This is a continuation of the Coorg story posted here.

Even as we were planning our Nagarhole trip, we realised it was closer to Mysore than to Coorg. We decided to head to Mysore and the driver dropped us at a small town saying we’d get a lot of buses to Mysore and left. We stood there at the bus stop with the scorching sun above us. Given that we were (at least I was!) dressed for the 4am chill weather at Coorg, it wasn’t exactly pleasant to stand in the hot sun. We crossed the road and stood under the li’l bit of shade we could find.

When the first Mysore bus came by, I realised it wasn’t going to be easy getting to Mysore. It seemed like the entire world wanted to go to Mysore! Even before the bus came by, you could see the crowd rushing towards the bus to get in. After watching this scene repeat a couple of times, we decided we better try get in a bus. A couple more buses go by – but, every time we have a big crowd! Where on earth were these people coming from?!

Tired of standing in the sun, we decide we’d get in the next bus – no matter what. The next bus comes. Amir is the first one to get in, and then, out of the corner of my eye, I see baldie standing behind the crowd and watching!! This fellow was supposed to be getting into the bus – and that’s when I realise dude’s too polite to get into a crowded bus! Mind you, this is the same guy who said (at the beginning of the trip) that he can travel in any kinda bus [says he meant any type of bus - rickety to volvo - and not the crowd!]

Here we are – 3 of us outside and 1 inside the bus! We let Amir go – and baldie goes searching for a cab! Sadly, nothing works out – it’s a small town, you see And, we are back waiting for a bus. Another bus – another crowd – and baldie says no way! A few moments later, I realise the bus was still there, crowd gone (probably inside the bus) and there was some space. I try convincing these two guys with me – and before baldie moves, the bus is gone.

Finally, I had to resort to “we better get in to the next bus – no matter what” and thankfully, Bharath agrees. Baldie says he’d hold on to my bag to get in *grin* (imagine this tall, bald guy holding on to my backback)

The next bus came by – Bharath gets in, I get in too, and for all the holding my bag he did, baldie got in a dozen people later Well, at least, he managed to get in!! And, for me, it was a big sigh of relief having gotten this guy into a crowded bus!

We’d been to Coorg and planned to visit Nagarhole. We got our cab confirmed and the driver promised to be there at 4am! Yes, that early ‘coz we wanted to be at the national park by 6am! As planned, we all got up and checked out at the middle of the night, bundled into the Indica. In spite of my layered clothing, I was feeling pretty chill. And, it was quite misty too as we stood outside out hotel. 

We happily started off – I never thought it would be one of the crazier rides I’ve ever done. Dense fog/mist, small roads, blaring headlights, sharp bends, and patches with more potholes than tar – what more can you ask for a crazy trip. Oh! don’t forget the time – 4am – so, darkness too. 

Turn a bend and we were out of a town – and had the dense fog in front of us. It was like a white sheet a few meters in front of our car. As tired as I was, I was wondering how on earth the driver was still on the road and I’d doze.. a few minutes later, we are far from civilization, they din’t even bother adding streetlights. So, once in a while, the fog would light up – like the headlight of a train in a tunnel. Our driver would pull over to the side – as far as he could – and blink lights hoping the truck/bus driver would notice the car in front. 

Once that vehicle goes by, we’d continue our ride in the dark with the white sheet leading us! I didn’t realize I had dozed off until we reached this final stretch of the road -that was as bumpy as any can be. Any of our city roads mutilated by the civic roads would be put to shame. It was as if no two inches were at the same level. From there on, it was a slow, painful, bumpy ride – through the mist. Hoping against hope we’d turn a corner and find the park.
 

From Coorg

Two and a half hours later, we finally reached the park around 6:30am. Phew! Wasn’t I relieved to be off that ride. Sadly, the park itself didn’t turn up anything as interesting as this ride. We had a crazy ride back to Mysore too – but, I guess, I’ll save that for another day!

It’s all about my friend and his adventure:

My dear friend goes to Mumbai on a business trip and gets to stay in a pretty new hotel. One evening, he tells the autowallah to take him to the hotel, and the autowallah doesn’t know the place. So, he gives directions and when they reached the hotel, he asked the auto driver if there’s any other common landmark to get to the hotel. “If you say kadubaari ke saamne [meaning: near kadubaari]… everyone will know ” said the auto driver. 

The next evening again, another autowallah doesn’t know the hotel – so, he says kadubaari ke saamne – the autowallah goes to a few others standing nearby, they have an autowallah conference, and he comes back with a smile saying he’ll take them – and took them to the correct place.

Now, this dude is curious to know about this ‘kadubaari’ [I bet you are too...]- asks around and doesn’t get a sure answer. The day they were to move out of that hotel, lady luck smiles on him. He finds the same autowallah who gave him this kadubaari tip. The moment he gets in the auto, he asks “Bhaiyya, yeh kadubaari kya hai?” The autowallah signals him to wait, drives for a short distance and stops. He points to a building in the distance and….

Update: here’s the version update from the dude himself!!

autowallah: “uthar dhekiyee.. oh compound wall hai naa… oh factory hai”
my friend: bhaiya kadubari ek factory hai???
autowallah: haa.. haaa… isko bolega cadbury… CADBURY!… yeh chocolate hai naa.. ooh banayega uthar… bahuth famous hai”
my friend: !!????!!!

Can you guess what that was? … the autowallah says “Woh Cadbury factory hai! Chocolate factory………”

I found this story so funny, I still laugh thinking about it.  On top of it, he says “can you imagine what those autowallahs must of thought of me – fellow works in an IT company and doesn’t even know to say Cadbury!

Hope you had a good laugh there! 

Disclaimer: If I got any of that Hindi wrong, please leave the correct message in a comment.

It was a long weekend and we decided to go to Goa for 4 days. Day 3, we decided to go up to Dudhsagar Falls, 60 km from Panaji. It was as unpredictable as it could be – riding along railway tracks, crossing streams, my great fall – by the end of the day, I’d say it’s definitely one of the crazier trips.

From Goa, travel along NH4A towards Ponda – proceed towards Molem beyond Ponda. Once you reach Molem, watch out for the signboard for Colem. You’d turn right there and ride to the end of that road (about 7km). You’d find a number of guides/pilots willing to take you on a bike (for about 360INR). They are not the best people to ask for directions – they are more interested in scaring you in to riding their bikes.

We decided to go on our own and turned left – thankfully, there were some very helpful local folks who gave us directions. Before I get on with our route, a couple of pointers – There are a number of routes to the falls and the easiest would be to take the train to the Dudhsagar station. The road looked quite used (relatively) – still, not your normal road. Be prepared for some tough and careful riding. If you are not game for riding, you should take one of the guides along or take the train ride. It was a moment of relaxed riding that resulted in my head injury. Enough of scares – let’s get on with the route!

Turn left at the Dudhsagar board at Colem and find your way to the manned level crossing. As soon as you cross the railway tracks, you’d find a mud road going up to your left. You should leave the tarred road and get on to the mud road into the bushes. When you go up the mud road, you’d reach an unused railway track. This unused railway track will lead you to a path right next to the railway track in use. You’d reach around the 49/500 or so signboard. Keep riding till you reach 46/000 and 45/900. You should also find a milestone that has 51 on one side and 50 on the other. Around that spot, you should look for a bridge beneath the railway track. Look for the steps leading down – you’d also find a path for bikes. Riding down that path will lead you right into the stream flowing below the bridge.

As long as it is not monsoon, the stream should be crossable – it was hardly ankle-high when we crossed it last weekend. Once you cross the stream, that path would join another road at right angle. Turn right at this road and ride on – it is not a short ride from there – at least 10kms, I’d say. Somewhere along this road, I had my near fatal fall – resulting in 4 stitches. Please ride carefully!

The mud road, with slopes – up and down – and stones, big and small – will be your riding challenge. Keep riding till you reach the board that points to the falls, and refreshments (a closed shop).

It is quite a short walk from there to the falls. You’d cross the water a couple of times before you can get right in front of the falls. It is one trip where the journey is much better than the destination (purely, my opinion). In fact, if you are game enough to walk 14 km, it would be one of the nicest walks you’ve ever had.

It was a last-minute decision – to join the river rafting trip. This picture is one of my favorites of the lot. You know why?

It reminds me a lot of things… the little things of the trip. It was a place where you could never predict the rain – it pours, it stops, its quiet… and it starts all over again! In spite of it, we sat there outside sipping tea, watching people play volley ball and shoot at the lone basket. There was this brown doggie around the place – nuzzling everyone in hope of some food. Chit chat. Chase the dog. Watch the sky. Observe.

Me, my camera – “what’s your camera?” they ask. Wow for the SLR. I walk around with my jacket over my camera bag – I’d rather get wet and keep my camera dry! It is a crazy world!

The sky darkens. The terrace beckons – we leave the drops on the flower and go to the river. We didn’t really leave them behind, did we?

When a language which is the primary tongue of 30% of the nation is made the “national language,” you are gonna have to face the 70% – After moving to Hyderabad, I get reactions ranging from polite, curious questions to ridicule when I ask people to stick to English.

Well, for some of us, learning Hindi is not a choice – for others, Hindi is not a choice. Yes, I grew up in places where you heard Hindi only on Doordarshan (nowadays, cable TV too) and where schools offered just two languages – Tamil, English. Even in schools that offered a third language, it was French (because it was easy?) or another Dravidian language.

Yes, I know that isn’t great – but, you know, I didn’t get to set the rules when I was in school. It isn’t bad at work – though, people tend to assume you know Hindi! I think the first time I had a problem big-time was when I went out for a trip with this group – and they were speaking in Telugu/Hindi. Well, there was at least one person who took the time and effort to speak to me (in English) – may his tribe increase. The sad part, though, was that most of them didn’t care – and, worse, at least one person knew that my Hindi isn’t fluent!

In fact, it was worse than being out on the road. Do you know why? Because, when a conductor, bus driver, or shopkeeper realises that I don’t know the language, they try their best to use the simplest of words and use English if they know. Also, I am not trying to build relationships there – I manage to get what I want and I will get going. However, when you go out as a group, you are trying to get to know them – where language matters all the more.

After such an experience, quite naturally, I spoke about it to a couple of people and got some suggestions, including reply in Tamil   – now, that’s gonna be fun!

The other day, when I couldn’t sleep, I was searching for more information on India and the languages in this country. Not surprisingly:

“Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 21 other official languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanscrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu” [source]

So, the next time you think of saying “Arre, national language – how can you not know?” – ask yourself if you are a hockey player.

Got it?

A much delayed post about my first trip this year – after mistakenly deleting my draft and having to reboot in the middle of the second unsaved version, here is my third attempt!

The first long weekend of the year was just two weeks into the year and I wanted to travel – the place was Gokarna. So, on Jan 11, we set off to Hubli from Hyderabad. The plan was Hyderabad – Hubli – Karwar – Gokarna. We reached Hubli and missed the bus to Gokarna! The bus to Ankola was ready to leave, and were told that we can reach Gokarna from there.

Soon, we were out of the concrete jungle and on to some nice roads. After a couple of stops, the bus halted for a break at Yeswantpur. We got to know that the Gokarna bus was the one right next to us and those who are traveling to Gokarna can get in, so we swapped buses midway!

Soon, we came to a long line of lorries and tankers hampered by work on the ghat roads, with passenger vehicles trying to get ahead of them. Before we were out of that, I had lost count of the number of tankers I’d seen. Finally, we reached Gokarna at 1pm!

After lunch, introductions, and a good wash at the hotel, we rested for a while and then set off to the Om beach that evening. They (autos) charge 100 Rs to get to most of the beaches. The beaches are out of the town (except the main beach) and the approach roads are quite scenic. You travel on hilly roads and walk down to the beach

We walked around the beach and waited for the sun to go down for some sunset pictures. In the meantime, we went on a boat ride – saw the other beaches from the boat, trying to plan the next two days.

After the boat ride, the guys went for a swim and I had all the time to walk around the beach with my Olympus C770 and my friend’s Panasonic FZ50. Close to sunset, we climbed the rocks and watched the sun set over the ocean. After the sun went down, we got back, had an early dinner, and returned to the hotel.

Day 2: We decided to go to the Kudle Beach first. Another auto, another winding road, another beautiful beach. I’ve seen a clean beach before (think Pichavaram) and many dirty beaches (think Chennai). But, Gokarna is unbeatable for the amount of life on the beach – that is, life other than human life. You can find fishes, seaweeds; we found whalebones (according to Abhijeet) and colorful rocks too. You can walk around the beach all day and not be bored, i.e., if you look at all the little things around you.

We had our lunch in one of the shanties that offered Mexican, Italian, Israeli cuisines – at a very reasonable price. After lunch, we had some yummy apple pie (?) After lunch, I went back to relaxing in the shade and my friend spent time watching fishes in a pool of water (it ended when he saw someone peeing into his warm pool!)

I sat there watching the waves, the rocks, the beach, the people – and after getting into the water, my friend didn’t want to go to any other beach. So, he spent the day in the water – swimming, searching for fishes, seaweeds, crabs I spent the day taking pictures of everything.

Soon enough, they found a seaweed – and Amir crowned Abhijeet with the seaweed. Right away, we heard someone screaming “Thieves! Thieves!!” She came swimming, got her seaweed crown and swam back to her parents – much to our amusement! And when she got out of the water, she crowned one of the rocks as the prince and the guardian of the crown. Sweet! A few minutes later, the seaweed was back home in the seawater, thanks to Amir!

Another evening, another walk up the road, another day ends!

Day 3: It was time to return – but before our long journey back home, we had about half a day to spare. We decided to check out the Main Beach (aka Gokarna Beach) besides the temple as it was the closest and we didn’t have an entire day to spare. We’d also checked out – didn’t make sense to be carrying things around! We walked to the beach, and found a shady spot between two boats.

When I reached this beach behind the temple, I couldn’t but compare and contrast this beach with what I saw over the last two days. The Main Beach is something from which a traveler can stay away – it is the noisy, dirty, and polluted beach. The other beaches are equally calm, clean, and beautiful. The Main Beach is very much like one of the Chennai beaches.

The temple is surrounded by a lot of shops selling souvenirs, beads, bangles from camel bones, even tiger nails! I am not sure how authentic they are – but, one thing that may put away local (ie, Indian) travelers is the price! Almost all shops seem to exist for the foreign traveler – I can easily find most of those beads/chains and bangles in Hyderabad/Chennai. Somehow, quite surprisingly, Gokarna still has the run-down, old town look – there aren’t many new, high-rise building. In fact, most of the buildings on the main street look as if they may fall apart anytime.

After walking around the town for a while, we decided to get back – had lunch on our way and reached the bus stand. We went to Ankola from Gokarna – which proved to be another crazy ride. From Ankola, it was another bus to Hubli. The new bus stand at Hubli was a disappointment – it was unused, dark, had very few shops, and was out of the town! If I go again, I will save myself the trouble and wait at the old bus stand. Another bus, another long journey, another day and we were back in Hyderabad. We rushed home to prepare for another day at work!

It is an amazing place for a relaxed weekend – the only thing that keeps me from going there every other weekend is the journey and the distance – It is a place worth visiting but not good for a weekend trip, at least not from Hyderabad.

A long weekend and I was raring to go someplace. I managed to convince my friend to get out on Saturday. When we found that the Bhongir Fort is just about 50 kms from Hyderabad, we decided to take our cameras out and go for a ride. We set out around 10am and after Uppal, it was a drive along the Warangal road – quite a pleasant ride with the rail lines along the road. It was quite a sunny day – though there were a few clouds.

We reached Bhongir and tried to find the entrance to the fort. If you reach a spot that doesn’t have the tell-tale fort walls, you’ve reached the entrance! We crossed the road, and started climbing this huge, single rock in front of us. After a distance, you’d find the steps! My friend was already cursing me for suggesting this place. Here and there, we’d find a shady spot – a welcome relief from the sun – and we’d sit down for a while to rest there. Once you’re up there, you can see the entire town – the bus stand, the railway station, the surrounding fields, and hills to the distance. It was quite a beautiful day – I’ve always loved watching the shadows of the moving clouds and that day was a treat for me.

While we rested half way up, we began to wonder if we should even go further. There was nothing up there – at least, nothing to indicate the presence of a huge fort – and, in front of us, was this huge hill (rock?) to climb! Yes, set your expectations right – this is no big fort. Especially, if you’re an outsider (like me) and you’ve been to Golconda, don’t imagine a similar fort. This one is more like a little outpost! We finally decided to climb the hill.

A few feet away, the rock had flattened out and there were these little structures here and there. We also found a cannon – and took a few pictures there. Further up, you’d find steps carved into the rock – makes walking a li’l bit easier. However, there are places where there are no steps and you are on your own. Finally, we reached the top – and, well, there wasn’t anything impressive. Other than a tower, a few remaining walls, and a newly built building, there isn’t much out there. So, after walking around for a while, we decided to get back.

On our way down, we stopped for a while near those walls – one of those walls was high enough to block out the sun – seated there shaded from the sun, watching the clouds go by, and watching a few other people who had come to visit this place…I got all those pretty blue sky pictures.

There is “Danger” written in quite small letters (in my opinion, not at all attention grabbing). If you are not careful, you could walk over a patch of grass to find yourself standing at the edge of the rock – with nothing to stop your fall. Though, you’d have to go out of your way to stand at the edge

After relaxing there for a while, we got back. An hour later, we were back in Hyd

Finally… Be prepared to climb this huge rock – without steps at places
Carry enough food and water
And you’ll find nothing but a view from up above.
A great place to get away and relax – nothing more, nothing less.

How to reach (Google Map): It is about an hour from Uppal X Road, Hyderabad. As you ride along the Warangal High Road, you can’t miss the fort. Of course, the town is named Bhongir (also known as Bhuvanagiri)

From Bhongir

September 16, 2007

After a few days of uncertainty and some last-minute planning, we were off to Pichavaram, a mangrove near Chidambaram (Click here for Map) – 250 km from Chennai,
a place featured in The Road Less Travelled.

We started on Saturday afternoon – to Chidambaram. It was a typical Chennai afternoon – hot and humid. After a not-so-easy journey of 6 hours in the bus, we got off at Chidambaram around 9pm. Oh ya, we did play bluff and I wasn’t good at it (well, I get to say that I am not good at bluffing!).

It was a rainy night and we had to walk to a couple of hotels to find a place. Finally, we got a place, a li’l away from the bus stand (Thanks to Simon’s call to one of the hotels earlier that day). The next morning, we walked down the road to one of those small hotels, had a quick breakfast, and then, we waited for a bus that would take us to Pichavaram.

Once we were out of Chidambaram, it was a typical rural scene – fields that stretch afar, a narrow road, few people walking by, children playing… soon, we were at Pichavaram. Quite a small place and all that you can do is go boating and get atop the tower that serves as a viewpoint.

First we went on the boat ride – into the mangroves. It was good – but could have been better. It looks like a lot of research happens there – you’d find the botanical names of trees written on small boards.
It was over too soon and we were left wondering where to go. Though the article in Hindu mentions a ban on photography, we were allowed to take cameras and were even given a ticket for the camera (Rs. 50 for a camera).

We asked the people at Pichavaram for other places to visit and got the way to the nearest beach – get off at the next village and, about 4 kms from there, we’ll have to take a boat across the backwaters to get to the beach.

At Killai, we were wondering – Should we walk? After the walking we did in Yelagiri, I was sure it would be interesting. There are things you can see and observe only when you walk – you can stop and talk to the people, walk around and observe as they go about their day…But then, Amit didn’t want to walk! So, we got two cycles for rent (no questions asked, no security deposits!) – and I got a free ride

And, there we were, cycling along the village road towards the backwaters – wondering if we should step into someone’s house and ask for a meal! Soon enough, we reached the backwaters – and there was this guy waiting in the shelter nearby who offered to drop us on the other side for 20 bucks each. We left the cycles there, and off we went – with no idea of what was awaiting us on the other side of the backwaters.

We were told that people used to live there before the tsunami, but no one lives there anymore – and the place did look like it was hit pretty bad in the tsunami (2004) – even a board that said, let’s grow more trees and reduce the impact of the tsunami; warning signs saying do not let the animals graze here or do not chop these trees – a grim reminder to what these people faced a couple of years ago.

Soon we were on the other side of the backwaters – our boatman left us there saying, get back to this spot and I will come and pick you up. So, there we were, on this island, not another soul other than the three of us, and no way to get back other than wait for our boatman!

With what seemed to be like a grove was on our left and an endless stretch of sand to our right – we walked towards the sea. If you ever visit Chidambaram and love being on a quiet beach, you should visit this place. Am lost for words to describe the moment when we came upon the sea – as a Chennaiite, I’ve been on the beach quite often – but the Chennai beaches are crowded – and can be dirty too! Here we were, on a quiet, lonely place – clean and calm… it was simply beautiful….It was a mid-day siesta out there – right below the mid-day sun, we were out there at the beach. Thankfully, it was a cloudy day and we weren’t at the mercy of the sun.

Soon, it was time to get back – to go to the other side of the island and wait for our boatman. While we were walking along the grove, we decided to explore – we thought we’d find someone living there – or at least a locked house. What we found was a grim reminder of the tsunami that hit this region a couple of years ago. There was this house standing in the middle of that grove – more like an outhouse – windows and doors stripped, yet heavy things like the grinding stone remain – well, not so long ago, it was someone’s front yard.

Time to return – our boatman coming to get us back to mainland. We returned the cycles and walked around a bit before we took the bus to Chidambaram. After lunching at a crowded restaurant, we got back to the room and we left around 2pm. Plan was to take the 3pm bus to Chennai – which would not happen. Thanks to the weekend crowd, something we forgot about, all buses were full. So, if you are planning a weekend visit, and traveling by bus, one, you’d be better off getting into one at Chidambaram, and two, you better leave a little earlier. If not, book your return tickets at the earliest and do not wait till you get out to board a bus.

In short, a great weekend getaway – especially if you want to get away from the crowded beaches of Chennai and want to explore the countryside. Just remember to book those return tickets!

December 15 – 17, 2006

This time, almost a year ago, we were thinking of how to meet, where to meet and places to visit. Ya, a long time online buddy was coming to Chennai – home visit – and wanted to go for a short trip. And ya, I wanted to go for a trip too – it had been quite some time since I travelled long distance.

We settled on Yelagiri for a weekend trip. This place is between Bangalore and Chennai – about 170 km from Bangalore and 210 km from Chennai (Madras). So, on December 15, I met my long-time online buddy and his friend at Chennai Central Railway Station. We took a train to Jolarpet – and I learnt to play Bluff (I hope I got the name right!) along the way. From Jolarpet, it was a bus ride to Yelagiri.

The bus filled with baskets and gunny bags – which Was a handy extra seat or stumbling block, depending on how you look at it. Late in the evening, we reached Yelagiri – we were dropped off at what seemed to be a marketplace. Within a few minutes, we had a couple of people promoting their lodges. For the first time, I went to a place without booking a place in advance and checked out places before we checked in one of the lodges right there on the main road.

After a quick wash and settling down, we went out to have dinner. After dinner at the hotel near the lodge, we decided to walk around. At about 9pm, the place was deserted. Nothing new for a village! So, we walked in pitch darkness – no streetlights, no vehicles, no lights from houses – just us and a little torch shining bright After walking around, we got back and the two school buddies started the who’s-doing-what-these-days talk. For me, it was time to sleep!

The next day, we woke up early, had a good breakfast, and headed out into the forest. We were planning to walk all the way – but then, we were told we’d be better off if we go in an auto to a village nearby and then start our trek. So, we got an auto to drop us at the next village.

As we were getting off, there was this old man with his two cows walking by. Simon and Amit asked him how far is the waterfalls and if he’d take us through the forest. He looked at the three of us, and asked “Really??” Well, he had to be assured more than once that we were capable of walking long distance. Once he was convinced, he said he’d take us. Before that, he had to leave the cows at home. This elderly man, left his towel nearby, asked us to stay there and went back saying he’d return soon!

And true to his word, he was back in a little while – off we went along the narrow path that took us into the forest. And a couple of meters in, he said that his wife told him to ask for 100Rs – for taking us around. He seemed to be that innocent villager – even inviting us to stay over at his place. And then, even as we were resting in the shade of a tree, he asked if I don’t have to go to school! He thought I had run away from home

We walked through the forest, and reached this waterfall almost at the bottom of the hill – the Jalagamparai Falls. It isn’t about the waterfall as much as it is about the walk down there – one of those places where you can say the path matters more than the destination.

All the way, we were treated to folklore and songs by ‘thatha’ (meaning ‘grandfather’) as called him. He sang to us, advised us to study well, said I remind him of his granddaughter, wanted to know if our parents knew where we were…

After that long walk through the forest, we reached the waterfalls and the temple nearby. As I said earlier, it isn’t a very spectacular falls. By the time we reached the waterfalls, it was afternoon. After a short break at the falls, we walked around to the nearest shops right outside. After biscuits, snacks, and water, we realised that the next bus would reach this place a couple of hours later [:O]

Do we wait? Well, we decided to walk along the road instead of waiting there for the bus. So, we went off again – walking on the road – hoping to see a bus on the other side. We walked and we walked – it is one of the unforgettable experiences in my life – walking around the rural areas, with no concern for time. So, we walked and walked and walked – until thatha got tired.

We walked by a couple of villages, roads lined on either side by sugarcane and cotton fields, the tar road used for drying bagasse. We came across a place where they were making jaggery – those huge pots over a big fire with a just a small opening for them to push the bagasse into the fire! And then, there were these two kids who wanted me to take a picture of their little brother.

Finally, we sat down under a huge banyan tree which was supposed to be the bus stop. As we waited, the people nearby came to enquire about us – where we are from and so on. When I set the camera on timer and took a picture, they were amazed at the camera that takes a picture of it’s own and one of them was in awe of the mind that created this

And the bus came a little later – we went to Thirupathur, had a late lunch, and then boarded the bus to Yelagiri – once more, we went up the hill. After dinner, we walked along those quiet roads – not a single horn, no TV blaring in someone’s house… the only sound you could hear were of the insects and frogs. I think it was closer to new moon, ‘coz it was a starlit night – I don’t remember seeing the moon – all that I can remember are the stars, the dark roads, and the sounds of the insects.

When we got back, we started Bluff again – until it was really really late. The next morning, we went boating in the lake out there, spent some time walki

ng around and then returned to the cottage. The boat ride was real fun – it was quite a long ride and was real fun go that far! When we got back to the cottage, we walked around the garden, took a lot of pictures, played in the swing… and soon, it was time to leave.

As we were walking to the bus stop, we saw the bus to Jolarpet start off. Simon, the sprinter, ran and got the bus to stop – and we got the last seat of the bus – we sat there eating crispies and sweets we used to have when we were kids…. And we were on our way back – to our work, each in a different location…

For more Pictures, go to Yelagiri