That feeling you get when you've been on high doses of antibiotics to cure a prolonged illness- that was the feeling I had been experiencing for the weeks before embarking on this journey. With a mind full of agitation, body sickened by the monotony of the scheduled activities, the exhaustion of having been on a 'thinking trip', and the craving to be 'somewhere else' were explicit indicators of taking up something not done.
There's that voice that beckons.. the thought that translates these signs into a plan and the mind that executes the plan. The voice, which said "lets just take-off" lingered on for months but the thought and mind coordination, leading to securing seats on the bus to Kodai, was a matter of few minutes, few clicks and some quick calls. Here's the story of one of the weekends in July, spent amidst the hills, valleys of the Western Ghats, walking past the misty streets in Kodaikanal. Contrary to my plans and expectations, this trip was quite close to a solo encounter with myself and the hills.
Welcomed by the sky layered with clouds and mist,
I get off the bus at the Kodaikanal bus stop and take
a cab to the resort where I had made the basic
arrangements of stay.
The drive to the resort is through multiple lanes line
with concrete civilization, narrow bright coloured
two-three floored buildings, locals walking around
casually, shops jammed with all kinds of junk
food, none that served a mug full of invigorating tea
or less sweetened, refreshing coffee. Rather than surprised,
I was disappointed. The only optimistic thought lay in the
hope that the resort would be located in a somewhat
secluded place.
Seeing the open sky past the concrete risings was very
much a relief and a lead to positivity. The joy of driving
down the hill, entering 'Lily's Valley Resort' drove away
the apprehensions.
A pretty, quaint, "in-itself" kind of a place.
Choices you make defines the experiences you encounter on the journey.
And I have no qualms about this particular choice that I made after
having boarded the bus in Bangalore at some 10:30 pm.
The next two days were packed with multiple journeys
in and out of the town, all covered by walking,
sometimes accompanied by my camera, other
times accompanied by one of my friends.
Sights of beautiful houses, either brick or stone
walled, lined with open spaces covered with
flowering plants make me wonder about the
kind of life people led in Kodai. I wondered how much
prettier could these garden get during winters, with the
clouds hovering around and the chill adding tad bit
of laziness to the daily lives of people here.
Made me recall the experiences I've had
meeting pahadi people on the numerous trips made
to the Himalayas.
Flowers, valleys, valleys flowers, shrubs, herbs, trees,
grasslands, peeping sun, overpowering clouds..
These were my companions as a walked some 11 kms
up and down the hills, through the wilderness in a
some 12 hours.
Meet Pilu, the handsome guide I befriended on the
trek to the Chettiar park. Faithful, protective, proactive, and
of course, one of his kind.
A man of his words, Pilu never exerted himself with more
than what his body could take. Resting before one
of the steepest slopes I've walked in this journey.
Within minutes, Pilu was back on track, to accompany
me, rather lead the way. Thanks to Pilu, for without his
showing the last stop on the way, I think I'd have missed this spot.
Pilu reached this spot and sat there. That's when I saw how
beautiful the 'other side' of Kodaikanal looked.
Isolated, comparatively rugged, barren and almost
nil civilization. I sat, gulped some fresh air and pondered.
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"What I would like to do is use the time that is coming now to
talk about
some things that have come to mind. We're in
such a hurry most of the
time we never get much time to talk.
The result if a kind of endless
day-today shallowness, a monotony
that leaves a person wondering years
later where all the time went,
and sorry that it's all gone. Now that we
do have some time, and know it,
I would like to use this time to talk in
some depth about things
that are important."
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How could I escape from this irresistible grasp of
the beauty, serenity and the calm within?
