Nature
conjures miracles.
Tadiyendamol Trek - Coorg Dec 2008
It's the season of the year, after youth has
faded away,
The colored leaves shall now waltz, until at last they lay.
Alone each must dance, and foretell of coming glory.
Autumn's come, giving hope in an unfolding story.
The question was spontaneous and my decision impulsive. The decision
was to explore Coorg & to do a lot of work on the way (or so
we thought). My impulse led me right. Accompanied by the Fonseca
family, Mr.Deo and myself, the Matsyagandha Express made it's way
towards Mangalore. And then came dinner-I think we stole the meal
of an elephant, what with rasam & curd rice! Not to mention
the number of starters we had-phew! We made it to Manglore at 8am
the next day & proceeded straight towards the first Idlies
of the day. At the end of a smooth but winding Sumo journey we were
at the Kabinakad junction in Coorg.
A wild 4x4 jeep ride for 3kms and we were in paradise itself, 'The
Honey Valley Estate'.
Set up by the Chengappa family – it is splendidly isolated.
Soon at the estate I realized that time can be at a standstill but
yet move on eternally. Uncle, aunty and Sharad have brought up the
place with great warmth and it shows in the way they have nurtured
the place over the years with undying love & hardwork. I thoroughly
enjoyed every meal at Honey Valley, which would be authentic South
Indian cuisines with the various aromas of the region's spices.
Post lunch I tucked myself away in my cosy little room until our
first walk to the dry pond that evening. The scene set for us, was
that of endless mountain ranges, a number of ridges of grassy &
forest clad slopes rising to the sky. We spoke of Walt Disney here.
Gearing up for our trek to Tadiyendamol the next day, I started
my day (as usual) by calling out to Prateek at 6am. After our invigorating
warm-up walk, we had bellies rumbling and pleading for a heavy but
sumptuous breakfast. We chose 'Route F' from the pond. The landscape
didn't stop fascinating me for even a moment. A number of streams
came our way-they offered us their cool & clear waters. Mid
way we were joined by a British couple, Julliet(74) & Brian(77),
their zest towards life & enthusiasm in every step was contagious.
Rutha & Umesh, another couple also chose to tag along. We made
it to the base camp by 2pm, with few chances to attempt the climb,
sad but hungry we munched on assorted biscuits & sandwiches.
From a distance we were picked up by Ganesh and his jeep. We soon
had dinner and then spoke till 2am. Here I learnt that people are
good & every journey reveals another.
As
we sat on the verandah outside our rooms, 'Route D' called out to
us – a new trek began. The rustling leaves & the pristine
beauty around seemed to have taken away all the tiredness from the
previous day. This route is not very dramatic but as we walked we
found symphonies amongst the trees. We sat by a small stream and
watched the insects play in the water. Our conversations having
no end were beautiful. On our way back, I saw a breathtaking view
– that of the valley, distant hills with a small house nestled
in the forests (I wished it was my own), a moon up in the pink sky.
My camera was too inert to capture this scene unfold in front of
us. It was very much like a dream sequence. Underneath the canopy
of the dense evergreen trees, nature conjured a miracle. We smiled.
The sails were about to change the course – the wind already
had.
Nature played its tunes, we softly whispered the words & life
then sang a beautiful song.
In all things of nature, I found there is something marvelous-every
moment seemed splendid and I found the best of me in the hills.
- all photos & written by Prachi Pednekar
A
Life Away From Life venture.
Back to a lifeawayfromlife |
|