The Places You'll Go

Chapter 1 - The Five Rings

Ypthima baldus - The Common Five-Ring Butterfly

My mobile rang - I picked it up on the fifth ring. It was Isha.

'Where are you? We're all at the Kundalahalli Bus stop,' she yelled indignantly.

'Coming, coming,' I grumbled and stumbled to the sink. 

Thottikallu Falls - An early 5 o' clock morning bus to Banashankari, followed by another short ride to Gulaka Male, and then a short walk to the destination. Sounded easy enough. 

I scurried to the Kundalahalli Gate bus stop; Isha, Brij, Ayushi and Sakaar were already there, and the bus was mere minutes away. A car whizzed past me, flashing its neon lights like a war-cry against the soft cerulean of the sky. It was a losing battle.

I had been there before, with Vedant, Viplove, Anjana, Abhishek, Radhika, Abhinav, Naman, and two new friends from QualComm - Abhiram and Pranita. That had been more of an entomology excursion. 

This was to be a less crowded substitute for Wonderla.

I found them, chatting excitedly at the bus stand. They were comparing work hours, job descriptions and office trivialities. I listened to them, hoping my turn didn't arrive. 

The bus was late. Blue poured copiously from the horizon. We watched anxiously for buses, like wives waiting for their husbands to return from the war. 

'There, I see it!' Sakaar yelled, and the five of us ran towards it. I could almost see yellow mustard fields and a crescendo of heavy strings, as the bus waltzed towards us in slow-motion.

'Banashankari,' the conductor uttered in a dreamy voice, and we climbed aboard, beside ourselves with glee. 

I could see the driver chuckling to himself, probably amused by the uncanny excitement of his passengers. I was sure most of the people he saw would be wearing earphones and a frown, impatient to get to wherever they were going - and then wherever they were going from there. 

Life was all journeys and pit stops - the destination never really arrives, does it?

That should be the BMTC motto, I thought. Anyway when you're in a bus in Bangalore during earthly hours, the destination never really arrives. 

The bus flew along the serene road, as the soft cerulean of the sky took over the battleground. The neons retreated, admitting defeat, waiting for nightfall to strike again. The five of us set off, like Borromean rings - no one knew which butterfly had flapped its wings to see us on the same bus, going to the same place.

Or was it vice versa?

Chapter 2 - Passion Flowers

Passiflora caerulae - The blue passion flower. It refers to the Passion Of The Christ - the many colours and filaments are said to represent various things, including the crown of thorns he wore, the apostles, the Holy Lance and the five wounds he suffered. 

In South India, it is called the Krishna Kamalam. The five filaments represent the Pandavas, which are surrounded by the hundred Kauravas. In the center, of course, is Krishna, resplendent with his blue aura. 

'Is anyone hungry?' Brij took out a tiffin box. 'I've brought gobi paratha. Please eat.'

He opened the lid, unleashing odours straight from the depths of the underworld, permeating our senses and reminding us of all our sins. Was this what Judgement Day smelt like?

'Erm, on second thought, let's finish my aaloo parathas first - they have a shorter shelf life.' Isha whimpered, diving into her bag for the box (and presumably a breath of fresh air). We all gratefully gobbled up the life-saver while Brij closed the portal to olfactory hell. 

We munched in silence, while the bus took the left turn towards Banashankari. 

'So, you guys like travelling?' I asked, mid-bite.

'Yes,' Brij replied excitedly. 'Just anywhere green and serene. I'm easily impressed,' he chuckled.

'And the company should be good,' Isha pitched in. 'Travelling with the wrong people can get pretty dreadful.'

I nodded. There were always two kinds of people for any trip. Those who asked, 'Who else is coming?' and those who wanted to know, 'Where are we going?'. We were all different mixes of these two archetypes. 

'But I think travelling is a universal hobby, right? Sakaar spoke up. 'Everyone has the ability to do it - and everyone wants to. Some people don't have the time or money, that's all.'

This was one passion shared by everyone. And passions were like buds - even if some day they wilt away, every passion flowers. 

'Banashankari!' The conductor yelled, and we stepped out into the day. 

Chapter 3 - The Slaty Skimmers

Libellula incesta - The Slaty Skimmer or the Black-tailed Skimmer. Found near marshlands or ponds. The female has some greenish-brown patches on the thorax and head. 

The male - black head with a metallic blue body.

Buses for Gulaka Male were leaving by the dozen. We climbed aboard the first one and set off, away from the city. The early morning vegetable market was coming together - vendors took supplies from here and distributed throughout the city. The fresh smells of coriander, mint and spinach wafted all along the way, until we were in the outskirts. All of us looked outside the window, as we caught mere glimpses of the farmlands silhouetted by the gleaming horizon. 

We perused the mild beauty of the hybrid landscape, peppered with cemented blocks and concrete structures that progressively grew sparser. 

'I haven't explored any place properly,' Brij turned to me. 'It's mostly been touch-and-go journeys for me. I'm thinking, in Bangalore, I'll do proper treks.'

'Come then,' I said to him. 'We're doing the Kumar Parvat climb next weekend. It's good for a first trek.'

'I'm in,' Brij flashed the sign of the horns. I laughed and turned back to the window. No more skimming the surface - we would know every place we went to, like home. 

Home is where the bus goes. 

'Gulaka Male!' the conductor bellowed. 

Chapter 4 - The Studded Sergeant

Athyma asura - A nymphalid butterfly typical to tropical Asia 

We walked off into the quaint village that was Gulaka Male, with the familiar smells of cows and wet grass smothering us. We got to talking about small town life, and I remembered Bhavnagar fondly, my first and foremost home. 

We identified tapioca, papaya and coconut palms, as we took a left towards Gulaka Male lake. The countryside had won - now there wasn't a single building in sight. 

The sun had taken root in the sky, spreading warm tendrils all over our world. We now passed chikoo (sapota), lemon, jackfruit, banana and guava trees. Most of the fruits were unripe, but some shone out from the foliage, calling out to us with their garish colours. 

'Let's steal some,' Brij piped up excitedly.

'No man,' I blurted out instinctively.

'Yes, Brij, this is their livelihood,' Ayushi folded her arms and eyed daggers at him. She was the moral compass of the group; the wagging index finger, the subtly-raised eyebrow, the passive-aggressive speaking frequency. 

'No, I meant, we'll pluck them on our way back. Otherwise we'll have to carry them to and fro.' I chuckled.

Brij slapped me on the back as Ayushi shook her head. 'Haaye, ye ladka,' she grumbled characteristically. 

We saw some fat, colorful chickens on the way. Brij nudged me with his elbow. I shoved him off.

'Come on people, the lake is not far,' I called out, walking off like a drill sergeant. 

I turned around to see the bank of the Gulaka Male lake looming up ahead.     

Chapter 5 - Common Pierrot

Castalius rosimon - A small, South Asian butterfly of the lycaenids; the blues family.

I took a running start and dashed up the short, muddy trail leading upwards. Hordes of dragonflies swarmed around us, as we walked adjacent to the cool breeze you always found near water bodies.

We saw egrets, cormorants and storks, playing hide and seek with the sun. They soared above the lake, singing excitedly, as if mocking their reflections trapped in the water. Ducks and frogs stuck their heads out of the surface of the lake, watching in silent bemusement. Ayushi spotted a long water snake with its young one, crawling ominously with ever so subtle ripples.

We skirted the edge of the lake to reach a diversion, that led back to the road. Pausing every minute to spot either a butterfly or dragonfly or even a strangely coloured leaf, we made our way back to the path.

I looked back at the lake as we soldiered on, feeling slightly melancholic for leaving. I wore the expression of a Pierrot in a pantomime; a sad clown, feeling dejected for the inevitable, never learning that separation was a certainty.

'You and I both know...
Everything must go away...'

Chapter 6 - Web Weavers

Nephila kuhlii - The black orb-weaver

Nephila pilipes - The golden orb-weaver

'You know, a lot of things affect the kind and quantity of milk given by a cow.' Isha started. 'The fodder, the time, and even the milkman. She will topple the bucket - and the unfortunate milker - if she isn't pleased.'


'And what if the calf wants milk? Do you not allow it to drink?' Ayushi asked, ever righteous.


'Animals exist to serve us.' Brij teased, barely suppressing a chuckle. 'What other purpose do their lives have?'


Ayushi grimaced at him and went on. 'And what happens after the cow becomes old and stops giving milk?'

'Come to Indiranagar's new kebab center, I'll show you.' I said non-chalantly. Everyone lost it. Ayushi shook her head and walked ahead. As if on cue, we came upon a temple, with some strange crow-pigeon hybrids sculpted on top of it.

Such a strange relationship we had, with animals. There was attachment, yet all motives were purely selfish. What would happen to ugly dogs, or weak horses; or barren cows? Why just animals - we shun and eradicate weeds, poisonous plants and infertile soil, as if the only purpose anything's existence ever serves is taking care of ours. Was this hypocrisy - or just the harsh truth?

'Ooh, I have a slight fever,' Ayushi groaned. 'Shouldn't have stayed up all night. I could have taken a Crocin before leaving.'

'My God, think of the poor bacteria and pathogens before you resort to such violence,' Brij said in mock horror.

Ayushi shot him a look that could have made a Dementor gulp.

We stopped to pluck some tamarinds off of a tree. I chewed on the leaves while I peeled a particularly bulbous one. It was sour, in an acidic, yet earthy way.

We were deep in the farmland now, surrounded by wild flowers, plants, crops and the creatures that dwelt in them. Each of us stared into the groves, spinning our own webs of thoughts and desires.

Before we knew it, we were staring at the entrance of Thottikallu Falls. 

Chapter 7 - Red-veined Darters

Sympetrum fonscolombii - The red-veined darter, found near shallow and sunny standing waters.

We raced in, immediately taking the harder, rockier path towards the clearing. Ayushi had worn slippers, so maintaining a grip was harder - but she managed to jump over the rocks and keep balance. After all, she was a dancer. 

Soon, we came to a diversion. Well, not so much a diversion; there was a proper trail that led upwards and a vague direction through the rocks that maybe someone with wings would choose.

So of course we decided to go through the rocks. 

'I'll come with you,' Brij said and whisked off. I sped behind him.

'We're taking the trail,' Sakaar shouted to us, taking off with Isha and Ayushi. 

Soon, me and Brij were at the first rock, clambering up and feeling around for footholds and crevices. Soon, we stood face to face with the hundred-foot drop, soft mist spraying us; the rocks inviting us to splash around with them. Later.

We took the rocks along the edge, and reached the peak, looking for our mates. Ayushi called out, 'Wait for us!' I could see her through a thicket of trees, making her way towards us. Soon, Isha and Sakaar joined her, and we were face-to-face.

'Hot-blooded people,' Isha muttered, setting herself down on the nearest rock. 'That's it. We're eating.'

I remembered Anjana had christened me and Abhishek, monkey-deer hybrids. It looked like another had joined the club. Me and Brij grinned at each other; the red-veined darters of the group. 

Chapter 8 - The Net-winged Beetle and The Yellow Pansy

Metriorrhynchus rhipidius - A Lycid beetle that is toxic when ingested

We removed our shoes and socks, sitting right above the cool, torrential water. It gurgled and trilled at our feet, like thousands of playful children, organized in their chaos. We dipped our feet, almost overwhelmed by the force and the chill of the tiny brook. Finding our balance, we bridged ourselves right across the narrow stream, and munched silently on chips and biscuits.

The water sang; a tune I'd heard before, and I couldn't help the sense of deja vu as I remembered my Kinnaur trek. Had the Pensieve followed me?

'Guys, I , err...I really need to change,' Brij murmured, clutching his nether regions and fidgeting nervously.

'Change, what, your bladder?' I asked coolly, and Isha choked on a potato chip. 

Brij grinned nervously, and took out some shorts. 'I'll be back.'

'Please keep your water away from ours,' Sakaar yelled after him, making Ayushi snort with laughter. 

He returned shortly, skipping and striding like a new man, considerably lighter on his feet. 'There's a rock up there. Looks cozy.' Brij pointed. 'What say?'

'Let's go,' I sighed. The two hardest words in the English language. 

After a short, gravelly climb, we were perched atop the said rock, looking down at the vast expanse of untouched land. Behind me, I saw tree stumps - it looked like tree logging was coming for this area too. I remembered a wizened local from a bus ride on my GKVK campus trip a month ago - he'd narrated to me how beautiful and pristine most of the areas like Marathahalli, Hebbal, Yeshwantpur and Varthur had been before the expansion of Bengaluru; not more than ten years ago. 

And ten years later, this would be gone too. 

We saw a young couple down by the spot where we'd been ten minutes ago. The girl had climbed up successfully, but the guy was struggling - and yet refusing to take the helping hand she was offering. We laughed at yet another group, posing and taking selfies at the very edge of the waterfall. Brij started quoting statistics of selfie deaths in India, and Ayushi glared at him.

I moved my gaze to a tiny shrine, just away from waterfall, and saw plastic bags and packets littered there, some laying untouched in the earth, while some dragged away into the waterfall, floating in the tiny ponds formed by the rock formations.

We were the plastic bags in Nature's pond, weren't we? We didn't really belong, and were too toxic to accept; like a net-winged beetle.

'Let's go bathe in the waterfall.' I announced. We left our perches, and made our way downwards, to join the plastic bags.

'Are you sure?' Sakaar asked hesitantly. 'It'll be cold and dirty.'

'Arre, it's fine.' Bhushan waved away his complaints. 'We've come so far, let's not be pansies.'

Junonia hierta - The Yellow Pansy, another nymphalid found near grasslands.

Chapter 9 - Pacific Spiketail

Cordulegaster dorsalis - The Pacific Spiketail, a fearsome, aggressive predator of flying insects. 

We stripped down to our shorts, and slowly made our way to the eye of the storm. Isha and Ayushi held back, deciding to join after seeing how we fared. The rocks were covered with algal blooms and lichen, making them more slippery and hence, riskier to navigate. Soon, we felt like we were in the middle of a stormy drizzle.

We looked up at the curtains of unforgiving water. The falls looked like an aggressive, fearsome predator - and we were going right into its jaws.

'Here goes nothing,' I whispered, and ran headfirst into the torrents, feeling the force of a hundred wrecking balls dropping on me incessantly. I whooped in excitement and the instant cold, and dragged Brij in. The water pelted us continuously, creating a cocoon that blanketed out all noise and dissolved all visuals. I took another step towards the rock, and immediately found emptiness. The water gushed in front of me, separating me from the world outside.


I had my whole little world here; my microcosm of beauty. A ray of light shone for an instant, and I saw a rainbow streaking across the water veil, joining my sanctum. I looked to my left and saw a series of step-like rocks, cut into the waterfall; we could climb up. I left my sanctuary, leaving the tiny rainbow trapped inside.






I saw Isha and Ayushi join us, finally getting over their trepidation. 'Let's go up, through the waterfall,' I said to Isha. She nodded excitedly.

'I'm fine here,' Ayushi stated, sitting down on a boulder near the white-water stream. The rest of us made our way upwards, using our hands and feet, holding on to anything that was even remotely solid. I could see the most monstrous rapid just ahead, and scampered to it.

'This is crazy,' I said out aloud and sat right in the middle of the onslaught. I couldn't even lay down completely, and my entire body vibrated and bounced with the impetus of the billows, like I was in a full-body massage chair.

Isha and Brij joined me. Isha sat right below me, and a thousand devious plans rushed into my head. I could control the amount and force of water that hit her.

'Hold on to your shorts!' I bellowed, and shifted slightly, keeping a tiny gap between my arm and my torso. A jet of water hit her right in the face, and she yelled in protest. She tried to splash water on me, but in vain; I was covered with it anyway. This went on for a while; I played water poltergeist, and she eventually grew accustomed to the short bursts of water that pelted her every ten seconds.

'Brij, you have to come sit here. It's like playing Poseidon.' I got up, to tell Ayushi what she was missing. Isha glared at me as I made my way downwards, splashing me one last time.

'Ayushi, come on. Look at that,' I pointed to where Brij was sitting. 'Be one with the force, my young Padawan.'

She looked at Brij and Isha, now playing the same game; two pawns in a board where the water was the queen.

'All right, screw it. I'm coming.' She got up.

I smiled, and turned back to another rapid as the droplets attacked me like a million spiketails.

Chapter 10 - Watch The Damsel Fly

Pseudagrion microcephalum - The blue river damselfly, found near still and running water.

I watched Ayushi join Isha, and I made my way back to the monolithic throne. We played 'hold your shorts' for about an hour, and decided we needed to go back before we got addicted.

I dangled from a strong branch; it was like sitting on a swing being pushed by water. We got down and sat for a while near the roaring of the water, calming ourselves. The number of people had now doubled, and they were all getting undressed. Luckily, we had arrived earlier and taken the waterfall for ourselves for a while. I saw dragonflies darting between our feet; some daring pink and metallic blue ones stood out in the chase. 

We tested out Ayushi's slow-mo camera for a while, making cheezy, cheeky gifs and cliched hair-flip clips. The sun was now in our faces - it was time to get dressed. 

'This was a lot of fun,' Ayushi smiled, as we made our way back to our garments. 'When I was in the water, I felt completely weightless, like I was flying.'

'Yes. This was a good trip.' I concurred, squeezing the water out of my shorts. 'More?'

'Of course.' 

It was refreshing to see that the waterfall had seeped in some wanderlust into each of us. I hoped that a long trek like Kumar Parvat would cement that feeling into our psyche - and we, in turn, would bring more and more people to these hedonic experiences. 

One day, we would see each damoiseau and damsel fly. 

I picked up my bag and turned around to see the tiny rainbow, still trapped inside the little cove within the waterfall. I waited for a moment, and then went back to the others. The sound of the waterfall faded away, and I did not look back again.

Photos, courtesy of Vedant Sapra and Abhinav Sethi.

Anjana's Blog : https://anjlifeexperiences.wordpress.com

Vedant's YouTube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_-wTP-OKAF6HskDOqSeREw

Vedant's Instagram Page : https://www.instagram.com/vedantsapra/

As We Keep Searching

Chapter 13 - Planet Earth

I looked straight ahead, through the giant windowpane that was the front of the bus. It was drizzling ever so slightly; some droplets caressed my face through the open window as I watched the melting portraits of the moistened world. Every turn revealed either a rainwater-fed lake, or a cave-like canopy, with the trees that flanked us gently brushing past us, like goodbye hugs.

I looked at my leech-marked legs. All the wounds had healed, leaving just trickles of dried blood, below the cursory cuts and scratches from all the brambles and rocks we had battled; remnants of our conquest of Mother Earth.

I smiled sadly. Well, we humans had done much worse to her.

As we left the town, the roads grew wider, and buildings emerged. Nature slowly recalled her forces and gave way to the hustle and bustle of human life. The rain grew thicker, blanketing my vignette screen, like a reflection in the sea being dissolved by sudden waves. It was Her way of telling me, there was nothing more to see here.

I went back to my co-passengers. Most of them were asleep, rocking unconsciously with the swaying of the bus. Shankar was sitting in the front. I could see the ghost of a lucid dream playing in his eyes. As I sat beside him, both our heads turned to the window to my right.

'Dude, have you seen Planet Earth?'
'Yes yes. Oh my God...'
'Dude Oh my God...'
'Oh my God...'

And we gushed over little details of the various episodes, like the Ibex climbing a vertical dam, or the iguana island chase, or the fish tornado owing to their uncanny synchronization...every discussion served an addition to our infinite bucket lists. I knew I had found a fellow wanderer.

I went to Vedant, to ask him about his leech bites. He was looking at them with horrified fascination, like an ominous storm-cloud you can't take your eyes off.

'It's not as bad as Kerala,' he sighed as he saw me coming. We had gone to a Talacauvery-Mondrute trek a month ago, having been practically ambushed by leeches.

'So, you got what you were looking for?' I asked him. Vedant was an aspiring filmmaker and ardent photographer. We had a mutual love for flora and fauna, even though I was on the opposite end of the shutterbug spectrum.

'Didn't get any birds, cause we didn't stick around anywhere long enough, but I got a few gems.' He piped up excitedly, producing his camera. 'Look.'

'Beautiful,' I breathed. 'I'll sprinkle them all over my last blog post, pakka.'

As we perused through the photographs, everyone stirred awake one by one and started voicing their gastric woes, like newly hatched baby chickens clamouring for food. I went back to the driver to tell him to stop for refreshments.

'Refreshments,' I would chuckle to myself an hour later.

Chapter 14 - For A Few Vadas More

'Let's all just take a nimbu pani or something, and scram.' I spoke to the bus, having parked in front of a tiny snack stall. It poured heavily now, and people were getting torn between the primal urges of laziness and hunger. Someone had to take the first step. 

Parag stepped up (or rather out), rushing to the plastic chairs that were within spitting distance, and asked for a lemon soda in visibly uncomfortable sign language. 

'One lemon soda, right?' The lady replied fluently, and Parag nodded sheepishly. 

'Hey, me too...'. Spurred on by seeing their fellow human make it to the watering hole without getting eaten, the herd followed. Soon, lemon juices were being handed out all over.

'What's that?' Vedant asked, looking at a dal vada sitting near the frying pan. Everyone's eyes swung to the object of admiration. I was reminded of Genghis Khan and his forces, looking at China with the same sentiment. Little did I know how accurate that analogy would turn out to be. 

'Didi, one neer dosa, please. Make that five, actually.'

'Could you keep the medu vadas and dal vadas coming? They're excellent...'

'Get more sambar and chutney. In fact, get that entire vessel...'

And we devoured hungrily through the rain, watching the entire shop working overtime and replacing gas cylinders to feed our troops. The hot sambar, spicy chutney, crunchy vadas and soft dosas did their work in minutes, supplying their elemental forms to our half-dead cells and jolting them back to life, like a defibrillator to our senses. 

'More ale, wench!' I growled, pirate-style.

'No money, stupid!' Anjana retorted. 

I apologetically produced a Rs. 500 note and the festivities began again. Apparently they were buying vadas from the neighbouring store to meet the demand. 

The orgy lasted for over an hour, and the total cost came to a mere thousand rupees - nowhere else would we able to feed seventeen hungry baby elephants at such a price. Having been filled with heady bliss and processed rice, we climbed back onto the bus, almost ready for an another trek.

'Hey, people, we could go to the Mullayanagiri trek in Chikamagalur. Anyway, it's a holiday tomorrow. What say?'

I dodged the confetti of dirty socks and bolted to the front of the bus.

Chapter 15 - Blur

'Is this one of the hardest treks you've been to?'

I thought for a while. 'Definitely in the top five,' I started, 'But it was one of the most beautiful, hands down.' I looked back at the others - some had donned earphones, some were dozing off, some were engaged in hushed conversations drowned out by the wind, and a few were looking out the window; peace etched into their faces like subtle contours on a statuette. 

'This was a completely new mode of travelling for me. Normally I like travelling solo or in small groups of four or less, taking state transport and hitchhiking to and fro. Seventeen people,' I chuckled for the hundredth time. 'I would never have imagined it.'

'My favourite trek till now, though.' Shankar mused, turning his attention back outside.

The sky had darkened to a melancholic, cloudy blue. All the hues of the terrain had deepened, with a ray of the last light lurking around the horizon. The setting sun radiated Charukeshi, pure and unadulterated, for a blink of an eye. In seconds it vanished, taking the shuddha Ga with it, and Asavari drizzled from the sky, with a lullaby of raindrops that endeavoured to wake me from this reality. The wind grew colder, and the komal ni gave way to its pure form, as the breeze played Keeravani; the infinite ending to an ever-setting sun. 

"For in the end, all the love and laughter, anger and pain,

 Will all be in vain...

 Like tears in the rain..."

Before I knew what was happening, it was night, and plans were being made about dinner, drop-offs and one last game of Mafia. 

We had one hilarious game with the villagers scuttling their own ship again and again, with a last-minute ingenious move by Karthikeyan that had them down to three people. The game was interrupted by a logistical error in booking the bus that surfaced when Shankar pondered about the payments (having been viciously ousted early in the game by Prajyot). 

It was possible that we would have to pay for three days of travel. 

Everyone fell silent (no two words get a bus full of youngsters quieter than 'pay' and 'more'). We went to talk to the driver and called up the manager of Tejas Tours, trying to figure it out. Dinner was now a snag. There was also the matter of returning the tents and sleeping bags. 

We stopped at a shady highway dhaba and resolved the issue. Dinner was here, and the tents et al would be relinquished some other day. We would pay for two days plus whatever extra hours we took starting now.

'Guys, we won't have to pay more.'

It seems the same two words suffice to get a bus full of youngsters shouting again. 

The dinner paled miserably in comparison to our nectareous lunch, and we comforted ourselves with an Enigma game (trying to guess the mathematical pattern used by someone to make three numbers in a set). 

We raced off again, with the only objective being to get to Bangalore before the full exhaustion of the trek hit us. Me, Jaydev and Shankar quickly planned the drop-off path and collected cash from everyone to pay the driver at the end.

The driver switched off the main lights, leaving only the surreal blue LEDs on. As if on cue, my eyes grew heavy, and the rest of the night passed in a blur.

Chapter 16 - We Back

I awoke past midnight. We were in the city, with the Ulsoor lake to our left. Behind me, everyone was suspended in the dreamy blue haze surrounding us. I could hear the roar of the traffic and rain outside - a typical Bangalore symphony. We back.

I stumbled to the front and asked the driver to turn on the lights. Despite silent cries of protest, they collected their bags with half-shut eyes and wore their shoes. One last ordeal before collapsing for a day and a half.

First, we came to Indiranagar; Ravneet, Harmeet and Parag dismounted together. We said our hasty good-byes through the rain and sped off towards Phoenix Market City to drop Radhika. 'Please keep me in the loop regarding future treks,' she said sleepily. I nodded and opened the door - the rain had calmed. 

Then, it was a long drive towards BEML Layout. Jaydev, Saurabh and Prajyot left en route. 'It was a great trip, man. Thanks.' Prajyot clasped my hand and stepped down. Jaydev nodded at me as he left - a silent acknowledgment of the same. 

Anjana and Rashmi got down at BEML Layout. Anjana threw me a glance as she left, and for a brief moment, I saw the veiled sadness I was hiding behind my own tired eyes. Why do things end?

So we can begin them again.

We shall do this once more, I tried to speak telepathically, and it didn't matter whether she heard - I knew wanderlust when I saw it; she was in before I would ask.

A hard left from Kundanahalli Signal, and we stood outside Mahaveer Maples, blinking blue in the pitch black night. The rain had stopped. 

Me, Ravindra and Shankar hauled the luggage back to our flat, setting it down in the hall and lumbering back to pay the driver. 

It was a quick transaction. Abhinav and Surendra got off, making their way to their respective societies. We would meet the day after, in office. 

Shankar asked the driver to do a final stint to Spice Garden and then Bellandur, who gladly obliged. We saved his contact and saw them all off. 

'Thank you, Anna,' we expressed our gratitude to the captain of our ship, and waved to the others. 'Put a message on the group once you're home,' were our parting words. 

That left the two of us standing under skies bereft of rain and light, and the compasses of our minds swung to the building behind us - home when we weren't home.

We sighed, in a silent debate on whether to move on, or just walk off into the darkness, to grasp at infinitesimal moments before our everyday rigmarole returned. Finally, our legs took their steps inside - but we seemed to have left our minds out there, still debating. 

No way but forward, right?

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over questions posed as riddles, and answers that spoke like lore.

As my mind travelled distances, through dictums, morals and fences,

Through my ether-sailing senses, came a question, seen before,

To my eager, flailing senses, something someone asked before,

Saying, 'What are you looking for?'

Oh, this query is rhetoric, as its answer is symbolic, 

Through my mind so melancholic, I perused a trove of yore.

Every hue and song and ballad has remade me far from pallid,

Ne'er have I slighted a mountain, or refused a grove before.

But the specter soon dismissed it; it had heard all this before,

And said, 'What are you looking for?'

Ah, maybe it held the notion there was no truth but emotion,

Swimming my hedonic ocean, my commotion called 'Encore!'

And every pain and pleasure roaring sent this cosmic saga soaring,

As my symphony's outpouring had left nothing to explore,

But the shadow shunned my song, said there was nothing to explore,

And said, 'What are you looking for?'

As my wanderings grew frantic, I espoused an end romantic,

In this universe pedantic - who sits scheming at its core?

Don't we all know it's uncertain who's behind this cruel curtain?

Whose kingdom is this concert in, where we're dreaming evermore?

But the phantom smiled and sighed again, as it had evermore...

And said, 'What are you looking for?'

Left with nothing, I traverse the night to ponder or converse,

With those who search the universe for what lies yonder, or inwards,

And I find souls in restless numbers; not a single spirit slumbers,

And as whatever encumbers them is gone; I hear these words...

Now one of millions of these passengers, I say to them these words,

I say, 'What are you looking for?'

Now my hourglass is broken, and my minstrel cloud has spoken,

And my mind has left no token of the mind that it was dreaming,

And the bus is roaring stronger, in the land where night is longer,

And atop a cliff, or rock, or tree, you'll find one of us perching,

And I hope to walk these trails with them, again, as we keep searching,

And I hope to talk these tales with them, again, as we keep searching,

Yet again, As We Keep Searching..."

Epilogue: Two Blogs Walk Into A Movie...

'It's noon, let's release everything.'

'Yeah, just a moment, I have one last picture to upload.'

'Come on Anjana, we'll miss the moment...'

'Oh, I'm sorry, had we timed this with the alignment of the planets? Is someone's life hanging in...'

'All right, all right, just finish it off.'

'Okay, done. Vedant, upload the video.'

'All right, we do it together. Three...two...'

'For Pete's sake, it's not a High School Musical. Just put up the video and send us the link.'

'Okay, okay.'

Bandaje Falls Trek - The Movie : https://youtu.be/NFWNOzhYSZU

And Anjana's Blog Post : https://anjlifeexperiences.wordpress.com

Photos, courtesy of Vedant Sapra.

Anjana's Blog : https://anjlifeexperiences.wordpress.com

Vedant's YouTube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_-wTP-OKAF6HskDOqSeREw

Vedant's Instagram Page : https://www.instagram.com/vedantsapra/