The Year that was

The Year that was

Here's an account of the events over the past year that made my day(s)

January: (The East Coast)

I made my first trip with QC. Saarang 09 at IITM surely is the best experience that I'll savour for a long time to come. It was the time when friends got all the more closer. Ambling

through the campus at 2am and playing party card games were amazing experiences.

February: (The West COast now)

February was an eye-opener in many ways, personally was well as academically. It was the month when the world force-fed me the Red Pill. The last week of February took me to the shores of the Arabian Sea which were explored under the wonderfully starry skies when we were slightly (only slightly) under the influence of the bottle.

April:

I had just broken out of the teens and entered the 20 something that i was so dreading. Once I was there, I was disappointed and releived at the same time that there was no difference whatsoever.

July-August:

I spent an awesome two months working and doing othla at the same time. Two amazing treks and a fairly successful trip to Kochi gave these what would otherwise have been bland months quite a bit of flavour.

November:

Whatte month! It was filled with action from the moment the notes of Kuvempu's Raajya Geethe were heard. It was an exhausting month which brought us a fair bit of success. It was more about proving to yourself what you were capable of rather than to anybody else

The past year has been an awesome ride. Here's hoping that 2010 lives up to the hype that

2009 has generated.

Till the next December which brings another such account,

Cheers

Change

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you were the same all your life. You

start thinking for yourself probably when you hit your teens,That is when you look around

yourself,and think a lot more about how you should be treated rather than how other feel about

you.Others expect you to change your ways,you expect them to change theirs.In the time when

egos make their presence felt and joblessness caused by the current engineering setup makes

the devil supervise the workshops in your idle head, stop and think how it would be if nobody

had to change.

Change is good.You stop being the obstinate,loud, spoilt brat that you were, You begin

to think more about the other person.You give him the space he needs expecting the same in

return.You expect the same respect that you gave.But if that doesnt happen,we being to wonder

if things are right the way they are.Where things went wrong.Why that person changed? Or was

it you who did? Whose fault is it anyway? If change is what is now needed.Or maybe change now

suddenly has become a bad thing.

Why do people change? They were really fine the way they were. Change sometimes is a

bad thing. You wish that you be what you always were and you wish that the ones close to you

never change one bit. Change is probably the resident evil in your comfort zone.

Change seems like the biggest stumbling block in your progress as a person, yet

progress implies change.Love it, hate it, at the end of it all, you have to embrace change.How

well you adapt to change is how defined you are as a person.

Change is both good and bad.It is, as the saying goes, the only constant

Into God's Own Country

A Travel log for the Kochi Trip

Aug 7 2009

3:10 pm : Met Goat and Matka at the station. We are way too early. But anyway, hope it pays off. Hope we get to sit in some comfort in a general compartment.

3:45 pm : Bought tickets with ease. Counters weren’t crowded at all. Waiting on the platform now. Jose just about got here

3:50 pm : The whole gang is here. Things look nice, the platform is relatively empty…surprisingly. Waiting for the train to arrive.

4:20pm : Still waiting.

4:50 pm : The platform is filling up. We are a bit more concerned now about finding seats on the train rather than deciding who we are going to rag on the journey.

5:00 pm : Safely seated inside the train. There was a mad scramble for us to get here. We have seated ourselves in twos. Sadly yours truly is the odd one out. (That partially is one of the reasons as to why I’m translating my thoughts into ink). PS: Coming to the station 2 hours early didn’t pay off, did it?

5:15pm : The train seems to be slightly off schedule. Praying fervently for the train to leave as people have started packing in. There are 6 people in a seat meant for 4).

5:30pm : The train has started moving. I’m engulfed in the odour of what seems to be cheap liquor. Not like I expected the aroma of classy French wines in the air.

5:45pm : I’m writing another post in parallel to this log. (That's posted below)THAT is more aptly suited for my blog title.

6 pm : K.R. Puram : Finding out for myself why man is such an interesting animal. He has the ability to magnetise himself at will. Loads of members belonging to this species are clinging onto the train. Goes to show that humans aren’t just restricted to being leeches who cling on to other people.

6:10pm : We just went past White Field. I;m just thankful that the train didn’t stop here.

6:15pm : My back is beginning to kill me. Its supposed to be the monsoon, but there isn’t a rain cloud in sight.

6:45 pm : Its been just over an hour since we left. I think I’ll settle down for a bit with the the comic that I brought along.

6:50 pm : Bangarpet : Phew, some breathing space at last. They dropped off the train as quickly as the got in.

8pm : I went on a stroll thorught the carriage some time ago. Lots of people have made themselves at home on the floor and are already floating around in their reveries. Stayed back to chat with monty for some time . And as always, it has ended up as a session for “Soda Bashing”- Monty and Jose taking my trip. I;m just standing back and laughing my head off at some well timed PJs.

9:15 pm: Came back to my seat, I must say that the odour still lingers. But my God, doesn’t time fly when you are with friends.

9:30 pm : Salem: Ah! P’s hometown. Go die P. This place smells.

Aug 8 2009

4:45am : Ernakulam : Just got here. The “Soda Bashing” hasn’t stopped yet. Nothing surprising there.

6:45 pm : Kochi is really pleasant. After being dropped in the middle of nowhere, we had to walk quite a bit to get to the college. We are all indulging in – dare I say it , arbit rants.

8:45 am : Heading out for breakfast shortly. That’s to be followed by the quiz. Will continue once the quiz is done.

3 pm : Was a really good quiz. Nakul and Chaitanya wont it. I have to hand it to them. They were terrific today. Lady Luck decided to turn away at the last moment. We came 3^rd by a single point. That after getting 2 negs in the last round. Feeling really disappointed on missing out. Well, there’s always next time.

7:15 pm : Had a nice supper of some de-lish pizzas courtesy the champs. We just got to the station and are waiting for the train to arrive. Looking back, it certainly has been an eventful trip down to God’s Own Country. I’ll be going back home with contentment outweighing my heavy heart weighed down by disappointment.

Aug 9 2009

9am : Home.

A Journey

After wishing continuously for some time on my own, I seem to have been granted my wish. I’m seated alone in a crowded compartment. I feel like chewing my words, I begin to think that I’m more of a pack animal. Hold on, not just yet, I have some time to sit, look around and let some random and some not so random thoughts roam my head. That way, travelling is something truly unique. It can be enjoyed either when you’re by yourself or when you’re with a gang creating a ruckus all along the way.

I’m just sitting by myself watching the outside world whizz past the window. Its not something new to me, but something that I never find to be dull. It always seems so fresh every time you experience it. If not anything else, it makes you oblivious to the claustrophobic atmosphere inside.

Speaking about the people around me; Here I am, on a train to Kerala, on the border of KA, AP and TN when a Marwari woman boards the already crowded compartment with her child and a gent is jabbering away on his phone in what seems to be Bengali. I just found the above thought quirky. (If this makes you think that I’m some pseud NRI, who gapes at the sight of a cow on the road, then all I have to say to you are two words which when obeyed to the letter might cause you to increase your progeny).

A bad tech joke just ran through my head : More people are being pushed onto the seat, the seat does have only finite capacity, but there is no more space to accommodate overflow. Hence I just hope that the seat doesn’t crash.

I, for one, don’t think I would want to travel in such a fashion ever again. If I may say so, the bulk of the passengers seem to be from the financially restrained echelons of society. (read – the poorer sections of society). I pause to spare a thought to those who are compelled to commute thus on a daily basis. Coming back to the open mouthed, gaping firang that I mentioned earlier, I wonder what fascinates him about this very stratum of our society. It might be that he finds the content middle class to be too similar to himself for him to be free from his day to day mundaneness.

All my co-passengers are now in a stupor. I guess the journey can hold your attention only for so long. I guess its reaching your destination that gives you the drive to undertake the journey. Its rare that the journey itself can be recalled in the clarity that is usually reserved for those moments experienced when you get to those places that you want to reach.

An Ascent to Solitude Part 2 : Mangalore and Sutta Mutta

Starting from where I left off,

We came back to Kukke at around 10am. We headed to the bathed in the Kumara Dhara, the river that flows by the town and R in all religious zeal performed his morning rituals in the river itself.

We visited the temples in the town and having payed our obeisance to the Lord we had a huge discussion as to where we would lunch. R was insistent upon having lunch at the temple itself while the rest of us were not too keen on the idea. In the end R had his way and we begrudgingly followed him in the queue that led to the dining area.

We were later forced to chew our words when we finally entered the dining area. Having lunch the way we did was an experience by itself. The dining area easily seated 500 people. Our meal was a simple one consisting of rice , sambar, paayasam and buttermilk. It was fascinating to watch the caterers handle such big a crowd. Rice was loaded onto small trolleys and served to those seated. This certainly gave me a whole new meaning to the term “Meals on Wheels”. I patted R on the back and told him that this in fact was actually a good idea.

We then caught a bus that took us a part of the way to Mangalore. We were then toying with the idea of hitchhiking on a truck to the coast when we flagged down a bus headed to Mangalore and subsequently boarded it. The drive to Mangalore offers some of the most picturesque scenes ever imagined. Calmly flowing rivers, thick hardwood trees with creepers clinging on to them , they all whizzed past us as we headed towards the coast. Those were some unforgettable scenes.

We were welcomed in Mangalore by the rain and we headed to drop our bags off in the room that S had booked for us. We quickly freshened up and by 8pm ,went to Pabbas, an ice cream parlour to fulfil all our (especially my) craving for some superb ice cream. Rich chocolate, thick syrup and some mouth watering ice creams made our senses oblivious to everthing around us. We went back to our rooms satisfied, but not yet contented with what we had had. We all had a good night’s rest and trooped off to the beach the next morning. Time was well spent on the beach announcing S’ love life on the sands of time, arbitly posing for photos and just plainl looking at the majesty of the rolling ocean. R,K and I built a sand castle fully equipped with a moat and marvelled at our own sense of design, but this was only after we sculpted a true work of art that sadly, cannot be further described in this post.

We then had lunch and spent an hour or so idling. We then proceeded to splurge on some heavenly ice creams, only this time we walked out after eating to our hearts’ content. The train back home was fun, R bought a couple of loaves of bread and K a pack of cards. K taught us the nuances of poker and we didn’t realise time fly by as we involved ourselves in games of hold 'em. R turned out to be a decent chef as he whipped up sandwiches that earned our approval. I for one had a good night’s sleep and woke up when we were an hour from Bangalore. We then resumed from where we left off the previous night and played more poker. At 7am, we looked outside to those familiar concrete platforms that make up the City Railway Station and heaved a collective sigh as a memorable trip finally came to an end.

We were back home.

An Ascent to Solitude

Hello,

It’s been long since I blogged. So here is a double whammy- A two post blog on our trek to Kumara Parvata and trip to Mangalore.

We were well into our holidays (17 days to be precise) and boredom was already setting in; and so we decided to spend some time in doing what has been a tried and tested method of getting it all behind us, we decided to go on a trek. Where better, than to venture into the virgin forests that seem to cloak the Ghats like a green carpet when seen from afar?

We went into overdrive as we entered the planning mode, looking through various blogs, poring over maps, the usual hullabaloo. Tickets were booked, the stay organised, and we were ready to head out.

We left Namma Bengalooru on Saturday night. S woke himself up at 4:30am the next morning and woke us up at 5 am to share his enthusiasm of tunnels with us. It was pitch dark outside and so, no matter what, we weren’t able to say when we entered a tunnel. After a lot of grumbling we reasoned that we might as well stay awake till we reached Subrahmanya Road. We reached there at 6:15am. We rented a jeep to take us to Kukke. S having the honour of sitting in the front never stopped talking about what he felt was the ride of his life.

We were dropped in front of the Subrahmanya temple and after having a light breakfast packed, and praying for a safe return we started off our trek. It was surprising that it hadn’t rained much and that it seemed improbable that we would have any of the torrential rain that the Ghats are so well known for. The backdrop provided by the mountains to the temple spurred us on. We had to walk about a kilometre to reach the base of the mountain. There was a huge signboard giving us information about the “pit-stops” that we could take.

This trek threw us right in the middle of a lush canopy from the beginning itself. The climb was steep right from the start. We trudged along the well beaten but narrow trail wary of snakes that so famously inhabit this area. We were armed with salt and tobacco to battle the leeches that clung to us with every step that we took. We took about an hour and a half to reach Girigadde which was about 3 km from the base. We met a lot of people along the way who were on their way back after having reached the peak the previous day. We rested for a while and then made our way to “Bhattara Mane “ , a house in the middle of nowhere that is a godsend to the people who look to undertake this trek. We needed another hour and a half to make our way there. K and Sh were too tired to carry on and decided to stay back.

R, S and I broke our fast (R and S on packed idlies and I, purely on some delicious, freshly peeled jackfruit) and continued our trek. We had to pay an entry fee of Rs 115 per head at the forest department. Everyone had told us that we would need at least 4 hours to reach the peak. We started from the forest department at 11:30am and set off at a brisk pace. The trek began to become tougher as we got higher. We saw elephant tracks all along the way which sort of quickened our pulse. Most of the path was narrow and along a cliff-like trail. As we trekked the view all around left us speechless. We reached “ Hale Mantapa “ in 2 hours when the weather gods decided it was time to give us what I was expectant of; it began pouring. I was filled with glee and looking around, all we could see was a thick white blanket. Visibility was less than 10ft. That’s when I realised that nothingness itself was a sight to behold. We were running short of time and we didn’t want to risk trekking in the dark as we weren’t prepared for it. We decided that we would trek till 2:30 pm and then head back. As we began our climb from the “Hale Mantapa” the Gods had another treat in store for us. The clouds cleared as fast as it began to rain and the Sun was shining right on us. The colours around us filled us with ecstasy, where the sun shone it was light golden green and in area with rainclouds looming there was dark grey-green look. The gradation of colour was just beautiful.

The trek to the peak is very rocky and is nearly vertical. A lot of care is needed while making this climb because it is really easy to slip in this climb. Sadly for us, time wasn’t on our side and we weren’t able to conquer the peak. Nevertheless it was very satisfying, but there will always be pangs of “If only…” As we rested near the top, I needed a refresher and opened a curd packet and made buttermilk by adding water (and salt and some Glucon-D) much to the amusement of R and S.

We made our way back to “Bhattara Mane” by 6. We had dinner and indulged in more jackfruit. After a nice long game of rummy with our hosts, we went to bed. We woke early the next morning and left for Kukke, the descent took us two and a half hours. Once we were back to base a sense joy enveloped us all. We then we went about executing the remaining part of our plan in visiting the temple and subsequently going to Mangalore.

More on that in the next post.

Till then, Happy Trekking