Away, I went to meet the sun in heaven!

It was my Bangalore room buddy’s birthday and we celebrated it the typical guy’s way – cake cutting followed by ‘birthday-bums’. Birthday-bums is the ceremony of lifting the birthday boy by his arms and legs and others taking turn to kick his butt. I've always wondered why guys do such crazy things? I mean, there are other ways to act crazy… Pack your bag one fine morning, hit the jungle and get lost and finally find your way back; greet your girl with a wicked grin, say “hi, care to go for a ride”, get her on the pillion seat of your bike and just go somewhere… anywhere… That’s what appeals to me as being crazy. Ah! But no five fingers of our hand are the same, right? Anyways… When the others gifted him with wrist watch, t-shirt and other stuff, I had an entirely different idea about his birthday gift.

“Care to go trekking?” I asked them.

It was past midnight and everyone stared at me as if I blurted out a bad joke.

“Guys, stop staring at me like that. I mean, what I said”

Moonlight trekking at Skandagiri is what I had in my mind.

There were twelve of us including two girls (girl friends of two of the guys) on seven motorcycles and it didn’t take us much time to pack our bags. In fact there was nothing much to pack except to load our camera with fresh cells, pull over our winter coats and fill a couple or three of flasks with steaming black tea.

I had planned this surprise adventure trip in advance and made myself familiar with the route in Google Map. Well, gazing at the trailing yellow lines on Google Map and a night trail along it are entirely different things and we did have little difficulties finding our way up to the foothills of Skandagiri Hills at Kravarahalli Betta, around 65 kms from Bangalore.

The major part of the ride was through NH 7 and was comfortable except for the December chill seeping in through our sleeves. We had our pit stop at Chik Ballapur and had the black tea from our flasks. From there we took a detour and followed the country roads through rustic settlements, sometimes asking for directions to chance encounters on the way. Getting lost and finding our way back, we reached the foot hills of Skandagiri at a quarter past 2 at night.

I was surprised to find a few other adventurers who stood huddled around local guides who were to help us climb the treacherous rocky surface and reach the top. We started our trekking by around half past 2. Though the silvery hill under the moon looked inviting, the climb was very difficult with slippery slopes inclined at nearly 60 degrees. My mind went back to those two girls. “May be I should have left them behind in the comfort of their homes”. I turned back to see how they were fairing and guess what? It was pitch black. I wouldn’t have known if a grizzly bear stood and chuckled its shoulders right behind me. Well, that was quite scary!

I called up one of the girls and waited for her response. She answered and suddenly the numbing silence of the night was clamouring with those typical feminine giggles. I let out a sigh of relief and continued climbing until I reached a plane ground. The mist kept sweeping in front of me and through that I saw a faint glimmer of a fire. I walked towards it and was too glad to find some of us sitting around a canvas tent and steam rising from it. I was even shocked to find the two girls sitting and smiling at me. I must confess that the sight was a light blow to my macho ego. It was a refreshment camp of sorts set up by the locals and they served us with omelets straight from the frying pan and black coffee. Thinking back about it I still can’t help but feel that the tent, the fire and all that were just figments of imagination from a dreamy night.

We reached the top of the hill by around 4 in the morning. There was a bright crescent moon plastered on an indigo sky over our heads and I could see silhouetted figures moving around me through the mist. Each of us rested our tired bones at whichever spot that we found appropriate for us; the lover birds seeking their privacy behind the upturned rocks and boulders. Leaning to the wall of some stone structure and gazing at the star lit sky filled me with a sense of romance and bliss so deep that I really missed the presence of a lover girl who could have been by my side at that moment.

Sun rise in heaven…

I don’t recollect whether I slept off because the next thing I remember is seeing the sunrise breaking behind the horizon not too long after I settled down. I stood up and saw the golden rim of the sun slowly coming up from behind what appeared to me as thick mist. But I was wrong in thinking of it as mist for, within a few minutes I saw the sun glowing bright orange and floating above beds of clouds and not mist! It was a spell binding view. I’ve never seen a sunrise like that before! It was like in a dream or, as if I was standing in some fairy land. There were clouds around me, bellow me, above me… Clouds being swept to my face by the mist laden winds… Oh mine! I’ll keep referring to this moment as “witnessing a sunrise in heaven” because the experience was nothing less than heavenly. I felt like 'Bruce Almighty' standing at the doors of heaven.

The day light showed us what was left to be seen at the top of that misty-hill. There was a little stone temple, a sacrificial stone which was once stained by the blood of many innocent animals and now washed clean and smooth by the changing weathers, a statue of Nandi (Lord Shiva’s holy bull) carved out of a rock and many other rock structures.

The climb down

The climb down was even more treacherous as our untrained muscles were aching out of the strain of the night’s climb. It took us around an hour to reach the foot of the hill and we were welcomed by little kids selling tender coconuts. At the foot hill was the Papagni Math (Aashram) with the inmates living in harmony with the nature around them and some monkeys jeering at us. And that’s more or less of what you'll find at this place.

Returning to our dingy old rooms in Bangalore, stretching out on our beds and slipping into blissful, dreamless slumber is all I remember.

Well folks, if you’re someone living in or around Bangalore and thinking of a weekend getaway with your gang of friends, Skandagiri is the right place for you. That is if you wouldn’t mind a little crack in your heels and a little scratch on your skin because it’s worth all the pain. I can guarantee you that Skandagiri would make your weekend a most memorable one.

Note: The trekking fee is Rs. 15/- which you can pay at the forest office at the foot of the hill once you come down and the guides charge you for their service too.

Some more interesting pics. taken at Skandagiri.

Incomplete rocky structures at the hill top.

Mountain ranges around us blanketed my clouds.

The dilapidated Shiva temple (front) and a mysterious stone structure (back).

Dew drop.

The climb down.

Info. board on Skandagiri expedition site.

Original post:

© 'Motorcycle Diaries' compilation in MSN India by the same author

Skandagiri Factfile:

Altitude: About 1350m above sea level.

Nearest town/medical help: Chikkaballapura (5kms)

Nearest airport/ railway-station: Devanahalli, Bangalore (60 kms)

Accommodation: Come on! No one goes there for a stay over!

For more details, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skandagiri

A bike ride to the foothills of the Fire Mountain

This was the most impulsive journey that I ever embarked on.

It was half past 9 on a Friday night and I was sitting at a 24-hour coffee shop in Bangalore with one of my friends. I was telling him about my motorcycle trips to the different places as I was discussing with him about the places around Bangalore that I’d like to visit. ‘Tiruvannamalai’ was a chance mentioning by him, but something that caught my imagination.

By 12'o clock at night the back packs were ready, the tank of my bike filled and we set off to the abode of Arunachaleswara.

Through the country road

The 90-km ride till Krishnagiri along the NH 7, which connects Bangalore to Salem in Tamil Nadu, took me two and half hours and was more than comfortable. Though the four-lane, well maintained National Highway was flocked by slow paced heavy trucks at night time, cruising, sometimes along with them and at times ahead of them was an enjoyable experience. We had only one halt on the way till Krishnagiri and that was at Hozur where we had omelets fresh from the frying pan at a road side stall. We reached Krishnagiri at around 2 at night. From there we had to bid adieu to the good old highway, take a turn and follow a trail of country road sometimes through what looked like jungle, and at times through little villages. The silhouetted trees against the moon, and the silvery hillocks on either side made us feel as if we were riding through a land in someone’s imagination. We reached Tiruvannamalai by around 6 in the morning and checked into a lodge near the temple.

Ramana Aashrama

This is the first place we visited. The aashrama of Maha Rishi Ramana is hardly a kilometre away from the temple. I'd have to write a book if I start writing about this enlightened soul. But I'm least bothered to take up that effort as there already a thousand and more books written on the life and teaching of this great saint. Instead, I'll tell you something about the aashrama. It is a quaint little place with a temple dedicated to Swami Ramana Maha Rishi and little other temples for various other Hindu deities. There is a restroom for the pilgrims visiting the aashrama, a book shop that sells religious texts and books written by Ramana Maha Rishi and other souvenirs. But the major attraction for me in this place were the peacocks that were roaming around so freely and without any fear of other two legged creatures like us around

Arunachala hill

Right close to the aashrama is this hill at the foot of which the town of Thiruvannamalai rests has an interesting story attached to it from the Hindu mythology. It is said that once Maha Vishnu and Brahma, puffed up with arrogance, sought to see for themselves the end and beginning of Shiva. Vishnu took the form of a boar and started searching Siva's feet, while Brahma turned into a Swan and looked for the head of ‘The Destroyer’. Siva took the form of fire just to snub their vanity. As the Lord had taken the form of fire, neither the crest nor the root could be approached. 'Aruna' means crimson colour and 'achala' means immovable. As Shiva stood in the form of fire it came to be known as Arunachala (Fire Mountain).

We trekked up this sacred hill and hit base by afternoon. After having a decent meal from a nearby restaurant, we took a nap.

Arunachaleswara Temple

By around 5.30 in the evening we got up, took turns under the shower and visited the famed Arunachaleswara temple.

The 11-tiered East Rajagopura rises to a height of 217 feet, while the fortified walls with 4 entrances offer a formidable look to this vast temple complex. The Pei Gopura, Tirumanjana Gopura and Ammanaiammal gopura are the other three. The 1000-pillared hall and the temple tank were built by Krishna Deva Rayarar of Vijayanagara. Each of the entrances of the temple has a huge Nandi (the sacred bull of Siva) and several towers such as the Vallala Maharaja Gopura and Kili Gopura.

Just sit inside the huge temple precincts near the huge pond with your eyes closed and let the sanctity of the place seep in… Ah! That was such an unparalleled and elevating experience of my spirit!

Footwear stolen!

We got out of the temple to find out that both our sandals had been stolen. Both of us got very frustrated at this and called, who ever who did that, names never heard before. We then straight away went to a footwear shop in the town and brought a pair of brand new sandals each. But we had the laugh of our life time when we visited the temple the next day morning. We saw this person sitting at the entrance and he had sandals of people who had gone in lying around him. He kept the sandals for us for some tips in money and that, it seems, was his job. So we placed our sandals in his custody, least we wanted it to be stolen a second time. And while coming out I struck a conversation with this man and told him how our sandals got stolen the previous day. He just looked at me, opened a tin chest near  him, took out our sandals and asked whether we could recognize them? Now, this was something freaky funny. It seems that he watched over our sandals for us the previous day without our asking him to do that and when he couldn't find us coming out for a long time, he just kept them away safely in his chest. Tiruvannamali is truly a divine land!

Original post:

© 'Motorcycle Diaries' compilation in MSN India by the same author

Tiruvannamalai Factfile:

Nearest airport - Bangalore (220 kms), Chennai (170 kms)

Nearest railwaystation - There are trains to Tiruvannamalai from Chennai.

Bus services - Tiruvannamalai is well connected to both Chennai and Bangalore with regular bus services from both these cities.

Accommodation - You can find very cheap to economy lodges around the temple.

For more details, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruvannaamalai

A bike ride to Coonoor

It was the middle of the night and the silence of my room in Bangalore was shattered by the ring of my mobile. It was my girl friend from Coimbatore. I wondered why she was calling me at such an odd hour of the night.

“Hello,” I said sleepily over the phone.

“Sorry to be disturbing you at this hour. But I really need to talk this out to someone,” she said.

Her voice quivered over the phone and I knew this was something important.

“Give me a minute,” I said. I got up washed my face in cold water and went out to the garage so that I could speak with her without disturbing my room mates.

“Tell me. What is it? What’s troubling you?”

“I think I’m going to quit my job. I couldn’t stand the pressure at the office. It's driving me crazy. I'm completely stressed out. I really wish I had you near me now,” she said.

"Just relax, ok? Go to sleep and be ready with your bags packed. We're going to take an off and go some place where you'll feel good".

"Really! Are you coming down?", she sounded all perked up at once.

"Why not? You said you wanted me to be there, right? Or, did I hear it wrong?"

"But... Where are we going?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought yet. But you needn't worry about that. Just leave it to me and pack your bag and be ready in the morning. I'll give you a call when I reach there and be ready for a surprise. Now, just go to sleep dear", I said and kissed her "good night" over the phone.

Now, you might be wondering whether this is the beginning of one ‘Mills and Boons’ tale. Well, it might sound like one, but no. This is about how a bike ride, the mist laden breeze and the intoxicating aroma of the Coonoor tea gardens helped my girl de-stress.

A few minutes in front of the internet and figured out where we'd be going - Coonoor. I looked for a descent hotel for the us to stay over the weekend, took down the phone number, freshened up and by 4.30 in the morning I filled the tank of my bike and set off to Coimbatore. Coimbatore is around 400 km from Bangalore and I reached there by half past nine. My idea of giving her a surprise flopped as she very well expected me to turn up on my bike knowing my passion for long rides. She was thrilled, all the same, at the idea of a long ride with me.

Coonoor, located at the head of the Hulikal ravine at an altitude of 1,800 meter above sea level, is a quaint little hill station in the Nilgiris, 75 km from Coimbatore en route Ooty. Ooty is another 19 km from Coonoor. It took us 4 and odd hours of leisurely ride to climb all the way up with pit stops for refreshment at the little tea stalls on the way. We reached Coonoor at around 2.30 in the noon and checked into the hotel where I had booked a room. I could see that the ride and the cool air of the Nilgiris has already begun to do good for my girl’s nerves. I noticed an air of peace about her as she stood at the balcony of our room, gazing at the lush greenery stretching all around us. I was obviously tired after the long ride and I drifted into a deep dreamless slumber.

A good 3 hours sleep and I was wide awake, refreshed and at the very best of my spirits. It made me happier to find my girl all freshened up after a wash and smelling pleasant of the bath soap and shampoo that she use. She was sitting by my side, lost in ’11 minutes’ by Paulo Coelho. She has always been an avid reader and never forgets to carry around some books to read.

A good long bath, making benevolent use of her shampoo made me presentable enough to go out with her. We went out for a stroll in the town. We walked around aimlessly visiting a Ganesh temple and spending few quite minutes at one of the churches. Later in the evening we visited the local market place, all bustling with life and munched on fresh-baked pop corns and chilly bhajjis and vadas. The freshly brewed Nilgiri tea at a local tea stall is something, the taste of which will linger in my taste buds for a long time. A pleasing dinner at a local restaurant and we returned to our room.

We woke up rather late the next day and after washing up and a modest breakfast of toasted breads and omelets, we set off for the site seeing. Well, the site seeing was not a part of our agenda as the prime aim of this trip was to be away from the regular mundane routine and to relax at leisure and pleasure.

We first visited the all popular Sim’s park, walking all the 2 km from our hotel to that spot. A Café Coffee Day on the way bid us in and my girl being a coffee aficionado, we spent a good one hour there over cold coffees and a Black Forest pastry. Now, here is something - have you ever tried cold coffee sitting at a place where the temperature outside is close to 10 degree celsius? If not, try it once. I bet it would be an experience unparalleled.

Spread over 12 hectares, the Sim’s park was more than any other parks I’ve visited before. It had lush green grass spread all over and the lawn mowed to perfection. The winding paved walk-along through the woods is another attraction of the Sim’s Park. There is also a little play area with swings and see-saws for kids and a lake with a boating facility. Does it sound like a very big place? Well, it is not. As I told you, it is only a 12 hectare plot and is only large enough to house a hundred varieties of trees, plants and flowers and small enough for a comfortable walk around. Sitting at one of the park benches, humming an old Hindi song, “Tum ko dekha, to ye khayal aya…” and my girl gazing at the little kids on the swings is a picture-perfect that will remain etched in my memory.

We then visited the Lamb’s Rock which is a trekking spot around 3 km from Sim’s Park. The view of the valley from atop the Lamb’s Rock is breath taking. Other classical view points in and around Coonoor are Dolphine’s Nose and Lady Canning’s Seat. We didn’t visit all the spots as we were not in any sight seeing expedition. After ambling along a tea garden, hand in hand and love in the air, we returned to our hotel room.

Another major attraction of Coonoor is the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. The toy train ride along the winding hills is something that had captured the imagination of many movie makers all around the globe. The “Kasto maza…” song sequence with Saif Ali Khan, a guitar in hand, in a train full of kids in the movie ‘Parineeta’ is the one that comes to my mind when I think about the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (I’m not too sure the song was shot here). The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was declared by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in July 2005. This railway links Coonoor to the town of Mettupalayam at the foot hills. Coonoor was the original termination point of this railway, before the line was extended to Ooty.

Anyways… we started our ride back at 6 in the evening and reached Coimbatore by 11 at night.

“You’d never know how good you made me feel…,” she said on reaching back.

Now, tell me dear readers, isn’t this a wonderful way to de-stress on a weekend? Well, she forgot her idea of quitting her job and said she just realized the need for a change when life gets too routine and tiring.

Original post:
© 'Motorcycle Diaries' compilation in MSN India by the same author

Coonoor Factfile:

Nearest airport: Coimbatore (80 km), Tamil Nadu, India
Nearest railwaystation: Mettupalayam (46km), Coimbatore (80 km); Tamil Nadu, India
By road: Regular buses from major cities like Bangalore (Karnataka), Mysore (Karnataka), Calicut (Kerala), Kochi (Kerala), Tanjavur (Tamil Nadu), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
Accommodation: From home stays to luxury hotels (economy, budget and luxury)
Activities: Bird watching, tea plantation visits, sight seeing, hiking etc.