DAY 1 – 15/1/11 – Ahh…..you’re back! (and so am I) So, where were we? Yeah….we waited for the chauffeur who was to escort us to the resort. There were umpteen resorts, or, as you would say in your language – lodges. Kali adventure camp, Bison resort, Sai River resort, DJ camp etc. were a few. We chose DJ camp for two reasons : one, the accommodation facilities were quite satisfying and the rate wasn’t too high ; two, they enticed us by giving an offer of their ‘tree house’ – a place which we were craving to go to. The package trip included bird watching, visit to Syntheri rocks, croc trek, trekking, jungle safari and other adventure sports. (like rafting, jacuzzi, kayaking, rappelling etc). Wow….if given a chance, who would try to reject such an exciting trip?

Okay….back to the story. The driver was Mr.Govind, who had been sent by the DJ camp to drop us there. He was mainly a Hindi – speaking guy,who knew traces of Kannada. The trio – Trippy, Joky and Blacky knew Hindi well while Trippy’s mom and I were not so good (esp. me!) Hence, Joky popped up a conversation about Dandeli (the place, climate, attractions) with the driver; Blacky and Trippy added words in between while Trippy’s mom and I, who were poor in Hindi, were just silent spectators. The driver also uttered an open secret -which was like a skeleton in the cupboard for Indians. He said (in Hindi – although Joky translated), “The media people come here (Dandeli) and pull strings like anything….just because they want their show to be popular, they ask drivers like me to ACT as tourists; we’re supposed to convey to the people what THEY say and not what WE think”. Got it? From now on, don’t believe that all people who come in front of the camera are candid.

As we sat glued to the seats, we could feel the mercury dipping…and also, the nature outside was a sight for sore eyes. Yes indeed, it was the eternal bliss of Western Ghats – the continuous mountain ranges rich in variety of flora and fauna, that gives the tourists the pleasure to visit again and enjoy the serene, magnificent, breathtaking views of valleys and mountains. It is perhaps, THIS area (W.Ghats) that our mother India has given us as a gift; not just a gift, an experience to appreciate the splendid nature! There’s absolutely no doubt that this huge range extending from Maharashtra to Kerala, is for good; we Indians should inculcate gratitude, for having relished the ecstasy of the immortal Western Ghats……..

Usshhhhhhhhho….was it overwhelming? Well, it was just the experience of mine after looking at the lush green mountains! Okay…sorry! I’ll continue the story. Govind was as good as his words, since he had told in the beginning that he would take us to Supa dam in Ganeshgudi, on the way to Dandeli. The place was dead silent; except for the chirping of birds and the flow of water. As always, the much awaited photo session commenced with a snap of the dam and one of me and Blacky.

Then, it was time to capture some fascinating shots of the Dam….and it goes on. At about 10, we reached the resort – DJ camp. The person in-charge there was Mr.Dharmesh Patel, who showed us our rooms and also, the most awaited tree house. The cost for a room and a tree house – for 2 days and nights was 17500 bucks (for 5 people), which, I think is okay since it’s not too much in comparison to other resorts like Bison resort, which would rocket upto 25k (for 5 people). We asked Mr.Patel the highlights of the day and he said it was Syntheri rocks, croc trek and jacuzzi. We were excited….but wait…..hey, where’s the most important thing? The only thing which people come to Dandeli for – White water rafting? Mr.Patel was amazed….why? Because, he said, “You people are more adventurous than I thought…many people come and stay here, just for the jungle safari, Syntheri rocks & other petty activites. But you people…….well, great decision. Carry on”. He also informed that rafting will cost 1300 bucks for each person; rafting is carried out in the River Kali but, the starting point would be Bison resorts. So, we had to go there. Also, we got info about the number of rapids (8) and the level (4) – which was the 2nd easiest (I think so…I’m not sure how many levels are there!). Yippeee…..our dream was on the verge of getting fulfilled! None of us had experienced the water sport; especially Trippy’s mom who was a lover of adventure activities.

Seri…what about the rooms? We thought we could take 2 rooms for the time being (just to bathe) and then the trio (me, Joky and Blacky) could experience the tree house for the night. Wait…breakfast? Coming. What type of breakfast? The ‘English Breakfast’!!! Didn’t get it? Here you go – bread with butter & jam, avalakki bath and a cup of steaming hot Camelia sinensis (errr, what you call as ‘Tea’). As far as I’m concerned, that was surely healthy! We went to place our belongings in our room….not until we saw a small creature welcoming us – the spider. Ah……atleast now we realised that we were in a JUNGLE, not a busy city or a town! There, again. Trippy took out her D-SLR and started photographing it. Yes, indeed..she was an amateur photographer. Seeing this, the green eyed monster Blacky (chill !!) took out his Samsung Galaxy-S mobile camera and started taking pics. We don’t know who was more determined in taking snaps, but all I can say that a D-SLR was a hundred times better than a mobile camera!

What next? Croc trek! Jeez..that sounds weird, doesn’t it? When asked if she had any idea of what the croc ‘trek’ would be, Trippy replied “Maybe like trekking using a crocodile – using crocs as ‘skipping’ stones and jumping on them to reach the land!” Now that’s really funny!!! Hmmm….Trippy had a good sense of humour, whatever the case might be! To our astonishment, when we went there, all the croc ‘trek’ consisted of was nothing but seeing the crocs swimming stealthily in the water while a few hawks/eagles were flying above their heads competing for the common prey. But, there was more. A man came with a bag and started throwing something into the water. Suddenly, all the crocs assembled at the area and started catching those ‘things’…….not before their counterparts, the hawks also willing to do the same. For about half an hour, all we could see was just the man throwing and the crocs and hawks gobbling them ravenously. Okay, even though it’s kinda weird, what’s it got to do with the camera? Take pics as usual. We could also see some crockies lying on the land, still, as if like dead bodies. I thought the man who was feeding them, was throwing something like ‘leaves’ or wood, however, which was impossible since crocs & eagles were carnivores. Not able to withstand curiosity, I asked Trippy. She laughed at my interpretation of that ‘thing’ and said it was nothing……..but few pieces of meat! Yuck….what? Seriously! For proof, in one of her pics, we could clearly see the thing as some kind of chicken flesh – which was the reason why those crocs & hawks were coming in groups to enjoy their delicacy!

Hmmm…..the first adventure was over for us. Now it was the most awaited watersport – rafting! We returned to the camp for lunch – which was far better than what we had expected. In others like Bison resorts, maybe you get something like ‘restaurant’ food (I mean, just like the food we eat in restaurants). But not here, in DJ camp, where it was ‘healthy home food’. I don’t exactly remember the full menu but all I can say is that we savoured soup, Salad, some Rotis, Rice bath with a pickle and two side dishes for Roti – one of them being the most unforgettable side dish in my life – Vendakkai poriyal (Bhindi fry or Lady’s finger)….I can’t guess till now what masala they had added, for it was very delicious and mouth-watering. I relished an extra two Rotis to go with the side dish. Again, it was a steaming hot cup of Coffea arabica (hope you can figure this out) for rejuvenation!

Peek a boo, I see you! We climbed the tree to have a look at the tree house. To be frank, all of us had great expectations about it! But what do you think it could have had? No guesses? Okay….I’ll reveal it. All that the so-called tree house had was nothing but a fan fixed to the bark of th tree, some 2 or 3 lights on the roof, two beds with some of the most interesting creatures – our enemies, the insects! You could see moths, small ladybug/beetles, lizards, spiders and what not! Yuck….this was precisely NOT what we’d expected. Added to it, a not-so-clean bathroom with flickering lights. All these features convinced us that the room down there was a million times better than experiencing this tree house (I would call it an ‘insect’ house rather) where probably you would be bitten by insects and would have a nightmare. Uh……never mind. Atleast it would be an ‘experience’ (in my words)! We took snapshots of the tree house from all angles to put an end to the imagination of the people in our house, who were extremely curious about it.

Mr.Patel had arranged a jeep to transport us to the starting point of rafting. This journey, was too long for us; about an hour and a half  from ours to Bison since DJ camp was 7 km AFTER Dandeli. Ufff…ishtella aadru devru bidthaana! Still, we had to wait for the rafts to arrive since they were in short supply. Each person interested in rafting had to mention their age, contact number, city which they’d come from and put a signature in a book. Still, we passed time by clicking shots of the panoramic views of the dam which we’d visited earlier. We stood there, transfixed, looking at the wonderful reflection of the mountains in the life-giving fluid. Now it was time for some stone-throw! Blacky and I had stiff competition regarding whose stones would reach the maximum distance. Well, I think you got to have a knowledge of physics for this (angle of projection, horizontal range…Motion in 2d) and as you know it very well that I, being an aspirer of medicine, used to be completely at sea when it came to physics. So, undoubtedly, Blacky conquered!

Yay!!!! The rafts arrived and definitely the thrill began. But, wait…..there was still time! There weren’t adequate instructors & rafts since a whole lot of people came after us. Hence, half an hour elapsed and then it was the time to put up the accessories – life jacket, helmet and the paddle, of course! The person in-charge gave the rules to be followed. Each one of us had to sign once again in a sheet that declared we ourselves were responsible for any mis-happenings. In the meanwhile, there was some issue about the outfit for the participants. Trippy’s mom had worn a sari, which the concerned authorities said was risky. Nevertheless, she took it lightly and convinced them saying she didn’t have any other choice. And finally………it’s now time to play with water!

They divided the people into 5 or 6 groups, each group containing 8 persons would sit in a raft accompanied by an instructor. Since we were only 5, another 3 joined us. Hmm…there we were, seated in the rafts like boatmen, each having a paddle and ready for some water action!

The instructor was quite an old man. He first asked if all of us were really keen on the sport and wanted to experience the thrill (& also if there were any people with disorders like diabetes, heart patients, asthma etc) to which everyone responded with zeal. Then, he started giving an intro….

The rule was that out of 8 people, 4 should be seated on the right and 3+1 on the left (including instructor) while one of them must sit in the middle of the front row, so as to acquire balance. However, the fun part was that the people seated on the corners (left & right) were supposed to PADDLE while the unlucky one in the middle was jobless; and this time it turned out to be Trippy!

The instructor uttered some rules (regarding how to hold the paddle/tee, so as to get the ‘tee grip’) and also taught us the meanings of back/forward paddle, left/right paddle, fast forward etc. Ahh….the time has arrived to show your heroism! What? Yeah…the instructor told he would teach us how to ‘save’ a drowning person when you’re aboard a raft. Firstly, he asked one of us who knew swimming to volunteer for the action. All 5 of us, kept our mouth shut (even though Tripy knew it, she was on the edge). But that wasn’t it all…another person who was accompanying us volunteered. The instructor asked him to ‘get down’ or rather jump into the water, not just plainly, but holding the rope tied to the periphery of the raft. The person did so! He was asked to ‘push’ the water in the upward direction, holding the rope, in order to prevent him from drowning. Who’s the saviour? Joky!!! Oh my God…it was a shock not only for him, but even for us. Both, instructor and Joky tried to pull the person inside the raft ONLY by lifting him with the help of his life-jacket (in order to acquire balance). Ahhh…there it was! The person was pulled inside and splash!!!!!!!!!! Our first mission was accomplished!

Then it was the turn of Trippy, her mom, another person and finally me!!! Oooh…..I was certainly thinking it as something off the beaten track. I hadn’t jumped or rather ‘dived’ like THAT into water ever before! But….chill. What are the ropes for? It seemed to me as if  my life was at my fingertips; I caught hold of the rope and went into water. Oh….since it was my first time, I didn’t know quite what to do and was just pushing the water not until, my saviour, who turned out to be Blacky pulled me by my life-jacket with acute difficulty. It appeared as if he was so tired that he was pulling an elephant (I don’t consider myself one though; you know, I’d like to maintain my ‘self-esteem’ ). Oh shit…..it was my turn to rescue a person. But never mind, it was mere swapping….I had to save Blacky! I dragged him so effortlessly that I could hardly believe he was in my hands!

Hmmmm….the raft was sailing by 8 rafters, all eagerly waiting for high-speed action not until, we saw a white, fast-flowing thing that produced a roar when we came nearby. Yup, it was a RAPID! The first rapid……it was called so because the water was flowing with unimaginable force, not just flowing, but, plunging from a great height. The colour of water was milk white; hence called ‘White water rafting’ (a misconception since the water is only white near the rapids & not throughout the river). Ooooooh…there you go! The instructor asked us to paddle fast forward since the force was tremendous. Whoa….now it was the time to unveil the biggest joke of the trip! And unfortunately I had been the underdog!

By telling ‘get down’, the instructor meant to hold firmly the ropes tied to the raft and bend the body forward (esp. the knees). But it was not in my case since I was remembered of the previous activity – jumping into the water! Yeah…I’m serious. I don’t know till date what made me think so foolishly that I was on the threshold of life and death (maybe not, because the instructor was bound to save lives). The rapid arrived and all others in the raft except me caught hold of the rope tightly and did as instructed while I, who was thinking that it was another round of demonstration of saving lives, reciprocated by trying to dive into the accelerated, risky rapid heroically not until the instructor remarked seeing the bold act, “Excuse me. What are you trying to do?” and dragged me by force. He then asked me to hold the rope and bend my knees so as to prevent toppling of the raft in the mighty rapid. Usshhhh….the water from the rapid rushed inside with exceptionally high velocity and splash!!!!!!!!! Wow……now that is when you get the ‘adrenaline rush’!

Everyone started laughing like hell seeing the daring act of mine, especially Joky. Blacky and Trippy were baffled. Uff….it was then I realised that I got hold of the wrong end of the stick! Okay…coming back to the experience. The first rapid was the biggest or rather the highest rapid (that is, water flows from a great height). There were 7 more rapids and each of us couldn’t control the excitement. Every time a rapid arrived the boat was overflowing with both, enthusiasm and water! Whoa….second rapid! “Fast forward everyone” was the order to which everyone did their best and overcame the rapid. Likewise, another 2 rapids passed; the zeal was the same. However, Trippy was crestfallen since she hadn’t been able to get the joy of paddling. But, the instructor was ready to make some changes…Trippy and Joky swapped positions, Trippy’s mom and I also did the same. Suddenly, we began to hear a hell lot of noise….from where did it come? The adjacent raft! Ayyo…..it was a group of ecstatic guys, most probably friends. Perhaps this was the only trip where all of them had gathered. So, they were screaming with joy. Not only that, to our surprise, they splashed water on our raft occasionally. Maybe they thought the people in our boat were ‘inexperienced’ or maybe they thought of us as sitting ducks. Once, twice, thrice; okay. When they splashed the fourth time, in a spirit of sportiveness, Joky clipped their wings. Oh my God…it was awesome to see their faces bewildered!

Ooooh….it was the last and final, eighth rapid. All of our faces was glowing with thrill. And this time it wasn’t just once, but thrice! Yipeee….we were taken across the rapid thrice! Wow…it was absolutely mindblowing! Everytime the crew would paddle fast forward, hold the ropes when rapid arrived and the raft would we inundated with pure white water! Ahh….memorable, fantastic, marvellous and what not! That the water gushing into the raft, the expressions on the people’s face, the kind of sensational feeling when you’re in the middle of the forest – flowing on a river downstream with exuberant people is totally remarkable! Now I tell you, if you are an adrenaline junkie out there who’s yearning for some scintillating adventures then, rafting is MADE FOR YOU! Hurry up! Rush to Dandeli!

The total duration for rafting was about 2 and a 1/2 hrs. But that’s invariably good because of the kind of your involvement in the adventure sport. And unambiguously, 1300 bucks is worth for such refreshment that would be unforgettable in your life! Ussshhhh….there we were, some of us too exhausted to walk. On the contrary, Blacky, who expected rafting wasn’t going to be better than kayaking still stuck to his words, although we could see his face contradicting his words. But, Joky started to lit the fire – by commenting about my audacious, rather stupid act. It was then that Blacky came to know that the person was me, and he burst into laughter. Trippy also joined their company to pull my legs while her mom thought of breaking the ice.

“Oh….it’s freezing” was the statement made by Trippy while we were en route to DJ camp. Unluckily, none of us foresaw that the temperature would be too low – about 9 or 10 degrees, especially while returning back to the resort. Joky spotted some deers grazing in the forest; we weren’t lucky enough to see them though – and so, it has still remained a mystery if Joky REALLY saw them!

Hmmmm…back to DJ camp. Having rushed to our rooms, we ordered 5 cups of refreshing tea. Ahhhhh…..where else can you get the bliss of savouring a cup of sizzling Tea with biscuits in such a tranquil atmosphere other than a jungle? Okay…what next? Bonfire! This was one of the best parts of the trip. In the midst of that chill weather, there wasn’t anything needed to warm us up beyond that spectacular array of radiating plasma – the fire! We kept our legs in front of the bonfire and could contemplate something warm, rejuvenating – as if Agnideva arrived & provided energy! What is the bonfire meant for? Dancing? Singing? Well, not for us though! We thought this was the perfect time to make a phone call to the people in the bustling city, narrate the activities and ‘entertain’ them. Altogether, there were 3 cell phones – Blacky’s, Joky’s and Trippy’s mom’s. Trippy’s mom dialled her parents’ number and also the one of her home sweet home. In the other end, calls were made simultaneously from Joky’s and Blacky’s gadgets to their dwelling, my house and especially my aunt. Huh…..it was another round of chuckling, recollecting the biggest joke of the trip and not just that, conveying it to our relatives who were first of all scared. “Shantha, Sricharan en panno therima? Boat lendhu nadhiku erunguruthukku paatho” [Shantha (my aunt), you know what Sricharan tried to do? He was about to jump into the fast-flowing river from the boat] said Joky to my already-frightened aunt who, as usual, asked us to come back immediately. Well, it was surely fun – being captivated by the precious moments that never come back in your life! A few snapshots would do. And we clicked innumerable snaps of us and the mighty fire.

Where’s the dinner? Comiiiiiiiiiiiiing! The person in-charge uttered something in Hindi, which, as you know, entered one of my ear and instantly left the other. After deciphering, I came to know what he had said – that the dinner would be served at 9.30. But that was too late for us, who had to wake up at 3.45 a.m the next day to go for the jungle safari. Wokay, compromises over. The dinner was served at 8.30 itself. Again, the menu was mouth-watering. Precisely same as the lunch, but with a few changes. If not for the price of the rooms, we had accommodated in a good resort, atleast for the delicious home-like food!

Hey….look there! A ghost! But chill, it’s just a ghost with hands,legs and a torch in front of it. So, presumably you could guess what type of ghost it was, right? Thanks to my uncle, we had carried 3 torches with us – maybe of the preconceived notion that it would help while trekking in the night. But, it served for a better purpose! All of us except Trippy’s mom, enacted some creepy scenes with the torch being captured by a D-SLR. Hehe…think we had celebrated halloween a little later. That you are in a lonely jungle with only your relatives/friends around you and that ghosts maybe haunting somewhere near you is a fantastic notion! For some creativity, we tried out the shapes of different alphabets – ‘S’, ‘V’ and ‘A’ (starting letters of mine, Trippy’s and Blacky’s names) and the result was amusing.

Okay….time to go to bed. As discussed earlier, Trippy & her mom occupied the room while the trio headed for the tree house. No wonder Blacky and I were apprehensive about sleeping there for, the situation was worse than morning. Moths flying above your head, tiny bugs waiting to dig into your ears and the eight-legged creatures ready to pounce on you. The beds also weren’t cleaned. We thought a few extra pennies wouldn’t make a difference; we decided to sleep in the room in which we had bathed earlier. Perhaps Trippy was expecting our return and was standing near the door. Actually, Blacky and Joky were those not willing to sleep in tree house but as usual, I received the title of scapegoat.

Seri….we went to the room and put the cell phones for charge. We just laid on the bed, not until we got a call from the girl next door (Trippy) asking us to see the guest in her room. What might it be? Cockroach? Lizards? Naaa…even worse. It was a tiny TOAD! Immediately, the roomboy was called who promised to get that creature out. We could hear sounds of thumping the floor, of sticks and thought we’d be a reason for the death of that creature. Fortunately, the roomboy was just trying to get it out and it was nothing serious. Thank God, all our adventures didn’t prove to be disastrous.Blacky, Joky and I went back and slept casually till 3.45 a.m…….except for a few noises of mine since it was me who was sensitive to the cold climate so much that even after having worn a sweater, covered a shawl and a bedspread, was literally freezing. (The 2nd day will be published in my next post)

“Yes….no…..yes….no…..yes!!!” And finally, our dream to explore and capture the serene Western Ghats came true with the exceptional agreement of my two cousins (as always) – Blacky (former Artgod/Nura) and Joky (former Eldest cousin) (please…don’t pronounce it as ‘jockey’…I mean, dont use the ‘aw’ sound). After Himavadgopalaswamy, we decided to go somewhere else known for adventure like Savandurga but I wasn’t able to make it since I’d agreed for the ‘ridiculously famous’ Golden Temple – Vellore. Well, I think the trip was worth if not for the Golden temple atleast for the Dhanvantri temple. Okay…..let’s get back to the topic. Where was I? Ah…yeah. The duo consented and now it was turn of my cousin sis ‘Trippy’ (former ND/creative sis/Kusaa) to execute plans. She and her mom were joining us on the trip and Joky booked the tickets up and down. Place? Yes….it is Dandeli! Mode of transport was obviously a train, since it was only 5 people. “Book Rani Chennamma” said I, since Rani Chennamma was supposedly a famous train from Bangalore to Kolhapur, and on the way was Alnavar – the nearest station to Dandeli. As luck would have it, or rather crazy Indians would have it, the tickets were sold in a jiffy and we had to put our heads down. Never mind, there’s always another door to heaven we thought and certainly the Garib Nawaz express came to our rescue. Now, it was our turn to hit back at the people and we got the tickets booked. The train commenced from Yeshwanthpur and travelled till Ajmer…but our destination was Londa which was the 2nd nearest station to Dandeli.

“Packing aacha?” (Is your packing over?) was the transparent question that would be asked everytime I go to Trippy’s house for which the answer would be, “Sooo early?”. Time passed by and finally the d-day arrived – Jan 14th. I had bunked college for ‘packing’ clothes which was just a matter of a few minutes. But still…..bunking is great fun (as you’ve gathered from my previous post). The train was to depart at 5.45 p.m. Toothpaste, soap, jacket, 3+1 pairs of clothes, binoculars…what else? “En shaalu edthkund po…romba kulur irkurdhu” (carry my shawl…it’ll be extremely cold) said my paati (grandma). Had I not obeyed her words, then I would’ve frozen there (literally)! Oops…looks like one kitbag isn’t enough. Whats the backpack for? Take it! I put the binoculars and a pair of shoes in that. Also, a magnetic game set (noughts & crosses, snake & ladder, ludo etc) was kept so that we could relax/play in the train if the question of boredom arose.

Oh…..time’s up. Me, Blacky, Trippy and mom – ready. Where’s Joky? Still in office! Duh…really don’t know what these software guys are upto. They work, work and work day and night. Nevertheless they get paid less. When the clock ticket 2.30, Joky said he would arrive in an hour or so. But that wasn’t the case…..about 1 1/2 hour elapsed and still he wasn’t there! Finally..at about 4.30 or so, he stepped in…..like dead beat (so exhausted). Hurry up…there’s no time for packing, so, get your wheels going! Joky, Blacky and I bid farewell to everyone at home and headed for Yeshwanthpur Railway Station. There, was Trippy and her retinue (mom and dad). Luckily, the train was at the first platform (from the back gate)…we rushed to our seats and arranged the luggage. Uff….it was still 5.10 pm; 35 minutes to go.

Now the weirdest session began……making a call to all our relatives and informing that we’re in the train, safe. This session compensated with the 35 minutes; but the train left a little late…around 5.55 p.m. What to do now? Talk, talk and talk! Infact, it was just showing off that we were at loose end. Till about 7.30 pm, we discussed about all topics under the sun! Blacky’s parents had called. So, we spoke to them for a while and I told that the paratha box which Blacky’s mom had sent was indeed ‘safe’, to which, a bomb of laughter exploded.Ah…now it’s time for dinner. So early? Yeah….you can’t expect to have dinner at 9 o clock in the train. Okay…as I’d already mentioned, the dinner was nothing more than a few parathas with a small box of  ’melkote puliyogare gojju’. Trippy said she didn’t want dinner as she had ‘motion sickness’ (sickness caused when you’re moving a vehicle) and that if she had something, she feared she’d puke. All right…..a total of 12 parathas…so, two each – me, Joky, Blacky and Trippy’s mom. To cope with shortage, Joky and Trippy’s mom gobbled extra two. The feeling of eating paratha with yummy puliyogare gojju in a TRAIN was definitely exciting for me…..to show off or rather to tempt others! But Indians aren’t like that…they’re in for any competition. Our co-passengers, a family of 3, were kind enough to offer us some kadlepuri. Hey….wait. Where to keep the empty box? We kept it in a cover under our seat and certainly this was the turning point of the trip (I’ll tell the incident in my next blog). Time elapsed….now came the burning question.

Where to sleep? I hadn’t slept in the upper berth……till then. Joky grabbed the left upper berth and Trippy’s mom did the same with the side lower. The family caught hold of right lower and right middle berths (the child was around 3 yrs…so, obviously it didn’t need a berth). The left ones were left middle, right upper and left lower berths. These can be arranged in 3P3 ways…(remember Permutations? Sorry, I’m weak in math! ). Trippy didn’t want the lower berth….I was okay with either upper or middle. I took a hard line; Trippy and I came to blows for the upper & middle ones. Within a moment Blacky jumped on the middle berth, thus intensifying our fight. “This is inequitable…I haven’t slept in the upper berth at all in my life. So I wanna try it” said I, to which, Trippy retorted “You can sleep anytime you go by a train. But, you fail to look at the problems of sleeping in the lower berth. It’s disgusting”. Making no other comments, I climbed upto the upper one and slept there. Trippy, in disgust, had no other way of enticing me and stood like a stone. I told Trippy that I’d give the upper berth by looking at her in a sympathized manner (I mean, I’d give it in a sense of mocking at her). Trippy, a dignified girl, didn’t want to give way and asked me to retain my position. Hmmm…what was interesting here is that Blacky, who was sitting pretty, enjoyed our fight and poured ghee to the fire.

Uff…..teething troubles! What? Yeah…those ugly tiny insects – the moths! There’s no doubt that I hate flying insects! Everyday I find millions of them in my house and each time I see them I feel like snapping ‘em! A moth was wandering in our cabin, near the tubelight on the ceiling. We couldn’t shoo it away since it’s obvious that insects are fond of light. The only remedy was to switch off the light which was however, not momentarily possible since our co-passengers were having dinner. I was totally disgusted and was rather in a trance; I wanted to sleep in the upper berth since I hadn’t done it in my life even though I felt like getting down because of the moth. Trippy and her retinue laughed at me and asked me not to make a mountain out of a molehill. Finally, I kept my fingers crossed and covered the bedsheet over my head.

The clock ticked 11. It was at this time that, Thanthi (my own sis) made a phone call to Joky’s mobile. She was in US (and is still there) and was certainly missing all these memorable moments…um, we thought if she returned from US by this time, we could ask her to join us but unfortunately……as I’ve already told you, these techies are most pitiable people on earth. She was given an extension of 3 months to complete her stupid work (I think it’s nothing more than stupid)…..Wokay, what to do? Aur aur kashta aurige. The talking session lasted for 20 minutes. Just then, Dharmavaram station arrived and the friends of our co-passengers (the family which I’ve mentioned) boarded.

Che….now started the trouble. The family in our cabin went to the next cabin where their friends were residing and started screaming happily. Duh…a hell lot of noise! That made us stay awake till 12. Never mind….after all, it’s a train. You’ve to be ready for anything. So, they kept the ball rolling and we apparently were half asleep – half awake. Ohh….its 2 a.m! And they’re still making noise….I felt like going and shouting at them, until a person from their adjacent cabin came and did my job. Abba…sadhya! The noise was over and I sighed thinking about relief. Alas! Now it’s even more worse! Joky, who was asleep in the left upper berth, opposite to me, started to………………what? Can’t guess? It’s a foregone conclusion…..what’ll you do if you’re deep asleep? Dream? Naaaah……it’s snore! But it wasn’t only me who was complaining, one of our co-passenger also was in the same boat as I. Keeping our fingers crossed, and most importantly closing our ears we were ready for forty winks.

The clock ticked 6 a.m and I woke up, doing Surya Namaskara (from a train!)…looking at the sun through the window! To my surprise, there, was Trippy…already awake. I thought maybe it was because she had the habit of getting up earlier, but, that wasn’t the case. She said she didn’t sleep half the while. Then, I realized what a mistake I’d committed. I spoke to her apologetically and broke the ice. Seri….no more ‘sentimental’ scenes! Now it’s time for brushing the teeth. Everyone went till the sink, brushed their teeth and also did the most important thing (what? it’s just irrigation! Can’t guess? duh….leave it!)

Blacky, having a glimpse at the scenery outside, started his usual speech saying the scenery had come in his dream….to which, we all had cold shoulders. The station was Dharwad and the time 7.30. There was still an hour to go. But there was one more shock waiting for us. Trippy’s mom had printed the schedule of the train and carried it with her. Alnavar wasn’t in it. But, the train stopped at Alnavar around 8.15. Our eyes expanded and we thought if we could get down there itself since it was nearer, but, we couldn’t since there were only a couple of minutes left. Wokay…let’s wait till Londa arrives. And it did, 15 minutes late. The train reached Londa at 8.45 and we kept our backpacks ready. “Mine 2, Joky’s 1, Blacky’s 1, Trippy and her mom’s 3…totally 7 bags…done” said I and we hurried to get down since the stopping time was hardly a minute. We searched for our driver, who was to take us to the resort. (The rest of the trip will be published in my next 2 blogs. Keep waiting!)

…………What? starting of the paragraph with ellipses? I know, but this is what I was thinking. Time is the only evil in the world…you know? It doesn’t seem to care about anyone…it just passes so fast that I’ll go mad head over heels if you say 5 1/2 months are over since my college started! Okay…lets get back to the topic….the saturday 27/11/10 was the best saturday for me since I had the experience of all the TASTES of life – bitter, sweet, sour, salty and spicy!

I was deep asleep until I realized that it was a cloudy saturday early morning (around 6.30 – 7 a.m…What? Yes, this is definitely early for me!). But, what’s with saturday? Yuck…..I have Physics practicals! The most irritating subject…added to this, you’ve to perform an experiment! No wonder I get less marks in physics everytime! Starting the day with a yawn, I woke up and just made a beeline for the bathroom. Thats it..bath was over in 10 minutes and as usual I relished my favourite breakfast (Dosa.. ) and was ready to leave. No sooner did I wear my slippers, than a call from Los Angeles arrived. Yes, you’re right….it was my sis from LA, who was eagerly waiting to speak to me about the most confusing topic of discussion – Digicam. I just exchanged a few words with her and had my way to college.

There, were some of my closest friends – Sunil and Vijay waiting in front of the lab with bated breath….oh, not for me, for the lab instructor! Just 15 minutes passed and the 3rd floor of our c0llege was flooded (both..with students as well as noise). That day, we were supposed to do ‘surface tension’ but we got rid of OUR tension since it was a demonstration experiment. “Oh….its already 8.30…we, being students have come early and teachers haven’t! And, they yell at us when WE come late!” said one of my batchmates loudly until he realized that our most disliked lecturer was standing at the doorstep and his chapter was over. And it happened as predicted, for he and one more guy faced the music. One of the best lecturers (who took lab for us) in the ‘not-so-good’ physics dept hadn’t come and this added oil to the wound. Our most disliked lecturer had to explain the experiments for both the batches……Phew….we thought tension was over. But it wasn’t, when the lecturer gave an hour long speech of our attendance shortage. He just cudn’t realize that he was flogging a dead horse as well as bending our ears. “Until now, we haven’t had such indifferent students in ‘C’ section….40% of you are regularly irregular” he said, to which there was NO reaction by us, other than zipping mouths. The lab got over at 10.15. That day we had only two classes-Maths and Zoology, which I thought would be a waste to attend as I wasn’t short of attendance in either of the subjects. Yes, you guessed it right….I thought of BUNKING!! Believe me, I wasn’t sceptical in such matters ; my decision was firm! Oh wait….I had to see my close friend Dilip, since I hadn’t seen him for the past few days…but there’s no time to talk to him….so I just hopped in, said a ‘Hi’ and vanished into thin air. Thank God, I had the company of Sanjay and Vinay, who also bunked classes to read for their ‘hell test’ (@ varsha embar….hope you came to know what I’m telling, right? ) So, I have to describe this as the ‘BITTER’ part of my day!

When I was en route to my home , I started thinking about the plans for the day……….not before I realized that I was on the middle of the road; and guess what, I had a close shave! Abba…stop daydreaming and reach home fast, dude! As soon as I got inside my house, I threw my bag and went to the coolest place (what? FYI, its not bathroom!) – my cousin’s house upstairs where some of the most fascinating things happen. I went and jumped on the couch and my cousin asked what I was doing at that time in the house. Hmmm…it took just four letters to say, B.U.N.K ; and everyone there raised eyebrows as I expected. “What kind of college have you joined! Just enjoying!” envied ARTGOD (former Scardy cat…didn’t get still? Okay…he’s my second eldest cousin). Not to mention that IOP (Implementer of plans – my eldest cousin) also gazed at me and had a laugh.

Suddenly, words from nowhere started coming out; it was about knowledge and ignorance. Phew, it was the same Artgod who always criticized something or the other and this time it was about college and education. He never toed the line of anyone since he had his own way of doing things. My aunt set the ball rolling by talking about college life, students; the ball kept rolling by introducing topics like knowledge and ignorance….woo! Now it was superstitions, spirituality…..and, wow…what a transformation! From ‘education’ to ‘Shankaracharya’s philiosophy’! Hayyappa……che! It was really a lesson for me – a lesson taught for bunking college….who has the patience to listen to philosophies instead of chatting with friends? Wait…..this discussion was also equally interesting. But one infinitesimal thing was absent….can’t guess? Okay…it was my cousin sis! It would have been perfect if she also argued with them. Now I have to say this – it was just a storm in a tea cup. IOP used to turn the tables on Artgod, who was no less in debating. My aunt sometimes tried to break the ice which would go more or less go in vain. Yappa…..first of all, it was not a burning question; and yet the discussion lasted for an hour. Artgod pronounced the judgement that my aunt should stop following blind beliefs, going to temples or rather, stop FORCING him to join temple trips, which was no easy task for her………………what? Yes, I was definitely AT SEA and was hoping for the debate to end. Finally by the ‘arul’ of Narayana, Artgod and aunt stopped arguing…….and what have you?

So the philosophical part is actually the ‘SOUR’ part of my day! Hmph…..need some rest for the mind after listening to such a boring philosophy, right? So what’s the ‘rest’ here? Obviously, Fb! What else you have to do on a free day other than logging into Fb (hope you know what Fb means).Hmm..now its time for lunch! And what do you have out there? Pongal!!!! Oops…not the correct combo….pongal should necessarily be served for breakfast. But, you never know what happens by a change. Yup…it was awesome! Usshhhhhhhh….what plans after lunch? Nothing other than sleep! Huh? Wondering what kind of a person I’m? What to do…..I took out my trigonometry book and started solving some sums. Its really incredible…the kind of stress experienced when you solve math sums. By the way, I’m not indefatigable….so I put an end to the math book and thought of having forty winks (a short sleep). I was definitely jobless! Hmm…hope you can guess the taste of this part….if you didn’t, no probs. Since I was jobless, this part can be taken as the ‘SALTY’ taste!

2.30…….3.00…….3.30…..4.00…..4.30!!!! Arise, awake and stop not till your goal is reached. I just got up and ordered my grandma (yes, I’m candid…I order her! LOL) a glass of ‘kanji’ (commonly called ‘ragi malt’ in K’taka…if you don’t know what it is, then forget it)….aahh…its was hot. I was enjoying the kanji until…….knock knock! (I didn’t realize that someone was knocking)…okay…..Bang bang! Uff…who is it? Its obvious….my cousin sis (You know, she’s the protagonist in my blogs….there’s no adventure of mine in which she’s excluded!) She said or rather,screamed “En daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?” (meaning ‘wassup’) to which I replied as usual “En diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii?????” So this ‘enda’ and ‘endi’ continued for a while until I finished my kanji and she finished her tea. And this time, her nickname is ‘ND’

It was really ‘series of co-incidence’! Lol…my aunt had seen her mom in the morning, her dad in the afternoon and bro just a while ago. Now, not only she, but even her dad and bro had arrived upstairs. ND sat on the couch and suddenly a loaded question popped up. Abba….it was about the previous week’s Savandurga trip and that too, about Artgod. ND had always thought of him as a sitting duck. Nevertheless, she used to lose arguments with him (@ varsha embar a.k.a ND…chill!) Now the question arose whether Artgod was ‘tired’ during the trip or not…he accepted that he was tired and so was everyone else who had gone to the trip. She didn’t leave…she added some more ‘phrases’ to his tiredness and tried to put him in a stalemate. Artgod, as usual, got on his nerves and announced that ND was trying to build a cock and bull story……and it goes on………

Amidst this enthralling discussion, there was another thing which put us in Utopia……hot spicy chilli bajjis! Yes, my aunt had made a bundle of them since there were ‘too many’ people in the house….ND’s dad was also a very nice person to talk to. Now it follows the ‘group discussion’ – ND, me, Artgod and ND’s bro were one group; IOP and ND’s dad were the other while my aunts and uncle were the 3rd. Oh my God…eating those mouth-watering bajjis while discussing some ‘hot’ topics….this was really outstanding! Breathtaking discussions they were…….hope you guessed it right! Yes, this was the ‘SPICY’ part of my day!

Ssssssssssss……ooh, it’s too spicy! I need something sweet….and it was definitely there. OMG….I think my cousins are the ONLY people in the world to take more than an hour to decide the hotspot (like a restaurant). Adigas, Foodcamp, NKB, Fudge club……the discussion went on. Guess where it ended; no prizes for guessing….it’s Pizza hut. IOP dropped out since he was tired. So, it was the ‘fantastic four’ – me, ND, her bro and Artgod. There….just an 800m walk from the house. We set the ball rolling….and hardly when we walked a 100m, ND’s bro changed the spot. From Pizza hut to…………….where? IISc canteen!!! Weird, isn’t it? It’s after all a canteen….but there’s something more to do. Forest walk! Wokay…….lights, camera, action!

Woah….it was an untiring walk from 2nd temple road to Maramma circle. ND’s bro was studying M.E in IISc. As he was pursuing the course from 6 months, he had gathered the information about the ‘hangout places’ and food there. Not only he, but even my sis (who is in LA) had tried the food in the canteen and described it as ‘sumptuous’. ND’s bro was quite sure about the quality….but he backed away when the question about reimbursement arose! Doesn’t matter….we’ll just taste. ND showed his ID card at the entrance and made way for us to discover the food. But one embarrassing thing was that when asked who we were, ND’s bro called us as his ‘friends’. Che! What a pathetic situation for us, being his flesh and blood!

It was quite a long walk from the entrance to the canteen. We had to go under a road- bridge, climb steps etc…..finally, we reached ‘destination Prakruthi’. Again, the time came for us to prove our flop shows (as always!)….there were two veg canteens, Nesara and Prakruthi. None of us knew which canteen was known for its food. We opted for the latter and headed towards it. There were many ‘hi-fi’ people out there, including teachers (why shouldn’t they be hi-fi?). We glanced at the menu and decided our choice. It was obviously 4 plates of Pav Bhaji and a plate of Gobi…there, we gobbled ‘em up AFAWC (as fast as we could). Neither it was too good nor ‘stomach filling’. So, how about a Biriyani and a Pulav? Now this one took a long time…..during which me, ND and Artgod discussed about how ND’s bro had turned over a new leaf after joining IISc (a place known for its ‘nerdy students’, right?) Okay….the dishes arrived. It was finished within a blink of an eye…but it was a little stomach filling. What about the dessert? ND and I had ice cream while her bro and Artgod drank a hot cup of coffee.

Alas….we always tried to put the cart before the horse. First, we thought we’ll go for a forest walk and after the allegedly ‘tiring’ walk, we can have dinner. But tables were turned down. Never mind, let’s take it as an ‘night-forest-walk-after-a-heavy-meal’! Sure..it was mindblowing! We roamed the campus like anything. According to ND, the temperature was 2-3 degrees less than that of the city because more tress were present. We had a glance at the Molecular Biophysics dept, Physical, Inorganic and Organic chemistry, Electronics, blah blah blah….but the thing which is more noteworthy is the kind of experience when you pass by those lush green trees, that too in the night. Ahhh….a forest in the city which is impossible to find in these days.

Ooooo….snakes! “I’m not scared…I have the ‘eagle scar’!!!” said I, who believed that I was impregnable of snakes. However, the rest grinned. There came an untarred road which we thought would lead to a jungle like thing….and this was the moment of the day! All the fantastic four made sounds like ghosts, holded each other, watched out for snakes in the ground, cracked jokes…..hey wait…how can we forget the most important thing? The photo session!! Oh no….sad. No one had got a camera….but what is Artgod’s mobile for? Click…..our quest for street lights began. Wherever there was a streetlight, there was a snap. ND was overflowing with zeal…she took some ‘creepy’ pictures in Artgod’s mobile. And where’s the group photo? Artgod took it…the perfect one in which ND seemed to be ‘enlightened’; me and her bro standing next to her (like shishyas!) Afterwards, the walk resumed……..

Oh…it was already 9 pm! Hurry up…..ND and her bro have to reach home! Pause…..why? Oh shit….in the midst of our euphoric forest walk, we forgot the parcel order – a Bhelpuri for IOP. Now this is the perfect time to drink water, so slurp slurp slurp! 3 glasses! And the journey went on….from Maramma circle to home. Luckily, ND’s parents were waiting for us at the doorstep. Everyone else, especially my aunt was worried for only the ‘kids’ of the family were on an outing! Hey…now it’s your turn to guess the taste of this part. It’s a foregone conclusion – S.W.E.E.T!

ND and her bro departed. My grandma had come to see me, and thank God I was on time to have a few words with her. In the end….how should the day be portrayed? Hmmm…except for the starting of the day which was bitter, the whole day was Creme de la creme……..

Uff ….had a good nap. The next morning – had breakfast and logged into FB. Who’s there? ND…..she exclaimed “Endaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…” to which the reply was as always “Endiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…” and the story continues…….

In the car…..hmm…what say? After the lunch, we departed from Mysore. Scardy cat and Kusaa wanted to try something new and started some dumb, rubbish game called ‘Hit when you see a santro or a truck’. In this dumb game, Kusaa and cat entered into the ‘Treaty of Srirangapatna’ with each other (please…this does not have anything related to Tipu Sultan!) – according to which, Kusaa would hit cat when she saw a truck on the highway and cat would hit her when he saw a santro car. But, the curtains were brought down when cat argued that Kusaa could hit if she saw ANY truck, while he couldn’t do so….Yapppppppa..what a dumb game! No wonder it ended so early! :-/

Our elders say, ‘When God closes one door, it means that he opens the other door’ and it happened in the car. Now that the ‘Treaty of Srirangapatna’ was violated and the game was over, Kusaa and Lux started another game which you all know – DUMB charades…and these people made it even more dumb. Kannada, Hindi, English, Tamil..thats all..we don’t know any more langauge movies! Each time Lux made the action, it would take us atleast two minutes to guess the movie…and you obviously know who would guess it ,,,,,,,,,, of course, who else other than me??? She was astonished at my guesses as she hadnt seen me like this before. ‘The exorcism of emily rose’, ‘Ishq vishq’, ‘Mohobattein’, ‘The silence of the lambs’, ‘Tumhare liye’, ‘Mujhe kuch kehna hai’ etc, were some of the movies. Soon after this dumb session ended, another session started which was even more dumb – the personality guessing contest. Bah!!! This was inaugurated by scardy cat and he laid the rules before us (the personality in one’s mind should be guessed by the others within 20 questions of ‘yes or no’ type only!)…..not to mention that Mr.Keetle and I were just spectators / participants without starting any other new game!

Hmph……the games continued until all of us got tired of it. Kusaa was all the more tired and wanted a popsicle. She zoomed her eyes and looked through the window if she could get one on the ‘ice cream thallo gaadi’. But, no….she felt she was always unlucky! Every time she saw an ice cream van, she felt like jumping out of the window and grabbing a popsicle, which would never happen because of us. And this time, Kusaa didn’t save her day with her clever tactics!!

The driver stopped at a nearby petrol bunk to fill the the tank. Anyway, this was the time for us to get down from the car and relax..but it didn’t last more. My uncle told the driver to go as fast as possible since it was already 4.30 p.m. Alas! Here’s another sad story……there were seperate routes for Gaganachukki and Barachukki. Ayyyo…..this is the sadest part……if we go by either routes, we could be able to see any one of the places – Gaganachukki, Barachukki or Madhya Ranga temple. But one thing was that the temple was en route to B’chukki. Now you know what’s going to happen. So, how many ‘theists’ are there among us?? 1,2,..and the final count was 4. Cat ordered to go to Barachukki first as it was already late and we cant see the falls clearly. On the contrary, my uncle, aunt and I voted for the temple as it was the main reason the three of us had come to the trip. Cat was not indulgent as we thought. Arrrey….parents always heed to their children’s requests na? Finally we decided to give in and headed for B’chukki. In the midway we saw the Madhya Ranga temple and prayed to Lord Ranganatha that he should give his ‘Arul’ to seek the Darshan! We reached B’chukki in a hurry and got down from the car.

“Shabbbbba…ippove kanne kattudhe” (I know its a dialogue of Vadivelu….please!!! I’m not his fan) was my reaction seeing the magnificent falls (not literally my reaction). We were at a huge distance from it, but it was really mindblowing. Yay….what is the first thing you do when you go to a falls kind of place? Boating…and here it’s boating in ‘theppa’!! Excitement….but didn’t last long. Cat, Lux and Kusaa suggested to go boating in Theppa, but my uncle and aunt didn’t agree saying that we cannot visit the temple and it would become late to reach home. Mr. Keetle was diplomatic ; he didn’t want to visit either of the places and just zipped his mouth. There continued a big argument and it was obvious that we had asked for the heat. With no other option left, we just took a few snaps in front of the falls and decided to head for the temple while Scardy Cat got on his nerves.

Cat just blabbed something like we would not be able to seek the Darshan after having made injustice to him. He just kept scolding the people who suggest Shy white ocean for the trip where we couldn’t even rejoice for 20 minutes. Lux turned pale and so did Mr. Keetle. But my uncle, aunt, Kusaa and I were blank and went inside the temple. To our surprise (or ‘shock’ rather), what Cat said turned out to be 100% true. Just like how they say in Kannada – Kaiyige bandiddu baayige baralilla (what came to the hands didn’t reach the mouth)… we just went to B’chukki and saw it ; but we didn’t allow him to go theppa boating. And this time, Cat’s ‘shaapa’ (come on…take it easy!) didn’t go in vain…the temple was CLOSED and we had to see the Lord through the holes in the door. What a fate! We weren’t able to keep up the word we gave to Kusaa’s mom and were disheartened. Well, SIBTN (guess the proverb!) – so, we should be thankful to the Lord for having made us to seek his Darshan through the door holes atleast! Really wonderful, nicely decorated, heart – warming Lord he was.

Ushhhhhhhhabba….atlast, there’s no doubt that our plan didn’t work out fully ; but I’m happy that it did work out a little (the G’swamy hill). We allegedly planned to see four places in just 12 hrs (G’swamy, temple, B’chukki and g’chukki) but we could complete only one of them (B’chukki is meaningless unless you go on a boating). In the car, cat scolded everyone and took an oath that he would never join a ‘temple trip’ again! The next week Lux and I were supposed to go to Ooty with our parents….so this is the right time…..Cat asked me not to return from Ooty without taking Lux to a temple there. This was the point where he made all of us smile and inturn realized that he was a bit too harsh quite ago. Mr. Keetle added a few more words (as usual!) and tickled our funny bones. All of us who were down in the dumps and furious just a little ago, were now joyous and enthusiastic like how we were in the morning. Thus, as a ball projected upwards with an initial velocity comes down with the SAME velocity, we were equipped with the same zeal while going and returning back (I’m a science student ; so, I must give such kind of examples!). Ahhhhh…don’t care about the misunderstandings we had in the trip. Be optimistic!! Just like what they say in Tamil “Naduvule vandhadu naduvuleye pogattum”, forget the ‘not – fun’ and have fun!

Gaadi odsakke driver maathra saaldu, petrol irbeku…so, to fill our stomachs, we stopped at Maddur Tiffany’s for a light coffee and crunchy crispy yummy Maddur Vada. And now, Kusaa’s ‘popsicle hunt’ ended…..even though she didn’t get what was meant exactly by popsicle, she decided to quench her thirst by having an orange ice – cream…so, what does this tell you? If you didn’t get what you liked, be happy with what you’ve got!

In the car…hmmm…what say? Again, Kusaa and Lux started something lunatic and this time it was singing. They sang or shouted rather, at the top of their voices which made Scardy cat, as usual, get mad. He was on the verge of hitting them hard….oooo….not to forget that he pulled both of their hair so badly that they stopped singing. But Kusaa didn’t give up and continued the game. Cat said “I think she (Kusaa) wants to have it nicely from me today” to which Kusaa retorted “Ooooooo…I’m scared” and this was certainly the dialogue of the day!!!

Ussssapppppa….we reached Bendakalooru by 10 p.m as expected and bid goodbye to Kusaa…..but now there wasn’t IISc bro to greet her with an Aarathi plate (like how Kusaa greeted him when we returned from Kalale). Whether he did his exam well or not, he certainly missed all the fun!

We reached home by 10.15. So, what’s missing here? The maaza bath? Hahaha…doesn’t matter, for, we were able to get the ‘fun bath’ atleast

I suppose you were able to figure out now atleast – what is meant by ‘shy white ocean’ and ‘why snow white Lord’…..weren’t you? If not, think and tell me! Hmmmmmm…Kusaa, satisfied with your 4th trip to G’swamy or not? Well, I think we should plan once more for shy white ocean…but the thing is that Lux and Mr. Keetle wont be able to come Never mind….the two tigers – you and cat are there naa? (its a compliment for you!) And the next time you plan anything, don’t forget to include IIsc bro!!! I hope there’ll be a time when we six cousins go on a trip somewhere before my 2nd p.u….right? Yes…..do ‘incept’ a plan in our minds by being an architect…okay? Make sure I wont go until level 5…!!Thank God, the ‘totem’ stopped spinning!!Oh…you just gave me a ‘thud’ when I’m daydreaming……..

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!)

Rameshwaram, Kalale, Tirupati……what next? Ufff…it all started again. I think ours is the only family struck with a disease called ‘temple-mania’….never mind, its also a talent (talent because of seeing the 108 sacred Narayana temples in India!!). And this time, it was ‘Mr.keetle’ (former ‘eldest’) who planned something very nice, but didn’t work out. He hatched a plan to visit the amazing place where the 3 oceans meet, but he couldn’t make the opinions of 3 people meet!!! This was followed by my 2-day long silence, which was broken by him saying we would go that weekend anywhere else.

Hmmm….again I was waiting for everyone’s opinions (as usual) and this time not only him, but even his so-called brother ‘scardy-cat’ (former Art) enticed me by saying he would definitely come to a temple with me. But you know the tactics of atheists…always thinking the other way round. Hence, this time also the plan proved to be a debacle……..

I asked Kusaa (former creative sis) to suggest a ‘happening place’ anywhere in South India. And, as is her way, she replied with a loud voice “Hey..how about Himavad?” (@ Kusaa…I know di, this is too much of a masala!) Mr.Keetle and Kusaa had been there many times, but still had thought of it as an amazing place to hang out. My uncle told that we could also visit the ‘shy-white ocean’ IF time remained. Then the poll began….Lux, Kusaa, Mr.Keetle, scardy-cat..wait wait…how can I forget the alleged organizers? Me, my uncle and aunt….it was the ‘sumptous seven’ again who were ready for an adventure!

Tavera, qualis or sumo? Again the same question arose and this time it was no uncertainty to take the decision. Lux went to bed disheartened and the reason was that she had to get up ‘early’ the next day. Nevertheless, she was happy as it was her first adventure with all the 6 of us. Kusaa was asked to ready by 6.15 so that there would be no delay.

Everything went on pretty smoothly as planned. Getting up early and getting ready wasn’t anything new for our family guys (also girls!) as we had done so a million times. But what if the host / anchor is not there in the show to give the welcome speech and introduction? Ahhhhhh…these drivers are supposed to be punctual. But some of them aren’t like our driver who himself came late by 15 minutes and creating a big chaos early morning.

We laid the first step at 6.15 and reached Kusaa’s house in 5 minutes. There, was Kusaa waiting for us with bated breath. Here mom told us not to miss the Madhya Ranga temple (near shy-white ocean). Even though it is not one of the Divyadesams, we planned to visit since it was a Srivaishnava temple. Then it was the time to begin the adventure. Jokes, games, songs, wait wait….we still haven’t had breakfast! Kusaa and I were pleading as usual for Maddur Tiffany’s or Adigas. But Lux and scardy-cat planned for something different, something they had tasted and wanted us to try. The former tried to convey something interesting about the place, while the latter tried to coax us by explaining the delicacies. Initially all of us didn’t agree, but later we did when we got a few ‘begging talks’ from Lux and scardy cat saying it was the best Idly they had eaten. The place they suggested was none other than the ‘supposedly famous’ Renukamba Thatte Idly store in Bidadi.

‘Yapppppppppppa…this place looks so dirty. I’m not coming’ retorted Kusaa and Mr.Keetle, whose words weren’t cared by anyone indicating Lux and cat had an upper hand. Me, my uncle and aunt also made deprecatory gestures which weren’t accepted by cat and Lux. Finally, we decided to have a try and judge what kind of taste the two had. Kusaa always relished Vadas more than Idlies. So the order was 6 plate Idly – Vada and 1 plate only Vada. The order arrived and everyone looked at the Idly with their saucer – big eyes. We started to gobble the Idlies and our stomachs were really full after eating 2 Idlies. Lux and cat looked at us with shrewd eyes. But for the taste? It was as well ; very obvious that Lux and cat had lost their image. No good remarks were there, “Just like any other Idly Vada in the city”, “The chutney was yuck”, “Vada didn’t match the chutney” were the interpretations. The two (Lux and cat) dropped down their high held heads after our comments.

Once more the journey began, from Bidadi to the destination in a non-stop manner. The car was vibrating because of our enthusiastic high volumes. There were talks pertaining to colleges, sports, movies, songs and most importantly the ‘Mandyam Tamil’. The pronunciation of Mandyam Tamil and the usage of words made us laugh until our stomachs ached. I, being a half Mandyam Tamilian also added ghee to the fire by narrating my experiences. However, it was high time we realized that our Tamil was also not – so – pure and there would be people making fun of it behind our back. But, why care about things behind our back?

‘Welcome to sugar city Mandya’, ‘Thank you sugar city Mandya’, ‘Welcome to cultural town Srirangapatna’ were the boards that towered on us. The heart of Karnataka, the River Cauvery, was awaited by us to take captures. It was followed by a few snaps of the historic city, Mysore – the palace, the Banni Mantap etc and a few of our own stupid emotions like ‘facepalm’.

Mysore, Nanjangud, Kalale (hope you remember this place! see my previous blogs if you don’t), Chamarajanagar, Gundlupet, oh….still so many milestones to go! All of us except my uncle and the driver (of course!), dozed for a few minutes. Suddenly there was a thud, I mean, the driver had applied brakes for he saw many cows and buffaloes crossing. There were the mad ‘maads’ (as we say it in Tamil) making noise and passing by slowly. They were lucky enough to get into our digicam memory, for we thought that it would be nice if we took captures of animals. Kusaa, an amateur photgrapher immediately clutched the camera and took innumerable snaps of the maads.

‘Himavadgopalaswamy hill – 16 km’ came the board and all our faces bloomed seeing it. Also, there existed a board saying ‘protect tigers’ and it was the criteria for discussion. Cat, who was an animal lover blabbed something about the carelessness of Indians and kept his mouth shut when he found that no one looked at him (Perhaps, he was a leader in debating among us!). We reached the foot of the hill and we were feeling ecstatic. (the rest of the trip will be published, as usual, in my next blog!)

Let me tell you the story of Malleswaram a.k.a Mvm. 100 years ago……Mvm was…….wait wait wait. Who wants to listen to the story of a place 100 years ago?? Neither Mvm is a temple, nor am I a priest to tell all those Sthala Puranam. Okay, I’ll get back to my show. What Mvm used to be famous for, a hundred years ago, was its magnificent temples, art, architecture, trees, lake(s) etc. But now, guess what its famous for? Prakash Padukone’s house? Arvind Savanoor’s house (I bet you don’t ever know who that is) ??? All the education hubs like MES?? Vidya Mandir?? CET cell?? Canara union?? B.P. Indian?? or a bit of spiritual temples like TTD?? Kadumalleswara?? (of course, its this temple that Mvm was famous for, a 100 years ago since the name was derived from this temple)…Narasimha temple?? Gangamma?? Venugopalaswamy?? Ram Mandir?? Oooo…that’s like too much temples!

If you think its any one of the things mentioned above, you’re absolutely wrong. Its obviously the chain of restaurants, 8th cross and the much hyped MANTRI SQUARE mall. You have Adigas, New Shanti Sagar, Food Camp, New Krishna Bhavan, Sri Sagar (CTR), Veena Stores, Fudge club, Janta, Kanti Sweets, Asha (only a sweet and khara shop) and…. Oh boy, that’s too many!

Now, I’m going to tour Mvm of these restaurants and give you the result in my report card – Taste, Ambience, Service and Value for money out of 10 marks. I’ll also give you the food which you must try in the particular restaurant. Okay, let’s now be a bit serious.

1) Vasudev Adigas Sampige – the first and the foremost. You know, its important to give respect to your neighbour first, than anyone else. Started in 2008, this restaurant had traffic bustling in 15th cross and had made people crazy (excluding me :-/) But as time passed, the overcrowded restaurant became ‘undercrowded’. And now you can hardly find people heading here. But, compared to Shanti Sagar and Food camp, it has established its mark. Here’s the report :-

Must try – Roco bar roc, Monchow soup, coffee, onion dosa.                                                         Taste –  6  Ambience – 7   Service – 5  Value for money – 6

2) New Shanti Sagar – Ooooo….This one was supposed to be one of the best hotels in Mvm, when it was started long ago. But now, it has really lost its lustre. As you can guess, with the emergence of Adigas, this one accounted a huge loss. Anyway, take a look at my report card.

Must try – Nothing so special.                                                                                                                           Taste – 7  Ambience – 6  Service – 7  Value for money – 5

3) Food camp – Hmmmm…Now, here’s the one. Owing to limited seats, Food Camp is not recommended by many people. And, if you want to try the A/C hall which is in the 1st floor, you’ll have people standing throughout the staircase. The only advantage is you can save your pockets from being empty. The menu offers the widest variety of food, but the people aren’t satisfied (maybe because of the taste!). Nevertheless, it has always been a favourite for me.

Must try – The wide variety of Chaats which is phenomenal and South Indian                         Taste – 8  Ambience – 7  Service – 7  Value for money – 9

4) Sri Sagar (C.T.R) – Ahhhhhh….The Dosa heaven. Wow, here’s the best Dosa you can get anywhere in B’lore called Benne Masala Dosa. But I don’t like Masala Dosas, so I choose Benne Plain Dosa everytime I go there! The first thing you should do as soon as you get in there is to search for a seat and not get up from your place for God’s sake. Else, others will gobble your seat and you won’t get another one for 15 – 20 minutes! Other delicacies are also equally good.

Must try – Benne Masala Dosa / Benne Plain Dosa, Poori, Mangalore Bajji                                 Taste – 9  Ambience – 7  Service – 7  Value for money – 7

5) Hotel Janata – Yummmmmmmmmy! This one which is located in the bustling street (8th cross) of Mvm, is famous for its crunchy, delicious, splendid, mouth watering, crispy, OILY Vadas!!! Hop in there and as soon as you get a seat, immediately make a beeline for a VADA, please, for God’s sake! There’s nothing better than the Vada. However, I find Dosas are better than Adigas and Food camp!

Must try – the Vada                                                                                                                                               Taste – 9  Ambience – 7  Service – 8  Value for money – 7

6) New Krishna Bhavan – It’s just been a week since I’ve discovered the delicacies here. NKB is like a welcome drink to Mvm, you find it as soon as you enter Mvm. This is special for all the Mangalorian and South K’taka food. The menu offers vast range of South K’taka food, but does not have Chaats!

Must try – All the South K’taka dishes                                                                                                             Taste – 8  Ambience – 7  Service – 7  Value for money – 6

7) Fudge Club – Woah….awesome. The name itself suggest that this is the perfect place to hangout if you want to quench your ice cream thirst. Not only ice creams, sundaes, fudges and pastries but you also get chaats, juices, sandwiches and what not! You’re definitely going to be happy if you try here.

Must try – All ice cream stuff, chaats, sandwiches                                                                                   Taste – 7  Ambience – 8  Service – 5  Value for money – 5

I think I’ve toured 7 restaurants in Mvm, which are supposed to be ‘World famous in B’lore’. I’ve given the marks based on my opinion only. Its upto you which one to decide the best……Now its time for me to sign off, but not before I give you the “food quote” – From Adigas to Fudge Club, Malleswaram will make you mad, but you can hope for sure that it won’t make you sad. Shri Sagar and Janta will always be housefull,  but the Benne Masala Dosa and Janta Vada will make your stomach – full..!!!

Unfortunately, there were none. But, there’s always some superpower or thing which lets you do what you like. In fact, people with physical disorders often lose heart and develop inferiority complex. At that moment, what I believe is that God disguises himself as a human or a living thing and boosts confidence in such handicapped persons. The same happened at Kalale, in front of us.

While the Homa was at its peak, a lady who was suffering from polio came and sat inside the temple to see the Homa. She saw us and felt somewhat sad. Maybe we were sitting and rejoicing there, and we were happily running in and out of the temple. She looked at her legs and turned pale. Immediately, a monkey from nowhere came inside the temple. It saw the polio affected lady. While we were frightened by the monkey’s entry and ran away, the monkey walked calmly, saw the Homa, came near the lady and happily sat on her legs. Having given us the biggest shock of our lives, it started to caress her by slightly patting on her back and touching her legs. The monkey also made some sound with its mouth and constantly kept shaking its teeth. All this, looked like a Godly act to those who were present there of whom were not atheists. What a surprise!

To us, who were purely Srivaishnavas, it seemed like the monkey was chanting the name of Lord Rama. With an exception of IISc bro, everyone present there was amazed and delighted. Even my uncle and aunt who were performing the Homa felt ecstatic, since a Godly act happened while performing a Godly Homa!!! Thus, the sake of going to Kalale was fulfilled!

The monkey drew the attention of everyone who came to the temple. But it also angered the priests who were performing the Homa. One of them lost his temper and shouted, “You’ve come to the temple to see the Lord or the monkey? Such disgusting people you are!” As far as I’m concerned, I think the monkey was Lord Hanuman in disguise and I’m really thankful to my uncle and aunt for taking me to Kalale. The monkey is still their in my eyes and it has left me an indelible thought that God helps the needy.

Coming to the next part, the Homa was at its peak at 1.30 p.m when the Poornahuti was given (the last thing offered in a Homa). Seeing a person giving Poornahuti is a treat to the eyes. We went round the Homakundam (Pradakshinam) three times and wore the Rakshe on our forehead. Then we went to seek the blessings of Lord Lakshmi Kantha Swamy.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ! Its sweating like hell..!! There were about 50 people in the room (room in front of the Garbhagudi or Sanctum Sanctorum) and there’s no fan, no windows, nothing. And its terrible when the priest multiplies your sweat by going out of the room for 15 minutes! All I can say is that it was S.I.C.K (I know it isn’t right to tell sick when you are in a temple. But still, express your feelings!!)

Finally we came to have lunch at around 3.30 p.m. That was the biggest, heaviest lunch of my life!!! I couldn’t say I didn’t want a particular thing to be served because I was in a temple. How much ever they serve you, eat it keeping the meal in your mind as Lord’s Prasadam!!

There – it was the time to depart. I was always confused in which seat to sit in the car. If I sit in the front, I couldn’t see the movie which was being played. If the case was in the middle, no one would agree to exchange their place with mine. And, not to forget, if it was the last row, I had to adjust with 3 more people. Never mind, I sat in the last row and so did my sis, eldest and IISc bro.

We bid farewell to Kalale at 4.30 p.m. And so it goes in the descending order – Kalale, Nanjangud….pause! This was the turning point of our trip and the starting of the 2nd part of the fun. We paused the car for a moment to buy my favourite cool drink, Maaza. If this hadn’t been done, then I wouldn’t have made up my mind NOT to sit in the last row at any cost for the rest of my life!!

Continue…Nanjangud, Mysore, Srirangapatna, Mandya, Maddur…stop. So is there vacancy in Tiffany’s??? It was an obvious answer. You can’t find vacancies in any hotel between Mysore and B’lore on sunday evenings. So you have to be prepared to withstand your hunger until you reach B’lore!

There – Maddur, Chanpatna…again pause. Why? This pause was not the actual pause of our car meaning, we didn’t pause anywhere right from Maddur to B’lore. This was to narrate the incident that happened in the car while we were in Chanpatna.

I’ve already told you no vacancies. But, why not give a try? Shivalli? Lokaruchi?? Hey…here it is. The biggest joke of the century!!!

Eldest bro was euphoric thinking that we’ll go to Lokaruchi and so was my sis. But eldest bro heard from the driver that even Lokaruchi will be full. So he zipped his mouth. But my sis was still desperate to go there. And I was desperate to drink Maaza. Lokaruchi passed by. No sooner did I just put Maaza in my mouth, than she (my sis) exclaimed, “Lokaruchi Vanthu….(it came)”. The NEXT moment, IISc bro exclaimed, “Lokaruchi pochi (it went)”. There you go – I didn’t know what I had found extremely funny there, but I just started to laugh with my mouth closed. The Maaza had just stepped into my throat, but it went back in a second when I opened my mouth and………..Splash!!!!!!!!!

Who’s it???? IISc bro? Eldest bro? Myself? My mom? or My sis?….You’re right. It was my sis!!! I had sprayed half of the Maaza which i had drunk on her thinking that it was a window. I was doubly sure what would happen next. But before I could swallow the rest, I sprayed half of  it on IISc bro and the rest half on myself!!! Naaaaaaa….not fair. I know!!! Eldest bro was transported with delight since it hadn’t happened to him this time, while it had happened every other time to HIM. That’s it – Eldest bro saved his day with his clever tactic of not sitting next to me!! R.O.T.F.L

What’s the next reaction??? As expected. IISc bro and my sis stared at me while the latter gave me a disastrous look!! She had turned purple with rage while IISc bro was a bit angered. Eldest bro was laughing and laughing until his stomach ached. Everyone in the car started to laugh, except my sis who was on the verge of….!! You know, she was in a catch 22 situation. Even though she was angry, she coudn’t do anything to me. She could neither cry nor shout at me. After a while, she also joined the others on their laugh. (What sportive – mindedness!!!)

From Chanpatna to B’lore, I laughed remembering the same joke 1000 times. Finally, B’lore arrived. We were en route to Subramanyanagar to drop IISc bro. I had been telling him that his sis (creative sis) would be waiting for his arrival with an Aarathi plate. Great people’s sayings always happen!! (I consider myself as one of them). And it happened. However, there was creative sis, waiting for him, who had already been ditched twice that day by her affectionate cousin.

I told her all these things when she had come home and she started laughing. She also regretted for having missed such fun and opportunity. But, in one way she was thankful to God….guess what????Hehe! Better luck next time, creative sis. And now its your turn to get my splash of a drink!

Thus it was a magnificent trip to Kalale. The sweet bath of Maaza and uninvited guest (monkey) or the other way round…the sweet guest (monkey) and uninvited bath of Maaza was……….A.W.E.S.O.M.E!!!!!

This time, the fun was on May 2nd, 2010, when I went to a place called Kalale near Mysore with 7 other people and the important thing was, Gunduraavi a.k.a creative sis was absent! However, creative sis’s bro (creative bro????Naa…..its IISc bro!!) planned to join us on our trip. I know, I haven’t included him in any of my adventures. So here is a ‘tribute’ to him!!!! LOL

Confusion, chaos, chaos, confusion! The chaos was about the number of people who were to come to Kalale and the people themselves who were interested. My eldest cousin said yes only because he could have his breakfast at Maddur Tiffany’s which is en route to Mysore.  Hmm….you know, it’s always the eldest boy’s requests that the elders in the house heed to!!

The super 8 was to depart at 5.30 a.m but that didn’t work out because the driver himself was late by 15 minutes (the driver came at 5.45 a.m). We saw that there was a TV in the vehicle (a qualis) and we decided to get some ‘interesting’ movie DVD. And you know we got the most interesting movie in the world, DVD of Salman Khan’s ‘Wanted’ (Na na na….we aren’t his fans). We left our house at around 5.50 a.m and reached IISc bro’s house which was in Subramanyanagar in a fraction of a second. (According to me, one fraction of a second = 10 minutes!!). There, was IISc bro, who got the DVD of ‘A beautiful mind’ which inspired our minds to see the film. But, unfortunately, the DVD didn’t work and we had to watch a Tamil superhit film – Aadhavan!!

Bangalore, Bidadi, Ramnagar, Chanpatna, Maddur (hey stop stop stop….Maddur Tiffany’s has arrived). Hmm…you know that my eldest cousin was beaming with delight. Menu please. Everyone decided to try South India’s Creme de la creme food, the Idly and the Vada. But, as always, I wanted to be different from the others. So, I decided to have my all – time favourite, the Plain Dosa!! The Dosa was an ordinary one….I mean, there was a subtle difference between the Dosas in Bangalore and the Dosa here. But the marvelous Maddur Vada was……heavenly! Come what may, but you ought to try it!!! I still wonder why hotels like Maddur Tiffany’s aren’t shown on food based programmes such as H.O.M.P (Highway on my plate). After all, South India is only famous for its food!

There it continues again……Maddur, Mandya, Srirangapatna, Mysore, Nanjangud and finally, Kalale. The temple looked very old, maybe it was built some 1000 years ago. Outside the temple, our friends were waiting for us….friends…..any guesses?? Oh! It was Lord Hanuman’s descendants….lol….the mangis…as pronounced in Tamil!! (the temple was a Srivaishnavaite one…isn’t it obvious that monkeys are found in Srivaishnava temples???) My uncle’s friend suggested that we should have one more breakfast since he had already prepared. Again – Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite – the Upma!!!

My uncle was of the opinion to perform Sudarshana Homa. It’s a sacred Homa in Srivaishnavite tradition. It is believed that you must have done good deeds in your previous birth to see the Homa. The homa started at about 10 a.m with 7 priests performing the Kalasha Pooja. In fact, IISc bro had only joined us on this trip because of this Homa!! Me, my own sis and my eldest bro were chatting, chatting and chatting till 12 p.m. Then, we were surprised by a heartrending scene. (The scene and the rest of our journey will be published in the next blog)

“Please, all of my friends are telling it’s pretty good, so why not give a try?” said Gunduraavi aka my creative sis (the name has been changed purposely!!). Thanthi and I agreed to her plea and went upstairs to get the B-town’s most exciting newspaper, the Bangalore Times. We looked up for the theaters in which the movie was there. Uff….all ‘low class’theaters. Kya karoon? There was  no other way. Since everyone were in full of zeal to see the movie, we decided to go to the most unpopular, dirty, smallest theater, the Nataraj.

“Nataraj uh???Yapppppppa!!!” quoted Mr. Keetle (please, it’s not kettle!!) who was not keen on joining us. But, to his misfortune, he had to cope up with us, after he had lots of advice from his cousin, Pradeep (yeah, I know…there’z no nickname for him). My aunt, who hadn’t stepped into the theater for 8 years, also decided to join us, as there was no other way for her. So, it was an exciting movie – outing of 9 people (me, Thanthi, my parents, Gunduraavi, Mr. Keetle, Pradeep, Art and last but not the least, my aunt).

We were expected to go there at 1 p.m and buy the tickets. We (me, Thanthi, Gunduraavi and my dad) were on time (as always!!)  and we bought the tickets for 9 people  after a looooong argument. Well, the movie was expected to start at 1.30 p.m. No sooner did we step into the hall, than we realized that it was a theater where only ‘low – fi’ people came (including us!). Mr. Keetle was given the responsibility of waiting for the rest of us to come. The movie started but still, they hadn’t arrived.

Finally, at 1.35 p.m, they came with annoying faces (allegedly, they weren’t interested in watching it). The movie showed a clipping of Simbu aka Silambarasan at the starting and everyone in the theater screamed like hell!!Oh my God….what’s this??? People have no decency? Or is it considered a ‘decency’ to scream in the theater? Whatever it is, hell is absolutely hell!

To be frank with the movie and to be frank with you, the best part of it was the lights going off (the theater had frequent power cuts). Everyone started roaring when the lights were gone. And, after a few moments, they would say “Abba…”. Is this what you expect in a theater??? (Probably yes, because it’s a low – fi theater).

From the starting till the ending, the movie had the same story and same dialogues. May be, the heroine had some mental disorder because, every time when the hero asks her to come with him, she would say yes and no alternatively. Not just once or twice, its till the ending of the movie!! And the movie has the same message, emotions, dialogues repeated innumerable times. We were expecting an accident, or a fight scene, a twist or atleast a heroine – returning with a plastic surgery (I know…Kollywood directors are very talented in making such things!). But, it really didn’t entertain us. Even my aunt who hadn’t stepped into the theater for 8 years, didn’t find the movie interesting and her experiment proved in vain!

My cousin Art, demanded a refund from my sis. The movie was supposed to be the director’s (Gautham Shankar Menon’s) own life story!! How could this happen? Just because the director wanted to convey his story to the people, why would he frustrate us, with some low – rated film??? Never expected this, it’s the worst MOM (movie of the millenium!)

Wait, wait……that’s not over, there’s one more surprise waiting for us! Thanthi’s friends were very curious about the movie. Immediately, she messaged her friends not to go to the movie at any cost. Even Gunduraavi quoted many things about the movie on Facebook. But, the next day, when Thanthi went to her office, all of them thought she was an alien! They said, “How come you didn’t like it? It’s supposed to be the best movie we’ve ever seen!”. Not only her, but even Gunduraavi got provoking comments in her Facebook account.

We saw it’s review in the papers, all of which had given it was a ‘Superhit’. One review quoted, “VTV is absolutely a superhit, more or less, it made the fans and people emotional and shed tears”….Yeah….right…..after all, what tears are for?…tears of anger, tears of frustration, tears of despair! And then it was the time for us to realize that we shouldn’t read any more reviews and also not to ‘re – view’ the movie again!

Shape is gone, for both Gunduraavi and Thanthi. All I would like to say is that “All that glitters is not gold” which means that “Whatever your friends say is not always true”!!Beware, both of you!