Chapter - 6 : A Stitch In Time
'What do you mean, there's no bus?' I blurted out.
'Here's the deal,' Nalin massaged his temple with great restraint. 'Our bus is apparently some computerized, sentient, Optimus Prime Jarvis hybrid thingy, and it's gone Blade Runner on us.'
'Our bus is computerized?' I guffawed. 'It doesn't even have a license plate. It groans every hour, and the brakes sound like the soundtrack from The Conjuring. I almost thought I'll crack open the diesel tank and find The Flintstones inside.'
'Whatever be the reason, our vehicle's finished. There's a mechanic coming from Sagara tomorrow morning to take a look, but we need a contingency plan.'
'Not to worry - there's two buses that'll arrive at Nittur, at 6 and 7. They'll go straight to Bangalore. All of us should be able to find seats.'
'All 28 of us?' Nalin asked sceptically.
I shrugged. 'What other options?'
'Let me call the travels guy once,' Kowshik spoke up. 'I'll tell him to send us another bus from somewhere close by. He has a lot of vehicles running all over the state.'
'Okay, that sounds good too. And I'll ask Quicksilver about the morning buses, their frequency, the approximate rush and other transport options.'
'Done. I'll make sure folks don't panic.'
I and Shankar walked out to our compatriots after talking to our guide. Buses were available, no problem, but there was no guarantee we would all find seats. Worst case, the least tired of us would go home standing. Now, to distract the populace.
'Hello people,' Shankar spoke in his characteristic tremble. 'Who wants a campfire?'
'That's your excitement voice?' I whispered angrily to Shankar. 'This is how we announce cremations.'
We dodged the hail of dirty socks and bolted back inside. I guess no one was in the mood.
Over dinner, we laid out the options, with suggestions and scenarios being thrown around, and updates being discussed. In the end, there was nothing we could do before the following morning, so we decided to save our energy for the next day.
As I was settling into my tent, Shankar came up to me, laughing silently. 'Dude, the driver was right there, eating with us, while we were discussing abandoning the bus and taking public transport. After everyone left, he suddenly lost it, muttering about how we were all taking decisions without consulting him.' He looked around furtively. 'We'll have to be careful about whatever we do tomorrow.'
I nodded. 'I knew from his mustache itself that he's repressed.'
Shankar laughed and went to his tent. I took one last look at the night sky and the moon, the mighty silhouettes of the trees and the musty, cool earth; being stuck here wouldn't be so bad.
'Whatever be the reason, our vehicle's finished. There's a mechanic coming from Sagara tomorrow morning to take a look, but we need a contingency plan.'
'Not to worry - there's two buses that'll arrive at Nittur, at 6 and 7. They'll go straight to Bangalore. All of us should be able to find seats.'
'All 28 of us?' Nalin asked sceptically.
I shrugged. 'What other options?'
'Let me call the travels guy once,' Kowshik spoke up. 'I'll tell him to send us another bus from somewhere close by. He has a lot of vehicles running all over the state.'
'Okay, that sounds good too. And I'll ask Quicksilver about the morning buses, their frequency, the approximate rush and other transport options.'
'Done. I'll make sure folks don't panic.'
I and Shankar walked out to our compatriots after talking to our guide. Buses were available, no problem, but there was no guarantee we would all find seats. Worst case, the least tired of us would go home standing. Now, to distract the populace.
'Hello people,' Shankar spoke in his characteristic tremble. 'Who wants a campfire?'
'That's your excitement voice?' I whispered angrily to Shankar. 'This is how we announce cremations.'
We dodged the hail of dirty socks and bolted back inside. I guess no one was in the mood.
Over dinner, we laid out the options, with suggestions and scenarios being thrown around, and updates being discussed. In the end, there was nothing we could do before the following morning, so we decided to save our energy for the next day.
As I was settling into my tent, Shankar came up to me, laughing silently. 'Dude, the driver was right there, eating with us, while we were discussing abandoning the bus and taking public transport. After everyone left, he suddenly lost it, muttering about how we were all taking decisions without consulting him.' He looked around furtively. 'We'll have to be careful about whatever we do tomorrow.'
I nodded. 'I knew from his mustache itself that he's repressed.'
Shankar laughed and went to his tent. I took one last look at the night sky and the moon, the mighty silhouettes of the trees and the musty, cool earth; being stuck here wouldn't be so bad.
Chapter - 7 : The Grass Is Greener
'Danish, you awake?'
Shankar was outside my tent. I had been floating in sleep limbo since 5 am, when his voice finally pulled me to the here and now.
I kickstarted my body into motion and got up, like an old Honda motor. The analogy reminded me; we didn't have a bus. I stepped out of the tent and greeted the early morning blue. Wordlessly, we walked off into the forest.
It was like watching dusk in reverse - except it was happening to the body too. After a point, I couldn't tell if the world was brightening or if I was waking up. Each colour grew deeper, each outline grew crisper, and orange swept over the blue, with yellow in tow, like the sky was an ocean with the rainbow as its waves. Birdsong came alive in the forest; how lucky, to have music as your language. I mentally noted the presence of doves, mynas, hornbills and egrets. After the Odisha trip, my bird-spotting and call-identifying skills had improved, owing to my parents.
We rushed up a small hill, to meet the line where the light was starting. The sunrise would probably be visible from there.
'Hornbills,' I whispered, as three of them alighted on a branch right above me. The angle and lighting was definitely not cordial now, but I could capture their silhouettes. We stalked other birds for a while - there were some thrushes, tits and magpies, along with a few smaller birds I had never seen before - until a black, majestic creature flitted into view, its twin tails fluttering like victory flags.
'Racket-tailed drongo!' I nudged Shankar furiously. 'My phone, ada paavi, where's my phone...' I man-handled him for a while until I realized it was in my pocket. By the time I'd gotten close enough for a decent shot, it flew off, probably in response to a faraway mating call.
'Did you see that tail? How does evolution do that?' Shankar mused.
'Boggles my mind, everytime.' I concurred. 'It's as if DNA is writing pickup lines all over birds' bodies.'
'Yeah,' he chuckled. 'So many colours and patterns...and apparently it's all random.'
The first rays of light meandered through the foliage and came to rest upon the valley. We climbed further, and waited. Like a distant, quiet explosion, a supernova emerged from between the hills, blinding and soothing at the same time. All our thoughts and the light we had left yesterday came rushing back to us, renewed and refreshed. Somewhere, there was now a sunset.
We descended the hill and started walking back to our camp. Anurag met us halfway, and we went along a small bund of sorts, looking at the water birds rummaging about in the makeshift stream for their early morning baths and other rituals. It was time to get going.
Just next to our cottage, there was a small field, fenced away with barbed wire. We spotted a peacock and a peahen, prancing about like in a sensual tango. Our footsteps alone scared them away, as they strutted off to continue their performance under safer trees. I was reminded of the deer in the IIT Chennai campus, and the peacocks in Pilani; unmindful of humans, even allowing us to touch and pet them. Years of proximity to people had warped their very instincts.
We went inside, and joined the others for breakfast. It was a sombre, quick affair, as finding a way back home was on everyone's minds. We paid some of the remaining amount to the home stay people, promising to transfer the rest after reaching home.
'Okay, let's check on the bus, for the last time, and then decide accordingly. I think that mechanic came yesterday, that's all the info I have.'
The bus was located slightly away, so a few of us clambered onto the jeep and went off, leaving the rest of us waiting like loved ones outside an operation room. Nothing happened for five minutes.
'What if...' Shankar started with a tone of alarm.
'Don't say it,' I said dramatically, trying to sound like someone was dying. 'It won't help with the pain.' Shankar cracked up at that.
We heard a sound, increasing in volume steadily. Puzzled, all of us went out the door and looked towards the road. We were greeted by our bus, roaring into view, with our friends in the jeep just behind it, hooting louder than the engine.
Shankar was outside my tent. I had been floating in sleep limbo since 5 am, when his voice finally pulled me to the here and now.
I kickstarted my body into motion and got up, like an old Honda motor. The analogy reminded me; we didn't have a bus. I stepped out of the tent and greeted the early morning blue. Wordlessly, we walked off into the forest.
It was like watching dusk in reverse - except it was happening to the body too. After a point, I couldn't tell if the world was brightening or if I was waking up. Each colour grew deeper, each outline grew crisper, and orange swept over the blue, with yellow in tow, like the sky was an ocean with the rainbow as its waves. Birdsong came alive in the forest; how lucky, to have music as your language. I mentally noted the presence of doves, mynas, hornbills and egrets. After the Odisha trip, my bird-spotting and call-identifying skills had improved, owing to my parents.
We rushed up a small hill, to meet the line where the light was starting. The sunrise would probably be visible from there.
'Hornbills,' I whispered, as three of them alighted on a branch right above me. The angle and lighting was definitely not cordial now, but I could capture their silhouettes. We stalked other birds for a while - there were some thrushes, tits and magpies, along with a few smaller birds I had never seen before - until a black, majestic creature flitted into view, its twin tails fluttering like victory flags.
'Racket-tailed drongo!' I nudged Shankar furiously. 'My phone, ada paavi, where's my phone...' I man-handled him for a while until I realized it was in my pocket. By the time I'd gotten close enough for a decent shot, it flew off, probably in response to a faraway mating call.
'Did you see that tail? How does evolution do that?' Shankar mused.
'Boggles my mind, everytime.' I concurred. 'It's as if DNA is writing pickup lines all over birds' bodies.'
'Yeah,' he chuckled. 'So many colours and patterns...and apparently it's all random.'
The first rays of light meandered through the foliage and came to rest upon the valley. We climbed further, and waited. Like a distant, quiet explosion, a supernova emerged from between the hills, blinding and soothing at the same time. All our thoughts and the light we had left yesterday came rushing back to us, renewed and refreshed. Somewhere, there was now a sunset.
We descended the hill and started walking back to our camp. Anurag met us halfway, and we went along a small bund of sorts, looking at the water birds rummaging about in the makeshift stream for their early morning baths and other rituals. It was time to get going.
Just next to our cottage, there was a small field, fenced away with barbed wire. We spotted a peacock and a peahen, prancing about like in a sensual tango. Our footsteps alone scared them away, as they strutted off to continue their performance under safer trees. I was reminded of the deer in the IIT Chennai campus, and the peacocks in Pilani; unmindful of humans, even allowing us to touch and pet them. Years of proximity to people had warped their very instincts.
We went inside, and joined the others for breakfast. It was a sombre, quick affair, as finding a way back home was on everyone's minds. We paid some of the remaining amount to the home stay people, promising to transfer the rest after reaching home.
'Okay, let's check on the bus, for the last time, and then decide accordingly. I think that mechanic came yesterday, that's all the info I have.'
The bus was located slightly away, so a few of us clambered onto the jeep and went off, leaving the rest of us waiting like loved ones outside an operation room. Nothing happened for five minutes.
'What if...' Shankar started with a tone of alarm.
'Don't say it,' I said dramatically, trying to sound like someone was dying. 'It won't help with the pain.' Shankar cracked up at that.
We heard a sound, increasing in volume steadily. Puzzled, all of us went out the door and looked towards the road. We were greeted by our bus, roaring into view, with our friends in the jeep just behind it, hooting louder than the engine.
Chapter - 8 : Worth A Thousand Words
We grabbed our luggage and climbed in, smiles being passed all around. Me and Shankar climbed a nearby tree, while the others settled in. Our driver with the bipolar mustache got into the bus, and started the engine.
'People!' I yelled. 'We need a group photo.'
'Oh damn, almost pulled another Sharavati,' Shankar chuckled, remembering our Sharavati Valley trip, where the only group photo was in front of the Majestic Metro Station.
We jumped off the tree and joined the others, while Vedant tried to fit us all in one frame, turning on the timer and hurrying back to us. After an anti-climactic click, we all boarded the bus. Time to visit the Nagara fort.
It was on the way back, just fifteen minutes from Nittur. We climbed the walls, looking up at the towering structure until our necks creaked with the effort. I was just waiting to get to the top and look back down at the ground.
We reached the top, one by one. It was like a huge playground in the sky, with strong winds threatening to blow Shankar's hat off. The expansive views were back, and we tried to find the horizon again, moving farther and farther away the more we looked.
The group sat on the edge, united for once, by silence. We dangled our legs and watched the kites, soaring almost at eye level. There was something about forts and mountains; a majesty, a sense of permanence that was a consolation; not everything ended.
People took more photos, and a few solitary members went off on their own, to find some peaceful corner where others had left similar thoughts behind.
We started making our way down, back towards the bus. The breeze slowed down and finally stopped, like a conversation that had ended. I took one last look at the gateway, and went back into the vehicle. Now there was nothing left to do but go home.
Chapter - 9 : All Play And No Work
We snacked on cakes, banana chips and other paraphernalia like zombies, in scattered groups and thoughts. Occasionally, everyone looked into each other's eyes and smiled, joking and laughing about everything that had happened. This was the reminiscing phase of the trip - people looked out the window and remembered meeting the sky, staring into infinity, watching an endless sunset, or walking under the stars.
They say that the eyes are windows to the soul. So are windows.
After an hour or so, people came out of their minds and started fidgeting about, looking for something to do. We decided to play 20 questions. It started with six people, and eventually everyone took notice, joining in.
'Any great photos this trip?' I asked Vedant.
'Yes, definitely. I'll send them to you after all the processing etc.'
'Dude you missed hornbills and the racket-tailed drongo again.' I smiled ruefully. 'But I'm pretty sure you'll capture it in the next one. How was the night-sky time-lapse, though?'
'We'll find out. The skies were brilliant this time - crystal clear and blue. Very different from Bandaje, and yet as beautiful.'
I sat at the back with Rhythm, listening to her sing; the waters of our Pensieve rippling with every note. The latter half of the bus slowly turned to her, transfixed into a meditative state by her voice and slow hum of the speeding breeze. She blushed when she realized everyone was looking at her.
'Let's all sing, please. I'll get conscious otherwise.' She covered her face.
'Cool. Antaakshari?' Radhika suggested.
'Are you crazy? You think those senior citizens in the front are going to agree to...' I had just started, when the senior citizens burst into song. Main shayar, toh, nahin....magarrr, ai haseen....
All of us laughed and joined in. Me and Rhythm had our own fun in the back, harmonizing with the tunes and even making mashups. We played off chords and made dark versions of lullabies, laughing quietly at the back; playing on both sides.
'Danish!' Nalin shouted from the middle. 'It's the letter T!'
I unleashed our secret weapon.
'Tanhayi tadpati hai...yaad tumhari aati hai...thandi thandi parvaayi...chhed ke mujhko jaati hai...' I strummed on the ukulele soulfully, and everyone lost it. When we came to the chorus, I was pretty sure even the driver was singing.
Espiderman, espiderman, tune churaaya mere dil ka chain, dekh ke tere kartab yaara mai to bangayi teri phan...
We had to stop there before the driver crashed the bus and ended everyone's suffering.
'Let's play Dumb Charades, people.' A war cry issued from the vehicle, and that was that.
'All right, people.' Yash assumed the role of team leader for us and started issuing instructions. 'Vedant, open the IMDB list for all B-grade Bhojpuri movies. Danish, start noting down all the obscure English movies you've watched. The rest of you - I'll explain the notations for articles, prepositions, rhyming words and places.'
'Mother Of God,' I whispered to Vedant. 'He's like some District Level Second Runner-Up in this.'
Those two hours were one of the most fun times I've ever had. Trash talk, catcalls, hilarious goof ups, raucous singing and movie titles that had us rolling in our seats; this part of our journey had brought all 28 of us together, despite our differences. We stopped when we'd exhausted even the C-grade list.
'One last game of Mafia? I want to be God.' Nalin asked. After some mumbling and grumbling, everyone nodded. Little did they know this was going to be the best game of all trips so far.
'Okay, but paying homage to the trend we started in Sharavati, we need to make a character based on the guide we had in this trip.' I reminded everyone.
'It'll be called Quicksilver, of course. What powers, though?' Shankar asked, chuckling.
'Oh, the Mafia can never kill Quicksilver. He or she can only be voted out or killed by the suicide bomber.' I thought out aloud.
Everyone murmured in assent, and we started off. Nalin was a very conniving God, and he gave himself some special powers, like the ability to randomly resurrect anyone, or make a special character called Bunty who could detect someone to be a villager and reveal it in the day - apart from his frequent 'Flash News'. This was going to be fun.
'City sleeps.'
After a huge faux pas from Ritu, who literally used the word 'we' when referring to the Mafia, she was voted out unanimously, in the first round itself. Then, things started to go downhill. As was my usual gameplay, I talked and debated a lot, posing scenarios and possibilities and timelines more screwed up than in the X-Men franchise. Pooja played brilliantly, remaining undetected till the very end. Yash delivered a deus ex machina to the game, when he revealed himself to be the suicide bomber and took Quicksilver down with him.
'Trends,' Nalin spoke ominously, in one of his Flash News. I pondered. Ritu, Surendra, Radhika, Priya, Nipun and Shankar had been voted out. And three of them were the mafioso. What could the pattern be? Or was he just messing with us, like always?
'Another Flash News. I don't like beards.'
I grunted and turned my thoughts elsewhere. He was messing around.
Soon, the entire village was in a quandry, not being able to figure out the rest of the Mafia. We voted out Deepti and Abhishek, and realized another Mafia was gone. Then the trend hit me.
'We've reached Bangalore, people. Game over. All girls were the Mafia.' Nalin announced and ducked, shielding himself from the insults and dirty socks.
Nipun was especially outraged. 'You said the Oracle was right, even when he was already dead.'
'I'll say whatever I want to,' Nalin threw back, still keeping out of sight.
The post-analysis went on for even longer than the game, even when people slowly started dropping out. We said our goodbyes to everyone, and started packing up. Finally, we all sat around, looking at each other, with smiles on our faces. It didn't matter if we never met or talked after this; in that moment, everyone knew each other.
They say that the eyes are windows to the soul. So are windows.
After an hour or so, people came out of their minds and started fidgeting about, looking for something to do. We decided to play 20 questions. It started with six people, and eventually everyone took notice, joining in.
'Any great photos this trip?' I asked Vedant.
'Yes, definitely. I'll send them to you after all the processing etc.'
'Dude you missed hornbills and the racket-tailed drongo again.' I smiled ruefully. 'But I'm pretty sure you'll capture it in the next one. How was the night-sky time-lapse, though?'
'We'll find out. The skies were brilliant this time - crystal clear and blue. Very different from Bandaje, and yet as beautiful.'
I sat at the back with Rhythm, listening to her sing; the waters of our Pensieve rippling with every note. The latter half of the bus slowly turned to her, transfixed into a meditative state by her voice and slow hum of the speeding breeze. She blushed when she realized everyone was looking at her.
'Let's all sing, please. I'll get conscious otherwise.' She covered her face.
'Cool. Antaakshari?' Radhika suggested.
'Are you crazy? You think those senior citizens in the front are going to agree to...' I had just started, when the senior citizens burst into song. Main shayar, toh, nahin....magarrr, ai haseen....
All of us laughed and joined in. Me and Rhythm had our own fun in the back, harmonizing with the tunes and even making mashups. We played off chords and made dark versions of lullabies, laughing quietly at the back; playing on both sides.
'Danish!' Nalin shouted from the middle. 'It's the letter T!'
I unleashed our secret weapon.
'Tanhayi tadpati hai...yaad tumhari aati hai...thandi thandi parvaayi...chhed ke mujhko jaati hai...' I strummed on the ukulele soulfully, and everyone lost it. When we came to the chorus, I was pretty sure even the driver was singing.
Espiderman, espiderman, tune churaaya mere dil ka chain, dekh ke tere kartab yaara mai to bangayi teri phan...
We had to stop there before the driver crashed the bus and ended everyone's suffering.
'Let's play Dumb Charades, people.' A war cry issued from the vehicle, and that was that.
'All right, people.' Yash assumed the role of team leader for us and started issuing instructions. 'Vedant, open the IMDB list for all B-grade Bhojpuri movies. Danish, start noting down all the obscure English movies you've watched. The rest of you - I'll explain the notations for articles, prepositions, rhyming words and places.'
'Mother Of God,' I whispered to Vedant. 'He's like some District Level Second Runner-Up in this.'
Those two hours were one of the most fun times I've ever had. Trash talk, catcalls, hilarious goof ups, raucous singing and movie titles that had us rolling in our seats; this part of our journey had brought all 28 of us together, despite our differences. We stopped when we'd exhausted even the C-grade list.
'One last game of Mafia? I want to be God.' Nalin asked. After some mumbling and grumbling, everyone nodded. Little did they know this was going to be the best game of all trips so far.
'Okay, but paying homage to the trend we started in Sharavati, we need to make a character based on the guide we had in this trip.' I reminded everyone.
'It'll be called Quicksilver, of course. What powers, though?' Shankar asked, chuckling.
'Oh, the Mafia can never kill Quicksilver. He or she can only be voted out or killed by the suicide bomber.' I thought out aloud.
Everyone murmured in assent, and we started off. Nalin was a very conniving God, and he gave himself some special powers, like the ability to randomly resurrect anyone, or make a special character called Bunty who could detect someone to be a villager and reveal it in the day - apart from his frequent 'Flash News'. This was going to be fun.
'City sleeps.'
After a huge faux pas from Ritu, who literally used the word 'we' when referring to the Mafia, she was voted out unanimously, in the first round itself. Then, things started to go downhill. As was my usual gameplay, I talked and debated a lot, posing scenarios and possibilities and timelines more screwed up than in the X-Men franchise. Pooja played brilliantly, remaining undetected till the very end. Yash delivered a deus ex machina to the game, when he revealed himself to be the suicide bomber and took Quicksilver down with him.
'Trends,' Nalin spoke ominously, in one of his Flash News. I pondered. Ritu, Surendra, Radhika, Priya, Nipun and Shankar had been voted out. And three of them were the mafioso. What could the pattern be? Or was he just messing with us, like always?
'Another Flash News. I don't like beards.'
I grunted and turned my thoughts elsewhere. He was messing around.
Soon, the entire village was in a quandry, not being able to figure out the rest of the Mafia. We voted out Deepti and Abhishek, and realized another Mafia was gone. Then the trend hit me.
'We've reached Bangalore, people. Game over. All girls were the Mafia.' Nalin announced and ducked, shielding himself from the insults and dirty socks.
Nipun was especially outraged. 'You said the Oracle was right, even when he was already dead.'
'I'll say whatever I want to,' Nalin threw back, still keeping out of sight.
The post-analysis went on for even longer than the game, even when people slowly started dropping out. We said our goodbyes to everyone, and started packing up. Finally, we all sat around, looking at each other, with smiles on our faces. It didn't matter if we never met or talked after this; in that moment, everyone knew each other.
Chapter - 10 : Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
I sat next to the driver, telling him the drop off points, while the others came to the front, reconciling themselves with Bangalore. People thanked me as they left, and as I hug and shook hands with them, it hit me how large a group this had been.
'Thanks, pra. Everyone's saying it was amazing, and they want another one,' Anurag grinned, as he got down at Kalamandir.
I smiled at him. Another one would happen soon enough. Once a wanderer, always lost.
We dropped off Nelson and some others at Spice Garden. 'Pra, choose a really hard trek, and let's some 5-6 of us go. It'll be fun,' Nelson told me. 'You're soon going to be opening a startup.'
I chuckled. It could actually work - every trip had been great, and people bonded effortlessly. I really needed to learn Kannada properly, though.
Soon, it was just me and Shankar at Kundanahalli Gate. We sorted out the expenses with our Dr. Jekyll of a driver, trying to bargain based on 'psychological trauma' because the bus had broken down (and sometime later, so had the driver). We had reached pretty early - it was only 9 pm. It did not feel like a trip had ended, as the previous three had always concluded with us walking on quiet roads under a midnight sky.
After the payment, the bus roared off, as good as new, with still no license plate.
'What was even wrong with the bus? Nothing changed. And I didn't even see this fancy computer they were saying our bus has.' Shankar mused.
'Plot twist: the driver was computerized.' I replied, and Shankar grinned.
As we entered our apartment, I remembered meeting the sky, staring into infinity, watching an endless sunset, and walking under the stars.
Once a wanderer, always home.
How far will you go to find yourself?
You sit for hours with those you know,
Or take a chance with strangers too,
All to answer - who is you?
Maybe they'll tell you who you are.
Maybe you should go somewhere far,
Somewhere, if everything is new,
The crunching earth, the whispering trees,
The gurgling water, whistling breeze,
The journey to you has begun.
Maybe it ends at a setting sun,
For there's no greater lesson learnt,
Than knowing everything will die,
But it is a birth in another sky.
Maybe the sunset is a lie,
And you need answers from the night,
Maybe the stars and the fading moon,
Will tell you more than the afternoon.
But the starry night has passed so soon,
And you're standing where the sun will rise,
Maybe morning will sympathize.
But now I'm back on my way home,
And now there's no place left to roam.
The valleys, trees, the sun and the night,
The water, breeze - all our paths have crossed.
And they whispered but one small truth,
Not all those who wander are lost...
Photos, courtesy of Saurabh Dubey, Anurag Rastogi, Kowshik Kumar, Abhishek Malani, Rachana Kalidindi, Vedant Sapra, Abhinav Sethi and Vishnu Raveendran.
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/
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/
TL;DR (February 23-25, 2018)
Costs:
1) Transport from Bangalore to Rajendra Homestay, Nittur: Hired a Preetham Travels 33-seater bus, Rs. 1026 per head, round trip.
2) Cost of Rajendra Home Stay (all meals, night stay and guide): Rs. 1000 per head.
Itinerary:
1) Bangalore to Nittur: 11 pm bus - 9 and a half hours, overnight journey
2) Next day, trek to Kodchadri peak, via Hidlumane Falls: Started at 11 am. 1 and a half hour to Hidlumane Falls, 2 and a half hours more to lunch point, 2 hours more to Kodchadri peak.
3) Sunset at Kodchadri peak: Blissful.
4) Night trek on jeep trail, back down to Nittur: 3 hours - advisable only on full moon nights.
5) Next day, visit to Nagara fort: Leave at 9 am, half an hour journey to the fort.
6) Nagara fort to Bangalore: 10 hours.
7) Bangalore to your homes: Sunday night traffic. Despair.
Contacts:
1) Rajendra Home Stay: 09449145540
