Life has so much to offer. There is so much to do, so much to experience, so much to know. Sometimes one lifetime isn’t enough; sometimes all it takes is 1 evening & 3 states.
23rd October 2008, 13:00 Hrs. Bangalore, Karnataka:
Riyaz and his wife Farzana are waiting outside my office in a Santro. As I settle inside I am informed that all the others have dropped out. We are off to a small village near Calicut, Kerala for one of my best buddies, Vinesh’s wedding. We had planned for 2 cars and 8 members and as it always happens most of them dropped out at the last minute. So it was only the 3 of us. As it was Diwali the following week I had booked my tickets for my onward journey to Mumbai from Kerala so that I could attend the wedding and then go home and celebrate Diwali with my family (the way I like it). Hence there was no turning back for me. We decided not to disappoint Vinesh who was expecting a crowd and had made all possible arrangements for our stay. The estimated travel time was 9 hours and we would reach Vinesh’s place before midnight. But if life had been so predictable it would have been so boring!!!!
23rd October 2008, 16:45 Hrs. Mysore, Karnataka:
Zooming through the excellent Bangalore-Mysore highway we reached Mysore which was getting drenched. When we were almost in the heart of the city it was pouring and every nook and corner was flooded. It was so scary we thought we would get washed away. But this problem was only inside the city, as we reached the outskirts it was only drizzling and life seemed better….only just.
23rd October 2008, 18:30 Hrs. Gundulpet-60 kms from Mysore, Karnataka:
This small town is about 56 km from the Mysore-Ooty / Mysore-Calicut road and about 200 km from Bangalore. It is the last town in Karnataka enroute to Ooty or Calicut. A right (literally) turn at Gundulpet & life would’ve been different. Life was indeed different as we entered the Bandipur National Park. We were enjoying the good roads until the point where I noticed that there were no other vehicles plying. Why was nobody travelling to Calicut today?? Growing darkness & the frequent signboards to watch out for tigers, elephants didn’t help either. Farzana was totally freaked out with what she was experiencing. We weren’t exactly brave either but were feigning our bravest faces. The good roads were now gone & we hit some kind of a dirt track. It was dark, it was cold, it was lonely & it was the jungle. The only thing missing was rain. Someone up there wanted to make this as exciting as possible & it started raining. Riyaz was maintaining admirable composure & was describing the do’s & don’t if faced by a wild elephant. One sharp turn in the darkness & there it was, a wild elephant in all its glory. The entire do’s & don’t went out of the window & pressing the accelerator hard was the only option. Luckily the tusker wasn’t standing in the middle of the road like they usually do, luckily it wasn’t in a herd like they usually are & luckily Riyaz sped away in panic & didn’t stop. Imagining the elephant attacking our car sends shivers through my body even today.
23rd October 2008, 20:00 Hrs. Bandipur check post, Tamilnadu:
It was like a scene from one of those B-grade horror movies. Our car was stopped at the check post & an old forest guard flashed his lantern at our window. The conversation was in Tamil & it went like this…
Guard- “Where are you coming from?”
Riyaz- “Coming from Bangalore sir, travelling towards Calicut. How far is it from here?
Guard- “Calicut?? What the hell are you doing here if you want to go to Calicut?? You are on the wrong route sir; you have travelled about 60kms in the wrong direction.”
We didn’t know how to react except for staring at each other’s nervous faces. It was pitch dark, it was pouring & there was no way we would go back into the jungle. The advantages of being in a woman’s company are people are nice to you & offer help. The guard asked us to reach Sultanbethery which was about 65 kms from this check post & Calicut was about 90 kms further down. We had another 160 kms to go & if all went well we would reach there by midnight. We had a quick bite & were on our way to the 3rd state for the day, Kerala.
23rd October 2008, 21:00 Hrs. Somewhere in Kerala:
Similar environs, good roads, and a high dose of nature on either side greeted us but thankfully it had stopped raining. These areas were inhabited. We could see houses punctuated at a distance of half a kilometer or so. Such an ambience brings out the best ghost stories & when we were at it we could see somebody jogging towards us from out of no where. I could feel my bones freeze. This guy kept running towards us & before we could comprehend what was happening he whizzed past our car. Who was he, why was he running on such a dark & lonely stretch, couldn’t register anything. Did we just have a paranormal experience or was our mind playing games?? As we reached Sultanbethery fatigue had taken over & the only way to end this never ending night was to get a room & crash. That’s exactly what we did. When you are too tired it’s not difficult to fall asleep but when you are too excited you can’t sleep for long.
24th October 2008, 07:30 Hrs. Sultanbethery, Wayanad, Kerala:
We were up early. One, because we didn’t sleep well & two, we were excited to reach the venue to see Vinesh getting married. Breakfast was hot pooris & tea & we were all set to enjoy the views of Wayanad. God’s own country is not just made of beaches & backwaters but also boasts a breath taking slice of the Western Ghats. The journey down through the various hair-pin bends was a pleasure & took away most of the stress from last night. But before we could relax we were faced by the next challenge. Torrential rains!! It rained like I have never seen before & the coconut trees on either side threatened to show us their might. We could feel our Santro swaying to the tunes of the gusts of wind accompanying the rains. Fortunately there were no blockades in spite of the heavy rains & we by-passed Calicut & were moving towards Parappanangadi the venue of the wedding. We had a map for help but it wasn’t easy reaching there. We were just in time to see Vinesh getting married to Rimna. It was continuously drizzling but it didn’t dampen the spirits one bit. The festivities continued without a hitch. We had a sumptuous Kerala style lunch with the pitter-patter of the rains above. This was at the bride’s place & the location is still etched in my memory. The sea shore was just a stone’s throw away. The beaches were secluded & we were on our own enjoying the untouched beaches. We spent a lot time at a spot where the river merged with the sea. All these were our tranquilizers which we desperately needed.
The adventure was overwhelming. It’s still fresh in my mind after years. All it took was 1 evening & 3 states!!
23rd October 2008, 13:00 Hrs. Bangalore, Karnataka:
Riyaz and his wife Farzana are waiting outside my office in a Santro. As I settle inside I am informed that all the others have dropped out. We are off to a small village near Calicut, Kerala for one of my best buddies, Vinesh’s wedding. We had planned for 2 cars and 8 members and as it always happens most of them dropped out at the last minute. So it was only the 3 of us. As it was Diwali the following week I had booked my tickets for my onward journey to Mumbai from Kerala so that I could attend the wedding and then go home and celebrate Diwali with my family (the way I like it). Hence there was no turning back for me. We decided not to disappoint Vinesh who was expecting a crowd and had made all possible arrangements for our stay. The estimated travel time was 9 hours and we would reach Vinesh’s place before midnight. But if life had been so predictable it would have been so boring!!!!
23rd October 2008, 16:45 Hrs. Mysore, Karnataka:
Zooming through the excellent Bangalore-Mysore highway we reached Mysore which was getting drenched. When we were almost in the heart of the city it was pouring and every nook and corner was flooded. It was so scary we thought we would get washed away. But this problem was only inside the city, as we reached the outskirts it was only drizzling and life seemed better….only just.
23rd October 2008, 18:30 Hrs. Gundulpet-60 kms from Mysore, Karnataka:
This small town is about 56 km from the Mysore-Ooty / Mysore-Calicut road and about 200 km from Bangalore. It is the last town in Karnataka enroute to Ooty or Calicut. A right (literally) turn at Gundulpet & life would’ve been different. Life was indeed different as we entered the Bandipur National Park. We were enjoying the good roads until the point where I noticed that there were no other vehicles plying. Why was nobody travelling to Calicut today?? Growing darkness & the frequent signboards to watch out for tigers, elephants didn’t help either. Farzana was totally freaked out with what she was experiencing. We weren’t exactly brave either but were feigning our bravest faces. The good roads were now gone & we hit some kind of a dirt track. It was dark, it was cold, it was lonely & it was the jungle. The only thing missing was rain. Someone up there wanted to make this as exciting as possible & it started raining. Riyaz was maintaining admirable composure & was describing the do’s & don’t if faced by a wild elephant. One sharp turn in the darkness & there it was, a wild elephant in all its glory. The entire do’s & don’t went out of the window & pressing the accelerator hard was the only option. Luckily the tusker wasn’t standing in the middle of the road like they usually do, luckily it wasn’t in a herd like they usually are & luckily Riyaz sped away in panic & didn’t stop. Imagining the elephant attacking our car sends shivers through my body even today.
23rd October 2008, 20:00 Hrs. Bandipur check post, Tamilnadu:
It was like a scene from one of those B-grade horror movies. Our car was stopped at the check post & an old forest guard flashed his lantern at our window. The conversation was in Tamil & it went like this…
Guard- “Where are you coming from?”
Riyaz- “Coming from Bangalore sir, travelling towards Calicut. How far is it from here?
Guard- “Calicut?? What the hell are you doing here if you want to go to Calicut?? You are on the wrong route sir; you have travelled about 60kms in the wrong direction.”
We didn’t know how to react except for staring at each other’s nervous faces. It was pitch dark, it was pouring & there was no way we would go back into the jungle. The advantages of being in a woman’s company are people are nice to you & offer help. The guard asked us to reach Sultanbethery which was about 65 kms from this check post & Calicut was about 90 kms further down. We had another 160 kms to go & if all went well we would reach there by midnight. We had a quick bite & were on our way to the 3rd state for the day, Kerala.
23rd October 2008, 21:00 Hrs. Somewhere in Kerala:
Similar environs, good roads, and a high dose of nature on either side greeted us but thankfully it had stopped raining. These areas were inhabited. We could see houses punctuated at a distance of half a kilometer or so. Such an ambience brings out the best ghost stories & when we were at it we could see somebody jogging towards us from out of no where. I could feel my bones freeze. This guy kept running towards us & before we could comprehend what was happening he whizzed past our car. Who was he, why was he running on such a dark & lonely stretch, couldn’t register anything. Did we just have a paranormal experience or was our mind playing games?? As we reached Sultanbethery fatigue had taken over & the only way to end this never ending night was to get a room & crash. That’s exactly what we did. When you are too tired it’s not difficult to fall asleep but when you are too excited you can’t sleep for long.
24th October 2008, 07:30 Hrs. Sultanbethery, Wayanad, Kerala:
We were up early. One, because we didn’t sleep well & two, we were excited to reach the venue to see Vinesh getting married. Breakfast was hot pooris & tea & we were all set to enjoy the views of Wayanad. God’s own country is not just made of beaches & backwaters but also boasts a breath taking slice of the Western Ghats. The journey down through the various hair-pin bends was a pleasure & took away most of the stress from last night. But before we could relax we were faced by the next challenge. Torrential rains!! It rained like I have never seen before & the coconut trees on either side threatened to show us their might. We could feel our Santro swaying to the tunes of the gusts of wind accompanying the rains. Fortunately there were no blockades in spite of the heavy rains & we by-passed Calicut & were moving towards Parappanangadi the venue of the wedding. We had a map for help but it wasn’t easy reaching there. We were just in time to see Vinesh getting married to Rimna. It was continuously drizzling but it didn’t dampen the spirits one bit. The festivities continued without a hitch. We had a sumptuous Kerala style lunch with the pitter-patter of the rains above. This was at the bride’s place & the location is still etched in my memory. The sea shore was just a stone’s throw away. The beaches were secluded & we were on our own enjoying the untouched beaches. We spent a lot time at a spot where the river merged with the sea. All these were our tranquilizers which we desperately needed.
The adventure was overwhelming. It’s still fresh in my mind after years. All it took was 1 evening & 3 states!!
