A WEEKEND TRIP- PART TWO

A WEEKEND TRIP 2

And there I was on the bus to Hubli from where we were to catch another bus.I sat one the very last seat right in the middle. The journey began silently, without anyone saying much, it is but understandable when you are in a group where you hardly know each other. But this initial awkwardness soon dissolved when our organizer Sukumar came in and started interacting with everyone. It was just the little push we needed to get going and  soon some started rambling away to glory sharing the experiences of their previous treks, it was fun listening to the guys. This bus ride was refreshingly different with not the usual anthakshari and dumb sharads (Thank God for that! I was good at neither) .

Soon we stopped for dinner in this Taj tristar like restaurant (m sure you can sense the sarcasm here) and bunch of us ordered tea.

Drinking nice hot tea on a cold night in the middle of no-where with a bunch of people ur just getting to be comfortable with sends out a completely different vibe, a positive one though :-) We had a little more interaction over chai, getting to know other a little more like what they did ,their hobbies and stuff like that. Post this brief chai-chat we were back on the bus more comfortable than when we got on it the first time.

After a bit more of experience sharing and random talks ranging from movies to the autowalas in different cities we drifted off to sleep.

We woke up at around 7 and reached Hubli at around 9 AM.It was 2 hrs late. We got down and hurled our luggage from the luggage compartment of the bus and headed for an adjacent bus stop from where we were supposed to catch our next bus. We used the water tank there to brush our teeth and wash our sleepy faces. We talked a bit more until our bus had come. Had biscuitsandfun and reached dharwaad in halfandhour or so and caught another bus to Dandelli. The ride was interesting to me. Within fifteen-twenty minutes the scenery around changed from that of a city to a village, felt like we were transported to the early 19th century where lush green field ran endlessly with intermittent houses bordered by the omnipresent trees and hills that have bravely faced being weathered by the harsh realities nature.(I can already hear some people thinking "Antha avasrama?" "Kuch Zyaada hogayya" "Cut the Crap" coz I know how much some people hate description, he he. You just have to put up with it guys).After an hour’s drive or so we reached Dandelli, we got down with our bags. And I thought like this was it but NO, there were another couple of vans waiting for us. I was thinking will this travelling ever end? Anyway

After 13 hours of travelling in total, a dozen packets of biscuits and endless chatting, we finally reached this Farm House called Stanley’s Farm House. It was a humble little place with all required basic amenities. We found a few tents already placed there but there were rooms as well with cots, bathrooms were reasonably clean and there was a table tennis facility provided, it was as old as this place itself probably but still usable, so I would say it’s a decent enough place :)

We found several birds and animals like horses,turkeys,chickens,geese,dogs,cats,heck I wondered if there was any need of a safari at all, all the animals were right here. We soon went for breakfast as we were all starving, I could eat anything right now except for upma and poha the only 2 things I’m not very fond off. We went into the dining room; it was more like a dinning verandah rather, facing the open space. It was nice and cozy and simple, just the way I liked it :)

I went over and with the hunger of a lion I opened the breakfast casserole and soon turned into a cat. Yes you can guess what was for breakfast 'UPMA'!!!!! But what the heck! This is a trek can't always expect the food you likeyouknow. I had it anyway as I was really hungry. But it tasted surprisingly good when I had it with a little pickle :)

(Pickle Zindabaad!God Bless Pickles)I could kiss the hands that made these, but when I saw the old lady emerging from the kitchen I quickly changed my mind: p

After a satiating breakfast we planned out our activities for the day which included exploring the area around, trying out the nearby river,Kayaking,river jacuzzi and finally camp fire. Sounded like fun.

We changed and started off with the first activity on the list. Armed with nothing but are cameras,bandanas,shades and high spirits off we went on foot into the jungle  . . . To be Continued!!

A WEEKEND TRIP- PART ONE

A WEEKEND TRIP-1

Right when I thought my life was beginning to get monotonous and mundane I stumbled on an article in the paper about this club called Great Hyderabad Adventure Club(GHAC). It showcased itself as a hub for all adventure lovers. So the very first thing I did as soon as I got home was to check out their website (not yet privileged to have a net connection@Office). I was immediately 'taken' as it had everything I ever wanted to do,starting from trekking,cave explorations,camping,rafting,bouldering,rappelling & the list was endless.
And the best part was that it was comprised of mostly working guys,who were experienced in organizing such trips so they organised it in such a way that we wouldn't have to miss work. 
There was an outing everyweek.Most people would find it uncomfortable with going on an outing with people you haven't met before and hardly know, but for me it was all the more exciting as it gave me a chance to meet new people.I looked out for a convenient date on their website and RSVPed 'Yes' to a weekend outing on the 13th/14th Nov.It was for this trip to Dandelli which is somewhere in the Karnataka border.I hadn't even heard of it before.
Soon I got a call from the organiser asking me for my confirmation and the amount to be deposited in his account, felt a little circumspect at first but then it was understandable that they needed the amount to do the travel bookings,and they looked pretty genuine to me so I did so.
Was a little excited as the weekends drew closer. I had to board a bus from MGBS/Imlibun bus stand at around 10 pm on Friday(I dint even know it existed here in hyd,and also happens to be one of Asia's largest bus stops :p Damn! I dont even know my own city).
I left office a little early than usual that day and a strange thing happened on my way back home-while I was passing Indhranagar on my bike this girl with a black t-shirt and curly hair crosses the road out of no where, completely oblivious to the fast bike that was heading towards her,I swerved around her and thought 'girls these days!'and continued on (You will soon know why this was strange,keep reading) . After I reached home,I showered ,packed and started real early at around 6:30 from my place and reached well before time,it took me a little over an hour to reach MGBS.

I made use of the extra time by having some snacks and exploring the so called Asias biggest bus stop. When it was 9:30 I started for the platform where we were supposed to meet. There were bunch of guys and girls standing there and kinda figured out it was the GHAC gang. I scanned the crowd, they looked like a fun group. But what or who caught my attention was this short girl, wearing a familiar looking black T-shirt and she had curly hair. I said to myself 'Nooo!! She couldn't be! What are the odds of that huh?'.But then I thought I would just confirm,so I asked her if by any chance she stayed at Indhranagar and when she gave a positive nod,I went 'Hooly Macaroni!!!' It was a Filmy moment.She gave me a suspicious look when I asked if she stays at Indhranagar,as if I had been stalking her for some time . When I said I almost ran over her the same evening she had a tough time believeing it as she said she did not notice any crazy biker (lol,I was relieved and not too happy at the same time)and let it be at that.
Slowly everyone trickled into platform 33,there was 19 of us in total and after a quick intro we got into our bus and settled down. We kind of changed the seating arrangements so that we could sit more or less close to each other-the Volvo bus engine roared to life-and the journey started. . .To be Continued :-)

03-Nov-2010: The Forgotten Candle

When I came back from work one day, there was no power in the house and the emergency light we usually use during such cases was also not working.  Now what do we do I thought? Almost reclining to the fact that we have to go without any light until the power comes back up, my mom asked me to search for a candle . Ah yes a candle, now why did that not occur  to me,I had almost forgotten about its existence and that its function doesn't change even in the 20th century. And my search began for the forgotten candle, rummaging every possible drawer  in the kitchen and dining room.I was moving things,small and big around searching ,hunting rather for the little candle that could save us from this misery.
In the midst of my search I wondered, if this candle, even if found,would work because the last time I remember using one in our house was some 12 years back Finally  my frantic search bore fruit as I found the candle in a corner of a drawer,covered with a decade of dust. It lay there patiently, as if waiting  for this day. Always ready to serve when needed no matter how long.
I  took the candle ,dusted it to restore some of its dignity,took it to the kitchen and lit it hesitantly , not expecting it to respond but there a small flame was born but I half expected it to die out mocking me. But to my utter surprise the small flame grew steadily until it reached a healthy size, giving us the light without any complaint in spite of our treatment towards it.

I took a lesson from it then,
I thought to myself how quickly we forget the old when the new comes in.Respecting the old didn't hurt anyone.So don't shrug off the old, because u never know when you'll need it