The Trek to Hell..Part III

So as I was saying, the best part was yet to come..Eventually we dis decide to go into the tent...The moment i entered i realised there was no place we could sit, the floor of the tent being already wet. I took bag, God knows who's and after placing a plastic wrap on it sat down. It was poky, hard and uncomfortable and however uncomfortable i was i thought we will settle down in some time. The other tents were up and i was actually hoping that I could even sit in another dryer one. Basically, I was being too optimistic. We were joined by another two co-trekkers and there were four of us, trying to get comfortable by sitting on soaking wet bags with little back rest in that small little tent with water leaking in from a few infinitesimal holes in that tent. The smiles were still there on our faces, we were chatting and trying to get comfortable with some banal conversation when something hot poked me from beneath the ground accompanied by a faint flash like that of a low-battery camera. I looked around and suddenly there was commotion not only in our tent but also outside. We had been STRUCK by lightening. Yes, it is was a lightening. Of course with that continuous pouring and saturated sodden clothes that they had become, our last hope of surviving the ordeal decided to leave us and go. Someone was shouting that we should go back and some knew that we would die. I looked around at the faces of the last people that I would see in this life of mine, yet the magnanimity of the situation had not really assailed my mind else I would surely have panicked. We continued to play cards, somehow a favourite for me but just couldn't concentrate, I tried to have a conversation, again sometime i am looking towards and couldn't manage coherent sentences and i tried to tell myself that we will come out of it alive. Some one's tent had flown away and the hubbub outside told me that the others were not doing too good too. There were a few light hearted attempts at humour and games but all it got to our faces were a wry smile and then we resumed our gloomy expressions. It was 4pm and we had the whole day and night to be tolerated in front of us. There was still some light when someone in our melancholic tent spotted a leech on the thin canvas of our tent. That was when we knew we were gone . Walking amongst leeches all through the Day, when we knew those slimes could only access our legs and be chucked out with relative effortlessness was nothing compared to the feeling of one of those black eerie insect roaming around freely in our tent, not visible to our naked eye and sucking our blood liberally. At that point I decided to freak out. Yes, this was too much, I could survive continuous rain, being drenched and a gloomy tent, however now the state of affairs had reached the circumference of my patience.

By the way did i mention that we were soaking wet from the bottom,and i could feel the my socks inside my shoes getting juicier with water and was it cold or was it cold. So in that cocoon of wetness & cold, i suddenly decided i had to pee. Yes, i surely did have to with absolutely no alternative. My co-sufferers and co-inhabitants of the soggy tent refused to open the tent fearing a shower of leeches getting in and if not I inviting them over when i come back. But nature won over man gain...and i stepped out....It was wet and beautiful, if i wasn't feeling so dreadful I might even have spoken a word or two about the scenic pleasures for the eyes...mind you only the eyes. I did the deed and came back. before the tent would open, i was asked "leech check done", i checked my shoes, myself all over along with my companion who too had decided to come out for the leeches and when we were sure we were "clean" we stepped in...

Somehow life becomes easier when u know your insides are at peace ...now the only drudgery was that we were getting wetter. Over the next two hours we made small attempts to be comfortable in between the vain attempts of one of the soggy members in the tent to get all of us to sleep. But as it got darker...our spirits got feebler and the fear of getting wrinkled in the water started seeping in along with the apprehension of the surreptitious entry of the leeches at night.

Thankfully we had a torch that fortunately was not dependent on batteries that kept us sane. Every few minutes, a leech check was done to ensure there were no creepy-crawlies squirming to get into our tent. At eight someone decided that we should sleep and we finally listened...I think we did sleep...

tried to imagine i was on a bed...of water...that it was not very cold, that we were not sodden by the compound molecules of water & oxygen and that i was not getting shrivelled with too much water. I knew we had walked a lot and the fear of getting cramps or some permanant disease was high.

We slept...with mushy sleeping bags below us, then above us, then away from us, then onn top again and so on...the torch leading us through the dark dripping night. And finally there was light:)

The Trek to hell...Part II

Well, we are still on Day Zero..but the best part of the journey is yet to begin...we see a board that says "Drinking water" on an inconspicuous yellow board half covered by the long fingered leaves. It points towards an extremely steep path, so deep that we cannot see the end where it might lead us. We split, with the guys who are really tired taking a break near the board guarding our now dropped burdensome bags and the others carry those empty plastic bottles in the hope of finding "spring" water! So we start walking down those messy rocks...still looking out for leeches, however getting thrilled with every step as we cannot see a single one...Somewhere during that 10 min sprint downwards the whole aura changed, the bright sunny day suddenly hid behind a wind that had engulfed us, cooling us down and for some time we were so mesmerized by the hope of water that we forgot that we were thirsty. We reached a huge flat rock with trickling rivulets of water -pure naturally distilled water and yelped out gleeful laughter..this was so exciting, we cupped our hands to fill in the water taking small but amazingly refreshing gulps. The to and fro of our hand from the dribbling water and our mouths was unstoppable, and the countless minuscule swigs couldn't quench the thirst that had swollen up in our minds. We tried to fill in water into our bottles, but somehow mankind had not designed plastic soft-drink bottles to incarcerate that water seeping from the mysterious source. We twisted them and forced the mouth between the rocks, but somehow we just couldn't manage more than a few drops into the bottle. While we were struggling, not knowing how to capture that life giving fluid, a few others dared to go further at the end of that almost vertical rock. In a few split seconds we could gear a commotion of relief that there was water and that too not surreptitiously sticking to the rock but actually flowing freely and into our bottles...After that there was literally no looking back; with us climbing back with a new quota of energy , a feeling of all being well and the windy aura uplifting our moods further. We reached the top back to our "Drinking water" sign and sent another set of people with more empty of the plastic urns to fill with that refreshing almost tasty spring water.

Like our fates the day had decided to change its temperament. We were engulfed in a cloud with mist and clear breeze around us. The stoves were taken out and a flat patch had to be found to settle it. Somehow it seemed that the stove decided to become wriggly and not settle anywhere. Finally we did manage to stabilize it and that's when we realised that the wind our friend was a comrade when you wanted to light a stove. For 15 minutes, all the cooks who really wanted to have their broth applied their brains and finally after an amalgamation of a few half baked ideas we set the water boiling to cook ALL THAT 'MAGGI' that we had been bearing on our fragile backs. The wait for food dependent on a windy fire was impatient and hungry. The first bite of that Slurpee soupy set of noodles slipping through the plastic forks was divine. Relishing second helpings along with relieved laughter settled amongst the conversation and the good humour the turn of events had brought us to. Those trickling streams of water had truly given us back our life, strengths & spirits.

Well, I think I forgot to mention that we were still our usual .25 kms away from our destination, but the rested food in our bellies and the sudden attachment with the patch that had given us back our hopes dallied us from end. An already set up tent tempted the other tents too out of their bags willing them to get set up. However good sense prevailed and we decided to finish the last leg of the climb. It was an easy leech free climb preceded by the chaotic re-packing of the already opened tent which resulted in a few blame games when a small part of the tent broke. We had just begun the last ascent when the cloud that had engulfed us decided to spray us with it's shower. By the time we reached the top, half of us were half wet. There was frantic searching for tents, the rods and the components that would help in setting it up. One was quickly assembled and the two girls, me and another one were advised to get in from getting soaked further. The bags were put inside and when i peeped into that tent,I actually refused saying it was just to wet and that i will not be able to sit in it. It's better to stay out, we were wet anyway and we can always change our clothes. After all, we had carried additional sets of clothes with us. How could we know then that those were the driest moments for next few hours of our trek. The horrifying Part III was yet to begin making our journey till now seem like a smooth ride...

The Trek...to Hell:)

Ages, Ages & Ages...that's how long it has been since I have felt like writing...it's just that nothing very interesting was happening and neither was the mind clamouring for anything new...trying to adjust to some new work and finding a place for myself had dried up most of my creative juices and well the writer's block was just around the corner too...

Well 6 months back i had made a few resolutions and going back to it...i realised that if I had to give myself a rating on how well 'm doing it would be quite average...however this weekend was a bonus - a feather in the cap for me..i actually did an amazing trek...in fact supposedly one of the most difficult ones in Karnataka...

Well it was definitely difficult, literally breathtaking and quite an adventure:) It had all the elements of a masala bollywood trek with the thrills of - 'm i going to come out of it alive to the action when we stepped into the "leech" territory and the solemn silence of an art film when we were coming down 5 kms through grassy hills with a view that could only be written about in books...

Getting down to basic facts, we went for a trek to Pushpagiri...or kumara parvatham...it's a trek usually not done by amateurs like me, however not knowing what was in store i started on the arduous journey for the next two days not knowing at that time what was in store

Day 0: a happy go lucky group who hardly know each other, high on life and maybe a few other things ;) started in a hi-speed tempo, on a mission of punctuality and of ensuring we reach wherever we had to as planned & scheduled...The night is cold...but we are having fun...slightly unsure of what the plan really is..with no traffic on the road we zoom ahead ..We reach madikerri at 4am to realise that it's too early to freshen up [:-)not everyone would get that] and force the not too awake driver to take us to somwarpet...we freshen up, get scrubbed and cleaned, all jettisoned to go for a trek...our bags are packed with maggi and maggi and some more maggi...of course there were some brave enough to carry a gas stove, tents and any other burdensome stuff that one can think of on their backs..

Day 1:

Part 1 - Day 1 begins: with those sacks on our backs, we are left at a place where we start the trek..its sunny and chirpy...with instructions that the first part of the trek is the easiest...so we aren't too worried. Well we should have been, since the first one hour was difficult with us huffing & puffing on a dry track, with bags that have already started feeling heavy and this was supposed to be EASY? In about 40 mins we reach the Forest Office(APC), where we have these seemingly innocent school like boards showing off the wild animals that we might encounter on the way - it said king cobras, leopards, panthers, elephants, wild dogs, TIGERS....(just think of all the carnivores that your mind can summon and they would all be there)..We didn't pay much attention, concentrating more on the two puppies playing and gearing up for the road ahead...We entered into the forest, extremely cool and shady full of trees on all sides. It was beautiful and comforting at the same time it blocked you from the outside world, ingraining the knowledge that we would be all alone once we start moving along further into the canopy of trees..Nature, the sun streaming down through the leaves, the beautiful carpet made of leaves all made us slightly dumbstruck while we were still getting used to the jungle engulfing us. We were still adjusting to our environment, when someone saw the first leech on their shoes...or maybe it was on their ankle, that first encounter is something i 'm a little hazy about, but the fact is that we panicked. We screamed for salt, tried to remember in who's stuffed bag was it packed and how in the world are we supposed to get rid of it. Well, it was just the beginning, soon we had not one, not two, but maybe 3 to 4 leeches on every one's shoes creeping into our sock trying to quickly lap into our shoes through minute spaces. And every one who was around me was panicking with salt and sticks and hands trying to get rid of them...The first sign of blood on some one's ankle scared us and with every step we took our eyes scanned for those slippery slimy leeches attacking our shoes. After a much hurried walk of battling with the leeches, we finally reached a spot with lesser leeches and decided to take a leech check break. It was inside our socks, on our ankles, in our shoes - but only for a few, the others had come out of it almost unscathed. We had won our small little battle. We had walked for a full hour and when we checked how much we had covered we just couldn't believe it. Only 0.25 kms!??!!! We only had another 6.75 to go! That was when we realised what we could have signed for. Thoughts of creeping back into the town, abandoning the trip and running away from those slimy creepers were weakening the resolve to go on. And so we continued in spite of our brains urging us to turn back. I am sure there were few who would have felt excited by the events that they had encountered and were more than ready for the adventure, but my mind was feeble and it was unfathomable how much more would i be able to endure when I was already at my tenterhooks. And i was right, the torture and the fun had just begun. We were testing our physical strengths, when the climb suddenly became steep, and felt steeper because of not only the continuous onslaught of the leeches forever escaping into our sweaty shoes but also because of the ominous bags that we were carrying. Every time we felt we had accomplished a huge barrier we were pushed down in spirits by knowing that only another 0.25kms had been done. the sweat and the gruel became a part of the trek and somewhere in between the disheartening slow covering of distance and the natural difficulties that were dragging along with us, i started to like it. it tested our vigor, our mental strength and the ability to take on the climb as we went along. It was actually wonderful now that i think of it, even though at that point both my mind and body were screaming pain. the best portions were the steep rocks because of two reasons - they were much easier to climb except for the first one and secondly they were free of leeches. Just the thought of a patch without those blood sucking monsters was as pleasant as being invited to a king;s buffet at that joint of time. Now when i try to remember the details I realise that most of this is a blur of "I cant walk anymore", "I want to throw my bag or just leave it somewhere", "I can't believe the leeches can draw out so much out of me", "when will this helluva trek end", "would we ever reach", "I want wwahhhhterr"and so on. The toughest of the lot were struggling and the 'not so accustomed to this kind of activity' had almost given us. Well in simple words it was exceptionally tough. And somewhere in between the most essential item in our carry bags got over - H2O. With that single hope trickling away, we thought we would just have to turn back and endure the whole thing all over again. But like someone said "just when you are about to give us...you see some hope". there was a board which said "drinking water" and we left our bags at a huge steep rock and climbed down to see where was this source of water we were seeking...

For part 2...wait for the next entry:)

Call me old-fashioned..

Yes..Please call me old-fashioned I am one...and I just realized that drastically while watching Rahul Mahajan ka Swayamwar...what in the wold is that man doing on TV and really WHAT is he doing...Looking for brides is one thing but using girls for the lure of fame and marriage is another..Today, the show's been coming since morning and yes I have been watching it...4 to 5 episodes back to back...without blinking...but not without being shocked, outraged and exasperated. There is no episode, no scene wherein Rahul is not doing his chance pe dance. He kisses all the girls, lays down on their lap, holds hands, dances closely..and with much ease and appalling dignity. Well, you think Splitsvilla is shocking watch this show..Openly flirting and being way too touchy, downright creepy all in the name of looking for a bride..
So as I started call me old fashioned, but to me all this seems way over the top...Also, Rahul, the producers etc are not the only ones at fault in my view, it is also the girls who are willing to being projected as they are. When will we say, just because I want to be famous, an actress, a model or Mr Mahajan's wife I will not tolerate some guy touching me inappropriately on TV . Anyways why did so many girls line up to marry an ex-drug abuser(I am assuming the ex), an alleged wife abuser, someone who has built his new found TV career on the sympathy garnered after his father's demise?
The question is to what extent are we willing to go to achieve our dreams & ambitions?
P.S: This is not a promotion event for that advertently idiotic and shocking show..I would still say do not torture yourself by watching it.

Changing the World Part -3

Someone told me that to build up momentum, I need to write everyday. If I really want to change the world I need to change the duration between two of my blogs too. I cannot promise writing everyday, however since I logged in today too, I can write on two consecutive days at least for now.

So you guys must have become somewhat familiar with the kind of propaganda I might be promoting. Yes it is changing the world by changing ourselves. So here I come with one more doctrine that I sincerely follow:

"Waste no Food"...

I work in a large company with some 5 to 6 huge food courts each harbouring about 8 to 10 caterers with some 10K people eating there every single day (off course on weekends it's much less, we get them off). And every helping that we get is enough to feed some 100 anorexic models. Yes the quantity of food that we get is a lot and at some counters we can serve ourselves. However in both the cases we tend to go overboard with the food. It doesn't matter that the daal is of an obnoxious colour or the gobhi is floating in oil or that we don't even like the coconut chutney they serve, we fill it till the brim maneuvering the plate and ourselves to our friendly team with similar looking colourful plates. And then in all that office gossip, catching up on the grapevine, complaining about how bad the food has become, we somehow forget what we were thinking when we took so much food and then at the end of eating what we like, we simply go and throw the food. Yes on an average 70% throw 30% of the food. This is just the cafeteria that too in an office.

Move out, closer to the weekend and Bangalore - the garden city has only one mode of entertainment - that's eating out. It's definitely going out, ordering lots , trying out new tidbits of food as well as the news and then leaving it all to waste. Why did we order so much? Simple - we have the money to order all the food we can and then we have figures to watch so we can't always shove all of it down our throats.

Then let's move into our household - bread that craves for fungus because a new loaf was bought, old vegetables that were bought but out of laziness never cooked, delicacies that were supposed to be eaten but actually forgotten after lying in the the cold (fridge) for some weeks...why waste food here too.

It's only because it has not hit us yet. Just think about people who die out of starvation, little kids with malformed bodies because they never got enough food, mothers not being able to feed their Young ones because their share of nutrition was thrown in dustbins in offices & restaurants.

The next time you throw food - just "think", "picture" and "think" again. It won't use much of your brain cells, just maybe save some food:)

Changing the World Part -2

So here 'm back with the "Change the world" Flag high:). Hope you guys followed the three mantras:
1. Save electricity
2. Save water
3. Don't throw stuff anywhere but in a dustbin!
The theme this time is to "do something". Don't you sometimes feel life has no meaning, but only a superficial layer of tweets and Levi's jeans? Yes, I feel it too, so it's time we all did something and scratch and explore the more meaningful, kinder layers inside all of us.Start doing things for others....
When was the last time you did someone a favour -just like that without thinking of any returns...just gave away money because they needed it, or thanked someone genuinely or complimented someone you just don't like only because they deserve the compliment. Hmmm...'m sure most of you did it...a few examples I saw in the last few days that made me think there are still good people around...
My friend recently adopted a girl child - not because she can't have kids but only because she wanted to improve some one's life by giving it a comfortable home.The way she plays with the child, is managing work and her family along with this new angel that has entered her life surprises me, that there are still some people around who really care and even if they do not change the world they definitely change the world for that particular baby girl. Wish both the mother and her new daughter the very best in life.
Another incident happened on a train. It was an early morning train with surprisingly a lot of old gentlemen, maybe retired defence officers (I am just guessing) travelling in the same coach as me. Just after it crossed a particular station, a lady started screaming that she had lost her bag and someone must have taken it along with them when the train stopped at the last station. Usually in such a case passengers just look around, talk and start checking their own bags in case their stuff too might not be missing. In this case, there was sudden action, with one old gentlemen trying to calm down the lady reassuring her that they will all help her find her bag, another one rushed to look for the TT so that a message could be sent to the station master about the missing bag that could be at the last station and the third one pulled the chain. (The train didn't stop in spite of pulling the chain but that's another story). Everyone in the train looking at the three gentlemen well over 70 years helping the lady started looking around and someone finally or should I say actually found the bag. The tension was relieved, all 50 passengers were smiling at each other looking around and there was general bonhomie in this cluster of strangers. One of them asked the gentleman who had pulled the chain that what if the train had stopped, would he have paid the fine or would have made that lady pay it. He said, he would have paid it if he had to if the explanation wouldn't have worked, but another lady cut in and said, well all of us would have paid it, emphasising that it wouldn't have amounted to more than a small amount per person. And you know what I am sure if we would have been fined, the way the atmosphere was everyone together would have paid the fine.
In this era where we see people dying on the road and just walk ahead to our colleges and offices, such gestures even though minor touched my heart.
Both are small incidents that show that your life won't always give you opportunities to do things, you have got to grab it by its horns and rather than wait for the right moment just do things that you feel will make a difference no matter how big or small to at least someone.
hmmm...so what is it that I will do other than preaching? One compliment to someone every day, help someone at the office without any expectations and feeding stray dogs in front of my house:)
Bye for now...see you next time...with changing the world part -3

Changing the world part -1

So here it goes....Yes changing the world is not that difficult...it's a few easy steps, some conscious decisions and the will to not flow with the rest of the world into the grime...It also depends on what do you want to change. Since this is the first update on changing the world, we will stick to the minutest concerns that afflict us today. It's going to be in point form so that you one remembers at least something:
1. You eat a chocolate and where do you throw the wrapper? On the road - off course, that's the biggest dustbin our government has made anyways; it's open and broad and even has pot holes for you to fill in with garbage. Don't worry about what you are throwing - peels, paper, plastic, your spit or shit , the roads are black and grey to camouflage what is thrown. In case the road is being used to travel and drive, we always have an alternative for the dear citizens of India...our very own open drain system. Mix the rubbish with dirty rain water to create the fragrant slush that chokes the drains underneath. And remember never throw it in a dustbin (that is if you find one:)), or carry it in your bag or in a pocket to throw it at home. Only sissies do that. You the champ should always use the open government area provided to you.
2. Never switch off the AC...why should you suffer even a single minute of warmth or sweat especially when the weather outside is as high as 25 degree Celsius. In fact if you have the money put it in every room, and keep it switched on till the CFCs being released from it make the biggest hole in the Ozone layer. Who cares about the Ozone anyways except for the pub that serves the cheapest beer!
3. To move on from high end things to the basic common man needs - bijli - paani...remember it is your right to use it and waste it. So what if the water keeps dripping from the tap. The musical drops from your dripping tap are analogous to the sweetest chimes of China. And forget about wasting water, a better way to have fun is to always leave your lights switched on. never switch off the lights in your college or office. You aren't paying the bill so why should you put in the effort? Your careless attitude anyways suits the chilled out life that you lead, which might not be so in sometime when there is no electricity and water to waste.

The point is that everyone thinks, the world ending phenomenon is too far away (yes even a 2012 could not convince us that the world is ending), which is absolutely true, however what is not far away are some of the comforts of life which we take for granted now being diminished and extinct.

So the mantra for this life :
1. Throw it only in the dustbin
2. Switch off when you do not need it
2. Turn off the drip when the water's done using with

Ciao for today....think about what I have to say and don't just go with the flow...try to change it. Only You can!

I 'm back:)

So I am back..off course my last written word of checking on my accounts twice a week has not been met...so I am not a convert yet...but somehow..things have changed for me..New year - hopefully, new me...So what are my new year resolutions...I want to do something; yes really last few ears have been long, hard working however there is no real satisfaction...have I touched a heart? No. have I made myself happy? No. Have I changed the world? Definitely No...so it's time to pick up the strands and start tying them. Well all this spirit in me is inspired by a few heart warming events...which maybe I will elaborate on another day...so here come my New Year Resolutions...like everyone else's ..Hopefully putting it in writing will help me remember it and work towards them too...

1. Lose weight...!!! That's everyone;\'s New Year Resolution except for the size Zeroes roaming around me and on TV

2. Get a life...Seriously who doesn't want one...but somehow amidst the routine of work and eating, my life has gone missing...maybe I need to start looking at the things I always wanted to do and actually do it too

3. Stop working so hard...c'mon everyone needs a break and I definitely need one. For once I do not want to pester my brains about all the pending items at work...I want a weekend where in I dont even think about opening my laptop and gearing up for the next week...I want to enjoy my lunch at work...and not think about the PPT I have to make for the next meeting. off course after this my company might throw me out!

And off course I want to change the world:) Seriously Guys..It's time I show the world my true colours...How 'm I going to do it? Well I have a few plan...uopdate on changing the world the next time:)