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!

Its 7:00pm, Let the Adventure Begin!!!

|| "Adventure Lies in the heart, excitement in eyes & beauty is scattered around, observe it all when you walk! " ||
                                                                                          

It was almost 7:00pm in the evening and i was in front of my white LCD monitor at the grey carpeted freezing office at Guindy (Chennai). What a moment!. It all became merry when i just realized that the same time tomorrow i would be somewhere or may be lost in the no were! i was thinking about the trek for which i had been planning.

 There had been a plan to trek all alone since the Yercaud adventure and this was the right time. 3 days of holiday and i had finally made up my mind to visit kodaikanal for trekking. Vaalparai , Kollimalai and kodaikanal were my options and after several discussions and weighing weather conditions, Kodaikanal won.My plan was simple, 3 days holidays, so 2 days trekking and traveling  and one day to suffer from the leg pain and burning feet.

My mind slowly drifted away from the A2 cell in the bright white excel sheet and  wandered into a indescribable  worry on  how am i going to catch a bus and how to reach Kodaikanal etc.I have never been there and i don't know anyone who live there. As my worry dragged me somewhere to sad fantasies, a buzz came within me and reminded that it is already 6:45PM and i have to get out of office.This is one reason i hate my office! my boss sits next to me! i cannot just escape from office!

 I leaned to my left and smiled at my boss and said i have to leave! she gently smiled and gave a go ahead. I saved all my work closed the excel's and hurried leaving behind my colleagues, my boss and my manager.  I left the office grabbing a square folded printout from my desk and waved bye to all. The square folded printout was my hope! it contained detailed Trek routes in Kodaikanal and along with the directions.

 I was  excited and nervous. Nervous because the next day  was Tamil New Years day and all buses would be fully packed , even if i manage to go by standing then it would make me tired during the trek. I decided that  i have to get a seat somehow and planned that i will get a bus to trichy or Dindugal and from there to kodaikanal.

As i played with the probabilities and the events that are to happen in next few hours, i stepped out of my office,clearing the white cigar smoke from the unshaven Saravanan's  tea shop. when the Traffic signal hit red, i  hurried to the U turn opposite to my office and  got a share auto as usual. Without listening to music and 30minutes of creeping through the traffic i reached my stop. I ran down into thoughts of catching a bus as i  walked quickly into the beautifully plundered and unearthed street. I reached my room and as usual a wave a foul smell welcomed me when i unlocked my door

 I immediately charged my mobile and camera for a while and in meantime packed and equipped myself for the trip.it took around 20-30mins and i started with my VIT alumni Grey T-shirt, Blue jean and coolers hanging down the neck of the T-shirt. .My parents agree halfheartedly whenever i say im going alone, so it is a tradition that i call my parents and update them on plan before i start to the trek or where ever i go alone.I called my mom and dad said im starting from room and i will call them tomorrow and just like i expected, the love within my mom combined with the general fear and took the 2 powerful words that i hate! Hate especially when im starting for an adventure. The words "Dont go" or "Come home" god!! it hurts!!

I made a video of my baggage and my room and few clicks of me and started. I had to walk back the same unearthered street to get an share auto to Avichi and from there to koyambedu.As i walked, my reflexes detected extra bright light irrelevant to the night's fall and competitive to the sodium vapor lamps.A bike's headlight it was and my right hand stretched piercing the air with thumbs up!i had asked for a lift and Good man , gave me a ride till the main road.  "You working in a IT company?" he asked, "Yea" i replied without any interest".  "So you are staying here with family? ". "No im from vellore and i go and come there during holidays".

"Oh! like today? " , i smiled to myself and said " Ya like today ". People have this stereo type, they think young men who are neatly or fashionably dressed with some expensive shoes and watches , work in IT  company for a 40k salary! thats totally wrong! i dont know why people correlate the way of dressing and the profession.

As i thought about that my legs were ready to touch the ground and to march against gravity. March towards Porur  until it finds a share auto. As the bike approached the main road, i got down and quickly got a share auto to Porur and from there quickly to Avichi. It was highly annoying when things get delayed at the last moment. I waited in Avichi for more than 5-10mins and there was no sign of any share auto. A vision of me returning home because of overcrowded buses creep-ed into my mind and my heart took the responsibility to put different theories and convince it.

My reflexes sensed a extra bright light and my brain mapped the lights wavelength and quickly matched to the possible source of emission. Big oval Doom and a bulb within was the result. The Share auto with the oval Doom light stood before me and i have put myself in.

It was around 9:15PM when i reached Koyambedu and it took another 15mins for me to find were buses to Kodikanal or trichy or dindugal stand.When it comes to observing and understanding the geography and structure of a place, im the dumbest. I roamed around asking people to find were my buses stand. Koyambedu is one of the easy access bustand and THE DIRTIEST. One had to jump across several animal excreta , vomits , mucus and other nonsense to move across platforms.

After considering my friend shiyam's advice over phone, i took a bus to Dindugal. Double confirming with the conductor i got in  and yeah with a seat near the engine were i could stretch my legs and sleep.By the time i sat on the seat and turned back all seats were full! It was around 10:15-10:30 when the bus started. For the first time i did not put on my earphones and listen music as i had to switch off my mobile as a part of power saving strategy.

Old ladies with Pan in their mouth , drunken guys, dudes with korean mobile phones playing irritating songs loud in speakers are all the persons i hate to sit with. Next to me was a 45 year old family man whose native was dindugal. He carried a laptop Bag marked as E-go. I asked him were he works and i told him were i work and why am i here. A question popped . "You going all alone??.. seriously?? any friends joining you??" it was a long question and my answer was "ya, I'm going alone".He smiled and asked me to go to the place Berjam, 23KM from Kodaikanal. He also said how he used to cut classes when he was a kid and go there and see Forest Authority people camping, cooking and live in tents there.

It was his daughters ear pearcing day the coming Sunday and that is why he too had to rush like me. As we talked he started explaining how tough was it for him in his first job and good thing is, he is now in a reputed company (outsourcing to Louis Vittons) in a responsible position were Team Leads report to him. As we talked we fell asleep and It was around 12AM, the bus took a sudden turn to its right and  halted in a Motel. What on earth will people eat at 12:00AM in a midnight , i wondered.

An alignment of one over another, something green neatly settled on a wooden bench, it is always good to have a Coconut water at chill night and especially when you have a running nose! i got down the bus and walked towards the coconut shop and could not resist i had one chill coconut water!! at the last sip the driver and conductor walked pass through me and i followed them to bus. As soon as i sat on my seat i became blank, lost in the deep sleep without wishing the world a Good Morning.

Im proud that i can have a Deep Sleep. A deep sleep of mass destruction!
I had several backlogs in my MBA beacuse i fell asleep at 10PM in night of exams without even glancing the subjects. One incident was that, my friend put a cigar in my mouth and i slept smoking one whole cigar! ( im a Teetotaler). Now Something had been disturbing my sleep for a while and my brain insisted me to open my eyes, when i did  the road was bright as evenings at Chennai roads, hell of a traffic at 2:30AM in National Highway towards dindugal.The driver was also moving  front and back in sleep.

The bus moved in inches and centimeters per hour for a while. I reminded i had trek and i had to have proper rest before that, so i had to shutdown my whole system and went back to sleep.The engine roared and hit good speed and i went to a state  of no thinking.

Good night!

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