Home again Home again!
In the last nine months of this blog’s neglect, much has happened. I have slipped from being an observer to being a participant. There has been an ensuing change in perspective – a different stage of the romance with the ole country. I am very much now a resident of India, unfazed by the hairs-breath brush with traffic on a daily basis. I have heard of more traffic deaths of people associated with people associated with me – I am beginning to get less startled by this with each passing death. I suppose we are just too many to worry about a few folks? I am concerned about my own self preservation. I don’t own a vehicle, being less interested in milling with other vehicles in Bangalore. On the contrary I put my hands in the life of a driver of unknown ability on a daily basis. Also perversely a vehicle is precisely what I need to get away from Bangalore. And Bangalore needs to be gotten away from every now and then.
I have had a couple of really good getaways recently. One was a hike to Kudremukh in the Western Ghats in Karnataka and the other was to Vellarimala in Kerala. Both were amazing – the second more so, so I write about it here. I think it was these two treks that pushed me over the vacillating edge of “can I stay here or not?” There is much beauty in India waiting to be enjoyed; some of it is being eroded fast. But there are parts that will remain, thanks to the lack of rampant infrastructure in India. Vellarimala was my first visit to Kerala – also known as “God’s own country”. And if I were a God I would certainly keep Kerala for myself.
Each day is a new initiation to life in India. I went boldly on the second trek, the only female and probably the oldest in a group of 9 people. In itself having male company was a non-event for me – but I got the sense of curiosity, susurations felt, rather than heard. I wondered if there would be repercussions at work. I wondered if I would be labeled immoral, lose or of doubtful reputation, as I have seen another colleague smeared – smeared enough to not be hired at TIFR, even though her mathematical ability is acknowledged by the same tongue wagers. Woman, know thy limit!!!! Of course if tongues did wag behind my back I would not know it – maybe not even a female colleague would walk on truthful grounds to inform me.
So I thoroughly enjoyed my trek and to hell with lose tongues. There were many high points during the tough climb up and the even tougher climb down, all punctuated with gorgeous scenery and breathtaking surroundings and great company. The event was extremely well organized and smooth, thanks to two wonderful guys who seemed to have worked quietly behind the scenes and wanting no credit. We carried loads of stuff up – most heavy of these was food – more than we needed. We had a guide without whom it would take all of 5 seconds to lose ones way in the rain forests. I tried about 10 different times to guess where we were headed and I was wrong each time. The most exciting bit was when it turned dark soon after we peaked but had to camp near water and got lost finding it. Amazingly no one panicked. I fully expected one of us to be bitten by some poisonous snake as 9 of us sat huddled in a small clearing of 9 feet by 5 feet or so. After about 45 minutes of waiting, the guide who had disappeared showed up with another guide in tow. This in itself was a miracle, given that we expected nobody else to be in the hills. With the help of these two we made a tight line and felt our way down to the campsite, where there was this other group with a roaring fire lit. It was a cold night. What’s more, they fed us!!! It was a group of 7 people – but they fed all nine of us first before they ate themselves. I was deeply touched. All the way down to the campsite, I kept hearing “lady” punctuate the malyali melody many times. After a while I concluded it was really a Malayalam word. I still don’t know the truth about that.
That night sleep was impossible. I was tired beyond exhaustion, cold, people snored and I woke up worrying a bit about being the only female in a group of 16 folks now –seven added burly guys that I knew not at all. So I stayed as close as comfortably possible to the guys in my group and stayed agog to snores. Heard the trumpet of elephants at night and the howl of wolves and watched the brightly sequined sky all night long, feeling astronomy challenged. The next tired but beautiful day was spent exploring and moving to another campsite. There we got more rest. I discovered the joy of doing yoga on a warm rock plateau followed by a deep nap on the warmth against my back which left me convinced that I was at home afloat in my bed.
The swimming holes along the way up and down are worth mentioning too. Cold water on sweaty skin is like panacea. On the way up I got excruciatingly debilitating leg cramps after getting in the icy water and as a result held up the entire group. On the way down I was more careful. By the time we reached the pick-up point my legs had taken on a will of their own, not in my control. But the sheer exhilaration of having climbed and descended perked us all up.
As if to offset the joys of the treks, work acted up to tip the balance enough that I am fully ready for another trek. But that deserves another blog entry of its own.
I have had a couple of really good getaways recently. One was a hike to Kudremukh in the Western Ghats in Karnataka and the other was to Vellarimala in Kerala. Both were amazing – the second more so, so I write about it here. I think it was these two treks that pushed me over the vacillating edge of “can I stay here or not?” There is much beauty in India waiting to be enjoyed; some of it is being eroded fast. But there are parts that will remain, thanks to the lack of rampant infrastructure in India. Vellarimala was my first visit to Kerala – also known as “God’s own country”. And if I were a God I would certainly keep Kerala for myself.
Each day is a new initiation to life in India. I went boldly on the second trek, the only female and probably the oldest in a group of 9 people. In itself having male company was a non-event for me – but I got the sense of curiosity, susurations felt, rather than heard. I wondered if there would be repercussions at work. I wondered if I would be labeled immoral, lose or of doubtful reputation, as I have seen another colleague smeared – smeared enough to not be hired at TIFR, even though her mathematical ability is acknowledged by the same tongue wagers. Woman, know thy limit!!!! Of course if tongues did wag behind my back I would not know it – maybe not even a female colleague would walk on truthful grounds to inform me.
So I thoroughly enjoyed my trek and to hell with lose tongues. There were many high points during the tough climb up and the even tougher climb down, all punctuated with gorgeous scenery and breathtaking surroundings and great company. The event was extremely well organized and smooth, thanks to two wonderful guys who seemed to have worked quietly behind the scenes and wanting no credit. We carried loads of stuff up – most heavy of these was food – more than we needed. We had a guide without whom it would take all of 5 seconds to lose ones way in the rain forests. I tried about 10 different times to guess where we were headed and I was wrong each time. The most exciting bit was when it turned dark soon after we peaked but had to camp near water and got lost finding it. Amazingly no one panicked. I fully expected one of us to be bitten by some poisonous snake as 9 of us sat huddled in a small clearing of 9 feet by 5 feet or so. After about 45 minutes of waiting, the guide who had disappeared showed up with another guide in tow. This in itself was a miracle, given that we expected nobody else to be in the hills. With the help of these two we made a tight line and felt our way down to the campsite, where there was this other group with a roaring fire lit. It was a cold night. What’s more, they fed us!!! It was a group of 7 people – but they fed all nine of us first before they ate themselves. I was deeply touched. All the way down to the campsite, I kept hearing “lady” punctuate the malyali melody many times. After a while I concluded it was really a Malayalam word. I still don’t know the truth about that.
That night sleep was impossible. I was tired beyond exhaustion, cold, people snored and I woke up worrying a bit about being the only female in a group of 16 folks now –seven added burly guys that I knew not at all. So I stayed as close as comfortably possible to the guys in my group and stayed agog to snores. Heard the trumpet of elephants at night and the howl of wolves and watched the brightly sequined sky all night long, feeling astronomy challenged. The next tired but beautiful day was spent exploring and moving to another campsite. There we got more rest. I discovered the joy of doing yoga on a warm rock plateau followed by a deep nap on the warmth against my back which left me convinced that I was at home afloat in my bed.
The swimming holes along the way up and down are worth mentioning too. Cold water on sweaty skin is like panacea. On the way up I got excruciatingly debilitating leg cramps after getting in the icy water and as a result held up the entire group. On the way down I was more careful. By the time we reached the pick-up point my legs had taken on a will of their own, not in my control. But the sheer exhilaration of having climbed and descended perked us all up.
As if to offset the joys of the treks, work acted up to tip the balance enough that I am fully ready for another trek. But that deserves another blog entry of its own.
posted by Iss Desh ki Dharti at
9:47 AM
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