A Trip Together... A Joy Forever...

Wayanad... An unknown to me... atleast till Saturday last... It's a place that's often been in the news and mostly for the wrong reasons. The issue (at Muthanga) between the tribal populace and the government had taken such an ugly turn that it shook the very base of the ruling Govt. at that point in time. There were also lots of people visiting the place. The mountains and the natural settings of the place offered many people time in peace away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It also offered the adventurous a chance to stretch their legs and go on energy-sapping treks and rock-climbing expeditions. But all this was still only hearsay to me... and I'd daresay to most of our gang that chose Wayanad as the place to go for a trip together, before we went our ways. Most of them had got fabulous opportunities to pursue their higher education in some of the better universities abroad/here. Some had got opportunities to work on-site for their firms. Some of us like me had nothing happening, but this was a chance to spend some quality time with all these fellas who had become very close friends.


We, i.e. the 12 of us, left Bangalore on the night of Friday, 25 May. We had booked for a Tempo Traveler (TT) and that was a decision that offered us a lot of convenience and time. The journey was fun - unlimited. Atleast till everyone decided to put up their legs and close their eyes. It all started at Kids Kemp on MG Road, the first pick up point, where most of us assembled. Then we picked up the rest of the gang on the way to Mysore Road. And then started the journey. We stopped first at a temple on the way to Mysore, people offering prayers to ensure a safe trip and then we got on our way again.

The first pit-stop came at the magnificent Mysore Palace. We must be the rare ones who chose to visit it at 1 a.m. The palace with all the lighting and the golden shimmer looked beautiful. We stopped, admired the beauty of the place snapped up a few moments. Then we went on. Away from Mysore. Via Gundalpet, Bandipur and then the historic Sultan Bathery. By the time we'd gone past Gundalpet, most of our boys had decided to shut shop. All were preparing mentally for the treks that lay ahead, I believe :-). Bandipur didn't throw up any of the resources it holds to our waiting eyes, apart from a herd of deer... That itself was a scene remarkably beautiful. Their grace and movement... Aaah... Simply regal!!!

The night went with one more stop for tea in some cold place. The name I can't recollect. But the hot tea, I can't forget. By around 6, we'd reached Kalpetta... The driver, though, suggested that we go another 10 - 15 kms ahead... he talked about a view-point. He had a glint in his eye as he talked about it. We knew we simply had to go there. Now getting off the TT at 6.30 a.m. and looking down from those heights... Whattay sight!!! It was like we had landed straight into paradise... first thing in the morning. From then we all had a positivity about us. We knew this trip would be special.

The place has a remarkable beauty to it. Be it the stunning waterfalls or the beautiful peaks; the curving roads or the opulent tea gardens; the place has beauty that is natural and, like with most of nature's creations, mesmerizing. We tried capturing the beauty of the sight on our cameras. But the pictures will never tell the whole story. You must have imagination and use it to imagine a sight that is a gazillion times more magical than what the images convey. From here, having seen this beauty of a sight, we set off, back towards Kalpetta town. PPS Tourist home, where we had booked rooms, awaited us. As we reached the town, people guided us to the place and we were there, in no time. As we checked in, we realized we didn't have all the rooms we booked for. We'd asked for 4. We had only 2. That proved a blessing in disguise. We needed the rooms only to sleep in. And 4 beds in a room were good enough to house 6.

I hadn't slept all night. The journey was beautiful. Night journeys always are. The enveloping darkness fondles you in her arms and cajoles so much distress away, light finds you a changed man. This journey through the night was no different. But at times no sleep can leave you weary. But the bath in ice-cold water was such a lifter. Everyone was getting ready and by about 10 we left the place to find ourselves some breakfast. After a decent meal, and having made inquiries and a plan, we left to our first destination - Soochippara falls.

Every one was in high spirits. We were all looking forward to the trek and the waterfall at the end of it. We reached the vehicle park at around 12, I think. The curving roads, the high mountains, the clouds and the tea-estate all made for a fabulous sight. The journey to Soochippara was close to 25 kms from Kalpetta town, I think. But the sights around made it an absolute pleasure. We reached the place at around 12 noon, I think. From the vehicle park, it is a 1.5 - 2 k.m. walk down to the actual falls. The path though is neatly covered with stone slabs that makes it a lot easier for more people to make it to the falls with less risk. A few snaps of the road and some attempts at heroism later, we were making the walk down to the falls. It was not too difficult and we reached the falls in about 20 minutes. The sight that greeted us was beautiful again. Water falling from a great height always is a pleasure to see. This was no different.
The slightly more adventurous chose to venture in to the water. At places it was really slippery with all the water making the rocks soft and the algal growth not helping our cause either. A few really brave ones got under the water fall. And from their reactions, I could gather that it was an experience. They enjoyed their time under the sun... water rather. I tried capturing a video of them in there, shouting at the top of their voices. Slightly less adventurous people [ ;-) ] chose to wet their feet in the cold water and return. We took as many photos as we could, shot a few videos and then decided to bit adieu to the place. Nothing worse than saying goodbye to places as beautiful as these. But our journey had to go on. And so it did. Packing our bags, we embarked on the long trek upwards. Now this was no piece of cake. Going up is always a strain on the knees and back, atleast mine. And after a while, it started hurting. I kept going (not that I had a choice :-), but still) and after a while the climb eased out. I still was at the rear end of the team. That though was good. I stopped by the side for some minted lime juice. Two glasses later, i was fresh again. Now there was not much left back to where our TT was. So once we made it there, it was time to get into the comfort of the TT and onto our next stop. Meenmutty falls. Now atleast to the onlooker like me, Soochippara was a walk in the park. Meenmutty is where it all began.

(to be contd....)

Lost In Time...

At times even here it's frustrating...

LOST…

Someplace, somehow lost in time,
Finding my feet in a world not mine,
Everybody seems such a stranger here,
Lives are lived governed by fear.

Fear of failure, fear of criticism,
Everything here smeared with cynicism
There are no people, just moving objects,
Slick tongues are masters, the rest abject subjects.

Processes and systems are all I hear,
Man-machines burning blood and tears,
All in a day’s work, for a morsel, for a grain
Is it worth the strain, the drain, the pain?

Where is the charm, the romance, the flair
In matters of life, of heart and brain?
Why do we live this life not ours,
Cheating our own selves for a cause not even ours.

Throw it all away and walk a man, a free man
Free to live a life you can.
Write your poems which no one reads,
Think your thoughts and pen those tales,
And see the new heights your soul scales.

And then when you will depart one moment,
In poverty, yet with strange contentment.

Feels stifling to suppress oneself to live in a world not meant for one... And it's shameful, the lack of courage to throw it all away and walk away... Away from artificiality...

The Last Straw...

Here goes another piece.... Manifestation of my times in Chennai where I got really lonely and only could find solace with myself and my limited imagination...

Clutching at that last strand of straw,
I looked up to see,
The heights I had traversed,
To reach such a low.

The strand lookin’ at me smiled and I couldn't read,
That look was eerie, and I asked of it,
“I'd give you anything you wanted if only you would not break now”,
That smile turned to peals of diabolic laughter.

And like the sands of time running down a clock,
The grains of the strand started falling,
And as I closed my eyes, waiting for the last straw to break,
Thought maybe now I'll rest in peace.

But a long while later, I still realized,
That straw held firm, I was still alive,
There were now not one but a clutch of them,
Entwining themselves into a bunch.

I watched in amazement and equal despair,
Wondering what on earth was going on,
The straws got stronger, the bunch turned into rope now,
I could still make no sense.

Looking down now, that straw barked,
"What more need I do dear man?,
You've a rope and all you need is to pull yourself up again,
Can't you do that even, to live?"

As if out of slumber I awoke then,
Still not knowing what was goin’ on,
Pulling myself up, up, up and over,
I got myself over the edge again

As I lay down on the grass, wondering what had happened,
I heard the straws quietly muttering,
"Well done fellas, we've done atleast our bit,
The last bit of action for us albeit
The sheep of the man'll be here again tomorrow,
To chomp us off till the last bit"

I still was dazed, but I got up and walked away,
Not knowing what to do or what to say.
On the way I heard a cry of anguish and pain,
As I saw a knife stabbed into someone's heart.
That was from a fellow-man and as the victim bled to death,
All I did was to watch on.

Man'll always be man, superior and gifted,
He'll find out new things no one's ever done,
But he'll never understand, never ever understand,
The smile he got from the last straw.

I never quite managed to poetically word these lines... Guess I wasn't too inclined to the aesthetics of poetry when I worte them...

Kiran

Lone Furrow...

I tend to write whatever comes to my head at times... and this post is probably a result of that disease...

When there’s no one beside you to pull life’s yarn,
There seems to be only one bull in the cold barn,
You know you aren’t thinking right,
You don’t trust your sight,
The sight of that comrade seems a hallucination,
Support and love seem a mere illusion,
Trust me you’re wrong.

No one ever ploughs a lone furrow,
Maybe there’s no one to wipe that sweat of the brow,
Maybe there’s no shoulder to rest your weary head on,
And no lap to lie uninhibitedly in,
But your love will always be there.

Maybe she’s gone and you think you’re alone,
The thought of her face makes you more forlorn,
The redness of lips, the brightness of smile,
Seem like they’re away more than a thousand mile.

But still you know, it’s only that that’s keepin’ you alive,
That distant glimpse, that memory when at five,
You used to meet her to share your day’s happenings,
And comfort her when she told you of her mishappenings,
It’s those memories, those dreams,
Those are the beams,
Which keep you standing on your feet.

Never mind the loneliness, the weariness, the pain,
From criticizing the world you’ll always refrain…
And when you toil and the sweat wets your brow,
Know that you aren’t ploughing a lone furrow,
You’ve got the love of her steadfast in your heart,
Takes you so far above those with mere pretence,
And life’ll always love you with one sentence,
You loved…

I'm not quite sure about the content, I didn't feel like refining it.. It came to me after a long break and I kept it the way I wrote it first...

Lost Somewhere in Time...

A lost feeling has always been around, no matter which the place. It's always been with me, more faithful than my shadow, and totally invisible to the world outside of me. Well, more than my shadow, I suppose. Shadows, I've heard, exist only when there's light. That is so much unlike this feeling, which manifests itself in the form of darkness - haunting, disturbing and at times fondling.

I wonder if it's also a feeling of having been born 2 decades too late. The feeling gets to the extent of being nauseating in the midst of sophistication. Not technical sophistication, no, not the gadget kind. Sophistication of minds, sophistication of values... and trying to sophisticate something as wild as the mind could not be anything short of Apocalypse.

But again, nobody seems affected. Are they or aren't they? Not even "they" can tell... Everybody seem to have developed a natural skill to fabricate themselves into the same pattern. The few that don't are outlawed and ridiculed as no-gooders. Now, this whole idea of good and bad can be trashed over several volumes, but never mind. We'll let the terms stay.

This whole idea - that of trying to mould oneself into a conventional pattern and present oneself in that way to the world while not quite knowing why - seems to spring from competition. Competition for what, I'm never quite sure, but people are competing. There was a time, long back, when people all over were fighting one another. That was for food, for a day of life. Sustenance. That's what it was.

But today, somehow, the whole game has changed. The fight to survive has long since become insignificant. Dominance. Ah yes, that's keyword now. The buzzword. People, now having learnt to sustain, want to dominate. Whom? Fellow beings perhaps? The world? Maybe! Countries wanting the world on their side is not unheard of.

And somehow it seems the right thing to do. There are lots of people wanting to dominate. There are also lots who don't. And, I suppose, those are the very people who bear the brunt. Often tagged meek and losers, they're subject to mental vandalism by the "respected" bunch with power.

I've probably gone a little off track, but it's hard not to mention what you see. The change has come about in the last 2 decades or so. Where the focus seems to've shifted from enjoying life to maximizing the benefits out of life. And if 20 years I could lie on my bed listening to Rafi Saab and be deemed a romantic, something similar now and I'm termed national waste. Of course, I'm not contributing to the per capita income. I'm not writing source codes in some alien programming language and showing myself off to be a good developer and an awful engineer.

You can never understate your self, you've got to market yourself well. Oh I must stop! All this is just too much to take. I never will be able to appreciate this way of life. Where individuality is taken away to be replaced by a multitude of processes. And where the essence of life is replaced by a lifeless mechanical system. The heartbeat by a pacer. And we're all morons for not living our lives that way!

I detest it... I detest it so much, I wanna give it all up and walk out on this existence. Atleast for the peace of having done one thing with all my heart.