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"