It’s a month since my last blog, and I thought of updating some serious, thought provoking stuff – to be precise something on the anniversary of Lehman Bros bankruptcy. But then, the better sense prevailed and I decided to share the treasured moments of the past week. Well it was a treasured week, because suddenly things started to move in life. There were some hilarious moments and some really tensed issues, and to top it all the pace was high – in short it was a period which needs some special mention, so let’s begin.
The last week was the only week of the year when the office was closed on Monday and Friday – effectively making it the most chilled out week of the year. The mood was relaxed and holiday was very much in mind, but where and with whom? This was a big question, and then while talking to Kunal – my ex-project mate, we planned a 3 day trip to Kerala – Gods Own Country. Slowly the group began to grow from initial 4 to 12 making it a gang. Now we had to decide the itinerary. The initial plan was Munnar – Thekkady, but before we could freeze our plans, there was the news of boat tragedy at Thekkady (Periyar Lake), and to make things worse, there was incessant rain in most parts of south India including Munnar. There was trepidation in mind, but there was a spirit to chill out and have fun and so we started our trip on Thursday night (1st October, 2009) from Bangalore and headed straight to Munnar.
We were behind our schedule, but in a way it was good. The next morning we entered the Munnar valley and it was fortunate that we got to see it bathing in the morning sunshine. The sun was lazily peeping from clouds and the whole valley was filled with early morning dew and mist. In a short while we reached an altitude where clouds were below us. To add to this, the heavy rains gave birth to numerous springs in the valley. It appeared as if Mother Nature has bestowed all her glory in this small part of the world. I think “Pristine” is the closest, literature can define such beauty.
We reached Munnar city by 1.00 PM on 2nd October, and rented a hotel. It was pouring continuously, still the intriguing beauty that laid outside the hotel window drove us out. We reached the “Rose Garden” built on the slopes of one of the hills. Each of the flowers was proudly telling the tale of Munnar. After spending about 45 min we had to move, we didn’t have enough time. We reached an elephant park, with a hope to take a ride through the woods, but the cost was high (Somehow they think that all tourist come with dollars stacked in their wallet). So the gang decided to just pose for a few pic and move ahead. Next stop was at a tea garden, and waking through the tea plantation is an experience in itself. I could imagine some of the bollywood movie’s song sequence, but then neither was I an actor, nor do we had any director.
While returning to the hotel we decided to head for Allepey the next day and spend a day in the Backwaters of Kerala. This was an idea no one could resist. Once into the city we got down from the van and went for some evening snacks and tea. By this time, the fog started to settle in, and tea with snacks was the perfect thing one can have.
The next morning we had to leave early so as to reach Allepey in time. The return journey was equally great, till we were in the Munnar valley. The moment we entered coastal Kerala, it became hot and humid. The temperature came to almost boiling point when we entered Allepey. I thought we could have better stayed at Munnar, at least it had beautiful climate and in first impression Allepey didn’t appeared to be that great as it’s mentioned in travelogues. I was soon to be proved wrong.
I was awestruck at the sight of backwaters. It’s a city in itself – something sort of Venice I think. Instead of tarred roads, there are wide water lanes criss-crossing at various places. The boat man has to blow horn to ensure the approaching boats do not collide (fortunately there are no traffic signals till now). Soon the boat started its journey through the water lanes and we could see the beauty around. For the initial half an hour there was almost silence in the boat as no one wanted dilute this experience with any blabber. There were coconut and palm trees marking the horizon. These again were inter-laced with vast paddy fields and many small houses on the shores. Soon it was lunch time, and fish was in the menu. To top it, no one in the gang liked the fish as much as I did. So I had a field day eating fish – 3 of them without even looking at anything else.
It was now 3.30 PM and cool sea breeze began to push the sail. The team gained momentum and chitchats started which became humorous with some undertone of seriousness at times. We played games, and I learnt some of the games which I never knew existed, but then human imagination is fathomless. The time went past until it was 6.00 PM and suddenly the boat came to a halt. We were surprised, isn’t the houseboat supposed to sail continuously! Else what’s the difference between a hotel room stay and houseboat stay? I think none of us actually cared whether the boat was moving or standing still, after all there was hoopla inside and all of us were involved. When the games and general leg pulling was over, we told scary – ghostly tales to keep the momentum. I proposed a night out, so that we can see the rising sun from backwaters. Unfortunately the batteries were down, and slowly junta slept by 2.00 AM. But I had decided not to miss this rare opportunity, and after a brief nap of an hour or so, I got up, and sat outside in the main deck of the boat.
It was dark all around and the ghostly stories of night flashed in my mind. For a moment I was scared, and then I saw the night sky. It wasn’t complete moon day, but I think someone heard my wishes, the sky was clear and moon’s shadow was clearly reflected in the silent and serene waters below. The tranquility was mesmerizing. I went inside and took one of the cameras and started clicking. I think clicking the moon that night was one of the most difficult snaps I ever took. After much effort I was finally able to capture what we call as the “Desktop screensaver”. Soon I could see the sky turning into light shade of red, just before the sun rise. I went inside and woke up Kunal (who along with me was very inclined to treasure this moment). Both of us sat with a camera each in our hands and clicked some of the best shots of our life. At the dawn, we saw people coming out from the nearby houses in their smaller boats, as if they are going for a morning walk.
In an hour or so, the sun was there in the sky calling all of us to come out of bed and plan for the last day of the trip. Yes, we were into the 3rd day and no one realized this, at least I didn’t. The boat man prepared our breakfast and after sailing for a couple of hours took us back to the point from where we started.
Hmmm… so where next? It was still 9.00 AM on Sunday and we had some more hours with us. Finally we decided to end the trip with a visit to Athirapally falls. It was a couple of hours drive through the picturesque hills surrounding Thrisshur and keeping in mind the monsoon season, we expected some real fun. By 1.00 PM we reached our final destination. I had been to this place earlier, and knew that we cannot go down to the fall, but will have to limit our adventure to the flow of Chalakudy River. With full enthusiasm we reached the river bank and were about to take the first dip when security personnel came shouting at us. The water currents were high, so there were restrictions in entering the river, however we soon found a safe place to enter and have some fun with water. The water was cold and the sun above was equally hot making it the right moment to take the dip. We spent about an hour, and it was as relaxing as one can expect.
With a rejuvenated mind and body we came out of the river and headed for the van to start the journey back home. A journey ended and I believe another has started there. A start engraved in the numerous photos we clicked and time spent with each other.
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