(Please read the first part – the previous blog before reading this…otherwise, I’m sure you will not understand anything and you would certainly miss the fun in the first part)
Hmmm…as I’ve promised, this part embodies the fun at the hill. There, we were, atop the Himavadgopalaswamy hill, standing as if we were on the topmost point of the earth and mocking at the ground! The scenery was extremely splendid, the weather was fantastic and it felt as if we had stepped into a paradise.
The gold – painted Gopuram attracts the visitors. Moreover, the cool breeze and the lush green forests allure the people so much that they can’t leave the place once they’ve stepped in. Okay…let’s get back to the topic. My aunt and uncle were undoubtedly spiritual and rushed immediately to seek the Darshan. However, the famous five went to ‘trek’ the hills on the advice of Kusaa, who had been there not less than four times.
Kusaa led us to the lush green hills, one next to the other. It was just 10 minutes of the ‘trek’ and Lux got tired as usual. Nevertheless, she managed to ‘walk’ instead of ‘trek’. Mr.keetle, Kusaa, scardy – cat and I were walking majestically, not seeming to care about the ditches, rocks, plants. We weren’t the only people there, and Kusaa was shocked to find the place very commercialized. Now starts the photo session.
Click, click click. And just in 5 minutes, there were about 20 snaps in the digicam. Some poses were ordinary, some had the touch of ‘facepalm’, while some were taken as desired from an angle. There was no doubt that Mr.keetle was the photographer and we were the ‘models’. Lux, cat and Kusaa went lunatic making stupid signs, but however, enjoyed doing the same. But one thing that disappointed us was that, for each and every inch, there were plastic bottles….really, I dont understand what’s the problem of Indians in their life. First of all, I dont think they should necessarily carry such bottles to treks and even if they do so, they just throw those carelessly, as if it’s their house. The next trip I go, if I find any plastic bottles, I’m going to spot the owner of it, come to their house and throw it on their face! Hmmm…I think I should start a campaign against usage of plastics. Anyone joining me? 
We reached a ‘landmark-ish’ tree where the photo session continued again. While Kusaa, cat and I were running too fast, Lux was struggling to walk between the rocks, and Mr.Keetle accompanied her for help. We found a wonderful place and Kusaa rushed to sit on the rock like a vampire! With difficulty, even I sat between the rocks, which provided a panoramic view of the hills. Lux clicked the cam, when I sat and vice versa. However, the pics I clicked turned out to be ‘more thoughtful’ than what Lux had taken. (right Kusaa?).
There, we came to another interesting spot and this time, it was the ‘conquerors of the world’ show. Kusaa, cat and I showed the strength and arrogance we had (just for the camera! not in reality), posed to the cam like we were on top of the world and were invincible. The snaps taken were of various kinds like Lux in her sunglasses, Kusaa looking like Jayalalithaa (!!!), Cat conducting research on the rock like a scientist, to name a few. We started heading back towards the temple and this is where Lux’s clip controversy happened. Lux, who was struggling to trek, thought that her clip had fallen off while trekking. While returning, she saw a clip lying in a spot and thought that it was hers. With no hesitation and atmost bravery, she picked up the clip. Kusaa retorted, “Hey..your clip is there on your hair naa?”. Lux immediately threw the clip with an awkward reaction which was followed by a hearty – laugh. Now that the trekking and photo session was over, it was time for us to depart from the hills and make a beeline for seeking Darshan.
My aunt and uncle had finished the Darshan and were waiting with anxiety for us. At about 12.30, we appeared before them, exhausted (not me!) and joined the queue. As expected, cat the athiest, sat outside the temple, eating Kadlepuri! Ufff….these queues are the worst part of the temple – scenery trips! Unlike Kalale, where we were inside the temple and had to wait for the Bhattar, here, it was even more worse. The queue didn’t move an inch forward for half an hour, forcing us to delay even more. Finally, at about 1.15, we were in front of Garbhagudi and were able to seek the Darshan of the dry – fruit studded Lord. Sthalapuranam says that the place in which the Lord dwelt, the door of Garbhagudi, was always filled with snow and on the day when we went, the Lord looked white butter and dry- fruit decoration. Hence the name ‘Himavadgopalaswamy’ and ‘why – snow white’ (but, there is another thing you can relate this to, when you say ‘why snow white’..guess!). Atleast now, the sake of going to the place was fulfilled!
Bah! Again, these drivers are really the villians in trips! We had given him just 2 hrs time, but he hadn’t returned and we had to wait for that stupid guy. Errr….finally we headed for a delicious meal anywhere near Mysore. The poll was conducted and the majority of votes went to ‘Kamat Madhuvan’. We had to sit on two seperate tables. Here comes another exciting part. Since it was afternoon, we decided to have either North or South Indian meals. Lux, Kusaa and I opted for the former while my aunt, uncle, cat and Mr.Keetle opted for the latter. The waiter (I dont know if he’s really a waiter…but he was just a person who helped people to take seats) read out the menu and said that there was special meal which included “Jowar Roti a.k.a Jolada Rotti” and ordinary meal which excluded it. Scardy cat, who wanted to try the special thing shouted “I want Jolada Rotti”. The waiter, exclaimed “I’ll give North and South for them, and for you, who is so much excited, I’ll give Madhya Pradeshada Oota (middle part meals)”. Cat was astonished and looked blank, while the waiter patted on his back and went OFF.
As far as I’m concerned, it was the BEST North Indian meals that I had ever eaten. And so said Kusaa, Lux and most importantly Scardy cat! Hmmmm…after a heavy delicious meal, all of us were struck in a trance. Kusaa, cat and Lux told to chuck the ‘shy – white ocean’ plan and drive back home, while the rest didn’t agree. You know, people say ‘majority wins’, but in India, its always the minority who win. So I, being an Indian, must say that minority had its way here and we headed for ‘shy – white ocean’ with mixed feelings! (the journey and the place at shy white ocean will be published, as usual, in my next blog!)
