The Tadiyandamol Travelogue
It was dark. Four nights agone, Old fat Santa Claus had come and made a good escape. Thirteen members on board a Rajahamsa were making merry. Members of ‘The Secret Angel Society’ exchanged gifts. “Wow! Thanks. Great, this is” said many, gazing at the colorfully wrapped gifts. Eyes wide open, the gifts were unwrapped. A lovely smile was drawn on everyone’s face. Every pair of eyes I looked into, I saw expectation and excitement, eager to find out what they got. For some reason, I was in no mood for speech and reclined in my seat. The congregation started chewing the fat. “You know what happened yesterday?”; “Oh! My God!” ; ”B-e-a-uuutiful”; “Arrreey!”; “Why yaaa?”; “Thu! Ha ha he ho ha”… The engine chugged down the highway…
Earlier that Night
It was the fifth Saturday of the month . 30-12-2006, read the Gregorian calendar. 10:30PM read the clock hung on the wall. The assemblage at ‘The Bus stand, Majestic, Bangalore’ consisted of 14(In words: Fourteen) very fine people. Two 2-dimensional ladies, namely, Ms.Bheemarao, Ms.Tuppada; Two 3-dimensional ladies, namely, Ms.Sharma, Ms. Ananthram; And finally, one 4-dimensional lady who has high regards for the fourth dimension - Time. Ms.Shetty, she is called, in these friend circles of hers. The remaining nine very fine, affable, suave, gentlemen (14-5=9 à Complex math. I didn’t know this till I was six), without whom the trek would’ve been incomplete, included, Mr.Naduvinamani, Mr.Raju, Respected Mr.Parisarapremi, Mr/Ms.Sreedhara Swamy(Just miss), Mr.Subbu, Mr.Baregar, Mr.Vivek, Mr.Rajan and lastly, me, Mr.Ramachandra, a humble soul accepted by the society since birth, with the number of criminal records since 1984 equalling zero. Clap, clap, clap…
The 6 tyres of ‘The Rajahamsa’ rolled (A necessary motion for movement of a vehicle). One tyre remained stationary hidden from public view. For some reason, it didn’t want to hog the limelight. Since time immemorial, it had/has been called the stepney.
Being students of moral science, ‘Avoidance of unpleasant scenes’ was our primary objective. Thus, a huge gap between Ms. Ananthram and Ms.Tuppada was created for obvious reasons. The seating arrangement inside ‘The Rajahamsa’ was thus:
| Mr.Driver Mr.Conductor Mr.Good Ms.Good Ms.Good Ms.Good Femme fatales!!! Guys(Uninteresting) Ms.Good looking (2 nos) Legacy systems(2 nos) …………..... …………………… ……………. …………………… Mr.Rajan Mr.Ramachandra Mr.Raju Mr.Naduvnamani Ms.Ananthram Mr/Ms.Just miss Ms.Tuppada Ms.Bheemarao Mr.Subbu Mr.Baregar Ms.Shetty Ms.Sharma Mr.Premi Mr.Good Mr.Good Mr.Good Mr.Good Mr.Good |
Readers with IQ > 20 would’ve noticed the absence of Mr.Vivek. Yes. Destiny had it that he board another bus, thus making way for ‘legacy systems’, as Santosh called them. The legacy systems in question were two ripe gentlemen who had outlived their time. Maybe, to be onboard a bus with thirteen ebullient people was their final wish, which was fulfilled that night. May their souls rest in peace.
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…A lovely smile was drawn on everyone’s face. Every pair of eyes I looked into, I saw expectation and excitement, eager to find out what they got. For some reason, I was in no mood for speech and reclined in my seat. The congregation started chewing the fat. “You know what happened yesterday?”; “Oh! My God!” ; ”B-e-a-uuutiful”; “Arrreey!”; “Why yaaa?”; “Thu! Ha ha he ho ha”… The engine chugged down the highway…
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It was 4:30AM. The driver took a sharp left turn and into the bus-stand he went. “Get off the bus you morons. Virajpet bantu”, said Arun. We trudged with our heavy backpacks and settled in a corner. The chilling cold sent shivers down everyone’s spine. Every speaker was smoking mist. Like swords, toothbrushes were drawn from bags; And like warriors, each person marched to the sink with the toothbrush in hand. In the meantime, ‘Vertically Challenged’ Ms. Tuppada briskly walked towards Mr. Subbu’s bag(Height of the bag: Four Feet à One whole feet taller than the Pretty lady). Ants can carry fifty times their weight is a fact and Smitha was there to prove it. A brief prayer to goddess Shakti and then the unthinkable happened. Eyes closed, A deep breath and then she flung the back onto her back, only to be thrown off balance. Clever and timely photography by Mr. Rajan helped us capture this unique feat. The above said activities took close to one hour! We then barged into a café which was still half open. After a considerable wait, hot tea/coffee and idly was served. The company then boarded a bus to go to Kakkabe. Vrrrooooooom…
The drive to Kakkabe was enjoyable in more ways than one. First of all, the teeth-crackling cold that made the body numb. Secondly, the scenic beauty. At 6:15AM, the rotund, orange sun rising in the valley was a real treat to watch. Thirdly, the driver of the bus hit the curves at 60Kmph which was extremely exciting. Fourthly, the bus had a red light which would glow each time the driver applied brakes. Thanks to a few sullied minds, this was made the target of discussion for the next half hour and Lo… We laughed and laughed and laughed. Never had we laughed so hard at 6:15 in the morning. It was the most energizing morning we had had!
We alighted the bus at Kakkabe and were destined to walk 4 Km before we could reach Mr. Thammaiah’s abode. By this time, Mr. Subbu was busy putting some pieces together. “Ah! Playing jigsaw puzzle here, huh?”, I thought. Within 5 minutes, the solution to the puzzle was before us. It was a digital camera; A cool one. All this while, he was busy adding and subtracting accessories to his camera. The lens was so huge that it literally went into the person’s face when zoomed in. Everyone was impressed with the looks. “Curiosity killed the cat”, the adage reads, but I for one, was not to be deceived by this silly saying. It was only a cat; A stupid cat. I am a MAN. Go ahead; Slap that stupid, cheap question that you always ask said the fiend inside my skull. I obliged. “Er! Yescuse me gental-maan, Ow much you are paying for that?”, I asked Mr. Subbu. “Four thousand”, he replied. Stunned, shocked, dazed I stood. All that one could get for such a meager amount would be a stupid, old box where-in they show snaps of Bollywood actors/actresses, silly dogs, old monuments shot from awkward angles… “DOLLARS $$ Dollars, Dollars”, shouted someone. That rived my head off. Four thousand dollars!? Two lakh rupees for a box that captures whatever is already in front of you! Man! The buyer must be crazy!
Before long, we were at Nalknad palace. No one from the royal family was present to welcome us. No princess; I was disappointed. I could kiss a frog which was hopping here and there, which might have transformed into a really lovely princess. But the thought of kissing a frog was sickening and I left it at that. A drunk local who was working on revamping the palace led us into a dark room where ammunition was stacked during the regal rule. Apart from this room, everything else was sealed for renovation. Some snaps were taken here and soon, we were walking again. Little streams crisscrossed the path we tread.
Mr.Thammaiah’s beaming smile greeted us all. Mr.Parisarapremi knew this gentleman well. He instantly knew what we wanted and asked us to rest awhile.
Chilled drinking water and slow poison(Coffee) was served. Mrs. Thammaiah took up the challenge of preparing food for all fourteen voracious eaters. Everyone freshened up and off we went to Mandabbe falls. Chilling water, the scenic beauty, a direct drop of 500feet, pools of water here and there made the place all the more exciting. I got into one of these pools and the water was so cold that I went completely numb! Now I understand why Leonardo De Caprio died in the movie Titanic. The temperature was so low that the body dropped dead - like a vegetable in cold storage.
Back at Mr.Thammaiah’s abode, we were all wet and dirty. Change of attire became necessary. Before I could retrieve my clothing from my bag, a few really quick people (relatives of the rabbit family) had barged into one of the rooms. I couldn’t change in public. I am no movie star. A wait of over 15 minutes proved futile. I moved away from the prying eyes of a dog and a hen which followed me for quite a distance and then gave up. I had walked over 250 meters to get to a well protected location close to a small stream. Back afresh, sumptuous food was served. Rest, rest, rest. In the meantime, Mr.Premi looked into my hand and said “You are in love with someone”. “Wow! Tell me her name. I want to meet her”, I exclaimed. Not too pleased, he prophesied that I would die a foul death in a couple of days, like a pest. I agreed.
Chaaarge! The bugle blew at 3:45PM. We have to scale that peak in under 2 hours, said Arun, pointing to the Tadiyandamol peak. “Are you mad!? Let’s go home. Give me one good reason as to why I should go up there” said a few. “Be there and you’ll know” he said . Encouraging his words were and off we went. Hup-Two-Three-Four, A-Hup-Two-Three-Four, Hup-Two-Three-Four, A-Hup-Two-Three-Four… We marched on. At 5:40PM, the peak was conquered. Mr. Rajan was into meditation mode while Mr. Raju decided to stay alone on a rock and reflect upon life. How much of R&D he would have to do! Phew! “How do I convince them at home?”; “Amma yen antaaro”(What will mom say?); “Naan kardre maneg bartaaLe”(If I call, she will definitely come”)…. Lost he was in his fantasy world and soon fell asleep on the peak.
Mr. Naduvinamani, as always, was enjoying himself laughing his heart out. “Look at the the sun. Ho ho ho ho”; “That tree. Hohohohoho” ; “Look at the leaves, stones, Hohohohoho…”. Shreyas on the other hand was getting ready for the snap of his life. Shubha and Shruthi had located a serene spot for the click. The click happened and Lo…. there it was! Mr Handsome. A masterpiece from Shubha and Shruthi. Arun, Veda, Sindhu, Smitha preferred to stay elsewhere where the ramp walk for Miss.Tadiyandamol was about to begin. Subbu with his excellent camera work captured a few good moods. Mr. Baregar by this time was silently shooting down the sun with his handycam. Enough cameras had shot the sun that day. He turned orange and before long, he was red with rage. We really didn’t care as long as he came back the next morning. We sat there looking straight as far as we could. Lost in thoughts, we all were.
The next thing we knew, a strong gust of wind sent shivers down the spine. Temperatures had nose-dived within ten minutes. That was when the excitement began…
It was dark. We had to cross a small, dense forest. The terrain was rugged. Armed with a torch, the infantry headed home. Arun lead the chain while Shreyas acted as guard at the back. The others were conveniently sandwiched in the middle. “Stay close. Don’t be slow. We have a long way to go. Just follow the person ahead at an arm’s length” said Arun, and off he jogged. The moon showed up and threw more light than needed. It was the first night trek that many of us had been on. Veda and Smitha looked very happy and commenced singing songs that I’d never heard of. Walk, walk, more walk.. THUD! DHAM!! DAMAAAR!! One of the gang members slipped and fell and the earth shook; Minor Tsunamis, Volcanoes, rubbing of earth plates happened, a few insects died and animals ran helter-skelter. The person behind the noble act? Well, I shall leave the reader guessing here. Hmmmm… Naah! Did I hear you right? Did you say Sindhu?
Back at Mr.Tham’s home, we sat under the moonlight forming a huge ring. The lord of the rings we were and one by one, each person recounted the experience of being atop the peak. Mrs. Tham had prepared delicious food which we all gobbled up under the moonlight. The feeling was great! Just imagine; Seated under moonlight with huge trees all around; No electricity; dinner served on banana leaves; A dog, a hen and its chicks and thirteen cool friends to give you company! Aaah! You must’ve been there. It was memorable!
Tham led us to a house with two rooms. Another observation that I would like to bring to the reader is Tham’s fetish with number 56. Who else would bother to construct two rooms measuring 8*7 sq. ft, in a wide, lonely area? Whatever… Tham had stacked loads and loads of firewood close to the house. “This should be enough. God forbid anyone dies, you can use this wood to smoke ‘em up. Burn it shall, like the Olympics lamp. Never shall it go off” he said and off he went to sleep. The wood was moist. “How do we burn it?” asked one. Soon, Shreyas and Santosh were on it. Like early men they made fire in 5 minutes. The weather report was not too favourable either. The temperature had dropped well below X degree centigrade.
Where,
A = The only even prime number.
B = The only prime one less than a perfect square
C = 2*B
D = Smallest no of colors sufficient to color all planar maps.
To provide a better idea about our campfire area, a picture of this place has been provided for your reference.
(The sketch has been picked up from the net and suitably modified.)
23:00, 31 Dec 2006 : One more hour and a new year it would be. The mood was somber as everyone was tired. I was pissed off for some reason and sat silently – ‘finger on (my)lip’. Arun and Srinivas entertained us with good music. Then came my turn to sing. “Aaaaa, Kaaa, Haawww, Kaaa, Kaaa” I sang like a crow and everyone stared at each other. “Oh! My God! Why did we let him sing? Look at the plants, they’re dying; Birds have started migrating. Sheeeesh!” they thought. But I wasn’t the one to be squelched by these remarks. I sang and sang and sang. Sang my heart out (Whether I have a heart at all is a contentious issue). The atmosphere was all hunky-dory when suddenly, a jeep(Playing LOUD music) arrived from nowhere. A guy stepped out of the jeep and asked us for… Hold yer breath… SALT! Now, who on earth would drive a jeep all the way up to such heights and beg for salt? CRAZY! He was shooed off.
It was 00:00. New year had arrived and suddenly, the mood was upbeat. Shubha quickly retrieved ‘Home-made chocolates’ and distributed them. The choco melted in our oral cavity, like candy. New year wishes were exchanged and we started feeling the breeze. Cold it was. After sometime sleep had got the better of girls and they all went away deserting Mr.Naduvinamani and Mr.Ramachandra at 1:30AM.
So cold was the weather that those who slept with two blankets shivered like patients with Parkinson’s. Santhosh and I (The cleverer of the lot) decided to spend the night right beside the campfire. Santosh(The cleverer of we two. This makes him the cleverest of the lot) was adept at handling campfires. He diligently calculated the amount of wood left and the number of hours we would have to stay alive. Veda who slept in the open would get up every half hour and curse Arun and everyone in the vicinity. She became the sole provider of entertainment for Santosh and me the whole night. We would wait for Veda and Sindhu to wake up, like waiting for migratory birds to be seen. And then, the slander. Usage of Sanskrit words by these two was great fun to watch. “Thu! Katte mundevu. Malgirod nodu”, “Naayi gal thara bidgondive ”, “Saaitaa idivi”… After some time, this ritual too ended as the two tucked themselves into bedsheets and there was silence again. Biting cold, no one else to talk to, we lay there shattered, at 3AM. Then, something horrible happened. Nature called me to bat on extended innings. I couldn’t miss this call (No one can. Nature call, it’s called). A friend of mine had educated me about the effects of ignorance of such long-duration calls. Over time(a long period), it could lead to death, he had said.
Not once I looked back. At 3 in the morning, in those freezing temperatures I would have to go to the not-so-scenic spot - the loo(Refer diagram above). That’s not all. I would have to carry one whole bucket of ice-cold water. I stood at the door of the rest-room. I flung the door open and went inside. A centrally placed white commode looked inviting. Topless/Roofless, the loo was. The moon smiled and I smiled back. I looked around. Hmmm… Something was very different. Hmmm… What could it be? Hmmm… “Eeks!” The loo had tarpaulin all around only up to a height of four feet. After that, it was all open. “How can I possibly go in here? ““What if someone comes this way?” “Che! Thoo! Yappaaa!” I thought. then, I remembered a saying: “When duty calls, everything else is to be forgotten”. It was my fundamental duty to be there. I took up this unique challenge that nature had put forth. I talked to myself LOUDLY. Then, I sang, LOUDLY again. I howled like the horn of a railway engine, just to keep intruders away. This signaling system worked. After 15 tense minutes, I came out successful - Unharmed; Unabashed. I went back to the fire-lit area with a sense of accomplishment.
Shruthi woke up at 4AM. So cold it was that she could sleep no more. We played dumb charades for an hour. She went back to sleep. The next one hour was spent cursing everyone who was fast asleep. Subbu and Vijay were the target of this blasphemy as they had conveniently tucked themselves inside sleeping bags. Santosh was totally psyched by now. He hadn’t slept for three nights straight.!
At half past six, that orb of fire strategically placed billions and billions of kilometers away, shone to melt the cold away. We were overjoyed. After our ablutions, we packed and headed straight for Tham’s house. “Another hour for breakfast”, announced Tham. We had nothing to do. Someone got out a tennis ball and started pitching it. Another tried to grab it. The third hit it away. The fourth fetched it…. Soon, everyone was on it. Excited to play we were. We started off with tennis(Needless to say, the team I was in won). Then it was time for some cricket and ‘Dog and the Bone’.. We played and played - laughing and shouting all the while. Ah! Great fun it was! It’s always exciting to play in a large group. More the people, more the fun.
After breakfast, we bid sayonara to Mr and Mrs. Tham. Very hospitable they had been. Simple and modest; Yet classy. We walked down the same path. On the way, Vivek and Srinivas were interviewed with specific questions thrown at them. ‘Walk the Talk’ with Vijay along with Subbu’s humorous comments were the highlight of our descent.
Back at Virajpet, Santosh would leave for Mangalore while the rest decided to go back home via Mysore. We bid adieu to Santosh and boarded the bus to Mysore. Again, Srinivas and Vivek bid us farewell at Mysore and off they went. We were eleven of us now. Buses were scarce. Shreyas being a great soul decided to stay back in Mysore so that 10 of us could reach Bangalore in a taxi. We decided to hitch a ride to Bangalore in a private taxi. In less than two hours, we were at the Majestic bus stand, Bangalore - Back to where we started. Total displacement = ZERO !
Back home at 12 midnight, completely exhausted, I lay in bed. Recounting some of the best moments atop Tadiyandamol, I closed my eyes. What a place it was! The weather; The little streams that criss-crossed the paths; The serenity; The food; The people of Kodagu; The friends I had been with… “Ah! God, give me a hundred more lives so that I can go back with those lovely friends of mine”, I begged, and before I could say “Good night, God”, he was busy instilling “The Sweetest of the dreams” in my sleep.
