Past 2 weeks III (The calling)

This story is about the saturday that went past. But this time, before I start telling about why, what and how of this saturday, here's an insight into why these 2 weeks. Well, these 2 weeks reminded me of the carefree, crazy, on the move kind of person that I always thought I was. This somehow got suppressed as soon as I came to bangalore. Now, I can give you umpteen number of reasons, from my odd hours in office to not knowing many people here, living alone to not able to find people like me around... but I guess the biggest problem was always me. I never took any initiative in this regard. But the last 2 weeks (11th to 26th) reminded me so much of all that I was. Started with a trek to a journey to gurgaon and dehradun and this weekend, well this was another wonderful and satisfying experience.

This saturday started with plans to meet a friend, which changed from her coming to my place for dinner to we going out on a long drive to, actually, her getting stuck somewhere and not able to make it. Called 2 more people, one was in hyderabad and other had made plans. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out, what went wrong and how? Breaking my head over the casualties of planning something in advance (Somehow this has never worked for me, whenever I have made plans they have just gone for a toss). Sitting in my room, while I was whining about my life infront of some people in the virtual world, it struck me. A kind of epiphany. A calling that I was trying to ignore till now. The purpose of my life. The push and pull of the forces, beyond comprehension of the us mere mortals.

And it was then, that I decided... I should take an evening walk.

Now there was nothing special about this walk, if not the fact that it was a loooooooooooongggggg walk. I mean, that is, if you consider 13 kms in a day, long (from here on, this would be known as my city trek, or in short CT... sounds more hep and happening). So, my CT started as a very casual stroll on the road, going towards the outer ring road. Now people who have visited my place, know that even touching outer ring road from my place is quite a distance and usually, people take evening strolls of this length. I would have returned after reaching there, or rather I should have, but something inside told me to just keep going. The traffic, the pollution of the 7 pm road, the noise somehow started seeming very inviting. And I walked. It was very late when suddenly i realised that I had already covered quite a distance (around 5.5 - 6 kms, yeah yeah... I get lost in my thoughts). So I decided, why not have some ghar ka khana at my aunt's place who lives another km or so from there. I call her, make arrangements and have a nice fulfilling dinner (more importantly, ghar ka khana... or rather ghar ka khana, cooked by someone else).

Spending about an hour at her place, now I had to get back. If I was in any sane mind that time, I would have simply taken an auto rickshaw back. But alas!!! I had another epiphany. Another calling. Another push and pull from the forces. And I decided to continue my CT. Walking back was even more fun. The roads were getting empty (empty by indian standards), and a few cars which were visible seemed to be in big hurry to reach somewhere. My only companions were the trucks laden with steel rods, building stones and cement bags. But they too were too fast for me. And as it happens to most of the people when they are alone walking at 10:30pm at night on a dark road with puddles formed by a recent rain shower, when eyes of the dogs shine bright blue and yellow, and their cries resonate in the sky, when almost every sane person is safe inside there comfortable homes, and every one else who is outside looks like someone ready to pounce on you and mug you, I started to sing and dance. Ok dance wasn't really a dance... just a few gesture of hands. But sing, i did. Loud. Old beautiful songs of Mukesh and Kishore and Rafi. In my coarse and not so beautiful voice.

And then I reached home. nearly 13 kms of total walk with dinner in between. I was tired, satisfied, satiated, and happy. :)

Past 2 weeks II (Gurgaon, Dehradun trip)

Gurgaon
What do you write about a place which was your home for more than a year. A place which you have seen in and out. A place where even after 8-9 months, you still remember the pot holes, the speed breakers, the trees (or the lack of it). My trip to Gurgaon was the same.

Gurgaon still feels like home. Even after living away from it for almost the same duration that i lived in it. Every face around me felt so close and so familiar, it was as if i never did leave. Days in gurgaon were marked with meeting people, jumping from one place to another, spending time with old friends and colleagues. In the process Met a lot of friends. Wanted to meet a lot more.

Spent an afternoon in chandni chowk, and was amazed by the sheer life in those narrow streets, the aroma of fresh street food being prepared, the eagerness in the eyes of every person there, and still a very laid back, rested atmosphere. It still amazes me, how when i lived in NCR i actually never went to this heaven of a place. Next time for sure, I am taking out a complete day atleast for this place. The life in chandni chowk calls for a week. I hope I can do that someday. Till then, lets see.
Missed going to my favourite 2 places in all delhi. DilliHaat and India gate. But as they say, there's always a next time. This time I was making a stopover in Gurgaon. Next time I ll go to delhi as a tourist, something that I have always wanted to do, but never could. And enjoy the sheer brilliance of the so called "dilwaalon ka sheher".

Dehradun
All in all it was less of dehradun and more about the engagement of the friend that i went for. A fun filled ceremony that started the day i reached there and was still on till i left.

For the first time I listened to some beautiful Garhwali songs and was amused by the lyrics, the music and how people just sway to this music. You should see the garhwalis dance if you want to see fun. These ageless people start moving there limbs and hips at the first sound of music. In the process I learned few steps too, and let me tell you these are easy but at the same time very warm and inviting. I could see a parallel between the Garhwali and the chhota nagpuri dance thats the form from where I belong. I guess these were evolved to make everyone in the family just join and dance at the rhythm, so that no one is left out. No wonder we as a country are so fond of music and dance. It has been with us for centuries, and I hope this remains for several more centuries to come.

I wish I could never leave these amazing places. But alas!!! every journey comes to an end, only to give way to the next. I can only wish the train of journeys never end, and I keep moving from one place to another. From one home to another. From one friend to another, never really leaving anyone, anything or any place behind. They are all the reasons for what I am and who I am. After all, a man is just a summary of his experiences. :)

Past 2 weeks I (Sharavathy Trek)

A small initiative from my part (I replied to a mail) would result in something so beautiful and exciting, I could have never imagined. Now I could have given you the exact dates for when the mail arrived, when did I reply to that (which was the instant I received it), how were the arrangements made etc etc., but I am sure you won't be very interested in that. So, let me just jump to the meatier part. THE TREK.

12 people, most of them did not know each other (I for one did not really know anyone), started on friday night in a tempo traveller. And in a very small time, it was made clear, that we are going to have a gala time with each other. It didnot take a lot of time for the ice to break, and by the time the wheels reached the boundary of oh so glorious Bengaluru city we were all singing and laughing together.

A night and 350 kms later, we reached kargal, a small town in Shimoga district of Karnata, where the organisers had arranged for our breakfast and the morning routines. And then they came. Round fluffy sweet and devouring... the mangalorean buns. If you have ever tried to touch heaven in the morning, this is the way you should. Buns are deep fried poori kind of bread, prepared from a mixture of maida, ripe banana and curd. That with the perfect cup of filter kaapi. The journey had just started, and I already got half of the money worth.

About 20 kms ahead from there was a forest, where we were supposed to trek. Unlike other treks, where the paths is well established and even then if you miss it, you can just follow the cigarette butts, the chocolate wrappers and half the back pack of a person, this was a nice surprise. Completely unexplored (even the guides got confused a couple of times), nothing on the ground seemed out of place, it gave us a chance to try and fight the suddenly popping branches, the thick bush, the slippery and steep decline of the area, and move forward. We slipped, we fell, we got bruises, we got cut. We laughed, we sang, we were hushed, we chattered. The sun found it difficult to reach the interior (though it still managed to :P).

Then we heard it. Yes, the sound of water. We ran towards it, falling even harder, slipping even more. A small waterfall, but big enough for 12 people to go under and get wet. The trek continued. After that we followed the trail of the river, exploring the jungle around us. The trek ended, and soon we were moving towards the vehicle.

The lunch was arranged at a local's place. Sitting cross legged, with large banana leaves spread infront of us, we eagerly waited for the food to arrive. And it came. First the rice, followed by sambhar, pickle and papad. The thatched roof, the mud walls, the earthern pot cool water, everything added to the ambience and the flavour.

If we thought this was amazing, I can only begin to describe what lay before us for the rest of the trip. A small stop over at the almost dry jogfalls and then we moved to the destination (or the next stop in the journey). We were taken to a bank of the sharavathy river, the camping was to be done on the other side. What bewitched us, we were not sure... was it the expansion of the river, or the wind hitting the face, the chill in the air, the red sun or just the breathtaking view infront of us. We just stood, some shouting at the view, some just staring open-mouthed. And the cameras clicked. The dropped jaws reclaimed there place and as the dusk thickened we went to the other side in coracles.

Night was bonfire, singing, dinner on paper plates, drinking kashaya (a local specialty, a herbal tea which resembles a lot with the kashmiri kahwa) one at a time sharing the limited containers that we have, and after all this a long walk on the island. We were asked, not to go into the woods, so we remained near the water. Every stone, every stout on the ground looked like an animal ready to pounce. The river was covered with its own army of wooden creatures. The silence of the night adding to the eeriness of the whole setting. But even then, the night wind soothed us, inviting us to keep moving forward, and we did. We got back to some dead logs in and around the camps and met our deaths under the open sky, beside the burning logs while the camps remained empty.

Next day was water sports, we remained in water for hours, coracle riding, kayaking, still water rafting and just floating. :). And then it came like the icing on the cake, gulab jamun after heavy indian meal, lichi with icecream and we drenched in the rain. After the lunch we returned, all tired, sun burnt, bruised and yet satisfied and rejuvenated.

I felt alive. After a long time.

Thank you people for making this happen. Varun for organising this. Sidharth, Amit Jain and Singhal, Amol, Milan, Richa, Ankit, Pragati, Barath and Deepak for being the perfect travel partners. NASA for arranging and managing the awesome trek. Looking forward to what lies next.