(Replaces my Jan/2010 posting on this destination)
There was a period in everyone’s life when time had little meaning, when it wasn’t as important. It was a period of extensive probing; extensive playing and extensive fun, as every movement was watched by the vigilant eyes of our parents. Then, we didn’t have to worry about tomorrow or feel sorry for the day that passed by. It was all about lighthearted explorations and cravings typical to a child with fresh mind and energetic eagerness. Our mind was like the vast universe then, with infinite capacity for creativity, though our world itself was small restricted to the thoughts and influences of friends and parents. Our efforts were persistent and faithful, though the results were negative, and we often pursued the goals till we reached them. It was an entirely different world and an entirely different life which when compared to our present state, yields a huge surprise. As we grew, like a tree piercing through the forest canopy, commitments and persuasions narrowed down our thinking and forced us towards one universal goal – be the finest and tread through the same path our ancestors took - a path lacking real happiness, real adventure, real accomplishment, real satisfaction and in general, the real essence of life. It was a path that steered clear of all perils this world had to offer but a path which also made us, the weakest among creation, further frail. Now when you are in control, when you have the power to make decision, the power to decline, the power to select, the power to think for positive results the mind has become so routine, it declines to deviate from the norm. We can now really see the world is enormous but regrettably, our mind has shrunk making us powerless and our lives, confined. As we age our lives become like a black hole in the space, extremely small but extremely dense. We absorb everything life throws at, racing towards eternity, and in the process sow the seeds for a whole new generation as does a Black Hole. I already could feel the pinch and was determined to break through the constraints life was forcing me through. Nevertheless, time was limited as I had to run through the entire course of this jaunt to get my shots on the western fringes of the Indian Peninsula and be present at the wedding of my childhood friend on its eastern fringe. Pressure pumps up performance and so it did in this case, as I surpass my own attempt a year back and expose the beauty of this place the way it was intended to be.
This trip had that potential “could be the last” feeling associated throughout its course as I drove out of my home with Pipa and Gokul, also my childhood friends, towards the Chennai Bypass under a surprisingly cold night. Couple of Beers, gulped few hours back, were doing their job the right way and it was a fantastic kick-off to the fastest trip of my life. The toll road is one of the longest and best in India. It connects NH5 from the north east to the NH4 (towards Bangalore) and to the NH45 (towards south Tamil Nadu) and in doing so, it bypasses the entire Chennai city. It’s a fabulous road to drive fast and with night’s cold air all around, the recently serviced car was more accelerative than ever before. I was looking at the big moon through the tinted window glass and surprising truck drivers ahead, with a sudden flash of headlight on their dull rear view mirrors. Few minutes later we stopped by our favourite highway motel just before Chengalpet and picked up a cup of hot tea, as the chill was intolerable kind of one for a city that has an average annual temperature of around 30 ‘C! After a brief halt, I took the car onto the road and it was the familiar chase, cut, brake, dodge, accelerate and on the edge game till our next halt at Tiruchi. Tiruchi was shown the rear bumper in exactly 3 hours after we started at Chengalpet. Considering the truck infested NH45, this was really fast. Expect for one heart in the mouth situation when a truck driver cut lane as I was approaching its rear at a speed too high to be controlled by the car’s brake sans ABS, we managed a safe drive. NH45 had been completely transformed and it could easily cheat anyone who’s driving over it after a long gap. 6 toll booths had to be passed through and INR 166 had to be spent to rip through her and reach Tiruchi, the focal point of Tamil Nadu. On reaching Tiruchi I was completely taken aback by the advantage the transformed NH45 offered that, I missed its continuity and kept accelerating under the cover of darkness in the wrong direction, over the wrong NH, until a signboard read the wrong destination. After a few direction enquiries we caught the intended route and were back on NH45, towards Dindugal. It was fast and cold as we stopped by a well illuminated tea stall on the outskirts of Tiruchi at 2:30 hrs, as Sunday was slowly gaining momentum.
After spending 30 minutes at the stall, immersing ourselves in the nostalgic songs of yesteryear the Chinese made amplifier was belting out, we decided to kick-off. Having a cup of tea, after a long drive, under the highway chillness and the cover of pre dawn darkness remains a special feeling even after doing it many times in these many years. It would remain the same way for ever I hope. The last section of NH45 between Tiruchi and Dindugal was transforming slowly from being a gorgeous single lane road, lined with trees on either side, to be a super fast double laned expressway. The state of the road was like that of a dish of meat about to be ready for consumption, just few spicing/salting and then it’s all about your appetite. NH45 was at its dangerous best with perfectly leveled Tarmac and bright white lines encouraging the throttle and the abrupt diversion sign boards fading the brakes. It was an erotic gamble between the two until the sight of a Highway emergency crew removing the bodies from a pair of recently collided automobiles, a gruesome event, restored certain level of caution. Entered Dindugal at 4:00 hrs on the morning of Sunday and the refinement of the underpasses and the service lanes were massively improved since my last drive through this place in Jan/2010. Drove below the long flyover that helps NH7 to bypass Dindugal and I was eager to see the sign board which read Kodaikanal and Theni. Few Kms later, at the distance, NHAI’s sign board in brilliant reflective green and white read – Kodaikanal. Turned right under the NH7 flyover and entered the man made heaven the fourth time, after once each in 2000, 2006 and 2010, to drive through 120kms of pure testing. A test that would declare your car and your driving capability TN (Tamil Nadu) SHW (State High Way) worthy, if you should manage to reach Kumily in an hour and half. As a vampire loses it control on the smell of fresh human blood, the manic inside me emerged yet again to enjoy its favourite indulgence-controlled aggression and controlled exhilaration- as no vehicles were left to reflect the headlamps or no vehicles, to follow the tail lamps. Dawn was emerging gradually and the manic was losing momentum, as does a vampire on sunrise, transforming the drive to be a more relaxed early morning jog under the dense fog.
As we were approaching Theni the distant silhouette of the Western Ghats were imposing. I’ve never had such a view of the Ghats before and they were massive enough to inspire awe in our face. I knew that the Berijam Lake somewhere up there in the Ghats, near Kodaikanal, supplied drinking water to these plains around Theni and Periyakulam - that was the theory. Looking at the geography and thinking about how this theory would be materialized by Nature was amazing. A lake 2100M above MSL and a town below it at as much depth receiving its water is a fact to be thought about for some time, at least till the tea cup in our hands went empty. As you exit Theni, on its outskirts, lies the diversion to Munnar and we decided to park the car at this junction and enjoy the cold morning air. It was a fabulous dawn - a lake on the left, a signboard reading Munnar on the right and the brilliant Sunrise on the east. Few times in life would we get an opportunity to wake up to such a brilliant morning and I enjoyed every second and every inch the Sun moved up in the distant horizon. The first shot of this trip was captured somewhere near here when the sun was feeling shy to emerge behind a significant number of coconut trees, a good opportunity indeed and I made the best use of it. Theni was astoundingly green all around even in this part of the year when it’s cold and dry, probably, more greener than its neighbour sitting across the Ghats. I was sure if there’s one district in TN which could beat Kerala for the number of coconut trees, this was the one. Maybe Iam wrong, but I conclude this way until time proves me wrong. Time was speeding ahead and we lost count of it with nature’s seduction playing the distractive role. As villages were passed by under the cover of speed inducing drug like ambience, I was looking ahead to reach the junction where a narrow country road would take us to Suruli through some of the best landscapes this region had to offer. The road passes through savannah like landscape, flat grasslands as far as eyes can see interspersed with an occasional tree in brilliant design. Morning mist spreading like vapours from dry ice over the grassland added to the already brilliant landscape as my heart was crying to capture every bit of this intense environment. The grasslands gave way to narrow villages which themselves were separated by massive coconut groves, and the sunlight piercing through them provided me with some of the best opportunities.
After 30 minutes of driving through terrific village roads we reached Suruli, tired and lost. This place had nothing in special except for the huge trees typical of a tropical rain forest. They were massive and enormous with canopy out of reach from the eyesight. This was a true rainforest region as the air was crispy cold and the narrow road leading to the fall was filled with refrigerator kind of freshness and the chirping of birds added to the exotic background sound. This place is good, I should say, but if only the ruthless humans haven’t rendered it the way it was. Still it managed to retain its virginity, a testimony to Mother Nature’s resilience. The specialty of this place lies in the fact that the real fun lies in walking through the path leading to the fall, rather than driving, and the path itself is more seducing than the destination it leads to. A word of concern to those who make a trip to this place – walk through 3kms of forest road, use your camera extensively, inhale and exhale like you were just out of the womb, stare at the canopy, feel the air but, never make it to the fall. Doing so will erase all the good feeling you accumulated along the way. I did what I advised above and got some the shots posted above, not to mention the rejuvenation my body and mind went through after their prolonged pollution by the infested Chennai. Walked back to the town where we had parked the car on a narrow bridge and packed up, before calling our parents to relieve them from their thoughts of our whereabouts. Our destination was only few Kms from here and we began the slow drive towards Gudalur, a small town at crossroads. A short drive after this town takes you up the Ghat road, across the Ghats, into Kerala. It was fun driving up such a gentle hill road and before we could realize we were fast approaching our neighbour state, an abrupt check post was lifted up in the air to let us enter Kumily. It’s the first town across the border and the proclaimed spice capital of India. Just a year had passed since my last drive to this exotic spot, nevertheless, I was feeling the same way as my friends I was driving with. It was their first entry and I succumbed to the desire, yet again.
One man’s desire is another man’s delight. Desires take life through new paths, new experiences, new relationships, and new places. Desires keep the economic machine on the move. They creep in even when we were an infant, though sans motive. With age, as we feel and taste the diverse aspects, our desires begin to get influenced by motives. Motives that would do good to the mankind and motives that could be destructive. Motives that would build a true relationship and motives that could do the same for a gain. In all aspects, desires drive mankind and desires themselves are driven by motives. It’s surprising to imagine what shape the face of earth would assume if these desires were to cease! A stationary landscape inhabited by powerless population, may be. Desire created Nations, boundaries, Cultures, innovations, hierarchy, the powerful and the powerless, the good and the bad. This same desire forced me to travel to the district with the highest average elevation in Kerala. Welcome to Idukki - a district where most people make a living out of the desire of those who visit this place with a motive. A motive driven by the untamed wilderness of this rugged beauty. Desire is fully convertible into Indian currency more here, than anywhere else in the Western Ghats. Kumily was a surprisingly small town, gateway to Idukki to be precise. But what it lacked in size, it more than made up for it with admirable ambience. As always eyes were craving for sleep and I fell on bed with the camera over my chest. I was looking into the shots I took on the way with a faint vision and fell asleep fast. So did the other two. It was 15:00hrs when we woke up and the fear of losing the remaining daylight made us rush through the bath. Temperature was surprisingly cold with the mid day sun shining hard and it served a good massage to the worn out cells. I was treading the same path, which I walked through a year back, towards the Ecotourism centre of Periyar Tiger reserve to buy the entry tickets for the less sought after “Clouds Walk”, I knew the real background though. As expected tickets were easily available and my friends were more than elated and I was feeling good for them, for the next 3 hours will be the toughest segments in their easy life. Began the long walk towards “Bamboo Groove”, starting point of the trek overlooking the Ghats, as my heart was grooving already to the Pop/Jazz/Heavy/Classical and all kinds of music nature was pumping out.
Clouds walk – True to its meaning, this trek has the potential to offer that uplifting experience as you dodge through some of the most spectacular vegetation in pursuit of accomplishment. It starts with a pleasant introduction as you walk through sleepy tribal settlements and grazing herds. The transition from buffer to, to an extent, the core zone is abrupt and you could easily lose yourself in the dense foliage if you’re of the kind spending a lot more time with the Camera. The Guide often keeps walking at a rapid pace and it’s a delicate balance between getting your shots and not being left behind. It was arduous and exhausting, every time, as I stopped to capture that beautiful moment, the guide and my friends kept climbing and I had to buy the lapsed time running against it and the arrogant slope. Adding to the difficulty is the rise in intensity of the rainforest coverage. The ascent passes through thick rainforest for a couple of kilometers and gradually, gives way to more dense grassland with the transition zone being marked by a majestic watch tower. The last time I passed through this place I couldn’t get my impulse to urge climb up the watch tower but this time around, I was the first to be on top of it and the move helped capture two beautiful shots of Pipa/Gokul standing amidst the threateningly dense grass. Not to mention a few more stunning shots of the surrounding shoals with sun’s rays piercing through their canopies. It was time to move on, as sun was fast going down the western horizon, and the guide warned of a surprise element in any form making us to move close with a strong doubt on our rear. The ascent ends at the summit of Kurisumala peak which offers a stunning view of the Periyar tiger reserve spreading out like an algal bloom. From here onwards the trek takes a plunge and the already worn out legs find it hard to balance the momentum against gravity. The terrain turned out to be more tough than expected and we were squeezed to the extreme. The ambience was close to that which prevailed inside the Aanaimalai tiger reserve in Topslip, though less dense, but with more difficult terrain. It was relieving to see the end of our trek and walk back to Kumily three hours later we began it. Completely exhausted and worn out, I decided to give it a splash with a cup of strong coffee and western junk food @ my favourite hang-out in Kumily, The Jungle café. As the hot coffee brewed in fresh milk did that something in restoring normality, the elegant French woman sitting adjacent did that something in breaking it again. Drove back to the hotel and washed repeatedly all contact areas, occurred during the trek, till I felt fresh and safe and took a short nap as night life in this small town was gaining momentum. Night life? Yes! You’d be surprised by the number of foreigners loitering around and would feel to be a stranger in your own country. Night was overwhelmingly cold and we planned for a jaunt on foot around this happening place. I was on the lookout for a good bar, the best way to relax after 24hrs of toiling, and found one soon. Not surprisingly, it overflowed with foreign tourists and the ambience was that of a sophisticated relaxation. A relaxation which took me back to the room without more pain and made me sleep under the cold darkness of Kumily for the next 8 hours.
Woke up to a cold dark morning and began the pursuit of that last remaining shot I came looking for in this rugged mountainous district. I knew, for sure, the result wouldn’t be same as it resulted a year back for February is less romantic than January, yet, I decided to proceed through the mysterious ambience prevailing over the intimidating NH220. But the time remaining put a brief halt as I had to take Pipa/Gokul 230 Kms east to be present at our friend’s wedding, in absolute safety, through some of the most notorious state highways. As my dual characters resolved the dispute and fixed Vandiperiyar as the destination, the windscreen was made opaque by the early morning frost and my hands were shivering. Switched on the wipers, rolled down the windows partially and embarked on the most romantic drive I’ve ever undertaken in complete loneliness, bodily and spiritually. As mentioned in the beginning of this posting, it was a genuine case of race against time and I was desperate to get the shots I came driving for, nevertheless, Kerala’s hidden magic began to get the better of the tensed mind set-up I was moving with. As always, Kerala’s countryside was seducing - it’s a special feeling – no matter the number of times you do it – the deserted roads, those elementary tea shops with wide ranging snack, distant homes built inside the woods, women with that smile inducing composure and more kind of things which can be seen and felt but could not be expressed on books. For its elevation, Idukki was fabulously cold and the mist was everywhere turning the landscape into that of an emerging extraordinary. I could barely hold the steering and the cold was biting through as I pulled over the car to the side, on the sight of an old woman churning out hot coffee in her basic tea shop. Believe me, I have never felt so content after spending 5 rupees anytime before. The fog was still deep and the cabin temperature was cold enough to look for some company in the form of a woman. This route was extremely frequented by just-wed couples and their public display of intimacy was the real stimulant though. I kept enjoying every minute of the drive through dense fog and curvy road till a sign board welcomed with the word “Vandiperiyar”.
Vandiperiyar is a beautiful, simple town on NH220; the national highway gorgeously curves and pierces through the town, with few shops and people. One special reason I was hooked to this town was the fact that, there’s a Salma Hayek like road connecting it with Gavi and subsequently Kochu Pamba in the neighbouring Pathanamthitta district. It’s a genuine forest road traversing through Periyar tiger reserve and I had been dreaming about driving through it for more than 4 years and it was exactly here, I was sitting inside the car now and frowning at my inability, forced by time, to drive through that mesmerizing beauty. Decided to proceed further, ahead of Vandiperiyar, to reach that exotic spot and work overtime with the SLR. Right in the middle of Vandiperiyar is a narrow bridge over Periyar River, which has its source deep inside the Periyar reserve and flows through Gavi some 30 Kms behind, and it’s so narrow for a NH that it’s impossible for even two cars to pass over it at the same time, save the trucks and buses. The mist over Periyar River appeared like vapours emanating from hot liquid and I passed the bridge with no encounter from the opposite lane. Just as you exit this sleepy town, there’s narrow hazardous road leading to a view point by the name Grampi. The diversion to Grampi lies outside Vandiperiyar, on the left, when you are driving from Kumily just as the diversion to Gavi lies exactly before it. As throughout this trip, time didn’t permit lazy indulgence and I had to keep driving, getting my preplanned shots. The fact that I was able to get the photo shots I came looking for, that of sun rising in the eastern horizon and in the process creating havoc with its light and the shadows thrown by distant peaks, made me calm and retreat back to depart. In an equal world the definition of money would be universal but, in a world driven by capitalism, desire, success and materialism everyman has his definition for money. The definition could be meaningful or meaningless depending on the way it’s spent and I was sure our’s had a strong meaning when we entered the plains of Tamil Nadu, with the Ghats behind forming a perfect backdrop in the rearview mirror hiding God’s own country from our view. At least for the next few months to come. Hope I’ll see her again…………………..
As I was driving towards our day’s destination, I could feel life gradually returning back to its routine set-up. The last 24 Hrs has been a rejuvenating reward and I was wondering when the next one would be, as the fast approaching Indian summer would make us go dormant for the next few months to come. We were driving towards Sivagangai, an old town on the eastern border of Tamil Nadu, and to reach there we had to follow NH49 through some of the most virgin countryside central TN had to offer. NH49 connects Cochin in the west coast with Rameswaram on its eastern counterpart and takes your vehicle through one of the fastest single lane NH’s in India, dangerous though. Sivagangai also happens to be a place where my roots could be traced to for my mother was born here some 5.5 decades earlier. She used to take me there during the summer vacation of my schooling years and as I grew to get lost in the urban chaos, the native relationship was buried by the emerging urban attractions. It was a good 4 years since my last visit and I could hardly recollect how her present state would be. NH49 was fabulously fast and weather was surprisingly cloudy making the drive a luxurious dash across some of the largest paddy fields and striking countryside views. We had already given up the plan to be present on-time for our dear friend Ramesh’s wedding and the next major town on our way, Madurai, dealt a severe blow to our rapid drive through mouth watering and ignored natural abundance. I had spent a brief period of time in this 3rd largest corporation of TN, 15 years back, when it was a budding town. Traffic was lethargic, roads were not so busy and its present state, just as I entered through its western entry point, took me aback and mind was struggling to adjust itself to the developments incurred in those long years. Took a whole 105 minutes to reach its eastern exit and join the Chennai-Madurai bypass, which itself was yet another illustration of infrastructure induced recognition failure. Once on the NH, it was a like a dream until we took the right @ Melur to join the fabulous state highway in pursuit of Sivagangai.
My native district was unbelievably green for this part of the year and it was a strong indication of a successful north east monsoon after quite a long run of dry spell. Ponds were numerous and vegetation was overgrown, adding peril to the already dangerous road. In an hour we reached the intended destination and Mr. Ramesh had already tied the knot and entered the next phase of his life. It was for the first time I was witnessing a wedding in core traditional manner, indigenous to this part of TN. Wished him the best for the challenging path ahead and hit the road, 45 minutes later, to take on the notorious HW’s and reach Chennai by night fall. To any person, family and friends are the core relationships and could compare them to their own eyes. One of my eye was losing its vision fast as more number of friends got absorbed into the ways of life and the other would go blind too when my parents call it a day. Hope the view finder of my SLR comes to rescue then! Trying to appreciate the demanding life, I was driving fast to meet our timing target when a 7 foot cobra bought the car to a screeching halt. Like other vehicles, I couldn’t just keep driving and pulled abruptly over the road’s narrow shoulder, for it had already lost its life to a ruthless driver. There wasn’t major damage to its gorgeous body and just a hint of tyre roll-over from its compressed belly; otherwise, it was very much alive. Its lifeless eyes were aggressively staring, – will you save my soul-less body from being humiliated by your kind?? With a mark of respect I gently lifted it up, surprisingly heavy @ 5-6 Kgs, with a thick stick and placed it softly on the banks of a nearby pond, causing a significant commotion among the locals. Even when dead it could strike significant fear and my respect for this majestic creature only got stronger. Living is more painful than a swift death but, a humiliated death is even more painful and I was having the contentment of my life to have saved such a revered creature from its clutches. It also gave me a picture of what it’s all about handling/photographing a live snake, which is an agenda very much on my things to do list. Thereafter, it was an eventless drive to the capital city and the thought of having shot close to 750 pictures, trekked through some of the most dense rainforests of south India, traversed between the west-east extremities of the peninsula, attended our childhood friend’s wedding and driven 1350 Kms to do all these in the past 48 hours only re-emphasized one thing – As I titled this posting, today’s life is all about Hastened Happiness and Tightening Time. Go, see it all and grab your share for world is diverse enough to make you crazy.
Iam an iteration too !!
This trip had that potential “could be the last” feeling associated throughout its course as I drove out of my home with Pipa and Gokul, also my childhood friends, towards the Chennai Bypass under a surprisingly cold night. Couple of Beers, gulped few hours back, were doing their job the right way and it was a fantastic kick-off to the fastest trip of my life. The toll road is one of the longest and best in India. It connects NH5 from the north east to the NH4 (towards Bangalore) and to the NH45 (towards south Tamil Nadu) and in doing so, it bypasses the entire Chennai city. It’s a fabulous road to drive fast and with night’s cold air all around, the recently serviced car was more accelerative than ever before. I was looking at the big moon through the tinted window glass and surprising truck drivers ahead, with a sudden flash of headlight on their dull rear view mirrors. Few minutes later we stopped by our favourite highway motel just before Chengalpet and picked up a cup of hot tea, as the chill was intolerable kind of one for a city that has an average annual temperature of around 30 ‘C! After a brief halt, I took the car onto the road and it was the familiar chase, cut, brake, dodge, accelerate and on the edge game till our next halt at Tiruchi. Tiruchi was shown the rear bumper in exactly 3 hours after we started at Chengalpet. Considering the truck infested NH45, this was really fast. Expect for one heart in the mouth situation when a truck driver cut lane as I was approaching its rear at a speed too high to be controlled by the car’s brake sans ABS, we managed a safe drive. NH45 had been completely transformed and it could easily cheat anyone who’s driving over it after a long gap. 6 toll booths had to be passed through and INR 166 had to be spent to rip through her and reach Tiruchi, the focal point of Tamil Nadu. On reaching Tiruchi I was completely taken aback by the advantage the transformed NH45 offered that, I missed its continuity and kept accelerating under the cover of darkness in the wrong direction, over the wrong NH, until a signboard read the wrong destination. After a few direction enquiries we caught the intended route and were back on NH45, towards Dindugal. It was fast and cold as we stopped by a well illuminated tea stall on the outskirts of Tiruchi at 2:30 hrs, as Sunday was slowly gaining momentum.
After spending 30 minutes at the stall, immersing ourselves in the nostalgic songs of yesteryear the Chinese made amplifier was belting out, we decided to kick-off. Having a cup of tea, after a long drive, under the highway chillness and the cover of pre dawn darkness remains a special feeling even after doing it many times in these many years. It would remain the same way for ever I hope. The last section of NH45 between Tiruchi and Dindugal was transforming slowly from being a gorgeous single lane road, lined with trees on either side, to be a super fast double laned expressway. The state of the road was like that of a dish of meat about to be ready for consumption, just few spicing/salting and then it’s all about your appetite. NH45 was at its dangerous best with perfectly leveled Tarmac and bright white lines encouraging the throttle and the abrupt diversion sign boards fading the brakes. It was an erotic gamble between the two until the sight of a Highway emergency crew removing the bodies from a pair of recently collided automobiles, a gruesome event, restored certain level of caution. Entered Dindugal at 4:00 hrs on the morning of Sunday and the refinement of the underpasses and the service lanes were massively improved since my last drive through this place in Jan/2010. Drove below the long flyover that helps NH7 to bypass Dindugal and I was eager to see the sign board which read Kodaikanal and Theni. Few Kms later, at the distance, NHAI’s sign board in brilliant reflective green and white read – Kodaikanal. Turned right under the NH7 flyover and entered the man made heaven the fourth time, after once each in 2000, 2006 and 2010, to drive through 120kms of pure testing. A test that would declare your car and your driving capability TN (Tamil Nadu) SHW (State High Way) worthy, if you should manage to reach Kumily in an hour and half. As a vampire loses it control on the smell of fresh human blood, the manic inside me emerged yet again to enjoy its favourite indulgence-controlled aggression and controlled exhilaration- as no vehicles were left to reflect the headlamps or no vehicles, to follow the tail lamps. Dawn was emerging gradually and the manic was losing momentum, as does a vampire on sunrise, transforming the drive to be a more relaxed early morning jog under the dense fog.
As we were approaching Theni the distant silhouette of the Western Ghats were imposing. I’ve never had such a view of the Ghats before and they were massive enough to inspire awe in our face. I knew that the Berijam Lake somewhere up there in the Ghats, near Kodaikanal, supplied drinking water to these plains around Theni and Periyakulam - that was the theory. Looking at the geography and thinking about how this theory would be materialized by Nature was amazing. A lake 2100M above MSL and a town below it at as much depth receiving its water is a fact to be thought about for some time, at least till the tea cup in our hands went empty. As you exit Theni, on its outskirts, lies the diversion to Munnar and we decided to park the car at this junction and enjoy the cold morning air. It was a fabulous dawn - a lake on the left, a signboard reading Munnar on the right and the brilliant Sunrise on the east. Few times in life would we get an opportunity to wake up to such a brilliant morning and I enjoyed every second and every inch the Sun moved up in the distant horizon. The first shot of this trip was captured somewhere near here when the sun was feeling shy to emerge behind a significant number of coconut trees, a good opportunity indeed and I made the best use of it. Theni was astoundingly green all around even in this part of the year when it’s cold and dry, probably, more greener than its neighbour sitting across the Ghats. I was sure if there’s one district in TN which could beat Kerala for the number of coconut trees, this was the one. Maybe Iam wrong, but I conclude this way until time proves me wrong. Time was speeding ahead and we lost count of it with nature’s seduction playing the distractive role. As villages were passed by under the cover of speed inducing drug like ambience, I was looking ahead to reach the junction where a narrow country road would take us to Suruli through some of the best landscapes this region had to offer. The road passes through savannah like landscape, flat grasslands as far as eyes can see interspersed with an occasional tree in brilliant design. Morning mist spreading like vapours from dry ice over the grassland added to the already brilliant landscape as my heart was crying to capture every bit of this intense environment. The grasslands gave way to narrow villages which themselves were separated by massive coconut groves, and the sunlight piercing through them provided me with some of the best opportunities.
After 30 minutes of driving through terrific village roads we reached Suruli, tired and lost. This place had nothing in special except for the huge trees typical of a tropical rain forest. They were massive and enormous with canopy out of reach from the eyesight. This was a true rainforest region as the air was crispy cold and the narrow road leading to the fall was filled with refrigerator kind of freshness and the chirping of birds added to the exotic background sound. This place is good, I should say, but if only the ruthless humans haven’t rendered it the way it was. Still it managed to retain its virginity, a testimony to Mother Nature’s resilience. The specialty of this place lies in the fact that the real fun lies in walking through the path leading to the fall, rather than driving, and the path itself is more seducing than the destination it leads to. A word of concern to those who make a trip to this place – walk through 3kms of forest road, use your camera extensively, inhale and exhale like you were just out of the womb, stare at the canopy, feel the air but, never make it to the fall. Doing so will erase all the good feeling you accumulated along the way. I did what I advised above and got some the shots posted above, not to mention the rejuvenation my body and mind went through after their prolonged pollution by the infested Chennai. Walked back to the town where we had parked the car on a narrow bridge and packed up, before calling our parents to relieve them from their thoughts of our whereabouts. Our destination was only few Kms from here and we began the slow drive towards Gudalur, a small town at crossroads. A short drive after this town takes you up the Ghat road, across the Ghats, into Kerala. It was fun driving up such a gentle hill road and before we could realize we were fast approaching our neighbour state, an abrupt check post was lifted up in the air to let us enter Kumily. It’s the first town across the border and the proclaimed spice capital of India. Just a year had passed since my last drive to this exotic spot, nevertheless, I was feeling the same way as my friends I was driving with. It was their first entry and I succumbed to the desire, yet again.
One man’s desire is another man’s delight. Desires take life through new paths, new experiences, new relationships, and new places. Desires keep the economic machine on the move. They creep in even when we were an infant, though sans motive. With age, as we feel and taste the diverse aspects, our desires begin to get influenced by motives. Motives that would do good to the mankind and motives that could be destructive. Motives that would build a true relationship and motives that could do the same for a gain. In all aspects, desires drive mankind and desires themselves are driven by motives. It’s surprising to imagine what shape the face of earth would assume if these desires were to cease! A stationary landscape inhabited by powerless population, may be. Desire created Nations, boundaries, Cultures, innovations, hierarchy, the powerful and the powerless, the good and the bad. This same desire forced me to travel to the district with the highest average elevation in Kerala. Welcome to Idukki - a district where most people make a living out of the desire of those who visit this place with a motive. A motive driven by the untamed wilderness of this rugged beauty. Desire is fully convertible into Indian currency more here, than anywhere else in the Western Ghats. Kumily was a surprisingly small town, gateway to Idukki to be precise. But what it lacked in size, it more than made up for it with admirable ambience. As always eyes were craving for sleep and I fell on bed with the camera over my chest. I was looking into the shots I took on the way with a faint vision and fell asleep fast. So did the other two. It was 15:00hrs when we woke up and the fear of losing the remaining daylight made us rush through the bath. Temperature was surprisingly cold with the mid day sun shining hard and it served a good massage to the worn out cells. I was treading the same path, which I walked through a year back, towards the Ecotourism centre of Periyar Tiger reserve to buy the entry tickets for the less sought after “Clouds Walk”, I knew the real background though. As expected tickets were easily available and my friends were more than elated and I was feeling good for them, for the next 3 hours will be the toughest segments in their easy life. Began the long walk towards “Bamboo Groove”, starting point of the trek overlooking the Ghats, as my heart was grooving already to the Pop/Jazz/Heavy/Classical and all kinds of music nature was pumping out.
Clouds walk – True to its meaning, this trek has the potential to offer that uplifting experience as you dodge through some of the most spectacular vegetation in pursuit of accomplishment. It starts with a pleasant introduction as you walk through sleepy tribal settlements and grazing herds. The transition from buffer to, to an extent, the core zone is abrupt and you could easily lose yourself in the dense foliage if you’re of the kind spending a lot more time with the Camera. The Guide often keeps walking at a rapid pace and it’s a delicate balance between getting your shots and not being left behind. It was arduous and exhausting, every time, as I stopped to capture that beautiful moment, the guide and my friends kept climbing and I had to buy the lapsed time running against it and the arrogant slope. Adding to the difficulty is the rise in intensity of the rainforest coverage. The ascent passes through thick rainforest for a couple of kilometers and gradually, gives way to more dense grassland with the transition zone being marked by a majestic watch tower. The last time I passed through this place I couldn’t get my impulse to urge climb up the watch tower but this time around, I was the first to be on top of it and the move helped capture two beautiful shots of Pipa/Gokul standing amidst the threateningly dense grass. Not to mention a few more stunning shots of the surrounding shoals with sun’s rays piercing through their canopies. It was time to move on, as sun was fast going down the western horizon, and the guide warned of a surprise element in any form making us to move close with a strong doubt on our rear. The ascent ends at the summit of Kurisumala peak which offers a stunning view of the Periyar tiger reserve spreading out like an algal bloom. From here onwards the trek takes a plunge and the already worn out legs find it hard to balance the momentum against gravity. The terrain turned out to be more tough than expected and we were squeezed to the extreme. The ambience was close to that which prevailed inside the Aanaimalai tiger reserve in Topslip, though less dense, but with more difficult terrain. It was relieving to see the end of our trek and walk back to Kumily three hours later we began it. Completely exhausted and worn out, I decided to give it a splash with a cup of strong coffee and western junk food @ my favourite hang-out in Kumily, The Jungle café. As the hot coffee brewed in fresh milk did that something in restoring normality, the elegant French woman sitting adjacent did that something in breaking it again. Drove back to the hotel and washed repeatedly all contact areas, occurred during the trek, till I felt fresh and safe and took a short nap as night life in this small town was gaining momentum. Night life? Yes! You’d be surprised by the number of foreigners loitering around and would feel to be a stranger in your own country. Night was overwhelmingly cold and we planned for a jaunt on foot around this happening place. I was on the lookout for a good bar, the best way to relax after 24hrs of toiling, and found one soon. Not surprisingly, it overflowed with foreign tourists and the ambience was that of a sophisticated relaxation. A relaxation which took me back to the room without more pain and made me sleep under the cold darkness of Kumily for the next 8 hours.
Woke up to a cold dark morning and began the pursuit of that last remaining shot I came looking for in this rugged mountainous district. I knew, for sure, the result wouldn’t be same as it resulted a year back for February is less romantic than January, yet, I decided to proceed through the mysterious ambience prevailing over the intimidating NH220. But the time remaining put a brief halt as I had to take Pipa/Gokul 230 Kms east to be present at our friend’s wedding, in absolute safety, through some of the most notorious state highways. As my dual characters resolved the dispute and fixed Vandiperiyar as the destination, the windscreen was made opaque by the early morning frost and my hands were shivering. Switched on the wipers, rolled down the windows partially and embarked on the most romantic drive I’ve ever undertaken in complete loneliness, bodily and spiritually. As mentioned in the beginning of this posting, it was a genuine case of race against time and I was desperate to get the shots I came driving for, nevertheless, Kerala’s hidden magic began to get the better of the tensed mind set-up I was moving with. As always, Kerala’s countryside was seducing - it’s a special feeling – no matter the number of times you do it – the deserted roads, those elementary tea shops with wide ranging snack, distant homes built inside the woods, women with that smile inducing composure and more kind of things which can be seen and felt but could not be expressed on books. For its elevation, Idukki was fabulously cold and the mist was everywhere turning the landscape into that of an emerging extraordinary. I could barely hold the steering and the cold was biting through as I pulled over the car to the side, on the sight of an old woman churning out hot coffee in her basic tea shop. Believe me, I have never felt so content after spending 5 rupees anytime before. The fog was still deep and the cabin temperature was cold enough to look for some company in the form of a woman. This route was extremely frequented by just-wed couples and their public display of intimacy was the real stimulant though. I kept enjoying every minute of the drive through dense fog and curvy road till a sign board welcomed with the word “Vandiperiyar”.
Vandiperiyar is a beautiful, simple town on NH220; the national highway gorgeously curves and pierces through the town, with few shops and people. One special reason I was hooked to this town was the fact that, there’s a Salma Hayek like road connecting it with Gavi and subsequently Kochu Pamba in the neighbouring Pathanamthitta district. It’s a genuine forest road traversing through Periyar tiger reserve and I had been dreaming about driving through it for more than 4 years and it was exactly here, I was sitting inside the car now and frowning at my inability, forced by time, to drive through that mesmerizing beauty. Decided to proceed further, ahead of Vandiperiyar, to reach that exotic spot and work overtime with the SLR. Right in the middle of Vandiperiyar is a narrow bridge over Periyar River, which has its source deep inside the Periyar reserve and flows through Gavi some 30 Kms behind, and it’s so narrow for a NH that it’s impossible for even two cars to pass over it at the same time, save the trucks and buses. The mist over Periyar River appeared like vapours emanating from hot liquid and I passed the bridge with no encounter from the opposite lane. Just as you exit this sleepy town, there’s narrow hazardous road leading to a view point by the name Grampi. The diversion to Grampi lies outside Vandiperiyar, on the left, when you are driving from Kumily just as the diversion to Gavi lies exactly before it. As throughout this trip, time didn’t permit lazy indulgence and I had to keep driving, getting my preplanned shots. The fact that I was able to get the photo shots I came looking for, that of sun rising in the eastern horizon and in the process creating havoc with its light and the shadows thrown by distant peaks, made me calm and retreat back to depart. In an equal world the definition of money would be universal but, in a world driven by capitalism, desire, success and materialism everyman has his definition for money. The definition could be meaningful or meaningless depending on the way it’s spent and I was sure our’s had a strong meaning when we entered the plains of Tamil Nadu, with the Ghats behind forming a perfect backdrop in the rearview mirror hiding God’s own country from our view. At least for the next few months to come. Hope I’ll see her again…………………..
As I was driving towards our day’s destination, I could feel life gradually returning back to its routine set-up. The last 24 Hrs has been a rejuvenating reward and I was wondering when the next one would be, as the fast approaching Indian summer would make us go dormant for the next few months to come. We were driving towards Sivagangai, an old town on the eastern border of Tamil Nadu, and to reach there we had to follow NH49 through some of the most virgin countryside central TN had to offer. NH49 connects Cochin in the west coast with Rameswaram on its eastern counterpart and takes your vehicle through one of the fastest single lane NH’s in India, dangerous though. Sivagangai also happens to be a place where my roots could be traced to for my mother was born here some 5.5 decades earlier. She used to take me there during the summer vacation of my schooling years and as I grew to get lost in the urban chaos, the native relationship was buried by the emerging urban attractions. It was a good 4 years since my last visit and I could hardly recollect how her present state would be. NH49 was fabulously fast and weather was surprisingly cloudy making the drive a luxurious dash across some of the largest paddy fields and striking countryside views. We had already given up the plan to be present on-time for our dear friend Ramesh’s wedding and the next major town on our way, Madurai, dealt a severe blow to our rapid drive through mouth watering and ignored natural abundance. I had spent a brief period of time in this 3rd largest corporation of TN, 15 years back, when it was a budding town. Traffic was lethargic, roads were not so busy and its present state, just as I entered through its western entry point, took me aback and mind was struggling to adjust itself to the developments incurred in those long years. Took a whole 105 minutes to reach its eastern exit and join the Chennai-Madurai bypass, which itself was yet another illustration of infrastructure induced recognition failure. Once on the NH, it was a like a dream until we took the right @ Melur to join the fabulous state highway in pursuit of Sivagangai.
My native district was unbelievably green for this part of the year and it was a strong indication of a successful north east monsoon after quite a long run of dry spell. Ponds were numerous and vegetation was overgrown, adding peril to the already dangerous road. In an hour we reached the intended destination and Mr. Ramesh had already tied the knot and entered the next phase of his life. It was for the first time I was witnessing a wedding in core traditional manner, indigenous to this part of TN. Wished him the best for the challenging path ahead and hit the road, 45 minutes later, to take on the notorious HW’s and reach Chennai by night fall. To any person, family and friends are the core relationships and could compare them to their own eyes. One of my eye was losing its vision fast as more number of friends got absorbed into the ways of life and the other would go blind too when my parents call it a day. Hope the view finder of my SLR comes to rescue then! Trying to appreciate the demanding life, I was driving fast to meet our timing target when a 7 foot cobra bought the car to a screeching halt. Like other vehicles, I couldn’t just keep driving and pulled abruptly over the road’s narrow shoulder, for it had already lost its life to a ruthless driver. There wasn’t major damage to its gorgeous body and just a hint of tyre roll-over from its compressed belly; otherwise, it was very much alive. Its lifeless eyes were aggressively staring, – will you save my soul-less body from being humiliated by your kind?? With a mark of respect I gently lifted it up, surprisingly heavy @ 5-6 Kgs, with a thick stick and placed it softly on the banks of a nearby pond, causing a significant commotion among the locals. Even when dead it could strike significant fear and my respect for this majestic creature only got stronger. Living is more painful than a swift death but, a humiliated death is even more painful and I was having the contentment of my life to have saved such a revered creature from its clutches. It also gave me a picture of what it’s all about handling/photographing a live snake, which is an agenda very much on my things to do list. Thereafter, it was an eventless drive to the capital city and the thought of having shot close to 750 pictures, trekked through some of the most dense rainforests of south India, traversed between the west-east extremities of the peninsula, attended our childhood friend’s wedding and driven 1350 Kms to do all these in the past 48 hours only re-emphasized one thing – As I titled this posting, today’s life is all about Hastened Happiness and Tightening Time. Go, see it all and grab your share for world is diverse enough to make you crazy.
Iam an iteration too !!
Parameters –
Route-Chennai-Tiruchi-Dindugal-Theni-Kumily.
Best time to Visit – July-Sep, when the entire landscape of Idukki is like a free drug, Dec-Jan, if you want to westernize and capture mind boggling shots on the camera.
Specialties – Un-spoilt wilderness, wide ranging trekking options, sophisticated ambience, a strong night life, and sleep inducing capability.
What you should do – Trek till your legs cry, a keen eye for that fraction of a minute moment, befriend an unknown French woman, unplanned night walks and eat lots of fruits.
Don’t forget – Your camera, coffee at Jungle café, Liquor after dark, to buy spices, to bamboo raft @ Periyar reserve, to participate in the Tiger Trail trekking program and if lucky, capture the biggest of big cats on your camera.
