered a slope and climbed up and the driver pointed to a line of hotels on right. Annapoorna, Dominos, Dhaba and some home made chocolate shops were located. The Bus now entered into the Main Bustand .All passengers got down and driver asked me to wait. He  now threw a plan on to me, the conductor watched and i listened. He started " there may be a sightseeing bus, it will cost 50rs , they will take you around kodaikanal and after that you can stay and tomorrow morning you decide were you want to trek" i nodded my head and said " But , i want to walk!!" . He looked  and thought for a second and came with a better plan,  he pointed straight to a steep road and said " That road will lead to Coakers walk , got there and from there you can go see the lake, go for boating and from there park,before you begin all this have lunch at Annapoorna, its good there "

It was a good plan , i would be walking and also  sightseeing, "Sounds good " i said.  "Were are you going to stay today night" he asked,  "hmm.. my friend knows some one here , he might be able to get a room" as i said that he took out his mobile and said "Note this number, his name is Karthi, he used to come in this bus , regular customer .He can get you a room. But hold on i will talk to him , its been long and i want to check if he is still using the number". He called him and spoke for couple of minutes.

"Here is the number, see if you could get any room , else call him" and shared Karthi's number, also grabbed a visiting card from the purse and said " note this one too. this lady was also a regular in my bus, but 4 years ago .but still in case!"The driver warned me of hotel owners who would say " Vaanga paathukalam" (Just come we will see to it) when one enquire about a room and its rent, when a person says that it is sure that he is going to present you a bill of 4k or 5k , so beware he warned again. I smiled at him and noted the number.I videoed this conversation. I also had few words with conductor who was  in a shock and he could not digest the truth that i have come all alone just to trek! I shook hands with the driver , took a picture of the conductor, waved good bye and said " may be we will see tomorrow if your ride a Chennai bus"  and we all laughed and i walked having the 45rs Pizza at Dominos in my mind.

The conductor and driver started to have a chat with few other people there , as i walked  listening to their slang, a cool breeze hit my face and left me with a smile on my face. The place was brighter than i thought and less misty. I have got next 48 hours of great adventure, next 48hrs of enjoying life to fullest, the next 48hrs of loosing and finding myself! The Kodaikanal Trek begins after the Lunch. Here we go!