The Picnic - Nagalapuram, Andhra Pradesh

The Picnic on Election Day - Nagalapuram - N21

It was the darkest hour in Chennai and our brightest moment yet in the day; the city was coming to a close and winding up in anticipation of the elections the next day but for the 20 odd CTCians out – the city would have felt the heat for nearly four hours while we drove our way out to the wilderness of Nagala yet again – in the name of chilling out in the dead end pool that had offered so little a chance to open up our tensed and barb wired heads to chill in the crystal clear waters when needed.

Erstwhile, I was still on de-tox mode savouring every moment of the weekend trek and recovering from a very bad cramp when we were summoned to take on yet another journey – and would you ever say no – even if my leg needed amputation – I would not have thought twice to be there AGAIN...

There was however a little surprise in the package – in the name of Anjali – a live wire of a darling she was – she bought back memories of yet another kiddo in my life – my friend - Divya’s daughter Tanvi – whilst Tanvi would go about asking you question after question – “What it is” – Anjali had no airs about her when it came to be doing exactly what had to be done in the picnic..

The pics are ample proof of what she is capable of ey ... Achtung Baby!! We have another younger breed of CTCians in the making...

We began our journey from Nathan’s Cafe yet again – traffic was minimal – picked Naresh at Koyambedu and our cars uncharacteristically chugged along the NH4 and in a couple of hours time we had touched base at the check dam – Food and other essentials were split in a jiffy and soon we were on fire power mode heading east into the Nagala mountain ranges.

Yet another 36 hour marathon work day luckily did nothing as the weather had chilled down quite a bit. 30 – 40 mins later, with guru on the lead, we had reached our target for the night – camp fire and Uno was on in full swing while I chose to crash land in one of the nearby rocks – in memoir of the flowing waters nearby hoping to repeat the heavenly “second by second” experience of the birth of a new day during Nagala 20.My physical self however desperately wanted to rest and so it was that I slept intermittently yet again watching the moon rise to glory and somewhere in the middle lost my senses completely to darkness and left the Sun alone to lit up the day.

With sleep still pushing me for more early morning, I chose to have enough of it and join the rest for a good cup of chai and breakfast. Paari chose to crack his head slipping from a safe height into the waters while jumping and there was a minor break in the proceedings while we dressed him up for safety. Sunita’s masala added further pep to our ginger black tea with whitener and soon we were all hale n happy for a walk in the woods.

And all the while, the kiddo was not to be seen and her presence was soon felt when we took to the shades for a break. Viki’s ‘candid’ subject was undercover for a long time and neither did I get a good chance of a perfect frame of the kiddo in motion. Finally, it was time for us to take over the safety of the little princess and she was only too happy to oblige and walk along side by side and with equal vigour & enthusiasm

The rest of the team had already reached the pool – the party had begun, jumping jacks took over the pool in a splash, the weekend trekkers were on in full swing having their share of the water alongside peter whilst Naresh, Nisha and Guru chose to rise higher in the cliff wanting more of the dive and the depths that they could fathom from the inside.

The tyre tube was soon put in action for the little princess and off she went with Guru n Akhi as aide de camp. Her Highness had climbed the rocks while we were busy framing every other jack out there.

Guru suddenly erupted from nowhere – Hari, Hari!!! And there she was – ready for the jump with Peter – in a non chalant, simple, dive like much ado about nothing typos and she was off, splash, and thud!!!; moments later emerged yet again on the cliff - this time with Akhi and Peter by her side. I would have hardly imagined doing anything like this and it still gives me jitters climbing dizzy heights for a jump – an awesome kiddo for sure!!!

It was soon play time as a group in the water – teams split – a game of throw ball slowly changed gears to more like a water polo match – but strictly no rules applied first – you could hit the wall even at 10 feet height and adjudge that as a goal – such was the camaraderie out there that what you did out there was of no consequence in the end.. Fun is what we wanted at any costs.. And from nowhere team spirits took a grip on the proceedings – rules came into place..And what good are rules for CTCians when it comes to fun.. Peter went underwater pulling anybody down having a go at his goal post and Akhi and Bala were safely routed to the floor of the pool knee deep to get a good hold on the ball and ensure they hit the goal.

Amidst cries of foul and dirty tricks, the game was on in full momentum for about 30 mins or so when hunger pangs struck. Sunita quickly took centre stage – served some awesome soup n noodles to kill the hunger. And like a ticker, everybody hit the sack for a quick nap before a final rap up for the evening in the waters.

Lord Varuna had other plans though – what started as a flutter first started blowing our mats away and then the rains poured like a power-hose opened up from the top. We soon jumped into the dead end pool for warmth and comfort and the winds blew yet again like we were caught in a wind tunnel of some kind.. i had to rush to get the mats back in place on our back packs – meanwhile Balaji and angel chose to stay put in a sleeping mat in a coy n comfortable fashion .. After having set the mats in place ... i suddenly felt the rains had got harder - faster and they were thoroughly giving me a massage on my shoulders and the back.. Little did i realise that it was ice flakes from the top hitting me from all directions and until thence, some of us wouldn’t believe that we were caught in a hailstorm.

Birmingham had given me a glimpse of what hailstorms could be like but this one was in an altogether different dimension. Rains alternating with winds speeding like they had only one purpose to solve if you know what i mean – and the hail at the end of it ..

We finally chose to stay under the rain shadow region of the cliff and i had the little angel in my sights. The YUP and NOPE came in a flash before questions were complete and she finally settled into a rhythm of sorts.. alternating between singing , chatting and playing with the water .. the cold in the wind was slowly getting to us and the kiddo was no different either ..

she found the water too cosy to come outta it and somewhere in the midst hit upon my neck strings ... HANUMAN .. she beamed ..

Me : Who is Hanuman

Anjali : Monkey God

Me: why is he called Monkey God

Anjali : cos he looks like a monkey

Me : Who was he with !!

Anjali : Ram

Me: And what was Ram doing !!

Anjali : he was trying to save Seetha ..

Me : Who is Seetha

Anjali: Ram’s best friend and they broke up .. Ram wants her back .. Hanuman is helping him get her ..

I had to hold all my splits in the tongue - hold onto my laughter but hey .. she kinda gave the crux of the story if you can actually read between the lines .. the break up only meant somebody could have taken her away – and hanuman indeed was trying to help ram .. To me though, this was the best part of my day ... having a kid in your hands and let her do all the talking – be herself – is an amazing - amazing experience.. never mind the discrepancies in history and the mythology – i mean how many us really knew the story so well at that age ey !!

And all this time the rains came down from afar without a moments break – peter and guru who chose to climb the cliff after lunch emerged from under the water next to us – our thoughts finally turned to hot mozhagaa bajji and masala tea served right there with the rains showing no signs of letting up. An hour n a half utmost later – the rains did give way and we had our chance yet to play throw ball for some time ..

Flash floods are a norm with rains like this and little did we realise that it could get precariously close to being a hazard on the walk back to the base camp. The water levels slowly rose in the dead end pool and it was only when it reached our back packs that we saw the danger in it .. we quickly summoned the team and chose to return immediately. The water levels by then had risen to perilous levels and we now had a new friend for company amidst us – FEAR ..

What you value exactly shows up at the most endearing of times and the flooding was hardly anything close to it but yet – here we were as a pack of civilians without realisation of the complete potential of what flash floods are capable of, probably waited it out - just enough to help ourselves into another D.O.A type situation. Luckily though, we chose to return the moment we sensed danger and water – the elixir of life – was ominously flowing ever so proud of her strength and gaining more of it every second.

Our first crossing was important and we had to make it out clean as that would stamp the right frame in all our heads until we touched base.. Which we successfully did and all the way in the return did we see water rise in levels that we could have only imagined during monsoons. Red ants and Sunita were a cosy twosome for some time to come.

Whilst in our previous treks – we were devoid of clean water and the sun beating down on us tested our thoughts of invincibility and endurance to splits – this was a different situation altogether considering that we were out there to picnic and not trek our way out of an adventure hardly thought to be possible during this time of the year. Therefore the added sense of déjà vu of an unassuming quantum of danger that could crop up from nowhere; the trail was now immersed in water . Peter and Naresh chose to jump into the water to find a way out and we successfully trekked our way out to safety.

To me though, there was this one moment, when a madness of a different kind hit me, it showed me what i did value at that moment – it was a crossing from one point to another and water was flowing at a good enough speed to pull you down with it if you did slip whilst jumping from one end to the other. I could have drowned myself in the afternoon trying to swim a long stretch holding my breath when all were having lunch... but that did not deter me really – but now - a meter of a crossing – what would have been easily cleared by taking a stride forward held me back for a moment that stretched like a dark hole in space sucking all my thoughts and leaving nothing but fear in me ... fear not for life but for my Canon EOS 400 D and the telephoto lens that i so adore these days ... I knew then what i had to come to love during the treks .. And that am not gonna give up on my "precious" for nothing on this earth. And at that very moment - just like Da Vinci’s painting – Peter’s outstretched hand broke my pattern of thoughts and i hopped onto safety.

It might sound too shallow and cliché but hey.. Try and get this straight – if you did love something in the first place – what would you do to make sure it stays with you even in the darkest hour – and more so if it means to put your life at risk ... not an easy question to answer in’it - mind you and may be – just may be – some of you would have thought a step or two more than i did and i hope you were only happy to steer clear of the danger and tread to safety back home.

Night trekking was back again as a standard operating procedure at Nagala these days and we had to step into knee deep water again n again n again during the walk back to base camp. With the check dam in site, we were only too happy to hum our favourite numbers in celebration of a safe return to a jungle of a different kind.

The Picnic am sure was fun for everyone of us until the very end when some of us felt that a tinge of adventure could make this complete.. The rains did exactly that – showed the raw power of nature even in the minimalistic levels could have hampered a perfectly fine picnic.

Add to that – deterred us from taking any further steps for the next picnic i.e – and if that’s what you thought ey – i suggest you put your boots back on and start jogging away from CTC right away cos it aint gonna be like that any which ways we see it.

We love the adventure as we see it fit and the spirit of being a human – be it our little Anjali or our very own trekking machine - Peter for that matter revel in the test of endurance and putting our strength of mind and body to test to its very end. And we aint gonna stop for nothing cos in it lies the true value of what we are made of – try us once and you will never wanna go back home - Aint I right Pallavi n Divya!!!

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/harikbalasundaram/ThePicnicOnElectionDay#

Nagalapuram - N20 - Andhra Pradesh, India

Nagalapuram 20 - the weekend of 9th n 10th May 2009

No two bottles of a Pessac Lognan or a simple Chardonnay / Sauvignon blanc tastes the same even if from the same vineyard...... But then ... therein lies the essence of reliving the better of the best of moments and asking for more from the second one when the time comes ... and hey... am never gonna complain if the third one tastes any different either ...

And so it was that Nagala befittingly came to my aid for the second time – from a wonderful client of mine who wanted to get mauled n pasted for petty reasons and close to being smashed on his head.. the murderous intent was at its peak when i finally got to hear from the team of my place for the weekend’s rendezvous ...

Nathan’s cafe was up and running when we moved outta the city and we started feeling at ease once we entered the familiar surroundings. A lotta new faces with a heady mix of veterans and a doc added to the fan fare and our familiar hoopla of jumping on the Scorpio and waving onto the haplessly curious onlookers on the Nagala Highway and our adrenaline was slowly pumping to dizzy heights when everything came to a standstill ... what looked like a regular follow up check turned out to be a little more than an adventure. One of the bikers, Ramzan had skidded onto the treacherous Nagala highway and had scratched, kissed the ground, missed by a few nanoseconds in breaking a few bones during the skid.

Waseem - the doc in our group was summoned immediately and he observed that all the injuries suffered were superficial and Ramzan was good to go. I would never have surmised after all this that Ramzan would go gung ho with all the injuries and there he was doing all things wonderful that only few of us were capable of.. a new hero for the club was born .. Not to take away anything from the rest – mind you!!!

We were therefore late by a couple of hours and after a momentary impasse for rationing & instructions.. We set out on the foothills of Nagala, easily whizzed past the check dam and set foot on rubble n rock – the team was more than enthusiastic and we reached the first pool in no time.. and thankfully, there was enough shade and water to keep us moving ... the dead end pool was at our reach a little beyond noon ..

And in typical CTC fashion, all back packs and non swimmers were ferried across the pool; a quick lunch after crossing the pool we set our sights on the final pool – and for the third time, I landed up in a new problem altogether – it was cramps this time... and each step that i took later was reassuringly close to getting my calf muscles ripped apart and thanks to Waseem once again – his presence and walking the talk helped clear steer most of my pain at the moment. And by the time we reached the target point – our other mates had already jumped in the fray.

The enthusiasm and the fun that we had are for you all to see in the pics but I tell you what ey – you simply weren’t there mate!!!! Just weren’t there - to bear witness to the amazing time that was spent in the evening like jumping jacks with an add-on spring under our boots for extra fun.. And soon darkness descended upon us and it was time for cooking... Soup was served piping hot sumptuously followed by noodles cooked by the expert hands of Anita. A few games of Uno after dinner, while the rest of us went off looking for a place to crash..

A few minutes of search later, Doc. waseem, madhu n me found a good place to hit the sack and soon, I could see the highlights of the day on the skyline above flashing in my brain like a mini SD card and then ... Silence hit earth – ever so poignantly that there was no need for an instrument nor a vocal recitation – the water flowing through the valley was more than enough to soothe, cool and put ourselves to sleep. As luck would have it, my cramps had not given way and i had to get up to dowse my thirst every couple of hours.

Experience is a sore throat mate but what it can give you is the feeling of goodness that we could have not appreciated otherwise – I was so looking forward to the moon coming out of the rain clouds and what a click – that would have been – a full moon lilting the valley with an incandescence so romantic – no words can describe the feeling – and I was woefully ridden of such an event during dinner and a little chat with the other homies.. It was only here that i could fully appreciate my cramp as they kept me awake time after time ..

Midnight had come and gone in darkness and it happened all of a sudden ... it was like pure radiance had descended down upon us from the ethereal skies above; Ms. Moon had indeed arrived in full bloom and the whole place lit up in silver and white light... my laziness would not budge and I let go of his highness for another day to come by for the rendezvous – for a better moment and fully prepared i.e .. Wishful thinking ha!!!

Disturbed sleep indeed – but a glimpse of the skyline, the breadth and the expanse of what could simply could never seen from just one side of the line – and each time i woke up – the collage of stars, clouds n the skyline kept changing into an altogether dramatic window – n kinda kept me thinking – Life is indeed beautiful in an equally vast and immense proportion – its left to us to choose what we want to be every other time...

My tryst with sleep that night was a wonderful little ‘sore throat’ so to speak – the last I remember doing this was in my university years ago, whilst after dinner every night on a Sunday – me and few of my friends would simply walk to the basket ball court – lie down on the concrete base and watch the skies glitter in glory and all we could think was a vast ocean of Happiness up above us at that moment!!!

Some of the best moments in life just choose to be grand if you want it to be and here it was – a cramp , disturbed sleep, cloudy skies to start with , starry later and a full moon to show what light really means to us all and darkness yet again to put me to sleep n a few hours later – it was time for the Sun Gods to lilt the horizon. I had woken up at 5:30 – chose to lie down and relish the moment – it was twilight still and not an inch moved within my grasp of sights ... thankfully – none resonated the sleep induced harmonic symphony ala snoring – what a moment it was !!!

Imagine folks – Just close your eyes and Imagine for a moment - when nothing around you moves – you hear not even the creepy crawlies walking on earth or a whiff of the breeze blowing around you – and only water – just water - flowing a few inches away in a synergistic rhythm and the horizon slowly lights up in front of you and all the while keeping you in waiting of the surprises and the cheers that could just come up from nowhere –

Folks!!! - LIFE ... was unfolding in front of me –
A new day had just begun...

And in a flash of another aura of brilliance - the silence just gave way to an altogether beautiful decibel level – it was like an automated switch turned on all by itself – the insect world had come alive in seconds and was in-sync and harmony with the perfect opening notes of yet another grand morning at the jungles of Nagala. I so wished that nobody woke up and the moments lingered on into eternity..

My experiences were short-lived, however breathtaking they were – My bottle of wine was almost being emptied by the sound of human footfall on rock n rubble... I so wish you could wire my axons & the nerve centre to see through what I had seen mate – and i bet the world would not have been the same !!!

Back packs were set right for the return journey, volini was generously spread on my knees to keep me going and there i was – ready for yet another brilliant day with the CTCians... I chose to light the fire - chai time had come – black , lemon, and white tea with sugar was served alongside a breakfast of everybody’s choice.. Some chose to stay afloat on water while having their little cuppa chai -

Jumping Jacks were on the prowl again looking for new faces to join them and as i said earlier – you would never know what really happened unless you were there yourself - and yet the full story would never unfold – Until mate – you choose to be the moment!!!

I was the subject of an abject surrender to pain and the after math and although i would wanna curse myself for what i did - you would not have been able to see what my EOS chose to see ey !!!

After a brilliant solo encore of my Canon with the telephoto lens as well, I chose to take a dive in a safe n sedate pool nearby with a small water fall to gently massage us back to full bloom; a game of American football – the CTC way ala hitting the opponent with the ball if you can i.e. – was played in complete team spirit and those changing lanes were treated with equal respect – KD and Ananth would exactly know what this means folks.. They stand proof to being target practice and probably hit an equal number of times.. although pun intended...

And if you thought – we were to pack our bags and leave – it wasn’t over yet – folks just shifted from the safer pool to the diving podium with equal vigour – kicking the ball in the air became the new form of football – bicycle kicks , lateral n sidekicks and then there was catch practise too... during all this time – Balaji was patiently cooking dal rice – with cut mangoes by Radz, Maya n Akshaya for flavour – radz stepped in and chose to fill the rice with jalapeno n chilli sauce to spice up our taste buds – whilst me and Balaji were busy discussing a better way to cook rice with what we had , suddenly, from nowhere came the cabin crew member of BA – gave us a quick fire lesson on how to boil rice without burning it and boy – it worked to a tee – Maya – Am proud of your teachers and your Mom matey – mera bharat mahan !!! They have taught you the basics of heat transfer really well!!!

Peter – to me – for the first time did not think of the time that had passed by – a time that was spent well in helping people de-stress from the unnecessary work related hazard posed by targets set and an equally stress filled effort to achieve it that goes in vain sometimes .. Such was the case that even after the group click was done – Non swimmers chose to dive from even dizzier heights holding onto the safe hands of either peter or guru – and they just climbed back for more ...

The time was 11:30 when peter chose to call it a day and as time demanded – one cluster after another chose to climb the cliff and we chose to walk back in the afternoon sun – dehydration could have easily set my cramps on fire again – thanks to the doc yet again who chose to advice me to take lots of fluids – and i prepared myself a good mix of lemon - sugar – salt for rehydration and it helped a great deal to restore normalcy in me .. So much so – i chose to successfully dive and swim my way outta the dead end pool – which although sounds cliché at the moment was not easy for me..


And if this was not enough – how about losing your way in the jungle and find your way back in – courtesy – Guru – the bare footed giant of a gentle trekker – who kind of remembers every step in the trail – and we soon set sight on the first pool – a moment’s rest and we soon were trekking in the dark to the safety of the world that i would so love to lose for something more primitive even though savage sometimes would restore the human being and would help you appreciate what we are made of and made for .. and that our very purpose is to define this vision and ensure that we act upon it ...

And what better way to salute our Mother of all Mothers – Her Highness on such a grand scale, A wine bottle – that she is – would never empty out and every sip of her beauty n simplicity treats me to a completely different experience –

I wish you a great Mother’s Day - O Mother Nature and I have no words to thank you for showing us what you are within and thereby showing us the way within all of us...

So – How’s your weekend mate!!!

Venkateswara Reserve Forest - Mamandooru, Andhra Pradesh, India

Venkateswara Reserve Forest - V9 - April 2009



Of the pool, by the stream; the 90 ft gorge and the ravines that house the beautiful little water fall; and of course our very own 30 ft diving pool that every CTCian swimmer & non swimmers alike would love to dive deep into the crystal clear waters – add to that, a toast of elephants letting you run loose in the wild just by the sheer presence of them in the vicinity. With just amounts of fun and an equally adrenaline pumping dose of elephant attack from nowhere and garnish that with enough number of CTCians to scare all other wild ones away, We have a perfect cocktail of a weekend in the Venkateswara Reserve forest...


Such is the history of the forest reserve and with all the hype and hoopla that surrounds it, the Sun Gods inadvertently decided in their usual inimitable style to play their part to keep us away from what was justifiably deserved at the end of a 12 km scorching marathon to the beautifully carved deep gorges – water – the elixir of life – finally was available just enough to quench our thirst and a dip to chill ourselves.

To begin the proceedings though, we had nonchalant participants declining in the last minute after a week long effort to ensure food and safety for everyone; and with one bike to follow 7 cars – we set off at a frenetic pace to ensure that we enter the forests before the ‘Sundance’ starts. Almost predictably though – the bike punctured and was left in the shelters of Renigunta and we were now left with 7 cars to catch up with the heat that will soon set foot on the horizon.


We started exactly at noon and no points for guessing this one – Andhra Pradesh is the darling of the Sun and our tete-a-tete with the Sun Gods had begun. While some of us were on a back to back trek – afresh with memories of Kolli 3 – the experienced CTCians formed the core of the party – with Ravi, the forest guide forewarning us of possible elephant activity around our trail, the group moved cautiously in the parched woods and river bed full of pebbles and stones beaten and smoothened further by weathering; expectedly though, the group had more pit stops than the amount of time spent walking towards the destination.


Our first big stop – the 30 ft deep pool – now looked like a trench of algae infested green pit with traces of clean water. A cool dip – a quick brunch – and minutes later, the group set on the march again – only this time to stop by another fresh water trail – with butterflies to add colour to the party; this time our stop was a little longer as most of us finished our lunch; a couple of hours n a half later – with minor stops to ensure that none left the trail, we had reached the gorges of the reserve forest;


We took to shelter within the gorge, whilst some took to the trail further to the water fall, some of us contented with chilling out in the left over pools. Soup and Maggi were served sumptuously – thanks to prabhu & Ganesh, and more importantly – there was plenty for everyone cos of the drop outs. The moon struck 8:30 and I was off in the most unusual of fashion – dozing off into Elysium, and did not wake up until 6:30 in the morning. Paari & a handful of others kept the rest occupied with wild roars of laughter until 11 and then there was the usual sync of sleep orchestrated symphony in perfect harmony DTS Ver. 5.1 – And Oh! In lame terms – we refer to that as ‘snoring’ mate!!!

Day 2 began early and we were off to a very energetic start – a couple of breaks and a stopover before the final lap cos of a leopard crossing our path – we were back in the cuddle of civilisation post noon. To me though – this trek was a reminder of many things –

That no matter what we do, it’s the people that we are with who define the outcome irrespective of our choices sometimes... Mrs. Usha at 55, in that respect to me is clearly THE HERO of the trek, for having taught us a lesson or two about strength from the inside... when the younger ones complained about being pushed to the limits & so on and so forth, She with all her courage and strength made it to the destination, took a dip in the pool and walked back the next day with equal vigour in double quick time even though she needed help with her knees...

This in essence defines a CTCian – what passion cannot do to you just cannot be done with another thousand minds working for you overtime when you are just NOT into it... the zeal, the energy and the strength to be what truly deserves to be called a CTCian comes from the inside and no matter what – nothing can bring you this aura and passion of travel, of being amongst people and becoming one of them.


Although oft repeated – Ranjith, Samyak & Lilford did one hell of a sweep job – we all know how important this is and never mind the oddities and the idiosyncrasies of the ignorant lot – you guys truly deserve a badge of honour.

This camping of a trek would not have been fun if not for Balaji and his ‘dostana’ escapades with almost everyone in the group – Samyak and his truly mellifluous numbers on and off the trail – braghadeesh & his flute – waseem and sriram for bringing alive how tollywood pics are made when they discovered that they were neighbourhood pals from adjacent street and got lost in time – Lilford for falling in love with my Canon EOS and effortlessly exploring the aspects of photography – Libu, Bala n Co for a super smooth camp fire and me finally coming to grips with free speech and freedom of choice by adopting a sister in Vinodha - and of course Paari with this so so cool attitude, settling off accounts in a jiffy...




This summer holds the key to the test of endurance and am more than happy to be a part it and no second thoughts mate – when it comes to CTC ... All hail Trekking & Travel!!!!

Kolli Hills, Salem, India

Kolli Hills, Salem, India - March 2009

Diego Maradona, Anil Kumble, Nadia Comaneci , the number TEN – Do these names spell magic and revere to you. So does Kolli Hills in my books.

Turn Back The Time - the year 1999 when about a handful of souls from BIM took a deviant turn into this unknown tranquil little country side via Mettur, the rest remains etched in history – be it the steep climb down the 1 – 2 foot rock cut steps and for that matter – the water levels would never let you closer to the water fall – from exhaustion to ecstasy to exhaustion & relief – all rolled in a little carnage of a trek that was befittingly close to the end of our student life – what a trek
that was!!!

Kolli 3 therefore was a return to the good old savage self wanting nothing but being in tune with nature and that could only mean that the toughest and the fittest could survive and so it was.

The camaraderie in any CTC trek is a given and take nothing away from this fact cos therein lies the true spirit of a CTCian. The opening notes at the Central Station in Chennai were the usual normal self greeting fellow pals until some chose to take the wrong train in their own hands and guess what – two jumped out when the wrong train was just zipping outta the station and the rest were stuck until Arakonam to join us.

One can only imagine what the ticket checkers would have thrown at the rest until Arakonam and any thoughts of things heading in misdirection were finally laid to rest at Arakonam.

Come Salem – and we were joined by the rest of the lot – Palani, the speed racer drove a wild country race with himself to reach Salem in time, bags were loaded atop the vans and we were finally off to the jungles of Kolli.
We were to take a different trekking route this time and that meant extra fun cos of the surprise factor. The vans would drop us at the foothills and we were to climb about 1000 metres to reach the top of the hill from where we would drive out to the base camp – Atop Aakasha Ganga water falls;


Peter played sheet anchor ably supported by Viki, Kartik, Bhagath and one hell of a sweeper in Bhaskar and a whole host of the experienced lot playing their tunes well did help us start the trek aplomb in typical CTC fashion. The Sun God however had different ideas – the soaring heat and dehydration that followed soon sapped our energy to the maximum; It is here that we tend to live our survival test to the fullest although there were helping hands at large – the mind plays over your body and pretty soon – you are a spent one mentally and physically;

The ascent to the peak therefore was never going to be easy – the fitness levels comes to the fore and to me – it was a serious wakeup call as my stamina had touched abysmal levels this time around and I was soon left to rot with a weakening left knee and ankle, but the fun part was to drive a woefully energy sapped lot to the top and to their credit, none of them beat me to death for what I was trying to do would have otherwise been close to insanity in the concrete jungle.

Water was the final selling proposition to reach the top. If ever there is any reason to write off water, you better give way cos there is nothing to beat a parched one’s throat – Water is indeed the elixir of Life. Ranjith & Palani frequently ran down to replenish water stocks whilst Peter effortlessly drove down every now n then to check on the movement of the herd.
It was about 6 PM when we finally reached base camp and the group finally gobbled up whatever they could find at the potti kadai next to the temple. We will hit base at the chatram of the temple for a much needed rest later that nite.

The group split here – few of us choosing not to go down the steps for a dip in the cool waters of the Aakasha Ganga falls in a starry night while we would hit a smaller water fall to chill and massage our worn out self.

Then came the surprise package for the nite; we were to camp out in the forest with a fire to warm ourselves instead of the chatram. I soon hit the sack without a blanket and was woefully woken up by cold and frosty winds at about 2:30 AM – the welcome reception was attended by a zillion stars beautifully laced in the sky and what a sight it was. Unable to withhold the frost any longer, I soon moved to the chatram, thankfully though – I was helped with a blanket this time and slept peacefully thereafter.

My knees and ankle were nursed to partial health ala volini spray. The morning session would be a descent to the caves that was discovered in Kolli 2 amidst scenic getaways and lots of water for fun. I had to play down my fears and therefore chose to cautiously tread down the beaten track alongside Bhaskar who chose to stick with me and ensure I reach the waters safely.

The wow factor finally kicked in and my EOS buzzed with excitement at the sight of 76 delightful souls choosing to bring out the child in them. It was ecstasy finally after a day of being baked in the sun and it did add to the WOW factor. Food and fun brought all the energy and spirits back into me and while the rest chose to explore further – I chose to remain amidst tested waters and keep my EOS buzzing with the rest of the souls.

Amidst all this fun and frolic, Sujai and two other poor souls lost their way in the middle and went about trekking for more than 3 hours in the ruins of the jungle until they finally managed to catch up with the rest of the team.

I chose to leave early with a few others not wanting to be a liability myself at a critical juncture. Surprisingly though, the trek back to the base camp was easier and less painful – oh n add to that – the visit to the Aakasha Ganga falls bought back good old memories – the rock we sat on for lunch and the view point to name a few places.
The climb up the concrete steps to the base camp was uncharacteristically boring to say the least but hey – we all made it to the top in good time and I guess that matters most.

A quick shower in the smaller water fall near the temple and a quick fire lunch to keep our energy going – we were finally starting to leave from Kolli – the hills of sages and mystical aura would never be the same in my mind again.To sum up – Kolli 3 was an extension of what I had missed 10 years ago and it had all the ingredients of completing a perfect 10 – or should I say – a complete cocktail of a bollywod movie replete with comedy, emotions and adventure – oh! and a perfectly happy ending

Kolli did teach me a few important lessons though; First of all – what you do at the Gym or the swimming pool matters little when it comes to the jungle and the Sun - What matters here is a big heart and a head strong enough to break stones with a single hit are simply a given when it comes to difficult trekking situations and to CTC’s credit – the undying passion in every individual has been an omniscient reason for the success of every trek – not to take anything away from the organisers mind you – but then - you gotta do what you gotta do when it matters most and we did at the end.
Any trek, be it simple or a DOA, the critical parameter is for everyone to understand the seriousness that also comes with the fun of being part of Mother Nature and the jungles in India. Seriousness not just in terms of the safety of self and fellow CTCians but also act responsibly with Mother Nature;

And to me, CTC simply comes up trumps in both these cases, and if there is a better way to say it – “Nature's loving proxy, the watching mother” and as you may know it now yourself –



Let us play proxy Mother to the most endearing and heartening, second to none Mother of all – Our Good Old Mother Earth.