A Special Day To Remember

Birthdays are always special; to be spent with family and friends and have a good time. It would mean parties and lots of kicks as was part of all our celebrations. For me as well it started at midnight with a kick from Mathur (I’ll remember that, as it was intolerably painful) and then calls from all the near and dear. Then of course the planning as to where my party should be as that was what we had been doing for some time. But this time it would turn out to be different; with two beautiful people in my life. I had met them only recently and the relationship that it has turned out be is just wonderful. It already feels like I know them for a very long time.

The day was like the usual ones with me in the office trying to finish off the work and get out early so that I can spend the evening with Tulika and Megha as I had already decided. In the meantime, I was already getting inquiries from people about where the party was and I would politely tell them that we would be having it on the weekend. I also get wishes from my sister who is very smart and had bought me a shirt. She has been an angel and would get me something or the other all the time. I just love her for that as she would never say anything about what she has in mind and would just give it away at the right moment.

Now, I know for sure that these girls had been planning for this day for some time now and I was pretty eager to just meet them up and see what they had been cooking up for all this time. As always when you plan to do something, you get more and more work; and by the evening, I was desperate to get out. And by 6:00 PM, I just make and excuse that I’ll return and complete the stuff, I finally get out. I had to meet them up at 6:30 PM. We meet at the park near my Apartment; and I was genuinely surprised at the time and effort that these girls had spent on making the day so special for me. I’ll always love them for that.

They started by giving me a rose each; a reminder that they had asked me for a rose at an event recently. Tulika had prepared a cake with Megha helping her; she had told me she bakes good cakes and since then I had always wanted to taste one. I kind of knew that this could be my surprise; but believe me, to see it in front of me was a different feeling. They had brought candles; gifts, and boy was I impressed. The only thing that bothered me was that they had accidentally gotten candles that would read 25 instead of 22 (just joking). I cut the cake and take the first bite and then give them their share from my treat. The cake tasted great with all the love and affection that was put into it. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Then was the turn of my gifts and this time I was shocked. To put it in my words, if I were to give any gift, I would just walk into a shop and would pick up something that would interest me. I have never given much thought into a gift. And here I get something that reminds me of my childhood and my present. I am just dumbstruck at the amount of thought these girls have given into the whole thing. I know they would have roamed the city to collect the Reader’s Digest (1989), Hardy Boys, The Famous Five and the Chacha Chowdhary comic book. It is definitely an emotional moment for me now as I see my past in the books and my present in the bike. They had gifted me things that I was passionate about long back and now. Thank you for all of this.

I wanted to have my dinner with Tulika and Megha and was really happy when they agreed. Megha had a family event but was with me for my event. I wanted to take them to some place good where we would be alone; a little bit green and candle light; and I had just two choices, Metropole or Regalis. And since, Tulika likes Regalis; I thought that we would have our evening there. We went to the pool side and I was happy that we got exactly what I had in mind.

We had our dinner chatting away and me pulling Tulika’s leg again and again. I still do not understand why we end up fighting all the time and Megha watching us and trying to stay away from the commotion. Tulika was laughing away and I would comment and that would anger her. Suddenly, with a dash of emotion, she said that she’ll leave; and me believing that she was just saying that to make stop; I replied back that if she wants she can leave. The quietly obliged and to my shock just walked away. I was angry then and didn’t try to stop her, but as she crossed the corridor, I couldn’t stand it anymore and ran behind her to bring her back. It took some time for her to return and then we started again. In all of this we did not realize how late it was and we had to leave. I dropped back Megha by about 10:30 at night and I know that she did get some scolding from her mom.

Apart from the scolding that the girls might have got, the day was great and we did have a good time. I managed to irritate both the girls a bit with Tulika going away till I pull her back and Megha sitting quiet for some time. But I did understand that they do like me pulling their legs and then making it up. I guess the making it up is what they like the most and enjoy it. I am now thankful that they are in my life and we share such a beautiful connection.

Visiting a Dentist

Most of us are scared of dental experiences and when it comes to me I can have nightmares even if someone whom I do not even know talks about going to a dentist; even with the fact that my sister is a dentist. Even though this was my first experience, as far as I can remember, I was scared as hell to get under the drills and it turns out to be one of funniest moments in my life.

Fear of "the dentist" or "dentists" is pretty common. If you've had bad (or not-so-great) experiences with dentists in the past, it is very easy to make the assumption that dentists, in general, are bad people. There's a theory called "construct theory", which states that we have a tendency to ascribe certain attributes to a group of people who have something in common (in this case, dentists), based on our (or others) experiences of this group. However, these constructs (e. g. "evil" as opposed to "kind", "bad" as opposed to "good" and so on) tend to be based on a very small number of observations.

My maxillary second molar was giving me some problems and given my perception and inability to bear pain, I finally decide to visit a dentist. What I had in mind was to have a general check up and some tablets to solve my problem. I look up the possible great dentists in Mysore; through friends; the Internet and any other sources that I could find. I planned to have a list and then rate them to find out the dentist who was known to keep the pain minimum. It turned out that I was only researching for about 6 months and my tooth was not getting any better. [I guess I was hoping that my tooth would heal by itself]. Finally, when I had enough of the discomfort, I go to a dentist who had treated quite some people in my office; and they vouched that the procedures had been painless.

I go to the dentist to have a check up and with much difficulty I sit on the chair and let the dentist have a look inside my mouth. The dentist is nice and makes you comfortable by talking to me a lot. I feel a variety of emotions as he tells me that nothing is amiss however I might require a root canal on my tooth. Now a root canal is a dreadful situation as I felt that this is not happening. The thought of killing a part of my body (my tooth) was equally painful (I am still not sure whether it was about killing my tooth or about the pain I thought I was going to experience). I ended up doing a lot of research about the procedure, from the Internet as well as having long consultations with my sister.

Root canal therapy refers to the process by which a dentist treats the inner aspects of a tooth, specifically that area inside a tooth that is occupied by its "pulp tissue." Most people would probably refer to a tooth's pulp tissue as its "nerve." While a tooth's pulp tissue does contain nerve fibers it is also composed of arteries, veins, lymph vessels, and connective tissue.

Finally when I thought I was prepared, I book an appointment and end up on a dentist’s chair. As I was being prepared, I saw the nurse bringing up a syringe with the local anesthesia, to be stuck up inside my mouth. That was it! I knew I cannot handle this; I just stand up and make a run for it; the run for my life. I could see the expression on the face of the dentist as I run out of his clinic. Once I’m out, my ego strikes back at me as I realize how big a coward I have been and I return back. However, it took the dentist another half an hour before he could actually stick the needle inside. I was genuinely surprised as I did not feel any pain; I could feel the needle going inside but it did not hurt. He then starts his drilling but I was feeling the streaks of pain signaling that the anesthesia was not working; much because of my anxiety and I get another shot of the syringe. I was already feeling like I was in hell; the procedure was taking its toll on me. I kept reminding myself that I am a man and should keep up to it and bear the pain. It takes some time for the procedure to complete and I am happy that it went fine. I believe that I would have been the worst patient that this guy would have ever handled. Once, I’m back at my place, I feel the effects of the anesthesia; I could not feel the right side of my mouth; I pinch hard and had no feeling. Bloody hell, I took too much of the shots just because I was scared. While he was performing his art on me, I could feel my mouth and now I could not. I look up at the heavens and thank my gods that the procedure was not exactly as I had expected. However, I decide and promised myself that I was not getting under any instrument again.

However, I had to visit the dentist again, this time for a routine check-up, so that I could travel without any issues. And guess what, even after knowing that it's not that difficult a thing, I am scared again. But I know that this time I will be more comfortable.

At this point I would say that dental procedures are acutally not that scary as we percieve them to be. But it is the feeling of complete submission that gives the creeps. You feel helpless bound in the chair and that makes things horrific. But dentist are normal people as we are and if you are at a good one, he would make sure that you are most comfortable and would try to make any procedure as painless as possible.

• They gently explain what the patient will soon feel, and for about how long.
• They frequently ask the patient for permission to continue.
• They give the patient the opportunity to stop the procedure at any time the patient feels uncomfortable. They give them a cue, like raise your left hand.
• They make time for breaks as requested.

So, next time you go to a dentist, do not be fearful at all. It's no big deal!

Diwali Crackers!

This Diwali was a mixed bag of feelings. First of all there were not too many of us to celebrate; just left with 3 of us; and then it took us a while to get into the mood as well. Monday, was spent quietly, sleeping; and then Chiku had to return in the evening; nothing much to do after that. I wanted to talk but that too wasn’t happening. So, I thought that this time it would be a silent Diwali for us. By eight, Mathur’s up and seeing the lights everywhere wants to light up our place as well. Soon, Atul comes in with candles and we actually light up out place. I guess our neighbors would be really happy this time; hmmm, these guys do know a little bit about the customs. Soon, we get some crackers as well and we start with them all. The smell of the BAROOD is good and you feel like filling the whole with smoke n noise. I keep looking at the phone and the road; even though I guess I knew it’ll not happen. Guess, it was like I’m enjoying at a moment and then I’m lonely for a second. Huh! We then decide the agenda for the next day; lotz of crackers this time. We decide to get out in the afternoon and get our stock of crackers; quite a bit of them. We also wanted to get some small crackers that you just light and throw in the air. We always have fun with these; just pull out a chair; have a candle beside you and just... light; throw; light; throw.

We get out the next day as planned, go to this shop and get ourselves quite a bit of the load. I took a few fuljhadi’s and anar’s as well; just in case. Other than that, we had our usual load of noise. I got particularly interested in a particular cracker that goes up in the sky and shimmers after the blast. And we are ready. Mathur and Atul, get home my 6:30 PM and I get a little late but just in time to catch them lighting up our apartment. After all this we get to our act; let there be noise everywhere.

We get down and start with the big bombs; I enjoy them a lot and usually try to think of a number of ways to get more sound out of it. I was covering them up with sand, stones; in fact whatever I could get my hands on; to get the full blast effect with the debris flying all around. However, it was a bit irritating to notice that all this time there was nobody on the road and soon as we started, suddenly there a lot of cars; bike crossing the road. Soon, we start with the light n throw act and its fun; all we needed was a chair. After some time, other folks from out apartments join in and suddenly we have a gang trying quite some crazy stuff. We even tried lighting rockets from our hands. It is fun but I would not advise that anyone does it. Later, I realize that I have been looking at the roads and my phone quite frequently and then getting back, a bit disappointed. I knew it would be the same on the other end but…

We have a quick dinner and watch TV for some time before we begin our second session. I get back to the sutli bombs while Atul and Mathur are happy with the Bijli’s and the fuljhadi’s. We finish off everything and then want to light the shimmering rocket. However, there is a twist in the tale and this bloody thing will not light. We tried everything; even putting that in fire; but it will not bulge. Keeping it aside we prepare ourselves for the final act, the set of 1000 crackers. It finished off and then we are again at the fluke rocket. it is not part of us to leave anything unfinished and we soon break it open to get the actual stuff out of it. Now this thing is supposed to go up and hence it had a very hard covering. We were skeptical about where we should light as we didn’t know what to expect. Finally we are out of patience and we light it. Man! That was a sight, the cracker blew and the shimmers were all over the place. Our security guard comes in running as some part of it had gone inside and was shimmering there as well. The sound was again awesome. We have a good laugh and have a look at the destruction that we have caused for this long; the smoke and the smell are intoxicating; just love it. We return to our apartment; sleep was out of question and we watched TV for very long.

I had planned for a lot of stuff; didn’t happen that way. I know that things do not turn out the way you want them to; but yes things happen for the good only. We did have fun, in spite of missing quite some people from our usual gang.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the festive season and definitely pray that this Diwali bring in happiness and prosperity to each and everyone and that you get all that you wish for. May this season bring in light and keep us away from darkness.

Love Is Actually... All Around

I recently watched this wonderful movie, Love Actually. People are falling in love, falling out of love, some are with right people, some are with the wrong people, some are looking to have an affair, and some are in the period of mourning. It takes you through different aspects of how people get attached to people; complete strangers; and the things that they do for them. Be it the love of a 10 year old kid or the British writer who falls in love with a young Portuguese woman who does not even speak English. Even the father supporting his kid and giving him confidence and letting him follow what his heart wants; the Prime Minister falling in love with his catering manager.

I have never liked Romantic movies, but these times it definitely looks like my tastes have changed. I do not regret it but definitely it looks like I am enjoying these moments. Just a change in times before I leave India. I have met people that have made me realize how love is actually all around. I always thought that I am truly and completely incapable of getting attached to anybody; I mean anybody. This has helped me get out of a lot of difficult situations and concentrate on my goals; given the fact that I have been always very ambitious. But this time I find this difficult. The more I want to disconnect; the more I am thinking; the more connected I am.

I think of the moments when I have been down, and I found friends who were there to rest my head on; all through my life. It’s all love working and I tend to forget the people I really hate. People have loved me so; and I really do not know if I have ever done anything that I could have done to repay them back. I do not know whether it is right on my part to think of repaying them back for their love but I am definitely indebted to them all.

This leaves me thinking that definitely love is all around; in spite of all that hatred that seem to be around us all this while; I found someone who thought of making me happy all the time. This itself hits me back and I am left in a situation where I do not know what next. The actions and reactions that have happened after that have left me clueless as to what the hell!

I do not know what next but definitely, now I realize how important some people are in my life. They are the ones who have molded me and made me who I am; a lot more confident than what I was long back. I have been places; almost realized all my dreams; have been dreaming all this time and I know I will achieve them very soon.

Few Days In Chennai!

Finally, I was travelling; travelling again to Chennai. This time for my VISA interview; something I had been waiting for 2 years now. I have had my experiences; some ups and some downs though I always knew how things would turn out to be. I always regretted that things were getting delayed for me; but the recent events in my life convinced me that I was wrong. And now I was getting all that I wanted; all my plans were getting realized.

It all starts with on Wednesday when I plan to travel to Chennai for my US visa interview. I have planned to spend two days in Chennai and the next day in Bangalore and see all my friends before I leave to the US. I knew visiting Chennai will be special, as I had many of my friends there, Nithin, Ajish, Vinod and others. But as usual, only Nithin and Vinod were left as others had already left. Anyways, I was excited to meet them, and roam around Chennai and see for myself what the city has to give. I wanted to see all the Merc’s and the BMW’s that my eyes could relish and strengthen my desire to own one in the near future. One dream that I desperately wanted to realize.

I start on Wednesday evening after a little bit of a struggle as my tickets were not yet booked till 5:00 in the evening; however, since it was a week day, I could get a ticket for a bus. By the time I was leaving, I was already hungry for all the delicacies Chennai could offer me. This desire was fueled by one of my friends telling me that she was having fish for dinner; and I could smell the beautiful aromas of fried fish. This lead me to leave my bus half way at Majestic, Bangalore and search for a place which offers fish at around 11:00 at night. I finally found a place and had a delightful dinner of fish, chicken and Tandoors.

The journey in the bus was nice with me watching a hindi movie (Gupt) for the first time in a Karnataka bus. By the time I reached Chennai at about 6:00 in the morning, my cell phone battery had already died and I was unable to call anybody. I, by any luck that I had, carried the address of my company guest house and had no other option but to go there and charge my mobile before I can see any of my friends. As expected the Cab guys charged me an exorbitant amount to get me to the place (Saidapet).

Day 1 – Thursday

I call up Vinod to ask him where he is put up and I get to know that Nithin (Thadiyan) lives rite next to my office apartments. I call up Thadiyan and he comes up to pick me up. I go to his place and I kind of like Chennai as it is cool; which is unusual. However, it had been raining for some time now and I guess that was the reason why I felt it was really cold as I would have expected the place to be. I go his place and we start talking about our college days and it was really nice as we started roaming around the same old lanes that we used to frequent a few years back. I remember how the Mathais used to lighten up the silent little village of Mannassery. We started remembering all the small and the big pranks that we used to play on all of us and the ups and downs that we had in those days; how we were always short of cash for our stuff and the ways that we used to get money to have our usual Chicken dinners at Kalanthode. We remembered all our college festivals and the fun we had.

By afternoon, Thadiyan had to leave to office and Vinod took me over to the Basil beach; the beach he had started his social campaign. He showed me the monument that he and his folks are trying to preserve. It was nice and I really enjoyed the walk on the beach. The climate was awesome and the I could already smell all the delicacies that were prepared there. I was cautious about eating much from there but definitely, I could not stop myself from having corn (Bhutta, as we would call in the north). I also enjoyed the wide roads and the ride on them. It kind of reminded me of Jaipur and Delhi. Evening was chilled out at Diesel, the Pub where Vinod’s friend Robin was DJ’ing. I was mesmerized by the music. The music was not exactly what I listen to right now, but what I used to listen to when I was in College. I guess the guy had talent; as he would mix all sorts of music; hindi with english and in a way that would appeal to youngsters; the crowd nowadays. I also me some of his friends; RJ’s and other college students. By the time I got home, I was a little bit scared as I had not looked at my documents and was not at all prepared for the interview the next day. However, I was lucky as Ajoy came online that time and told me exactly what I should expect at the interview. I just read my petition papers and then went to sleep.

I really liked Chennai at this point as could never enjoy these roads in Mysore; and it is a totally different feeling living in a Metro.

Day 2- Friday

I wake up in the morning, 7:00 AM, tired and sleepy, ready for my interview. However, I get late to the US consulate; it is usual as I get late to any place that I have an appointment for. I had my interview at 9:45 AM and I get there by 10:15. However, I get in and am able complete the process by 11:00 AM. I now get back home and have a nice sleep for quite some time. By 4:00 pm, Vinod is back and I am all set to go back to the beach. This time for a nice fish treat and I quite liked the fish that I had. I had never had a fish this big and it was awesome. Now, the beach has a sidewalk where people come to walk and sit down and to have a nice chat with friends. It reminds me of my school days when I used to chill with all my friends; near our place; or the Shoppers Stop; and the numerous other places. I quite enjoyed the city life there; bustling with life and activity; something that the quiet places like Kerala and Mysore can never give you.

Ya, I loved the place then. I was actually thinking if the climate was better, I could have been very much in Chennai. Guess this time I did not see the actual city; the dirty buses and litter all around; hence the change of mind.

I returned back to Nithin’s place and we had a party where I finally talk with his roomies, Suresh, Anwar. I convince them to come to Mysore for the Diwali weekend, so that I could meet these guys before I actually travel to the US.

Day 3- Saturday

I was supposed to return to Bangalore on Friday, but was not allowed and I had to waste my Bus ticket. We were supposed to chill out today, but as always, we all slept till afternoon. Then, once we woke up we watched “Kung-fu Panda” together. Nice day!

Later, I went to Vinod’s place and again I was looking at the wide roads again. I was also looking at the speedometer of Nithin’s car as he was never crossing a mere 40 KMPH. I had been provoking him to drive a little bit faster; to which he would very sweetly smile and give me his Chennai traffic funda’s. We were there at Vinod’s place for about an hour and a half and then went to Spencer’s plaza. I suddenly had a craving for chicken and we realized that the nearest KFC was at Spencer’s. Off we go to Spencer’s only to find that it is totally and completely crowded. We pack our Chicken bucket and burgers and return back, only to get stuck in the traffic for about 2 hours. That was it! I realized that Mysore is better.

We got back home had another round of talks; remembered all the crazy things we did in College. And then went to sleep as I had an early train to catch; at 6:00 AM.

The Return - Sunday

I wake up early at 5:00; it’s rare that I wake up at this time. It was nice to see the sun just come up and the nice colors of the morning. This might seem unusual but for a person like me it is definitely a nice experience. Nithin and Vinod leave me to the Railway station, And I snug in comfortably into my seat. The train seems comfortable, but I never like the smell inside. It gives me the dirty feeling that it’s all dirty inside. However, as I had woken up early, it was time for me to sleep again. I soon get knocked out and it was only after we moved out of Bangalore that I got my senses. Now, sitting in my chair seemed uncomfortable and I move to the door of the train, trying to have a look at the scenery outside.

This is something I have always enjoyed. I remember, when we were returning from Ajish’s sister’s marriage we had done the same. In fact, when I gone to get my computer from Kayamkulam in Kerala, I had done the same; actually all my train journeys were done at the door only. However, this time it was different. I used to enjoy the scenes outside, but this time all the people I saw; got me thinking about the difference between me and them. It is a painful thought; yes!

I saw children; youngsters, playing just besides the train tracks. They were playing marbles; for small bets. Some were flying kites; all enjoying their present without having to worry about what lay next. They were not that financially strong; but were carefree without having to worry about what comes next; just living the moment, with nothing to lose; and nothing to gain as well. I remember my school days; with all the expectations and the determination to be an achiever; to get to places that people never dream of. I feel pity for them; for not having a future as I would think my future should be; but at the same time, I felt pity for myself for never having such time where I did not have to think about actions and their consequences.
Soon, I reach Mysore, get a Cab and get to my Apartment to forget all this and get back to my life, where I will again be restless; eager to see what happens next; carefully seeing to it that all my moves are perfect and I achieve what I have set out to achieve.

The trip had been great, with me remembering all my old days; getting what I really wanted to get; to take the step for a better tomorrow. I guess, I will always run, setting new goals as I achieve; wanting more and more and even more. I have met different people, quite a lot of people, teaching me a lot of things about life. I do remember them and hope to see them again at some point in my life and share the moments as we’ve had together.

To view some of the photos of this trip, click here.

Confused! That's Me Right Now

Life’s been a roller coaster ride recently. The kind of things that I have been doing these days has been completely different than what I used to do before. I have never done things like this and had never thought I had the energy or the necessity to do anything like this. I always thought that I am the lazy guy who loves his bed so much that all he can think of is computers and sleep; of course with a little bit of adventure when I really get tired of sleeping. I thought I knew what I need to do; what I want in life; where I want to be; I thought I had my life chalked out. But, life’s such a mystery that it always amazes; in fact, surprises; you.

Yes, I am philosophical nowadays. I like stuff that I never would have cared for before; am doing things that were out of my world before. I am watching movies that never made any sense to me before. I am thinking too much now. Man! This thing feels horrible as well as good sometimes. I guess I am confused a little bit; little bit, huh!

I wanted to ride the Harley, roam the country side for days. I wanted to jump from the sky on a parachute. I wanted to do the Himalayan Odyssey on a Thunderbird. I wanted to bungee jump, parasail and …. All this makes no sense now; if I am doing it alone. I have never known this feeling before; painful and beautiful at the same time. All the things that i have done till now were with people i enjoyed spending time with; Chiku, Prem, Girish, Bhupi, Vishal (2), Mangesh, Deepa, Makarand, Manoj, Chacha, ...., and a lot more. None of them with me now. I will be traveling soon to new places with new challenges and thrills of its own. But seriously, if i think i really will never enjoy them as long as I do not have these people around me. I times that we had, the fun we have had, the talks, the good the bad, all come back to me; and i now think, will life be the same again. And that confuses you, whether you want certain changes to happen or you want things to remain the same. I guess life always surprises you you with stuff like that; and you have to move on. But untill you move on, it always is pretty hard to think and imagine that. I hope that i find all my friends again and we have the same time as we had in Mysore.

I’m confused what I really want this time.

Rock On!

I watched the movie today; well I definitely wanted to watch it after some great reviews by people who rarely watched Hindi movies. I was told that the story was good and very well narrated with the songs well placed in the sequence.

I guess I was expecting a little bit more after all that I had heard and the movie turned out a little bit dissapointing. I mean , the first half was Ok!, but the second half was torturing. I am sick of watching predictable stories now. A music band, ego clash, break up, reunion, one guy has a brain tumour. Cmmon man, gimme a break. The movie was well shot, everybody looked good, but I guess, that's it.

The songs are good and really gets you going sometimes. However, i'll prefer to listen to them on my phone or PC rather than watch them in the movie.

Gopalaswami Betta Again

“Macha, we are leaving Bangalore and will be reaching Mysore by about 7 PM” was the call I received when I was having a nice and cozy sleep on my Saturday afternoon. Unless, I’m on a trip or watching a movie or gaming or karting, I usually prefer my weekends to be calm on my bed. I had just been to Dubbara Forest, Kushalnagar the last week end and wasn’t expecting another excursion this week as well. But, this was Anoop calling; I had already heard a lot from him for not being in touch and I really did want to meet him. I had asked him to meet me up at Green Leaf on K D Road (the most happening place in Mysore, as they say). I had thought that he’ll be a bit late, but he was with friends who had been to Mysore before and knew the place well, and reached Mysore on time. The moment these guys landed, they wanted to go to Planet X and kart. Being a karting enthusiast myself (;-)), I solemnly obliged and took them for karting. But, as luck would have it, all the slots had been booked and we couldn’t get any for that day. Finally, we settled down at the gaming drone and started playing “Resistance”; one on one; ahem. Anoop is new to gaming so was taking some time getting used to the joystick while I was busy killing him from left, right, top and bottom. It was a riot! Finally he learnt the tricks and was soon killing me often. Being a fast learner, I quickly understood that if I wanted to save some face, I should quit right away.

Soon we were discussing on what do on Sunday. They had wanted to go to Gopalaswami Betta, and I told them that the morning mist there is just awesome. I tried to show them some of the pictures from my earlier excursion to the Gopalaswami Betta. Thus, our plan was finalized and we were to leave Mysore at 6:00 AM, to catch the morning mist at the great Gopalaswami Betta.

“Excuse me! Did you say morning 6:00”, ahem, that must be a joke. I could see eyes staring at me. Finally, we decided that I and Anoop will not sleep so that we can make it to the hill top early in the morning.

“Well, that sounds ok to me. But, it’s only 11:00 PM. What are we going to do till morning?”

“Nothing macha, we’ll just go to the bus stand have some late night coffee and talk about de good ‘ol days”, came the instant reply.

I then understood that it was going to be a long night, and by the morning I’ll surely be delirious. We started talking about our college days; remembering all the nice times we had. It was like I was in college again; I am meeting this guy after almost 3 years now and we could still remember almost everything that we used to do then. He even remembered my favorite song at college; I would listen to it for hours at end. The song was“The Animal Song – Savage Garden”.

At around 3 in the morning, we decided to go to the bus stand and have some coffee. I remembered that back in college we used to walk back home after the late night movie shows. We came back and sat outside our lodge and started chit chatting again. By around 5:00 AM we woke up the other guys and returned to my place to quickly freshen up. The sight of my bed was like manna to me, I just wanted to lie on it and just float in dreams. But I was not sure how I will trick this guy to let me nap for just a second. People who know me from college know about my sleep as well, so it is pretty difficult convincing them to let me sleep.

“Macha, while you take a shower, let me just lie down and straighten my spine. It’s always good to straighten you spine before you go for any rides” and we both started laughing. My plan clearly did not work and we were out towards the hill by 6:30 AM.

We had decided that we’ll stay together and will maintain a speed of about 80 kmph. We cruised along the Gundelpet road, had our breakfast at Nanjangud and were off towards GB. The roads were a mess at some places, but that’s the combination of the good and the bad that makes a journey memorable. By the time we were nearing Gopalaswami Betta, the sun had already come up. I was disappointed as I thought that we have clearly missed the mist. However, once we started on the hill, it was heaven. You could feel the cold breeze and the feeling of going up a hill was simply exhilarating. No matter how many time you go up this hill, every time it feels like a new experience.

When we reached the top, it was misty, not as misty as I have seen before. But I was glad that they could at least see some mist. Clearly, these guys had there mouths wide open. Everybody was amazed at the beauty of the place. We could see a small pond, lush green trees and lots of rocks. One side where the sun was up was bright lush green, while another portion was grey with the clouds and the mist. That was a terrific sight. I wished again I had a camera. However, we managed to get some snaps on our phones.

Returning back was kool as usual. We all just had one aim; to get back ASAP. We wanted to kart as we could not do it the day before. The ride was smooth this time; I wonder where all the potholes went. I guess the anticipation of getting back made us forget the roads. The journey was nice except a small incident. We reached Planet X by around 1:30 PM and soon jumped on the track. It was while we were karting, that I noticed that my other friends who had gone to Ooty, were there and were busy taking photographs of us. I was like, “Man! I finally see a camera”. They had brought their SLR’s and took some pretty kool pics of us in action. Man! You must see those pictures.

Finally, I bade them good bye, and came back home. It is a different feeling to meet old friends after a long time and remembering those moments of your life when you’re in college makes you nostalgic. It was a great experience and I definitely learnt a new word – “Macha”.

Weekend Odyssey

I had been asking my college friends to visit me for quite some time. Ajish, Nithin, Anand had promised me that they would come one day. But that day not arrived till now. So, when Vinod called me and said that he was coming, I was really happy and excited to finally see someone from college. We had met up for a New Year bash at Bangalore and really had a great time. That day as we were busy hunting out places where we could celebrate our New Year, I had constantly pestered them to travel to Mysore, so that I could show them what Mysore has to offer. That did not work out at that time but I was glad that he came. He told me he would be leaving Chennai on Wednesday morning and would reach Mysore by the evening. However, he started at Tuesday night only and was here by Wednesday morning. I was a little worried at that as he was travelling on his bike and it’s more than 500 Kms from Chennai to Mysore.

Anyways, I met him at the GRS Fantasy Park, took him home and left for office as usual. I planned to finish my work early and then take him to Planet X. I got a delayed getting out of office (as usual) and was expecting to hear quite an earful from Vinod. When I finally got to him what I saw to my amusement was this guy sitting comfortably with two beautiful girls at Cubs. I suddenly became a bit uncomfortable as I thought that I might be disturbing them. But I did join them. I learnt that Tulika was Vinod’s classmate in school and Megha was Tulika’s friend. “Hmmm, so that’s why, Mr. Vinod, you have biked all the way from Chennai to Mysore” was my instant thought. However, little did I know that the following days were going to be the most memorable days of my life.

From Cubs we went on to Chamundi Hills, situated in the outskirts of Mysore. You can see the whole of Mysore from up there. It was chilly but a very good ride; we went to the temple (not me but the other guys) and then had some tea with our hands shaking. I even spilled some of my tea. Soon, we went to Planet X, and not too surprisingly we wanted to kart. We soon got into our karts and were soon ripping the tracks apart (at least I was doing so). I went crazy karting as I had not been on a go-kart for about 3 weeks and did a decent job of 40.58 sec. The girls were watching us, and I felt that they really must have gotten bored.

Next evening, we went to Hookah, the famous pub at Planet X. I had the most embarrassing moment of my life. Everybody, except me, knew how to dance. I on the other hand had never danced in my entire life. I was being asked constantly asked to dance and I was coming up with new and unique ways to just say no.I started Taking calls, showing that I was busy on my phone, etc, etc. Then, to my horror, Tulika just came over and took me to the dance floor. That was it! I knew I was doomed. I tried to dance for some time, but was feeling awkward and out of place and soon ran back to the couch. I decided then that “Beta Justin, Ab to dance seekhna hi padega!”. I tried downing a few drinks and getting back, but nothing was happening. Usually, I just need one to get high but this time somehow nothing seemed to happen. I had just embarrassed the most beautiful lady I have ever met. Embarrassing!!! Looser!!! I know! I know!

The next morningthe four of us (Tulika, Megha, Vinod and I) planned to go biking. We decided to bike to the Dubbare Forest area in KushalNagar near Madikeri (Coorg) which is around 60 kms from Mysore. Waking up was difficult, but since Vinod knew where to hit to get me up ;), we were up and running by about 7:00 AM. We picked up the girls and started towards Kushalnagar. I did my first bike trip to Coorg and the sight of the roads made me nostalgic. Last time I was on this road, most of the road was rugged and we had a real bumpy ride. However, they have repaired the roads and the ride this time was just awesome.

As we were leaving Mysore, it started to drizzle and soon we were pretty much drenched. But the ride was great; I especially like riding under a slight drizzle. Soon, I just removed my helmet and was enjoying the cool breeze against my face. I do not know how Megha felt behind me; I was just looking around remembering the time when I first took my bike out and was burning tyres at 100kmph to Coorg. We reached Kushalnagar by around 10:30 AM, and were soon looking for the Dubbare Forest. I was keen to see the place as we came to know that they had White Water Rafting there. We reached the Chiklihole Dam, and spent some time there. The view as it turns always was just awesome, especially because of the drizzle.

After a while at the dam, we again started for the river. We reached there in about half an hour. Seeing the water, I was just ready to jump in. However, the moment we jumped out of our bikes, we realized how cold it was. My legs were shivering like I would fall down right away. We quickly ran over to a Hotel, and had some real hot coffee. Once, things normalized, we had another problem. We knew we were travelling, but we never thought that we would be rafting; and we did not have spare clothes. Rafting was ok, but how are we going to get back in wet clothes. What the f…, we are doing this. It was Plain and simple.

We were soon into our rafting kit with all the life jackets, helmets and the CHAPPU (paddles). The guy who was going to take us Rafting, Johnson, strapped on the jackets so hard that it almost blew the wind out of us. We got into the water which was unusually calm; it was later told to us that this was the Kaveri river waters and hence did not have turbulence as you have in the Seethanadi, Mangalore as the water rush is created by releasing water from the Dam there. Nevertheless, we went in and started boating around. Tulika was skeptical and a bit afraid at first as she had never done this before; and Megha was fine, ready to rock n roll. Johnson soon had us in the groove with his “forward”, “stop”, “fast forward”, etc. etc.

We had to raft a stretch of about 7 kms and we were told that it would take about 1-1/2 hrs to do it. The waters were mostly calm but we did have some rapids in between. We all went ecstatic when Johnson would ask us to paddle harder and harder to get us to the rapids; and then the sudden burst of water from all sides as we went into the rapid. As we became comfortable with the waters we were just asking for more. Then suddenly, Johnson asked if we wanted to jump into the water. Vinod and I quickly obliged and jumped into the water. I do not know how to swim and hence we had quite some very good moments; “some people” would be rolling over laughing thinking about that now. There was one stretch where we rafted against the current and came to a rapid where the raft gets stuck in the rapid. That was a real kool moment as Johnson would say forward, forward and then fast forward and we would like put in all our efforts. This time the girls were sitting in front and every time water rushed in they would duck down into the raft. I and Vinod were busy laughing away at the sight. Johnson was very friendly and took us to the same rapid again and again till we all got totally exhausted. As we started with the current, we just laid back on the raft and let Johnson take control and paddle for some time. Soon, we again reached a safe spot where we could jump into the water again. However, this time it was Johnson, who was like throwing us all into the waters. I remember he just threw Tulika and Megha into the water. The thought that we did not have spare clothes and had to bike back home completely wet never came into our minds.

Soon our rafting finished and I was really horrified when we were told that I and Vinod would have to carry the raft back to the road. Nevertheless we were too excited and did carry it over. The girls were behind us and had that look on their faces like we were just going to drop the raft and trip down taking them with us. We reached the road and got into a small shop to have some tea. I cannot express our joy when we had the hot tea as we were already shivering. I finished the tea and had to go to get some money from Kushalnagar. I slowly climbed into the jeep and was off towards the city, …shivering.

I came back after a while only to see that these guys had been provided with a matka of burning coal from the shop. The people there had been very helpful; especially the woman there. We thanked her again and again while we were returning to the base. It is very rare that you find such hospitality; from people you don’t even know. We returned to the base and it was then that we realized how cold we were. We just wanted to have a bonfire; again the Jungle Safari guys helped us out and built us a bonfire out of hay. While they were putting in the hay for the bonfire, a couple of cows started towards us. And Megha was like, Hurrrr, Hurrr, Hurrr, trying to shoo them away. We just had a riot laughing at the sight (I am sure Megha will kill me for this). We stayed there for some time to get ourselves heated up and left the place at around 5:30 PM.

The return was not eventful as the only thing on our minds was to get back as soon as possible and get under a hot shower. We rode fast and reached Mysore in record time, taking less than an hour and a half. We dropped the girls home and soon I hit the shower. It was a hell of an experience and I am definitely going to remember this for the rest of my life.

Johnson, I have learnt that is a part of Jungle Safari and roams around the country to places like these for taking people out for unforgettable experiences. He is from Goa, and travels to all these rivers based on the season. I found him to be a wonderful person, very helpful and ready to go that extra bit for his customers. He has suggested a place near Goa, where you can find rapids like in the Rishikesh river. I am making plans with my friend and would soon be going there.

After all the fun, the best part of the whole weekend at least for me would be meeting Tulika and Megha, who have become very good friends of mine. It is quite interesting to see that you meet new people, completely strangers, and yet you find a connection. It’s like I have never met these guys before and yet we find so many similarities; even some of the experiences that we’ve had till now are similar. I guess that’s what is called LIFE!!!

As for dancing, I have joined Salsa classes and am waiting to hit back on the floor this time knowing what I am doing.

Torture on the hills

Day 0 – Mayday

It was Friday and we still had not decided on where to go for the weekend. I generally prefer bike rides so I had been pressing to go to some place on our bikes. This time Amit had also returned from the US and he wanted an adventure. He was the one organizing this trip and was looking at different places we could spend our weekend at. Sometime in the afternoon, he saw a post on our Company Bulletin Board that some guys were planning a trek to Kumara Parvata over the weekend. Amit, immediately contacted them and soon we had a plan ready. Even, the cab was booked by the evening. We were to leave at night at around 10:00PM, reach the bottom of the hill, visit the famous temple there and start trekking at 8:00 AM.

I was not aware of what was happening as I had already committed that I would be ready to go anyplace anywhere they decide on. Anyways, I also thought that even if we are trekking it will not be more than 5 kms. It would be difficult but manageable as we all would be chatting around and time would pass just like that. I did not know that Kumara Parvata is the second highest peak after Dodapetta, Ooty in south India. I also did not know that it comprised of four-five hills of which the second last one is the highest and they planned to trek the whole range. That adds up to about 23 kms of trekking!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of my friends had already trekked one of the hills there during the monsoons and had showed me the leech marks on their legs. I was a bit disturbed at first but then it was no monsoon season and I figured that there would be no leeches.

As planned, the cab came to our place at about 10:00, and we all packed our bags and left for the hills. We were around 9 guys ready to hit the hills. The drive was nice; anyways, I did not feel anything as I was soon fast asleep which is normal for me on any trip in a cab.


Day 1 – The Torture Begins

We reached Subramanya in the morning at about 6:00 AM. Subramanya is situated at the foothills of western ghats in Dakshina Kannada district, famous for the Kukke Subramanya temple. The popular trail to the top of Kumaraparvatha, about 1800m tall, starts from here. There is a lake or river (I do not remember) near to temple where visitors took their morning bath before entering the temple. All of us ran towards the river to get a bath but only 2 actually got into the waters. The water was dirty and I couldn’t trek with the idea of trekking with dirt all over my body. Some people even ran for the Loo, but guess what???, man, I decided that I’m, gonna hold off till I get back to me sweet apartment. And thus the torture began!!!

After the guys visited the temple, we started on our trek. Some of the guys had already trekked before and knew where to find the trail that leads to the hill top. The idea of trekking for the first time in my life fired me up and we started on our journey. In my excitement, I was well ahead of the people and was like posing in all the photographs. Little did I know that this was just the start and by the time we completed the first hill, I would be half dead.

We climbed and climbed and climbed for hours to go. I dunno how much we climbed but we just kept on going. Our destination was 'Bhattara Mane' (Bhatt's house) where people stop over generally on this trek. It was situated on a plain after we covered the first hill. By the time we reached the place, I was really tired with all my joints aching like they would fall off any second. I cannot remember the trail; nothing on the way. But it was managable and I was glad that I came this far. It was nature all around, greenery and I just loved it. We reached 'Bhattara Mane' after some time. All the trekkers stop at this place for rest and food, and the Bhatt’s welcome them. One of many examples of the excellent hospitality which can only be found in the South Indian states. The food comprised of rice, sambar, butter milk and pickle. It was not of the quality I was used to in normal circumstances and I would never have had it if I was back home, but nevertheless it was extremely good since we were all very hungry and tired. I was so tired and hungry that I washed down three plates of rice!!! (BIG MISTAKE). We had to reach the third hill by night and hence only had about 1 hour of rest. The Bhatt’s place in made of mud and the feel of the cold mud against the legs was relaxing.

We soon started our trek again. I trekked for about half an hour only to realize that I have eaten much more than what was actually required. I couldn’t lift my legs; I was struggling to keep ahead with the rest of the gang. To add to me problems, the sun was high up in the sky and was draining away our energy. And there were no trees around; we saw a piece of land with trees but it was too far away. It didn’t make sense to waste energy to go there and then return after a few minutes. Now, the trek comprised of 5 minutes of trek and 20 minutes of rest.

I was glad that they had brought lots of oranges, chocolates and ready to eat packed food. On such treks if you do not carry this stuff, it is pretty obvious that you will dehydrate. I wanted to have an orange every 5 minutes but was only granted one every 2 hours or so. I understood later that, it is important that you save your resources for the later part of the journey. If we would have finished everything at the start itself, the rest of the journey would have been much more painful for each one of us.

Next we reach a place called the “Mantap”. The 'Mantap' was a pretty small shelter and with the mist and the risk of a possible downpour, it was a bit uneasy. It was built of stones. It was while trekking from up there that I saw three hills that we were to scale in front of me. I was done, finished. I thought that I would die here. I did not have the strength to take a single step. It was torture. I could only hear Paddy calling “Cmmon Justin, It’s just one more hill, we’ll camp on the next one”. It is in these situations that the human body really shows its resilience and power. Just listenening to Paddy, I completed the next two hills.

By the time we were on top of the third hill it was dark. We could not see anything; it was the first time I felt what blindness would be like. All we knew was that we were on top of the third hill with a forest on our left and a deep gorge on the right. Nevertheless, we put up our camps and got into our sleeping bags. I tried to sleep, but the cold and the pain in my body were not letting me to. Meanwhile, all the other guys were preparing a bonfire; for us to get heated up as well as cook up some food. I enjoyed the Tomato soup that was given to me and slowly blanked out. It was damn cold and we would wake up regularly throughout the night. The day was finally over.


Day 2 –I’m finally KP Certified

We woke up early in the morning. We could see a couple of other trekkers climbing towards us. That was a relief, I thought, at least people do trek this place. We quickly packed our backpacks and started descending down. We had to reach the Kumara Parvata by the afternoon so that we can reach the bottom by evening and return. I soon realized that I am not able to walk properly. My hip joint was paining badly. I wanted to stop; I wanted a chopper to come down, pick me up and take me back to civilization. But, I could never have given up. I thought, if I cannot do this, I definitely will not be able to face the challenges in life. Plus, I will be made fun of each and every time I look into the faces of these other guys. I had to carry on.

We trekked, and trekked as we climbed over near vertical stone hills, and finally by the afternoon were at the top of the awesome Kumara Parvata. There was a small temple kind of structure there. We took some snaps there, had a chat with the other guys. They confirmed that this is indeed the top of Kumaraparvatha. I just fell down there and slept under the sun for around 1 hour. Finally, I have done it. I am KP certified now. I am a real trekker now!

Returning was painful, very painful. I do not remember how we did it. I do not remember the trail we took. I just remember that there were lots of rocks and we were just carefully, slowly climbing down. We would fall down anywhere to rest. The terrain, mud, dirt, nothing was a problem then. Everything seemed so small. We reached our pick up point in the evening and the sight of our cab made us excited; we wanted to just run and get into it. But nobody had the energy to even get up and we just silently waited for it to come to us. Finally, I am going home!!!!

To give you an overview of the trek difficulty, the terrain is tough, the weather is mostly on the extremes, water is scarce and it is very difficult at any point to know where you are. So, it is quite an achievement to actually cover this mountain range.

At this point, I would like to thank Amit for this wonderful experience and for helping me out at the trip. He did carry my back pack for quite some time when I was totally worn out.

To view the photos of the trip, please click on the links below:

Kumara Parvata Photos Set 1

Kumara Parvata Photos Set 2