For the Love of Nagala : 2

“Kaapaathunga”... echoed all through the jungles of Nagalapuram... Not your regular frantic S.O.S calls, mind you!!!... Amidst rip roaring laughter & mayhem, jumped Krishna Kumar into the crystal clear pool with a sleeping mat closest to his heart n chest – wonder if he would have even held anyone/thing else that close people!!!

Until thence, little did we know that this Chennai grown Andhra kiddo was capable of such sense of timing... that only a few hours earlier, was he ragged in near cold-blooded fashion by one of our very own [let me not name him as yet] to share his cosy little sleeping mat and the blanket too... ;)... could only have added a certain punch to his deft touch of humour folksies...

Krishna was not the only Hero amongst us though, The King – self proclaimed singam, Mr.Ladakh - Karthikeyan, himself announced his arrival with a Honda Activa at the start of the trek and kept our laughing bones broken literally by his wry sense of humour..

I could go on & on; leaving all of you with a big wide smile on your face thinking what could you have probably missed - For the Love of her Highness has always been very dear & near to our soul. Nagalapuram has never been the same every time we have stepped into her fold.

Count-down to year 2009, N12, when we [Paari, Karthik Yadav and Sujai] began trekking with a big bang, thud n splash [read as follows – a huge boulder rolled down our path splitting me and Paari safely and splurged into the Nagala stream], our sojourn ever since has been a fantastic one indeed – a picnic that showed us a glimpse of what flash floods could be like, the silver jubilee trek that tested the mental stamina & acumen of some of us – a few social treks & one day treks to the other side of Nagala later – She has never left us thinking about being something that we are so used to on a weekly basis and rightly so – She remains the Home of CTC.

It can only be befitting that we show some of the freshmen & Ladies, an iota of what Nagalapuram has in store for them. The distinction this time though was to split the teams into two batches – early morning & post lunch - and let people join in their convenience – the afternoon batch of course was the preferred one to most of the Chennaites. Logistics issues notwithstanding – the trek was converted to a post lunch start & end a day laters trek. A few hiccups & stop overs later, Nagala was in our sights. A moonlit evening was a blessing in disguise – food was distributed amongst the 37 member team and around 7 PM, the ascent to magic pool had begun.

To sleep under an open canopy lit by Moonlight & star filled skies is always a dream come true for most of us. Nagala 20 has been the best trek till date in that sense... the difference every time has always been people to add to the best of memories. Winter nights & camp fires are an awesome twosome – a perfect valentine couple... which most of us realised at 5 AM in the morning... J ...

Day 2 began with a lazy walk to the crystal clear pool – an hour n a half later, plans for lunch unfolded. Chapattis, noodles n soup – a super two course meal followed by leaps n jumps into the magic pool; Come 2 PM – the descent to first pool had begun – yet another dip in the clear waters – a customary group pic on a farewell note. FLN 2 finally drew curtains on a very happy & satisfying note.

Come to think of it, As we step into our 3^rd year at CTC, the only thing that could ever remain constant and what would possibly drive us, teach us, help us learn – Mother Nature – could not have been summed up better than this song: 

It is in you, to carry on

It is in you, to lay down fears that hold

It is in you, to find your way home

And this time around & forever...

Is it love that you crown?

And this time around & forever...

You'll be more than who you are

 For the Love of Nagala 2:  Paari, Yadav, Rock Bala, Ram & Hari

Mission - SAVE TADA

No matter how insignificant what you do may seem – It’s important that you do it.

November 1, 2009 will go down in the annals of CTC as one the many “1^st to be there” events in its history. Whilst the world slept comfortably on a Sunday’s eve – CTC’s first battalion numbering about 230 plus marched into the reserve forests of the TADA waterfalls with one single objective – Clean the jungles of all muck & dirt replete of what the human minds have come to be and restore its natural self back in place.

The spark for this phenomenon of an event had hit us a few weeks ago and what began as a droplet soon spiralled into momentum that finally culminated at TADA on Nov 1.

And just like a droplet of water that would seemingly look insignificant and disproportionate in front of the Ocean – Every member of the team, No matter from where he or she came from, No matter How insignificant an act of theirs might have sounded to the rest of the world, No matter what the future had in stock for TADA – All that mattered at this juncture was we complete the cleanup of TADA successfully.

And so it was that when Peter announced the event, a leader’s vision soon sparked a few hundred souls to reach out and stand by the side of Mother Nature; After all – Without Her, We would all be lost in the wilderness of the concrete jungle that there is !!!

No event of this scale can ever be achieved without any plan in mind and kudos to Peter and the team yet again for showing excellent spirit and enthusiasm for not letting the scales down and pushing forward the agenda with so much happening in our professional and personal side as well.

For those of us who just took part in the event, the behind the scenes operation were ample proof of what we really wanted to achieve. Be it meeting the Forest Officials both at Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh and explaining to them of what has been happening at TADA and the need to restore it back to its pristine self, was infact welcomed with praise and pomp.

Elsewhere, another team embarked on catching up with the press and broke the myth apart that the young & educated here in India do not care for their country however inconsequential it may seem to be. We soon saw the press breaking the news apart to the rest of the world in their own inimitable way and slowly but steadily – the world had finally woken up to what CTC was all about;

Another team began work on spreading the word around through Posters & banners for the final showdown. With such a group brimming with energy – would new ideas be any far from reach; the thought of an online petition to Save Tada would sound like a cliché to most of the ignorant and the docile lot but for those of us who believed in spreading the word across – the journey to the mission was as important as the event itself and it was imperative that we let the World knew all about it.

Mission SAVE TADA was soon everywhere – From Newspapers to the new age media, the news had indeed spread like wild fire. From Now on – It was all about execution.

Logistics for any such event is an unwritten & highly demanding prerequisite and do we need to spell its importance more so when it comes to achieving the objective such as cleaning a place that has been marred by negligence & greed for almost 3 years until now.

CTCians are a diverse lot driven by one single passion – to be in the presence of Mother Nature and be one with her whenever and wherever possible. And this single determinant beats all anomalies & differences that exist in any communion for that matter; the socio economic factors simply diminish into oblivion when it comes to Mother Nature. With such a wealth of experience & selfless souls to boot – Nothing ever is impossible. Food was organised keeping in mind the scale & the objective of the event; Transport although typically is a ‘carpool n share’ basis this time gave way to Buses that would reduce the dependencies of transporting such a huge number of CTCians whilst also keeping in mind – the delays due to breakdowns amongst other things.

The countdown to the event had finally begun.

With everything in place, however there was one major proponent who would determine the success of the event. It was Mother Nature herself. Weather conditions in Chennai had worsened to indicate a possible deluge throughout the week before the event and possible chance of rains at TADA as well. Those with prior trekking experiences [Nagala 21 for e.g.] would completely concur with my thought on what the rains can do to you apart from wetting the rocky-mountainous paths and make trekking a lot more difficult to accomplish.

One good deed deserves another and it was for a good measure that Mother Nature chose to bless our day with ample sunshine and a clear day with not a single drop of Rain. We began our day from Tidel Park picking up all CTCians on the way until NH5. Breakfast was distributed on the way up to reduce downtime. Gloves, Lunch and other essentials were distributed and we were finally on our way. Mission SAVE TADA had begun.

The group was split into 15 + teams and areas were clearly demarcated for garbage collection. Group leads were responsible for the overall harmony and success of their group. A team of Photographers were assigned the complete responsibility of documenting the event apart from lending a hand or two when needed from time to time. The Bill Board team went about its way of putting up sign boards every where possible to create awareness among the general public.

The media management team ensured that the press and the local media were fed with enough information to ensure that the right news reaches those who are yet to know what’s been happening in their town.

At about 11 AM, the various teams had closed in on cleansing their respective areas of garbage n dirt. Without being too modest about our effort – About close to a tonne n a half was collected and we were not finished yet. With so much garbage strewn around the place & collected for a decent two hours, they still had to be moved from the respective areas to the common point where it will be taken out for disposal.

And therefore the collection of garbage had to come to a stop somewhere. The local media had finally arrived, Peter addressed the team in a clinical fashion and we wish that the information trickles down to the general public and bolsters a much needed impact to save TADA.

Post Lunch – The CTCians were back to familial territory – Jumping Jacks took to the rocks and water as their home turf – Our version of having fun amidst Mother Nature had just started. A good hour in the TADA waters later– Come 2:30, we began our way back to civilisation. The Garbage bags were bought back to the final collection point, but not before the group snap was shot and a final drive to collect some more garbage at the entry point of the water pools, did we bid adieu to TADA.

It’s always been said that any vision even of the highest order if driven without a purpose is a life spent wasted. And thankfully though, those of us who took part in this event can hold our heads high in adoration and reverence for all that was done on the first of November 2009.

No word of Thanks can be said to that one person - Peter, for that single spark and a visionary who chose to drive us to this hour of glory – where every human who took part in this campaign paid his highest respect and tribute by doing what best he could however negligible it may seem, collectively contributed to the overall success of the campaign.

I can’t wait to see how TADA will fare from this day on. Our pent up frustrations during the course of the day would never wore out like the night of the hour and I sincerely wish that we derive new meaning out of this whole episode – A purpose that shall not end at TADA but spread across other states as well. Mother Nature needs us as much as we need Her with us if not for anything else, Lets restore her gorgeous self to pristine grandeur and amidst this all, May we endear on and seek what our purpose is for a lifetime to come...

Until thence, Thank You CTC for yet another humbling experience.

Nagarahole - Chasing the Butterflies

Home of my favourite cat – the king of the Indian wildlife food chain – mesmerising & numinous – Panthera Tigris beckoned us to the Valley of Nagarahole national reserve this Gandhi Jayanti. The objective of this mission, although, was to document butterflies with an NGO aiming at spreading awareness to the ignorant & the placid lot could not have come at a better time.

The Western Ghats although safely ensconced, is no stranger when it comes to the N.E Monsoons. Lord Varuna played his tunes flawlessly well and just for a brief moment though we were done for, but then, our spirits rose to the challenge, History was in the making – Already!!!

Our compatriots – Ramesh and Krishnamurthy who had synced up the 3 day affair for us were in for a surprise right from the start – thanx to “Mad Max” Selva Pandian – awesome driving bro... Wham-back action synergised perfectly well with the mind of a hunter’s head to boot – we eased to Bangalore in no time at all.

The team gelled perfectly well instantaneously; ‘Mission – Chasing the Butterfly’ had begun!!!

Day 1 : Took a detour to Ramanagara n Ramadevara paada to check out on rock climbing with maestro Krishnamurthy. Post lunch – headed straight to the camping site at kurimande doddi in a school adjoining the muttatti reserve forest teeming with Elephants and the odd leopard who seemed to like the little village so much..

The dinner that night was one of the best moments yet in my life – At 2040 mts, Villagers who would need to walk about 6 – 8 kms just to reach the foothills for even trivial needs everyday offered fresh Raagi Balls, rice n sambar to fill our empty tummies and by selflessly declaring that the money offered would only disgrace their hospitality however little it may be, filled our hearts with immense joy & love for our country.

The Mahatma would sure be smiling from up there somewhere. India lives on Ladies & Gentlemen – the proof lies in all our blood stream those who made it out there..

Amidst such glorifying moments, bad news travelled through the air putting all our plans to a halt. We had but one choice – To head to the reserve forest and seek entry ourselves. So began Day 2 !!!

Green – “pure, dark, olive, pristine, untouched & colourful” lit all through our way to the Nagarahole reserve. A brief stop for breakfast at Sri Ranga patina ,the rain n the sun intermittently hitting the wind screens and our souls so to speak equally warmed our hearts and cooled us from the inside wanting us to be prepared for the next best moment – a tete-a-tete with the Great Cat Himself... Whatta conversation that would be – watching him up close n personal live his life, with such panache and gay abandon. Words just crammed my head & thoughts overflew in all directions.

It was only after reaching the reserve that the second bad news stuck us. The RFO decided not to send us in as it rained all 3 days previously in the forest and the risk of getting the vehicle entrapped was alarmingly high but hopes were kept afloat as he assured us of an entry the next day.

So it was that we had to reorganise ourselves and change directions yet again. The Iruppu Falls was the target destination this time around. There is something about FUN people... No matter what happens – If you choose to have fun, it simply happens – Just Happens !!

It was the darkest afternoon ever, rain clouds seemingly looked like they were gonna fall right down below and all hell’s gonna break loose. With rains hitting the Ghats continually for 3 days, forget water flowing up there ... it was pouring – ripping apart everything in its way – ominous signs for any traveller not to step in the waters but would that stop any CTCians nor any wanderlust from diving deep into danger. Come to think of it, it was only in the noon – a guy trying to photograph the waterfall fell down tumbling 20 feet below and broke his femur.

All said, this was easily the best noon ever – enhancing the previous evening’s experience – water – super cool & crystal clear - Rains pouring in buckets and buckets full –Water, water everywhere - filling our hearts to the fullest for a change – helping us leap into the mountains of joy n ecstasy.

What’s fun without sharing and to be honest with yea all – we did try n remember what it would have been like if some of u had been there... May be – the next time around – If you choose to have fun i.e.!!!

Rains and more rains in the night could not stop any of us dreaming away into the abyss of sleep. The Sun Gods heard our prayers and wafted through lazily in the wee hours of the morning and stayed with us until we left the forest. A befitting testimony to our never say die spirits – but would the human mind ever play to the tunes of it; The RFO denied yet another appeal of ours sighting incessant rains the previous night. But our levels of perseverance deservingly put him in a spot and he offered to let us walk in the forest to document whatever we could.

Speckled, spotted & weird-skulled spiders; rainbow coloured butterflies, mystical looking dragon flies and of course our little winged friends from the top of the trees eased our way into the forest. Pug marks of wild dogs, elephant droppings were strewn all around the place. Word came through the wireless that a tiger had passed through our path last night in the rains. Our destination was a 26 feet wide, 600 plus year old Teak Tree humbled all our senses – redefining the very purpose of existence!!!

The wild and the out of towners’ in a span of 72 hours closely wove a tantalizingly special moment of moments in our lives – an unfulfilled objective beckons us for yet another journey of self exploration & freeze frame the extraordinary wilderness out there.

Karthick Ramalingam’s brilliance came to the fore yet again – If some of us have narrowed him down to a portrait kid .. I dare say think again. His capture speaks for himself.

And Beware yea all – ‘Mad Max’ Selva Pandian is not new to the party of mavericks – His adventures with the macro style deservingly so earns yet another title as “King of Macro” for the trip and may be beyond this one as well.

Back home, I can’t help but miss the phenomenal moments with Mother Nature during the weekend... A singular event spanning 72 hours - almost passed off by like one brief moment - a lifetime left to cherish - what would i be without U - O Mother Nature!!!

Kids Trek - August 29, 2009 - Nagalapuram

Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s famous quip on hope - “If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” perfectly sums up the children’s trek on Saturday

By helping the kids who cannot afford and those who do not yet understand the raw beauty of what Mother Nature holds for them; by simply hiking them into the wild woods of Nagalapuram and helping them breathe & experience nothing but pure, sun kissed - heavenly landscapes & fun unlimited in the first water pool; CTC has given the kids a new leash of fun and friendship to cherish for their life time.

What more can you ask for as a first timer!!! 10 – 12 year olds allowed to run in the wild with gay abandon in the pristine forests of Nagala and returning home with their hearts filled with pure bliss n joy

Social Treks unlike the regular treks require equally meticulous “if not more” detailed plans as we deal with kids and those who do not have prior experiences in the wild. Safety alongside fun remains utmost priority. And deservedly so – the organizers of the trek deserve an extra pat on their backs for making this trek work perfectly well within the limits of the group;

My plans to travel to the Bannerghatta reserve during the same weekend fell short and thankfully – Nisha & Angel were kind enough to accommodate us as wanna-be photographers for the trek. The usual pomp & fan-fair admittedly was a little low profile as the first timers took time to ease out and gratefully though, our first ice breaker point began with a good breakfast at periyapalayam and uthukottai respectively.

Moments later, we had reached the base camp, food was distributed amongst the CTC members in a jiffy and we were off in a flash to the first pool. Free Flowing Energy boosters are a given to any kid and what more can we say when it comes to having fun out in the wild. The kids were only too eager to jump into the fray and they did with such ease and panache; some of us CTC members were left to dry out in the wild and trot back behind the kids as they were running a marathon of sorts alongside Peter and the rest of the team.

We had bought Glucon D and Electral anticipating tired little ones during our modest hike to the first water pool and shamelessly though – It was us CTCians who drank all the energy drink instead. No heat and an ever increasing hot burner in the Sun could stop the kids from reaching the first pool. With the ice breaker and a little introduction to most of the group complete, the chanter banter was nonstop all the way to the water point.

What good is a water pool without fun and so it came to be – Entertainment to the max with volleyballs, lorry tubes to ferry kids to the little water fall and back in the safe zone – the banter echoed across the valley for a good hour n more. The camera crazy ones like us would never wanna miss an opportunity like this. Our pics are ample examples of what it was like during the whole day mate and if we have missed a good shot or two – well... Blame it on making a choice ey … we were indeed spoilt for a good too many…
As the day wore on, and the tireless ones continued their tryst with water – the organizers called time out and a phenomenal lunch was served to fill ourselves for further games in the water. Whilst some of us dozed off for a small measure – the kids continued their onslaught. Come 3:30, with accounts settled by Nisha, It was time to say goodbye to Nagala.

Back in the safe confines of civilization, I can’t help but think of this simple act that could probably create a lifetime of impact on some of the kids.

The Hope foundation in its own little way probably has lit up many a life by creating opportunities for learning & growth amongst the needy and the poor. CTC in its own inimitable style could not have had a better platform to build on – Hope – and by showing the kids, the true essence of what the wild means to all of us – we have hopefully created a young lot of explorers who would probably step into our shoes when the time calls for it …


Until then As Andy Dufresne says – Let us Hope – that Hope is a good thing, Perhaps the best of things – And no Good thing ever dies!!!

Nagala 25 - Silver Jubilee trek , Andhra Pradesh, India

“Miss Mary” Case who redefined the way all ‘nonwhites’ brought to justice, were addressed in the US courts, once said – “No Pressure – No Diamonds”. She did know then that Men would do only things that they “want to” until stretched beyond their wildest dreams to achieve the ultimate.

In retrospect, Nagala 25 is indeed the best of all treks I have been on till date, that our power of the will and the might of a team are unquestionable, the team is only as strong as the weakest in the link and what if – you were the one!!!

This Mother of a trek as Viki so deservedly put it could have easily been a Dead or Alive situation for those including me - who trooped last to the base camp and although barely a few hundred yards left – without drinking water for almost a good mile n a half and not knowing the way still left us handicapped. If not for Karthick who chose to tread back with the elixir of life for the disintegrating lot in the river bed – it would have been fun unlimited to all the brave souls who chose to wait until help arrived at last.

If I was left to think that my wounds caused during the fall in the first day were the worst – I was soon humbled by stories of the rest who had braved similar injuries and yet made it to the base camp – double the time faster. Add to that – My kit lens went berserk and rendered useless when needed the most; this would probably have been a huge loss but then consider this – Karthick – Our Achilles of Day 1, who sweeped, photographed, and like a gazelle moved up and down the trail as if he was born so – dropped his lens and Pentax K 200 D camera in the Nagala waters while helping someone in the last leg of the trek!!!.

And to sum up – this trek was more than just about courage and determination; it was about facing your worst adversary and coming up trumps. The worst enemy in this case was none other than your own self – Read on and you shall know why!!!

The reception to any trek invite on CTC has always been tremendous and a special one such as this warrants no mention. 170 brave folks put their hands up in anticipation – a few screening tests later & drop outs as usual donned the mantle – we had 80 odd souls ready to rock n roll. After the usual pick up routine – we set foot on the first base camp at Nagalapuram around 1ish midnight. The plan was to wait for the Bangalore and the Hyderabad team to join us early morning and then head to our target – Scaling the 800 m peak and climb our way down to the base camp on the other side of the hill and then rendezvous to the Picnic Diving spot that had made N20 so famous.

The prediction of Monsoon rains soon became a reality when at about 4 in the morning – showers hit the foot hills but thankfully though the Tamil month of “Aadi” is always windy and the rain clouds soon disseminated out of our way leaving the moon’s crescent and the morning star to light up our night sky.

Ilayaraja’s music lilted through the south westerly winds as some of us insomniacs could not find anything worthwhile otherwise to do. Come 5 AM, the team from Bangalore had arrived and the morning routine took over – after distributing food packets and a momentary wait for the Hyderabad team to arrive – WE had begun.

The trail was that of Nagala 12 to start with and it was little surprise that we soon hit the first water fall of the day. A dip and a quick bite to boot our energy sacks – the first vertical climb had started in earnest. It’s amazing how the familiar breed confidence into your system – the alter-ego version of knowing what you are doing is so comforting sometimes. N12 trail being a known one made life so much easier for some of us - But better things were in store.

We soon reached the sliding pool at around 8ish, Breakfast and a good dive for some churned our spirits to a whole new level. Whilst some chose to set on foot early, the rest continued to jump their hearts out into the water. It was here that the Devil in me chose to rear his ugly head out and I was left thinking all alone about one issue after another back at work – when we were all supposed to have live in the moment. It’s not that this has never happened but the moment it chose cannot be a given at any point in time cos the hardest part of the trek was yet to come and here I was left contemplating all things in life otherwise.

Sujai saw through me perfectly well and his well meant question of me maintaining a silence all of a sudden put me in the worst reverse gear possible. From there on – the fun part had begun – I had become the fall guy – almost tripping over every ‘rock n rubble’ in the river bed. The worst was to come last before our climb to the 800 m peak.. I had slipped into a small culvert hurting my right leg badly – nursed it with the cool Nagala waters for the swelling to subside and had almost forgotten about it when the nightmare began.

The climb was a moderate one and all hale n healthy could have made it easily but for the absence of water. A good 4 hour climb up and down meant adequate water should be back packed to troop down easily. My first symptoms of the pain not giving way thankfully hit when we had reached about 520 m – we were to tread down from here for a bit and then climb all the way again to the 800 m peak.

That pain is simply a mental projection, of the condition we are in at the moment, by the brain is a well known concept – The worst cases like being stuck in a snow storm can make you lose all the heat in your body in a whiff and the extreme thing that your brain can tell you is to go to sleep – the worst situation possible but that’s the brain’s way of saying – this is the last resort and my only way of saving some energy just in case... Couple the brains reaction with the emotional responses to such conditions, being so cross wired in the nervous system, that we indeed choose to react to situations under pain.

Without being too dramatic here, I chose to sleep wherever possible and dozed off like a new born. Bhaskar and Karthick kept egging me on. The effort was somehow a behemoth of an act. Palani could not have put it any better – Palani had hurt his knee on the second day and he strode of like a champion, estimated that the only difference between me and him was that he knew the destination.

Looking back, Familiar trails would not have made me any worse or better with the injury but a certain confidence would have definitely ensued that I put an extra foot on the gas to tread back to safety. Thoughts wander from cursing yourself for slowing down the momentum to patting your back for the extra effort every time you put in to reach a destination. I had not put my Canon to use until then and therefore was like an excess baggage adding to the woes.

Thankfully though – We had made it to the 800 m peak and meeting the team back always gives back the much needed boost. A quite nap and with Volini as the armour on my back, I warily chose to put my Canon in action and what a refreshing choice that was. Its amazing how when you start doing things you love – nothing really comes to your mind , not even the pain in my legs would have stopped me from shooting all that I wanted to ..

The trek down the hill was a customary one but the pain was back to haunt this time with such vigour – I was a no goner and somehow pushed myself and made it to the gang waiting for me at the foot hills. Peter and Brijesh saved me from the blushes and took my back pack off to help me walk easier. And easier it was – without all that weight on your shoulders, I was jaunting my way back to the base camp and with light dying out – we would soon be left to last in the darkness all by ourselves.

Karthick and Bhaskar – the lion hearts simply chose to stick their boot with us staying all the way back to the base camp. Halfway through, we had to negotiate the stream with a small climb up and walk parallel to the river bed and then step back into the river – walk another couple of kms to hit the base.

Peter suddenly appeared out of nowhere to help us with the directions and he immediately relieved Karthick who was helping Divya out. Peter kept pepping up everyone from time to time and it was almost time for us to reach the base when we hit upon the final bottleneck.

Bala was down with fever and completely dry throated when he reached him. The path ahead was a 100 ft drop which would have led us straight to the base camp but with darkness all over – it was never an easy choice to make and we had to therefore stay put until someone came back to show us the way. Peter who had fallen back with Divya had reached us too by then.

There were only two things possible from here – We either head to the base camp with whatever strength that was left in us and then gorge on the elixir ourselves OR wait with parched throats until some saviour walked our way – helped us with the elixir and then showed the way back to safety.

No words were spoken; not even a single breath of a soul was heard and with darkness looming all over us – there was nothing much left to do but dream of a safe place and all things otherwise... Every minute of waiting here was like a snow storm approaching to kill all the last drop of energy left in all of us.. And just when we thought we were to sleep all nite on the river bed, like an answer to a prayer – Karthick stooped down the hill with a good 6 litres of water on his shoulders.

Our Achilles had finally answered the call. With renewed energies emanating out of pure water, we climbed the hill and about a few hundred yards later – we were finally amongst our lot.

Water, finally was flowing over our feet quietly letting the sands of time take over the process of life all over again. A quick dip in the water to cleanse ourselves of all the heat and the sweat; a quite bite just to ensure that we don’t sleep empty stomach & a painkiller down the throat, I had soon crashed to safety in the cradle of Mother Nature. The tree cover helped every bit by keeping all the cold at bay.

A good night’s sleep always helps, rejuvenates the soul and helps one look forward to another day fit and fighting. I had everyone reason to believe so as the pain killer did its job to a tee. The pain in my right tibia had eased out quite a bit. Morning chores complete and a good enough breakfast helped us clear steer of all thoughts of anything uninteresting. It was destination – Picnic Pool. You can never be far from water here on and this helped as there was no need to carry additional weight meant we can walk a little faster now. With a lighter back pack and a song to hum – “When the going gets tough – the tough get going”– we were on swan song. The group hit the first pool for the day in record time. It was here that I realised my kit lens had given way for God knows what and therefore had to resort to my trusted friend the 75 – 300 bazooka...

Back in a familial trekking location of Nagala 20, and a Canon to go crazy at everything I see, I was finally back in the frame of a happy trekker; Jumping Jacks were the order of the day yet again. Folks hogged on whatever was left in their bags and we were finally on our way back to the second of the water pools – the dead end pool.

The Dead End Pool bought back memories from the biking trip soon enough, where I almost drowned Nisha & Maelle, trying to stay afloat, and here was another chance to set the momentum right. But then – Lessons in humility are never easily remembered until the haunting comes back to show what humility is made of – the core of a human spirit. I could have simply jumped into the outstretched arms of Chris with a sleeping mat and forget the events of the biking trip. More than the humiliation of trying to drown someone – the fear of drowning oneself came back from nowhere.

From someone who could dive from a 10ft board into a swimming pool with gay abandon – here I was, in trepidation and fear loaded to the max, drowning in my own fears although I knew that Chris would save me if anything were to go wrong at all. The enemy was nowhere but within me not letting me go of a fear so ruthlessly stuck to my spirits – Chris kept yelling and I closed my eyes and jumped and it so happened that I had jumped right on the sleeping mat. I was finally swept to safety by Chris.

A few notches later, the first pool was in sight and we allowed ourselves to chill a bit until the bikers and the car drivers came back with their machines to the N20 base camp location. Bala with the rest of the sweepers finally reached the first pool and it was time for us to move on – back to where we would belong until another weekend came crying into our outstretched hands wanting to leave the civilisation for good and return only when needed.

Nagala 25 is a lesson well learnt for me and although, I had suffered an injury – lost my kit lens for some unknown reason – and fear gripped me from behind at the dead end pool, This trek indeed showed me what I possessed from deep below my guts; And am sure – this would have been the story of all those who suffered similar blows at various points in this trek if not in their lives, only to rise again – clear and better focussed to be a winner!!!

And as I have stated time and again in this blog – Life to me is a long lesson in humility – the sooner we learn it, the better the fruits taste and I for one, owe this lesson this time, to the CTC team who in all their might and power would sure have bought me back to safety if I had given up out there in the jungle and this was not the case to be with any of the team members this time around, by letting us stretch a bit thereby showing us what we are within.

I salute you all CTCians who made N25 successful not just by your sheer presence but by reliving and cherishing what we are truly made of – the true spirit of being a CTCian ...

The Biking Trip - W.Ghats, India

The Biking Trip – MAY 22nd to May 24th 2009

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Day 1: May 22nd: Madurai to Nedumkandam: Apprx 180 kms

Day 2: May 23rd: Nedumkandam to Munnar to Aazhiyar Dam: Apprx 220 kms

Day 3: May 24th: Aazhiyar Dam to Vaalparai to Coimbatore: Apprx 200 kms

Terrain – Plains and City traffic to start with - Hills and Ghats Section for most of the 2nd & 3rd day and close the formalities with city traffic at Coimbatore

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The Road runs on and on

From thy doorsteps – begins its journey

To pursue it – be our destiny

The Road runs on and on

Only to meet a larger one

Where another thousand roads meet

This in summation – was how our bike trip across the Western Ghats began in earnest; the goal being not just in mere pursuit of a reaching a destination in time nor taking known roads to ease our way through the Ghats but by breaking this single minded vision into a kaleidoscope of little simple breaks ala be it stopping for a cuppa chai or for a walk through the tea estates – Every step into the wild and the greenery was taken at a sedentary but childlike fashion that simply bought nothing but sheer joy in the minds of the lucky few who chose to tread into this taming of the machine trip – that believe me – on a paradoxical note bought nothing but sheer peace and tranquillity into our otherwise cranked-up confused minds.

The journey although chosen to look like a walk-through a maze in an uncomplicated fashion was indeed planned in detail from the start to finish – the ‘ifs and the buts’ villains showing their nasty ways of what could go wrong and the team ever so clinically addressing the issues in clock work like fashion helped us ease through the last stages of the trip with little or no difficulty at all.

Elsewhere in Kerala – Monsoon Magic had begun already and while we were counting in hours to the D-day – News had already begun ‘pouring’ in from Kerala of an impending burst of showers across the Ghats – And would you ever lose heart being a CTCian – what better way to romance the monsoons than be there when it arrives on the shores of God’s Own Country – Kerala. Such was the mood and the mindset that nothing could have ever stopped us from breaking into the wild with our beasts of a machine and a beauty to tame him on the tail when needed!!!

We had packed our bikes off to Madurai in advance to avoid last minute blunders. Our problems of carrying excess baggage on a bike trip was finally addressed by a brute of a machine – the Verna - driven by equally ‘mad-max like’ brothers – Selva n Bala who drove all the way from Chennai to Madurai to Coimbatore – quite a ride ey !!!

Monsoon Magic worked in my favour with my clients delaying payments – we chose to stop work at the site and Voila – three days of no work meant – no phone calls and superfluous masti on the road trip and with nothing to stop me now – I was on cloud nine waiting to see the heavens meet earth in the beautiful western Ghats and watch life begin all over again.

The sleeper coach bus from Chennai to Madurai helped revive ourselves for a gruelling start in the Sun; Madurai finally was in our sights at 8 in the morning – Periyar Bus Stand on a Friday morning looked deserted – strange in’ it !!!

Our bikes were safely ensconced at National Travels – a healthy breakfast and filling our beasts to the brim with fuel – We were ready to take off but for the fact that our machine of a man – peter had to attend to his beamer with a minor glitch. Arun, Ramya & Senthil joined us at Madurai from Bangalore - We finally hit the roads at around 11 not wanting to look back at the civilisation for anything at all. Our sights were now set for the theni – kumuli highway – via counties and beautiful sun kissed fields of paddy, corn and bananas – the journey was very comforting indeed – given that my machine would not do more than 60 an hour – I was more than happy to listen to him rather than push him to the limits and was fully rewarded the next two days with one hell of a ride with no complaints whatsoever..

My Canon kept egging me on to stop wherever possible and being the last of the herd – I did not want further delays therefore kept my canon in the sacks until we reached theni for lunch. A sumptuous lunch that sure would have put us all to sleep if not for the drive ahead – we strode off in a typical Harley Davidson fashion ‘vroom - vrooming’ all other vehicles out of the way until we hit the highways yet again.

Peter’s monster hit yet another snag and we were given a well deserved break off the highways and some of us chose to hit the sack for whatever possible time we got – whilst Guru n Nisha chose to jump into the well with aplomb n ease. Amal in his very own ‘characteristic’ apparel chose to dive in the well too and they all clambered upto safety. Peter’s two wheel wonder was finally ready to take the roads and we were all back to where we belong finally...

A break at the vineyard, a pit stop, and a heart-craving stop for mangoes later – we had reached kumuli – Our journey into the Western Ghats had truly begun.

Kumuli – the sleepy little town plays host to thekkady - a beautiful little nature reserve that forms part of the Mullaperiyar dam and also plays host to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. We were to take a right to our gateway to the Western Ghats and our road to Munnar.

Our first break in the Ghats thankfully bore fruit as we chose to trace the tracks for our first rendezvous in the night. Cutting chaaiya, vada and sweet bun on the menu added to the fan fair.

Now Began our journey into the unknown – a road that led to a sedate soothing outgrowth soon gave way to a watch tower; a glimpse of the little town below that could have been theni for all we know and we were back to the roads treading our way back to Munnar and may be – on the way – hit the sacks before another exciting day out.

We soon hit upon a resort where we hogged as much as we could on a buffet menu replete with keralite and south Indian specialties and toasted the dinner with a special kheer and chocolate pudding dessert.

And all the while – the Rain gods chose to stay put in their alcoves drizzling a bit here n there but no significant monsoon shower had come upon us to scare the living daylights outta us.

Just when you thought that the day had been successful in terms of zero incidents; Paari and Balaji misread the median of a newly laid road completely and skidded down to a halt. Preliminary scrutiny revealed nothing serious had occurred and we were off in a flash to find a spot soon.

The event of the day however - irrefutably belonged to the mist that covered us pan 360 degrees whilst our ride down to Nedumkandam – near-zero visibility and no fog lights to help show the way further - Peter simply led the way as if he could see through almost anything in thin air.. Me right behind could make out nothing and the only thing left for me and Petra was to bang our heads with our head gear and laugh all our way out of the mist amidst eerie silence from the rest of the team.. Diwakar suddenly strode across in non chalant fashion reminding me of the importance of tailing Peter and he chose to lead the rest from Peter’s tail – A red light can be seen even in zero visibility and Diwa’s tail lamp was the shining armour at that moment.. I needed no further excuse but to follow RED ... we cleared the fog in minutes; me n Petra banged our head gears yet again to announce the successful arrival outta the mist.

As a CTCian, the rule of thumb when hitting the sack is to find a place in the open and be one with nature – in ‘it ... Our problem here was not that we could not find a place but to be invisible in the ambience that surrounded us, which you would have guessed by now, was near impossible with 11 bikes and a Verna to park their boot on. A school, a residence with a big front yard and church that offered to show the door to 25 mavericks – we finally hit the jack pot at yet another beautiful church with a big enough front porch – but the catch was that we leave the church premises at 6:45 as mass would start moments later and so it was that we slept early that nite and who would ever complain after such an eventful day.

I would – with Rumble in the Bronx competitor – Paari to my left and add a voice-over to the proceedings – Arun Gowda had taken his place in history – the man with the gift of gab would not even shut shop while sleeping and such was his panache that I had to wake up to see if he indeed was on the phone explaining how the trek went – “The trek was amazing – ahem ahem ... yeah yeah ... you should have been here” – at 2:30 in the morning – would you ever find such beautiful company in an otherwise peaceful and silent as a dead leaf wilderness – I forced myself to sleep and thankfully though – Paari this time roared back in delight at Arun’s comments – the music and the mayhem was too much to bear for me – and when the clock stuck 5:45, the tinker bell had raised its alarm in the jungle. The insect world came alive yet again and my sleep went off in a flash – I had to sit up and listen to the roars of Paari and the incongruent yet clear blabbers of Arun went unchecked by everyone else but me lying next to him.

So much so for a good night’s rest – not a trifle of a recollection from either of them only made me go mad on a beautiful misty morning. My canon chose to help me this time and I was only happy to get the group together and click a moment or two outta them.

A new day and a new partner – Nisha joined me for what I chose to be a great day for my Canon –Fight unto death option!!! And so it was – the tea estates and the lilting landscapes adjoining the forest reserves to choose from – devikulam was at our sights early morning and we chose tea over breakfast – an hours’ drive separated us from Munnar and we jauntily drove out to meet her highness in the hills of Munnar. Meanwhile a king fisher and a cormorant toasted our presence in a small jeel for company – we had reached the outskirts of Munnar when Peter chose to trek one of the hills adjoining Mahindra Resorts.

The trek bought bloom n sparkle into our tired legs – it was “breath – taking” indeed in every literal sense of the word – the climb steep enough to accentuate the proceedings – was worth every penny not spent on a puttu and aapam curry - How else would you dictate the terms of endearment when a couple of chai and biscuits would drive u up the hill – Peter delightfully called it the test of mental strength – and indeed it was – fun on the run as I call it – my canon for company delivered some of the best pics here – Arun as ‘kaaka kaaka’ – the police man – would sure agree with me.

The return was as eventful; with the local guide announcing the presence of a lake nearby and no water goes untouched by CTC – jumping jacks and hobbits took to the wild side of things and our sound was too much to keep the officials away. It was later known that the lake we jumped in was private property and it was a drinking supplement for the tourists visiting the resort.

Our return back to the machines was uneventful to say the least and soon we rode out yet again – this time with only one thing in mind – FOOD.. Munnar finally came to the rescue. A sumptuous lunch yet again with no limits of time this instant – we were full and ready to take on the Ghats yet again.

Our destination – Chalakudy – was misread and misdirected and we ended up touching the outskirts of Marayoor instead – a tranquil county that housed the forest reserves of chinnar and also home to the thoovanam water falls; which we could see from the point where we chose to decide on where we were to head next.

Although wanting to stay back in the Ghats section but without an iota of information on Marayoor and its rich environment – Nothing could have been done anyways and with the forest guard ruling out any chance of trekking to the thoovanam waterfalls alone by us – there was little chance of doing it without any consequences so to speak. After deliberations within the group, a decision was made to head to the Aazhiyar Dam – stay put for the night and head to Vaalparai early morning. We drove out into the night – half expectedly to catch a glimpse of any wild life but none really came to our aid.

A final stop for dinner about 45 kms from Aazhiyar; with our fill for the night complete – we rode into darkness of the night looking for a place to crash and rise early to begin the ascent to Vaalparai. As luck would have it and it’s a known pact anyways with the local community around udumalpet, hell bent on keeping strangers away to the maximum in the nights i.e. – there was little chance of us finding a safe shelter in the open. The Balaji lodge – the only one in the Aazhiyar County opened its doors with whatever space was left and we chose to hit the sack on the parking space for a cost whilst the ladies were given safe cover to rest within a room.

All our thoughts about meeting the Sun rise at the heights of Vaalparai were now nonexistent considering the time at which we crash landed in Vaalparai. My sleepless nights continued with me waking up to charge my camera batteries and for drinking water. I woke up yet again at 5:45 to welcome the insect world for yet another beautiful day and with the local chai wala up early helped every bit. A cuppa chai helped ease myself a bit and I soon was ready for the next day clean and comfy.

With plenty of time on our hands, some of us chose to ride down to the river to take a bath. Fresh water, curious locals and a pink fly made it a memorable outing and I was further enthused when a scarlet minivet / black bird which I still know not chose to pose for the camera for a very long time - a rewarding experience in the end.

The team finally ready for the ascent rode into the valley of now barren Monkey falls & attakatti waterfalls. Professor Ramya chose to ride with me and we were soon chatting away about our last trek experiences and life otherwise.

My last visit to Vaalparai was in 99-00 with my schoolmates whilst we also drove up n down the hill in a Yamaha RX 100 & all I could remember was the drive around the numerous hair pin bends and the Balaji temple. The roads were fresh and well laid and inviting nonetheless to put our machines to the test.

If you aint doing it – you aint riding it – and with no requiem to drive slow around the hills – I cautiously chose to drive the hills with a very little freedom that you seldom get from a pillion who would otherwise taunt you to choose a safe path rather than be sorry about it later. Ramya had no qualms about the drive otherwise and thankfully – I had found a great pillion for the day – no disrespect to any of the other members – mind you!!

But then – she gave me enough rope to play around – just enough to a point sometimes that I was actually having fun with my bike – a nonexistent synergy suddenly opened up in the vestibules of the numerous hair pin bends – Me and my little Honda Shine were now one soul in two different revved up modes – the zone , the moment , Nirvana – that very altar that very few seek it and so less achieve it was finally there for me to feel and live within – my bike was driving me into soulful bliss and here I was with one heck of a pillion having it all without remorse or guilt and yet whenever I chose to ask her how she felt – Am perfectly fine - came the answer.

Breakfast at Vaalparai was pretty much a local affair – dosas and chicken for some while the rest chose to happily gobble chutneys and sambar instead. At around 11 – we still had time to go around Vaalparai. Sholayar dam was the chosen destination – Some of our bikers lost track of the lead team and woefully fell back - Being the last of the group and having known the destination – it was decided that we join the team at any cost and not make our own way instead. The confusion did cost us time nonetheless – the group managed to stitch together and a tea break ensured we all had our minds set for the return to the native.

Peter thought differently and he chose to drive down the Ghats with 3 and then 4 pillions. It was a pretty sight alright with only the primates and I waiting for them to cross my Canon – and Ramya with her camera readied up for the challenge and we did end up winners in the end.

After a nice drive down the Ghats – would it be aright if you aint swim and chill in the Aazhiyar waters – we rode into the residence of a local and the dam waters was soon in sight. A quick dip and a cross over to a mound across the waters – we were all ready for a group click.

It was the return from the rock that taught me yet another lesson in swimming – No matter how half baked you could be as a swimmer – you are no better than a non swimmer when it comes to panic attacks and the moment when you think you are gonna drown; No amount of reading or practice of floating in the safe waters can help you when your brains decide to switch off everything else but the panic mode. I had fallen into the deep yet again without proper practice and this time there was no respite atleast for a few seconds when I could have drowned both Nisha and Maelle – two brave souls who chose to escort me safely back to the shores. The sleeping mat in my hands from Bastien laid my brains to rest and I could finally feel air filling my lungs yet again.

A moment of panic so uncalled for, which could have been duly avoided if I had chosen to put my brains to use rather than test its strength with impudence and ignorance in the deep waters - although happened in a spur of the moment – remains etched in my head for another day to erase it completely – the day when I shall swim across free as a fish would in any waters – and this to me – is the ultimate task at hand right now – Go Kill yourself swimming – but no more excuses about drowning another brave soul trying to save yours.

A few moments of rest to breathe easy and we were finally off to the target point – Coimbatore where we would board our bikes and bus back to Chennai.

Although – an indifferent end to the proceedings marked the last part to an otherwise brilliant biking trip – I soon had to shrug it off to ensure that we reached Coimbatore safe and sound on time. A group click on the way bought me back completely to the group’s content and we drove off comfortably to Coimbatore touching base just in time to load our bikes and board the bus to Chennai.

Looking back – there has never been a dull moment – Be it the pre – prep mode when emails were shot at almost every minute – to the first day drive across the valley – sleeping amongst T-rexed nosed snoring competitors and a somniloquist who blew my brains apart at 2:30 in the morning – to the sun kissed tea estates and the little birdies and homies who posed every bit for my canon – From a moment where I was in Elysium riding my new Honda Shine and to one where panic and blood gushed into my veins and arteries of almost every blood vessel in my head – the effect was pretty much similar – the only difference was that – whilst one moment - was calling for action to help save myself, whilst the other - was driving me nuts and I loved every moment of it.

There was nothing amiss from the whole trek and I can’t help but think – And with the Monsoons playing perfect hosts this time choosing not to wish us good bye in their alluring fashion - If, How would it be – If we had lost way yet again in the night on our way to Aazhiyar?

Until our next biking trip when we chase the Athirampalli waterfalls – Dream on folks and think of the various adventures we could have really had by taking the road not taken!!! Only to meet another large one and who knows where we would have gone from there on!!!