To fall in love is
fate, to be in it is a dream, to sustain it is responsibility, to see it mature
is strength, to be accepted is a god sent gift, to be together is tears and
hugs, to last a lifetime is an indestructible display of power, to leave in the
form of death is a pleasure and to be left behind as “single” life is an appalling
pain.
I began to script this love story on a rainy summer evening when I embarked on
my long journey, the first time ever, in pursuit of her with rainy eyelids and
a misty mind. Ever since that mesmerizing drive towards the west coast of
Indian Peninsula, monsoon, as a phenomenon, has influenced my thoughts and lifestyle
eternally to ensure I transformed completely and shut off the doors to the
outside world. Her arrival was so much
anticipated, her presence so much revered and her departure so much hated,
that; my entire life clock was tuned towards her beautiful movements, from
onset to dissipation. Year after year, as I grew up with her, she thought
me love, strength, fear, dreams, patience and nostalgia and how to take them
along to make my life slow, steady and lasting. There were few seasons
in-between when she wouldn’t appear or, wouldn’t arrive in full strength and
those were the moments when I would be burnt to ashes and forced to undergo the
most painful of behaviors, to wait; and this is one element she couldn’t teach
me though. Her amazing ability to make a mark would be displayed in the
subsequent year and I will go all out to drench myself in her sweet downpours,
but never managed to learn how powerful her patience had been. 2016 was the 7th
year for my love story that is bound to never end and last as far as my life is
expected to last on this beautiful planet. Through
these years life had thought me that best of your moments aren’t associated
with your ability to spend & buy, rather; on your ability to be together
and happy with your favorite bunch of friends who had all of the potential to
script a beautiful moment on your timeline. But life has a standard path, that,
it will push you to take a path for yourself and travel on your own until you
find the meaning for the journey that you started in a place and at a time
completely irrelevant to where you are now. In the past I would be
extremely hesitant to start a long journey alone and somehow will manage to pull
in a companion, but the feeling was completely different when I kicked off this
drive from my home at 22:15 hrs under an overcast sky, that soon began to pour,
to reach a place that defined one of the best moments of my life 8 years back.
I felt strong, I felt I had someone, and never once during the next 2 days I
felt I was alone, thought that was the fact. As I munched miles and progressed
away from the confines of the city, that
favorite darkness began to engulf as I ripped through the rain drenched highway
at speeds that meant death at the slightest of the error by that distant truck
driver whom I just passed at the wink of an eye before he could realize. At
175th Km my first break occurred as a remote Coffee Day outlet
invited me, temptingly, to rest for a while…just for a while…as the rains were
still pouring…It was a cold and lonely stop, as I burnt the sleep with a cup of
steaming Cappuccino watching the speeding Volvos and struggling trucks on the
deadly and dark highway. I had 450 Kms more of it to be seen…to see the day
next…
Dawn
was couple of hours away and I was still driving through the drenched darkness
towards west, when a well decorated coffee day outlet jumped out of the
notorious highway darkness to lend me few minutes of that much needed rest. It
was very comfy to retain myself within the car, considering the sharp drizzle
and cold outside, but; the hot coffee tempted me to step out and step into the
outlet. In the past, 5 years ago, I had
stopped here once while on the way back home from Kushalnagar and then, being a
weekend, it was bustling with travelling crowd and this time though, I had
planned my drive during the mid of a week to avoid such insane traffic and
chaos that are non-conducive to a memorable drive. Sliding into a comfy
couch and watching speeding vehicles on the highway, while you are still low on
adrenaline and surrounded by cold and rain, gives a hard perspective of how
unpredictable life on the highway could be with every second bringing about a horrid
surprise. Like the first halt, this one too surrounded me with incredible
ambience of loneliness as I spent a luxurious indulgence with the entire outlet
being at my disposal. By now I should have spent in the vicinity of 30 mins
over a cup of coffee and it was time to, painfully, climb over the drenched
highway and drive further in pursuit of my destination. This was one of those
moments I had dreamt of eternally, that of being unbothered by the harsh
natural elements as you push yourself to the limits, safely, and get a glimpse
of “closeness” to death. Speed has
always taken me to the next level of loneliness, as I leave behind all those
people & their vehicles, and force myself into the next sector of time
where Iam not aware of what is awaiting or have the capability to handle when
it occurs. And when it’s raining, this feeling is multiplied like in hell that,
you feel like god defeating the evil, as you flash the Xenon headlights on that
truck 200 mts away and pass alongside it, with only a 3 meter gap at your disposal,
to see yourself alive and the truck in the rear view mirror. When I drove
over this stretch way back in 2008 it was blissfully painful to cover the
distance, thanks to the poor infrastructure and a car loaded with friends and
their baggage. This time though, with only music for company, I was still able
to make distances seem comfortable and
the amazing DSG gearbox from VW made it as enticing as being with a beautiful
girl, but still not spending much to be content with her. When finally dawn
emerged, I hit the beautiful single lane highway that connects Mysore with
Gundlupet, the tri-junction from where roads spread in all directions towards
the three southern states of the Indian Peninsula. Many years back this stretch
was in absolute shambles but not now, as infrastructure upgrades have
transformed these 50+ Kms into a driving haven with ultra-smooth tarmac and at
places, runway like straights. At one
particular straight I was able to touch the 180 Kmph mark, remember this is a
country road passing through agricultural fields awaiting the monsoon rains,
which was a mind numbing number that was too dangerous even for a partitioned 6
lane expressway. That one particular moment was the highlight of my entire
driving experience this trip offered, as I lived through those few seconds of “out
of the world” loneliness with scenery blurred on my sides and the distant
XUV5OO utterly confused and humbled at the rate I approached and passed by it.
With only few Kms to be exhausted for reaching the tri-junction, I slowed down
and stopped for the third time in this drive, again in a coffee day, with
Western Ghats now visible in the distant west and cold westerly winds blowing
straight on my face. An incredibly cold
face wash and a bottle of pomegranate juice rejuvenated me from the loss of
sleep, but they never could rejuvenate me from the past incredible moments I
had with my friends at this junction almost a decade back. It was a feeling of
going back to my home, going back to where I loved to be, back to where I
wanted to be, to where I never belonged but…but I had to keep going…
To
this date, the claim for the best ever entry into any of my destinations in the
past 10 years is held by my 2008 entry into Muthunga, Wayanad, when the monsoon
was not only generous, but also spectacular; as every single stream passing
below the forest highway, passing through the Muthunga Wildlife Sanctuary, was
filled to brim and the entire forest painted in fresh green. Passing through a place, that was a part of
your happy past, many years later when you are separated by time and priorities
from all those who were a part of that moment is one of those feelings that prompts
your eyes to secrete tears like a just dug bore well. Life may be better, there
could be self-sufficiency, a good bank balance and a content home, but still;
few of the happiest moments recorded in a person’s life predominantly occur
before such self-sufficiency is achieved. However; this time around,
Muthunga wasn’t in its elements and couldn’t better the 2008 entry as the
monsoon winds were reluctant to condense and pour, in the process making an yet
another nostalgic memoir. Though the excellent highway enabled a faster drive,
I adhered to the speed limit of 30-50 Kmph to enable safe animal crossings
should they occur if I was extremely lucky. Fresh forest air is priceless as I
downed the windows for the first time since I started this drive 10 hours back,
pulling in chunks of oxygen rich cold air into the cabin along with its exotic herbal
aroma. Quicker than anticipated I reached the gateway to Wayanad from the east,
Sultan Bathery, which was also our base during the 2008 edition and it remained
the same with very little changes to identify or think about. My destination during this drive was further
20+ Kms up into the hills, secluded and cocooned by the mystic hill ranges of
Vaduvanchal, where sun, mist and moisture play and create a havoc of
breathtaking natural beauty that’s capable of healing the worst of human
cravings. The drive was familiar and I could recognize every rock and hill
in the distance, as clouds threatened to pour and failed deliberately every
time to do so. My resort was perched at the edge of Sun Rise Valley, a valley
that contained breathtaking waterfalls and an infinite supply of mist with ears
complemented by crickets, cicadas and hornbills. The final 0.30 Kms were the
toughest to tackle in this fantastic drive of over 620 Kms, as the car was
subjected to an incredibly steep gradient where it struggled for traction and
then, a narrow pathway with a tiny stream of water in-between that made my
hands tremble to maintain the trajectory such that the car didn’t get struck.
Few moments later I hit the final steep climb which eventually opened up into
the comfy & safety of the Sun Rise Valley Resort, a hide-out where I had
been planning to hide for a long time now. Over the years stamina had evolved
after such long drives and I was immediately ready to proceed to climb that
imposing hillock standing behind my cottage, until the resort manager came up
to me and diluted my adrenaline with a glass of cold grape juice. Sun rise valley, the trade magic of this
resort, didn’t let me down with its ambience as I indulged in a comfy
relaxation with the cold juice savoring at the enigmatic falls in the distance
and the intermittent, but regular, monsoon clouds flowing past below my feet.
What was more magical in the pipeline than this was the fact that, I was about
to ascend further up that hillock to get a panorama of these mystic hill ranges
and their thrilling forests interspersed with waterfalls and mists. After a
quick dash to the top of that hillock in a 4 wheel drive Jeep, it was time to
unwind in the lonely resort that had, apart from me, only the caretakers as
occupants for the next 2 days. A warm bath, wow, preceded the hot coffee that
reached my cottage as dusk was creeping in, cicadas & crickets were taking
control, temp was in the vicinity of 12 ‘C and more than anything else, the magical Western Ghats darkness &
evening monsoon showers setting in rendering that entire moment as romantic and
nostalgic possible…I was standing on the sit-out, struggling to get one last
glimpse of that enigmatic waterfall in the distance that was hiding itself into
the wild darkness…so was my mind…into those moments 8 years back…as the mists
began to overpower and chase me in…that night, the only barrier between me
and the wild natural elements were the glass doors that were deemed to be safe,
but not so…
This
day was special as I was about to do something the first time ever in my life; which was to climb a peak up to 2050 mts
above MSL, enjoy the stunning change in weather with every meter of ascent,
brave the monsoon clouds directly on their playground, witness magic and fall
in love with an amazing lake that symbolized love itself. During my
previous visits to Wayanad I had amazingly wondered at that distant peak
standing majestically amongst the entire bunch in this region, and I never knew
it will be the one that will show to me a natural symbol of love at some point
of time later in my life. Geared up in my favorite set of gumboots I embarked
on that rustic country drive in a 4 wheel drive Jeep towards the base of
Chembra, the official name of that peak, to climb it up and get a glimpse of
what monsoon fury will be like at its core action zone. The drive through the lonely
tea estates was refreshing and familiar, as the Jeep gripped to the wet road and
steadily progressed towards the forest office at the base of that distant,
mystic and beautifully green peak that was blocking the clouds from the Arabian
Sea, melting their ego and making them to pour instantly. Acts by nature are
stunning, but still within the norms of life and they are so powerful that the
results they yield are real and vigor unlike the majority of those incurred by
humans in pursuit of self-betterment and confined benefits. Post formal
procedures it was a quick ascent, braving the gradually increasing rains,
towards the peak in pursuit of extraordinary thoughts that were available only
at a location as exotic as this. Climbing a peak is so much energy consuming
that this not so complicated ascent gave a picture of the “toughness” those who
conquered the mighty peaks on this planet would have gone through while
pursuing their ambitions with their own lives on the line. Midway through the climb I rested on a slippery rock with rains
pounding us, as the guide pushed me to pursue the climb which I resisted, and
the views that this halt generated created a lifetime of thoughts, like; photos
3, 20 and 33 which were a heavenly depiction of nature’s beauty, purpose and resilience.
Being close to god makes you feel like one too, and this hike took me exactly into
those confines where I began to look at people below me as ordinary and put my
face bravely against the next rain bearing cloud that was rushing towards us
with incredible intensity and energy, I was least bothered though as I already
began to ignite the rave with her that no pub on this planet could compete with.
The natural symbol of love, a natural lake in the shape of heart that I mentioned
about terminated the climb with a soothing view but put us directly in the path of ferocious winds (Photo 16), as we
made a quick retreat after a tough photo shoot that tested the camera to its near limits (Photo 13). Upon
descending to the base I felt I had contracted a fever, as I went frail on legs
and heart too, before embarking on that quiet and dead drive back to my resort which
was the last place I was looking for under present state of mind and body. A
cold juice of watermelon, warm bath, steaming coffee and a quiet stand-out on
the balcony preceded my last night in
the Sun Rise valley, before the last Sun Rise the next morning, as I underwent
a sleep that answered many questions which I never asked or wanted to know the
answer for. Rains had gained in strength and extent the morning next, a
compelling evidence that monsoon was spreading like a plague, as I packed and
bid goodbye to the kind staff and as I did do so; I was sure the connection
with this beautiful and quiet resort would resurface sometime again in near
future. I decided to take the long route back home, through Ooty, and this
decision took me through few of the best “flashback” moments from my past life
as the beautiful and achingly long hill road occupied me with pristine
landscapes and cold temperatures. Rains were incessant and Ooty came across my
way after a stunning 5 hour drive over the meagre 100 Kms that existed between
it and from where I had started. When I visit
hill stations or drive through them, it’s become a habit for me to buy spices
for my mother and she feels good to have them in her collection which gets
spent so slowly that, I already am on my next trip to refil her dwindling spice
supply. But it was painful to realize that the many aromatic spice shops which
once dotted the streets of Ooty were replaced by ruthless restaurants and noisy
eat-outs, a compelling evidence of modern day capitalism’s intrusion. After a
cup of hot tea under cold rains I kicked off my long and lonely drive again by descending down the road that I loved endlessly,
the Kothagiri Ghats, and where I had arrogantly pushed my driving to the limits
of failure in the past. As I descended and as
the beautiful night set in (Photo 18), it was evident that no matter the years of
separation, no matter the state of your life, no matter how much you have grown;
the love that sparked many years back will resurface again and manifest itself
boldly and beautifully making you to go through a moment of nostalgia which
only could be quenched by the source of that love itself. In my case, it’s
the world’s most powerful phenomenon, the monsoon, and she even extended that
priceless happiness by accompanying me until I hit the plains…thereafter it was
my favorite stretch of single lane country roads for the next 200 Kms or so
which were in their best shape since the last 10 years that I enjoyed every Km
of them under the remote darkness of deep countryside and very soon; I hit the
madly fast and busy National highways…to reach my home in Chennai which was
surprisingly drenched by an overnight rain…I sensed a link…and more faster than
that, I fell asleep…
