SILENT SHADOW, OCT-2013

Silence is as beautiful as a 2 month old baby and as powerful as a woman’s melting smile, nevertheless; we tend to ignore this remarkable “character” and on most occasions silence is killed brutally. Silence flows through our environment, every day and everywhere; only to be amplified and killed on every occasion. The moments before our sleep are amplified by songs from smart phones, the lonely moments at home are amplified by televisions, the romantic moments between pairs of loving eyes are amplified by worldly and materialistic discussions, the calm early mornings at office are amplified by loud “emergency” conference calls, the quiet moment at hospital where mind prepares for the worst and heart thinks for the best is amplified by our own crying conscience. Silence; like malaria in developed countries, has been eradicated forever with man-made vaccine called “reason”, while my conscience claims there’s no reason to kill silence. Up or down, right or left; wherever I searched for it I couldn’t compose a moment of silence as the orderly chaos kept me chasing to the brink of breakdown. I was now desperately searching for it, that moment of stillness where my immediate world was on a mute enabling me to walk slowly; talk real words, breathe patiently, understand what I hear, mean what I say, smile from my heart and eventually sleep in absolute calm. These simple, inherent characters have vanished long back and I was stunned to sit and think for a moment I was searching for them, the basics of life. Like a blown out valve, I surged with accumulated pressure towards a remarkably quiet region with three of my colleagues on a noisy evening when entire office was stubbornly tearing down the silence. No worries; as I knew where to look for and where to run towards to and cherish moments of stillness looking into distant “nothing” and listening to vast emptiness in a region that’s shadowed by the mighty Western Ghats. Geographers call it a rain shadow region, a region that lies on the landward slope of a sea facing mountain chain, while I call it a silent shadow for its contents are a mystery and not much raved about like those on the other side of the mountain chain. After a night of brisk, breathe stopping drive on a mix of notorious Indian Highways we managed to hit the vicinity of Ghats, much ahead of dawn, forcing us to have a power nap for an hour until it was considered safe to enter the Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary. Chinnar WLS derives its name from Chinnar River that originates in the distant Anaimalai hills and later flowing into Tamilnadu as Amaravati before joining Cauvery near Karur. Our destination for the day was a sleepy, sedate town lying on the way to world famous Munnar and it was inherently famous not because of its proximity to Munnar but because of its massive natural sandal wood forests. It’s called by the name Marayur (Marayoor) where I discovered a quaint, big Bungalow a year back and it was where we were heading towards to spend a day of silence isolated from all unwanted amplifications. We were driving through the State Highway 17 and it was still dark with the big moon peeping from behind the Western Ghats rendering the situation painstakingly romantic, and completely making us ignorant of the fear usually associated with night driving inside a wild life sanctuary. Dawn gorgeously emerged as we entered Marayoor with distant, random homes echoing the voice of silence from around the mind boggling spread of the Ghats. We checked into “Chandana”; the beautiful Bungalow built with taste and substance to have a short nap before entering the core of the sanctuary for a moment of “out of this world silence” and to relish the relaxing sight of spectacular Thoovanam falls formed by river Pambar. Post breakfast we ventured into market for provisions and thereafter it was a quick entry into the reserve accompanied by forest guard for that relaxing hike towards Thoovanam with none but only “silence” accompanying us. Silence is so powerful here that we rapidly succumb to its influential presence and walk in absolute stillness unbothered by whatever and whoever is bothering us hundreds of kilometers away. Silence gradually lowers the volume around the amplified mind as it begins to settle into rhythm of nature; one that is of undeterred and unchallenged serenity. Thoovanam falls had a much bigger output this year due to the successful SW monsoon and it reinforced its position as the “Heart” of Chinnar. Upon completion of this trek and exiting the confines of Chinnar, my world had settled down well into its inherent rhythm and the impending evening culminated in “once in a while” kind of relaxation as we had a sumptuous dinner in a setting that churned loads of silence and nothing else. When Marayoor went quiet after the night had set in well, I took a stroll through the town engulfed by cold, mist and the exotic silence I came in search off. Walking in absolute stillness through an unknown village over a not much known road with surrounding Ghats forming a scary shadow and the distant stars blinking with curiousness is a moment to cherish. When I came back to Chandana the Bungalow was spooky and I quickly retreated to my room for going dead over the next few hours until dawn. Unfortunately; the dawn on the day of departure was much romantic than the one on our arrival and this made me depart with reluctance. Like many of my “Hurried” jaunts in the past, this quick dash to the Rain Shadow region over a weekend proved to be a curing one on my injured peace. The choice was mine, I knew well; I could remain in silence or, return to the world of chaos tormented by unwanted amplifications. But the bigger problem now was; I actually didn’t have the choice which I believed I had and thus forced to return to where I came running from. All I keep thinking about is how to retain the silence that subtly flowed past for couple of days and I believe the answer lies deep within me. It now only needs a powerful realization…