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!