creative ventures

I see a lot of creative ventures from people in this lockdown.

And since I am not even a regular person on the social media, I know I might be talking about what everyone knows.

But my blog, my thoughts.

Notable are a few like a school friend of mine who is about to publish his own debut book of poems.

There is another friend who has started a VLOG since she's been stuck in Kerala for long.

My wife has developed an interest in gardening and is seriously doing lots of experiments with a variety of plants.

Many folks discovered their talents in singing, dancing, photography etc. which they hadn't really explored prior to the pandemic induced lockdown. I am seeing all these through the very small window of social media called Whatsapp Status.

Even my son has developed his speech and other mischievous skills alongside.

So creativity and development is in full bloom all around.

And yeah, its the same for me too: strategic and creative tasks at work, tonnes of books read, things pondered, written, taught..

together on the mountains

The cold winds blew against my face as I tried to keep the flaps of the tent intact. It was just 8pm,
but upon the Himalayas its bedtime, especially in the autumn.

After the first day of trek, we had just set up the tent besides a stream upon a hillock. I don't remember much about the landscape as we were too tired after all the excitement and exertion. Everyone was just getting warmed up and the mountains were just starting to become taller and more imposing.

After a messy dinner under the lamps( which attracted a hell lot of insects ), we decided to call it a day and get some sleep. This was the first time upon the mountains for many of us and first time in a tent for all of us. Many were getting accustomed to the weather, altitude, exertion and food and hence our group resembled more of a medical camp than anything else.

But being upon the magnificent Himalayas made me utterly happy and let me overlook the minor pains and difficulties.Even though we were tired, we all enjoyed the day's trek and looked forward to covering more distance from the second day.

I quickly wiggled into my sleeping bag, which was one off the 6 bags that now fully occupied that filled the tent. We grumbled about the uneven ground beneath which we could feel, and cracked jokes at each other for a while before those noises turned into slow snores.

I must have just drifted into slumber when I was woken up by the distinct noise of ringing bells. I sat
up startled and tried to imagine the source of the sound. The sound kept moving around the tent, and was accompanied by a strange crunching sound too. Now, I was really scared and tried to wiggle my head out of the sleeping bag in a hope to hear more clearly. It took a moment to realize that the pack horses were grazing on the meadows where the tents were put up. The wave of relief was replaced with one of panic when the horses started running amok and we feared getting trampled, as the stakes that held the tents were being pulled out by the stampede.

Then some of us started shouting and shooing the horses away, while some even got out and drove them away. The others lay inside, shivering, fearful of the horses, listening the noises outside. After maybe half an hour of the mayhem, everything went quite and the snores rose again.

The next day morning, we woke up one of the most wonderful sights in our life, and everyone had the story of the horses on their excited faces. There we were, together, the gang made of all kinds of people, clubbed into one cozy crazy gang, stepping out of our warm tents onto the icy grass and looking forward to taking on more and more adventures and lots of crazy fun.

the icy seductress

the soft gurgling noise of the icy rivulets fills the stark silence of the pitch black nights.

the silvery water keeps rolling and knocking against soft round pebbles that fill the river bed

the soft streams cradled among the rocky mountains seem to carry a strange divinity

I went to sleep every night with the same soft gurgling sound filling my ears, and the images of the clear blue water tumbling all along the rocks filling my mind before I lose myself into its magical hypnotism

dipping oneself into the hypnotic trance

I wake up each morning and walk over the icy rivulets and seat myself on the rocks by the river, often letting my limbs play with the flow of the icy waters. I kept wondering about the tiny streams flowing eternally, gracing rocks of all shapes, tumbling on and on, forming the shape of the land for huge distances, and making up the eternal cycle of life.

Clocks were seldom needed here as the river seemed tell the time in synergy with the sun and the thick mist. They together formed and dispersed all sense of time in the valley. They decide when you wake up and when you can summon enough courage to walk out of the tent. They decide when you get tired and when you get into slumber.

when ones very breathing moments are left to the mercy of the skies, the boulders around and the ever strengthening currents of the icy waters, life becomes a synchronous embodiment of the very same elements that surround us. In their company I had the strong sense of being alive as a human being again.

Left to the wild in a group of like minded and similarly witted human beings, man learns to create a sense of community and life among the forces of nature.

Felt like being close to the real purpose and sense of being human... again.. a sense of continuous rebirth :)

Image copyrights are owned by Cijo George

250th Edition - "What goes around comes around"

Its official. This is the 250th published article!

When I left for Chennai last weekend for some time with relatives, my mind was in turmoil. I had written 249( including 1 draft) articles by the end of exactly 7 and a half years from the very first post. I wanted to write something special for the 250th, but I was out of unique ideas and only had some travelogue series going on.

On Monday, I was back in Bangalore and was checking my mails in a hurry before leaving for office. One comment on my blog caught my attention. I have been nominated again for a Liebster's award - this time by Divya. How timely!! I finally found a fitting content for the 250th post. But on checking her blog, I found even more reasons to rejoice.

If readers remember, it has hardly been a fortnight since my first nomination for the Liebster award. As part of the nomination process, I had nominated ten other bloggers for the same award. After giving out my nominations, I planned to track all the blogger who would be nominated down the line and observe how the tree would expand. I knew a couple of recipients personally, and a few more through online interaction, but the rest were pure strangers. But, after tracking a few nominees, the interest fizzled out and soon it was all forgotten.

On tracking back from Divya, I found an interesting relation. Here is a pictorial representation of it. And none of these are people I know personally..

"What goes around, comes around". Whoever coined that line must have been insanely brilliant or just plain wise. Yes, it was my first Liebster nomination that eventually led to my second. But the credit purely goes to each one who received a nomination and passed it on those whom they appreciated. A first, second or 100th Liebster doesn't depict anything more than the level of appreciation people have for one's works. And that appreciation is very important to each and every one of us, as Aparna pointed out in her response to my nomination.

that explains the circular arrows

I am glad I could pass on the valuable appreciation to ten talented writers, and to get that chance again makes me every more luckier. I am deeply honoured by the appreciation and support given to me in the blogosphere, especially Indiblogger. Good begets good, they say. It can't be any truer. I hope my nominations had motivated hundreds down the line to write with greater vigour and  contribute to making the blogosphere richer :) Seriously, I am still in awe at the way my 250th article was formed out of nowhere by a serendipitous nomination from unknown persons, remotely linked to my own action of sharing goodness :D

Enough ramblings, here are the answers to the questions raised by Divya.

1)    What is your favourite place and why?
Ans: My room in my house at Kochi. That is the place where I forged my dreams, fought my demons and learnt to take my own steps. I am me in all of my colours there, and only there.

2)    What would be that one wild thing you intend to do in your lifetime?
Ans: Leave the norms of society and become a villian who tries to break it and show people how brittle we really are.

3)    How do you define serenity? Illustrate with examples.
Ans: Serenity is when you mind is devoid of nagging conscious thoughts. Serenity is when you sense the peace within and outside merge into unity. I feel it when I sit by the ocean, when I see the long road ahead and no one beside me, when I lie listening to the raindrops, when I wake up one fine morning after a good sleep and thank God for the wonderful life I have been given.

4)    If you were to ask only one question to an alien, what would that be?
Ans: Can you hear me? :)

5)    Light shades or dark colours? Reasons?
Ans: I prefer light shades when I want to express myself and in dark colours when I tend to keep to myself or don't bother to express explicitly. I guess its because light colours catch attention, whereas dark repel.

6)    What is your dream job?
Ans: But my dream job is to be a dreamer.

7)    Describe your favourite birthday experience.
Ans: My birthday is very rarely celebrated at home and there are a very few experiences. Hence all of them are special. But the favourite would be the night when my ex-roomie came from afar with a cake to celebrate my birthday. I myself had expected no one to even remember, due to busy schedules and distances. I was living alone those days too, and was going through some depressing times. :-)

8)    Given a chance, what will you change about the planet earth?
Ans: I wish there were no fossil fuels and we all learnt to tap resources that would maintain harmony and balance for all.

9)    What do you do when you have absolutely free time?
Ans: I would have tonnes of pending things in my to-do. Crazy things, big plans, ideas, tasks for self-improvement, places to see, people to meet, cook, eat or sleep even. The list is endless..

10) What is it that you don’t like in someone?
Ans: Inability to sympathize and tolerate people with different ideas and beliefs.


And the questions..
1) Do you acknowledge the evil in you? If so, do you find it easy to accept that you can be evil too?
2) What is the book that you read last?
3) What kind of music do you listen to?
4) Would you prefer religion to be formally taught in schools? Give reasons too.
5) Do you ever imagine yourself doing nasty things to random strangers?
6) When was the last time you made someone smile?
7) If the world were to end tomorrow morning, would you wish to hold onto whatever you have or would you be ready to give up everything and surrender?
8) Are you a morning person or an evening person?
9) What is one thing in your TODO list that has remained there for the longest and you are willing to reveal in public?
10) Finally, do you believe the policy of "paying forward"? According to it, you would prefer to give help, support and do things ahead of time without expecting results or anything in return.

Unforunately, I just googled and found out that a blogger cannot nominate others a second time. Alas. I feel bad for the nominee list I had half prepared :'(
Well, the questions are open for the readers. Feel free to answer them :-)

To the nominees I couldn't nominate (which could be any one of you reading this), keep writing all those wonderful things you write and use every chance to shower your appreciation on other writers who motivate and captivate you with words :-)

Adios

Chasing the monsoon - Season 5

Morning 4 AM:- I woke up with bleary eyes, staring at an unfamiliar roof. It took me a while to figure out where I was. I could make out the outline of the apartment we were put up in Pune. I must have slept like a log for at least 3 hours. Not enough, but given the length of journey lying ahead of us, I was quite content.

Day 2 planning started after a couple of hours once the other chasers were woken up from deep slumber.

I was hungry for adventure and the first day's lengthy rides along the green mountainous roads in the rain were just recce as far as I was concerned. We set out targets for the second day:- Lohagad and Lonavala. It took lots of back and forth discussions to get the routes and schedule right. Finally, the plan was made to hit the two spots asap and head onto Mumbai for the night. I was super excited at the prospects of this plan. I haven't been to Mumbai after a very short visit while waiting for our transit flight to Kochi when I was in my sixth grade. The distance and the prospect of the wild chase entering a large crowded city was challenging, but I trusted my mates who knew Mumbai well. We were off soon, powered by the wonderful Poha, Misal pava and Idly.

Around 60kms from Pune, Lohagad has been in my sights for more than a year now. I had fallen in love with the fort just by visual appeal.

A random album in facebook, narrative by a friend, and follow up research, all that ran through my mind as we made our way through the inviting Mumbai-Pune highway gunning our engines in high spirits.

 

The regular route to Lohagad involved a decent trek. The trek promised to be mesmerizing in the monsoon, and we were already proven monsoon chasers. The image of the lush green routes dripping with fresh rainwater was too exciting to ignore. But we had a practical problem to solve. Lohagad lay right in the path to Lonavala and if we chose to trek the Lohagad, all our plans would get delayed. The distance to Lonavala and Mumbai would never get covered if we were to walk up the Lohagad. So I reluctantly agreed to the plan to 'ride through' Lohagad and move onto Lonavala. At least that is what we could come up, using Google Maps for guidance.

The route to Lohagad takes a deviation from the highway at a point and goes through Kachcha roads and villages. In spite of being an extended weekend, there didn't seem to be much of a crowd. Only children walking along the road going to school or village women carrying pots of water on their heads were visible throughout the route. We were just beginning to wonder why we were the only people on vehicles, when we almost fell into the first ditch. Technically a pothole, but practically it was a well.

We had ourselves deep in dirt when the first pothole led to many more of varying sizes and complexities. Large ditches of mud and puddles meant we crawled through slowly, trying not to fall and make a scene in front of the pretty girls walking in large groups, around and through the same puddles. Keeping our minds firmly on the road and grips on the handles, we moved slowly to the tiny waterfall on the way. I was riding the unicorn rented from a friend of Sumeet, one of the three chasers. Keeping it in control was no small matter. After the trip, I would observe significant muscle development in the region of my right forearm, all thanks to the wonderful accelerator of this unicorn.

Anyway, no sooner had we taken a few customary clicks at the crowded waterfall, the heavens opened up and the crowd of youngsters vanished under rain coats and umbrellas. I felt very jealous. While they laughed and walked up the scenic rocky routes under their raincoats,

we had an almost impossible task to ride the slick FZ and the monstrously unyielding Unicorn up the 60 degree slope that was fast turning into a river of mud through slippery rocks the size of  footballs. We stopped at a small shop to ask some locals if we could ride the bikes all the way to the top and continue to Lonavala. The local fellows in the shop made a mockery of us and asked us to take an auto. Hearing that, all our frustration turned to pure determination and we rode ahead with renewed vigour and confidence, with only the cold rain leaving no spot warm on us.

And so started the long and precarious ride. I had never in my life attempted such adventures with bikes, and never so far away with someone else's bikes. The unicorn's accelerator too didn't help in making it any easier to traverse the boulders and maneuver on the slippery mud. We made slow progress and to the amazement of the small groups of trekkers, we managed to climb most of the hill without much incidents, apart from a few times when we had to push the bikes up to avoid slipping all the way down. Then we came to this..

My heart sank on seeing it. But there was no turning back. I could in no way rely on my physical strength to push the heavy unicorn up this one. We both gave it our best to climb up the almost 75 degree mess. There were no foot holds, no even surface. Only deep sticky mud with lots of loose rocks. Even after many attempts, we found ourselves close to the foot of this small hill, bikes already covered in thick layers of mud and hot fumes emanating from the engines. Fortunately for me, a local boy came along and offered to help. He took over my bike and I resorted to supporting him by guiding and pushing from the back. Aswin did the same to the lighter FZ while Sumeet was on the saddle. Slowly, painfully, we pushed both the bikes up the 50m slope. Puffing, panting and covered in mud, we were close to exhaustion. But relieved off the mortal danger we were in, we thanked the boy and paid him Rs 100.

The road began there and all the tension and pressure of the dangerous climb were soon forgotten as we rode freely through the heavy rains, surprising many a gang of trekkers who would have been basking in the glory of having climbed that hellish path. Yes, we did the ultimate. We rode on heavy bikes through that difficult-to-climb path. Our euphoria and excitement was back. I could imagine myself as the heavy cavalry of Hannibal that traversed the impossible Alps to launch a surprise attack at the Romans. Soon we had our fort in sights, and were more than ready to unleash ourselves on it.

The trek up the steps of the Lohagad was refreshing after two days on the bike saddle. I could feel the fresh oxygen energize every cell of my body as my mind was seduced by the naked beauty of nature that was draped in the thin veils of fog that hung almost everywhere. Strategically crafted pathways, bastions, towers, large gates, all covered in slippery green moss gave an eerie feeling to the entire place.

Only the thick white fog that hung everywhere and the water that flowed down the steps reminded one that the fort was no longer operational. But standing at an isolated tower, I got goosebumps imagining being under the watchful eyes of hundreds of carefully positioned guards of Sivaji.




Needless to say, I was in love with the fort in its wintery, foggy, wet outfit. But I also wanted to love its green version and marked in my heart to revisit the fort in another season. As usual, I had to be dragged out of the fort by my mates. That was a fort we fought hard to conquer! I had to say goodbye with a heavy heart..

Soon, we were on our way to Lonavala. There wasn't much of interest there. Tiger's leap was the only point that was recommended. But the heavy rains and thick fog which had begun rolling all over the region made it inaccessible to us. We had a long way ahead and decided to skip most of the places,and apart from a beautiful waterfall we stumbled upon by the road side, we mostly focussed on riding to Aamchi Mumbai..

some costly snacks

The roads were perfect, the scenery mesmerizing and the rain kept constant companion. As I was wondering how Maharashtra manages to provide such good roads everywhere, we hit an even wider road with mind blowing quality of lanes and it smelled of international quality. I was taken aback and we riders exchanged amused glances while maintaining the bikes at top speed.

It was not until we noticed the angry stares and constant honking of trucks and cars that we stopped to think. Then it stuck us.

We were in the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Wow!!! Jackpot!! Wait.. what did that board read? "Two-Wheelers Prohibited." Shit. We realized that if caught, it would not just be a matter of paying up. Three mud covered, unkempt youngsters claiming to be engineers from Bangalore riding a rented bike from Pune with almost no papers and a Karnataka registered bike in someone else's name, speeding at 100kmph in the heavy rains on the expressway on Aug 16th would need a lot of explaining.

the illegitimate ones..

 
That was exactly when the police jeep we saw earlier came round the corner, and I thought I could see the wicked smile on the officer's face. We were screwed..

To be Continued..

Chasing the monsoon - Part 4

The first set in the Chasing the Monsoon series went very well and in those trips we had made several goals and achieved those. But the most cherished ones would be those achievements which weren't planned and which occurred to each one of us at a personal level. I crossed various personal goals and comfort zones while criss-crossing the roads and rail lines.

After the highly adventurous start to the monsoon season, many of my friends and family thought I was at the peak of my craze. But I was far from being done. It was time for another chase. This time the ideas were wilder and plans more elaborate.

The new target was the charming town in the heart of the Konkan belt, Pune and I was already tempted by the imagery and narration given by my friend.  I had my eyes on the green lands of Maharashtra for quite long, and here was deliverance. The rough plan was in place and team handpicked in a couple of days. Only three of us were in for this, due to the discrete nature in which the plans were formulated. Apart from that and the daily build up of excitement, there was hardly any arrangements done until the last few days before the trip. We had no clear idea of what we would be doing in the four days earmarked for the trip.

The journey from Bangalore to Pune and backward was planned to be in bus and bookings were done early on. The adventurous and wild trips were supposed to begin only after reaching Pune. But I seemed to have regained my charisma for surprises, as they once again came looking for me. I was supposed to catch the bus to Pune from Madiwala(30kms from my office) at 7.45pm and I was stuck in a meeting till 5.40pm, fervently glancing at my watch and almost begging my manager to reach a conclusion.

That day was ahead of a 4 day holiday for everyone, and I needn't press anymore about the nature of traffic on the road. On top of that it even showered for a while. I need you to shower me with sympathy at this point :). I now only remember rushing through the traffic to get home 8kms from office, packed and left by 6.10pm. I was on the first available bus to Madiwala soon, puffing and panting after sprinting with the heavy luggage. On any other day, I was safe. Not today..

In an ocean of vehicles, and with rain as a constant companion, I was still 15+ kms away from my destination at 8pm. Conversing fervently with my friends who had been holding back the bus at various stops, I was begging with autowallahs in the pouring rain to take me to my destination. None seemed interested until a kind soul agreed to drop me somewhere on the way so that I can reach before the final ultimatum issued by the now-barking bus driver on the other end of the phone elapsed. After various adventurous moves, and realizing my plight, the auto driver dropped me right in front of the moving bus, a full half hour behind schedule. Phew, for the first time in my life I felt completely content to hand over whatever charges an auto wallah demanded.

We opened our eyes next morning to the famed greenery that filled the sides of the highway. Hill after hill rolled by us, and the greenery never seemed to end. We were all getting recharged. Pune itself was refreshingly calmer and better organized compared to Bangalore, except for a few streets which were dug up for new constructions. Stay was arranged with a friend of one of us and we went about with the next stage of the plan, which was to acquire bikes. After many tries, we were able to arrange some within Pune itself.

Next day, we were off to our first destination, Mahabaleshwar well behind schedule due to the delays in acquiring bikes. Once outside the crazy pedestrian traffic of Pune, it was pure bliss riding through the green valleys that decorate the Satara road leading to Mahabaleshwar(120kms).

I don't know for how long I would keep repeating this line over the course of this trip but here goes - "The roads were inviting, and the scenery blessed with heavenly greenery, while the cool showers kept on drenching us to the point of bliss".

3 awestruck idiots

Meanwhile we kept our tummies filled with the staple food of the region, Vada Pav.

Once atop the hills of Mahabaleshwar, we discovered that there were several view points and a lake there, much like Ooty. The lakeside was brimming with cars and people moving around in the thick fog. There was a line of eateries on a side selling all kinds of chats and eatables. Loaded up on yet another Vada Pav, Frankie and Chai, we started checking out the place.

The boating in the eerie fog covered Venna lake didn't look inviting initially, but would have been a big miss if we had ignored it. At Rs 300/- per boat, we felt transported to another world and refreshed after the stressful delays.

Many of the other main view points were closed due to the heavy rains and the thick fog was rolling in by 4pm. We went onto the next open view point, which was Kate's point. It was then that we realized that Mahabaleshwar's quiver was far from empty. We were bowled over by the beauty that we experienced over there. It was a double point. From a point, you can watch the beautiful stream dropping through the greenery partially covered up fog. Walk to the waterfall and look back to realize your previous view point is shaped like an elephant.

credits: Pranav Photography source:flickr.com

There isn't much I could express here in words, so I would let the pictures talk.

Hey, whats there?

I couldn't help myself from exploring the spot, walking off on myself away from the tiny crowd, looking for breaks in the fog and trying to determine the edges of the precarious rocks.




I had no wish to leave the spot and I had to be literally dragged out by my friends, the light was fading out fast from the spot. A false move could have landed one into the rocks hidden in the unfathomable fog..

Day 1 was up. We were entertained, exalted, thrilled, curious and exhausted, as we took the saddle again to get back to the den for a well deserved rest. The big league was yet to begin..

the ride continues..

Tips for those interested in visiting
* Bangalore-Pune is  850kms approximately through the NH4.
* Bikes are available for rent in Pune from various sources. Some dealers have limits on distance, places you can visit, and so on. Clarify these properly early on to avoid last minute confusions. Make sure you acquire helmets and ride safely, even though Pune doesn't enforce the helmet rule apparently.
* If you are not someone with an appetite for two wheeled adventures, head out on an adventure in an SUV preferably.

Please be ecologically responsible while traversing the country side, as the balance is already at stake at various places due to illegal constructions, mining and irresponsible tourism. It would be a sad fate to see such places fade off.

Update:- This blog post is a runner up for the Safari Storme "I am Explorer" contest, conducted by Indiblogger.