“Lack of Rains” during this trip forced me into “Lack of
words”. I find it extremely hard to believe at my inability to churn out words
when there are no rains and perhaps, this could be attributed to the perfect
timing of all my previous trips when heavens were open wide and loud. It’s been
almost a month since this trip was executed and still I was wondering, how to
proceed on shaping this travelogue. There
was no solution, which ever way I thought about, and was forced to release this
documentation, for the first time ever, without the usual emotive narration
associated with my write-up. Despite the fact the places visited were
famous for their charming beauty and wilderness, I couldn’t streamline my
thoughts to produce a narration capable of humbling a reader. This hurts me, for three beautiful days of
exhilarating experiences couldn’t be shared with the outer world as I used to
in the past and it has induced in me a craving to visit again when she was in
her elements. This year the rains have been below normal, both SW and NE
monsoons, and the effects were prominent when I started on a cold, dry night in
the month of November in pursuit of Chinnar. When we reached Chinnar Wild Life
Sanctuary the next morning, it was too hot for a November Dawn and the usual
ambience associated with this part of the Ghats
was absent deliberately. Nevertheless; we pursued and executed the long planned
hike to Thoovanam falls (Photos 4, 15, 25 and 35), set amidst
the core of the sanctuary, through a mind freshening path along the river
Pambar. Thoovanam absolutely had no visitors on that day and we had the entire
region at our disposal to study and understand the mesmerizing natural
elements. This trek was the most special
in my life till date, for we came within a 25 meters range of a herd of
elephants on their evening stroll for a drink (Photos 16 and 17). This
moment also helped us learn the power of these giants as they accelerated in a
way a big American SUV does and after witnessing that spectacle, never in my
life would I attempt to think of outpacing an elephant in the wild. That
evening was romantic as our place of stay, the big lavish Bungalow – Chandana,
pampered us with its cozy confines and a lonely bar when temp was plummeting
outside. It was an extremely rejuvenating night as we had a walk through the
cold mountain air before settling on the big bed for a night of unadulterated rest,
I forgot myself. The day next we drove to Valparai in Tamil Nadu and bid
goodbye to Kerala, as I was about to be startled by the ill effects of the “Dry
Spell” on this beautiful, Quaint hill station. The usual Electrifying ambience associated with this part of the year was
blatantly missing and I couldn’t believe my eyes as we ascended up the Valparai
Ghats. Had a chat with a local at an exotic tea shop, mid way through, and
he expressed frustration at the lack of rains during the past 4 months.
Nevertheless, Valparai with its mind boggling wilderness and erotic chillness
welcomed us past 19:00 Hrs and we quickly checked into our regular place of
stay before going out for a relaxing stroll. This place was much colder than
Chinnar and the emerging “Dormant”
thunderstorm forced us indoors for a night of pensive chill out in a
rudimentary bar. The recent Supreme Court ruling that banned any form of
tourism in the core area of Tiger reserves had hit tourism in Valparai in a big
way and this was yet another reason for us to cut short our plans and depart
the morning next. It was the final day of this “let down” trip and it
culminated with my third drive to Athirapally as the dry conditions couldn’t
help better the previous ones but, the
rustic road that batters any vehicle passing through this pristine region was
restored for atleast half the distance imparting an exotic feel to the drive
(Photos 5, 28 and 31). This three
day jaunt ended with a longing departure from the world famous Athirapally
falls (Photos 2, 9, 11, 12 and 33),
exactly 700 Kms from Chennai, and I drove back home sans special memories. Climatic change had played a decisive role
in reducing this potentially “amazing” trip into nothing more than a weekend
indulgence but, we still managed to enjoy every single minute which made up
those 3 days. We weren’t treated by the
rains or the usual natural beauty peculiar to this region, nevertheless; it
turned out to be a November which we, for a very long time, will remember. I
hope the about to be executed year end (2012) jaunt to a location nestled in
the densest parts of the Western Ghats will make up for this loss through a
fitting final touch to the year 2012, potentially the nastiest year since
my hunger began in 2006…I hope so…
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