An
excursion just after an exam is what I hated the most – the simplest
reason being inability to concentrate on exams. Moreover a dusky
performance can cast its dirty shadow on the tour. This time
anticipation of S4 result had its own role to play. I always tried my
best to delineate strictly between the two. To add to the fidgetiness
Ganesh and Prakash backed off the trip owing their own reasoning.
A
49 seater, air – suspension, luxury video coach from ‘ inturciti
‘ was chartered for the four day long (
officially ) Bekal Fort – Goa – Jog Falls journey. Later it so
happened that 50 tourers including 3 staff members had to be
accommodated in the bus. Contrary to my expectations, there was only a
driver ( Venu chettan ) and a conductor ( Paili chettan ). The damping
provided in the bus could have been more purposive providing a better
composed ride and a healthier anti-pitching performance. I should admit
that the anti-roll bar in the rear were up to their best. There is no
second thought on the certitude that a power-steering augmentation would reduce driver fatigue by three quarters.
As
is customary, we prayed for a joyous and safe journey at the
Pazhavangadi Ganapathi Temple and left for college at 6:55 p m. Later
near PMG we noticed the absence of Sujith amongst us. It was real
pleasure for all of us when we sighted Sujith ( in his Mundu ) chasing
our coach on foot at Pattom junction. Around 8’O clock, after a couple
of ‘ Jai Bolos ‘ we set out on our journey in full strength. The
whole bus was singing and dancing in
tune with the music being played. I wondered how long will this spirit
last – remarkably till midnight, except during a brief alight at Hotel
Puttu Kada, Karunagapally for dinner. 156 liters of diesel went into the
mammoth 265 liter reservoir at a gas station in Aroor at 12:30 p m .
Vineeth, who was originally scheduled to retire at EKM, couldn’t
resist from continuing the trip and called his parents from
Karunagapally, who later in the witching hours handed over his baggage
to us.
I
had my first sleepless night and never felt as if night was always
associated sleep. At 4’O clock we had to halt in Kottakal Holistic
Hospital to show Shiva. We were greatly relieved when the Doctor okayed
him for the trip and gestured on his mental infirmity. At 5:20 am Venu
chettan, Paili chettan and myself had a transitory stopover in
Ramanatukara for a cup of black tea. It was then that I realized, how
strong a stimulant is a cup of hot tea. We arrived at Mary’s house in
Kozhikode at 6:30 am and stopped for refreshing ourselves. Though
hesitatingly, we had to accept the breakfast painstakingly prepared for
us by Mary’s mother. From here our progress was too slow owing to the
morning traffic, narrow and winding roads and unquestionably, the jumbo
size of out tourer. Sharada wished fare-well to us when she discontinued
at Payannor. At half past noon we checked into Hotel Fort Land, Uduma,
five kms ahead of Bekal Fort. There was just enough time for a bath and
lunch and then we sped to Bekal Fort by 2:45 p m. At the Fort we were
greeted by Aravind and his father who were strenuously waiting for us
since morning.
Towards
the fag end of the fort facing the sea, is a naturally disturbed,
beautiful beach, where I couldn’t stop thinking from a bath at sea. I
persuaded and lured PC by offering him a towel. Here I should confess
that I was bit too far sighted and was prepared for the occasion with my
swimming shots and towel. It was a matter of seconds before Abru,
Deepak, PC, Biren and Sujith undressed as far as we could and were at
sea forming all sorts of formations, shouting the slogan “ all for one
and one for all ”. An uninvited visitor and an untimely rain spoiled
our wonderful bath. Deepak, here is a piece of advice – Learn to dive
Properly. By 5:45 we were on our way back to hotel and after a change of
clothes we spelt good-bye to Hotel Fortland.
At
7’O clock we were at Kasargode
Nursing Home, for diagnosing Shiva. Fortunately here too, we got nod for
Shiva accompanying us. Another 116 liters was dumped to placate the
gigantic appetite of our stretch bus. When we reached Mangalore Shiva
Pledges that he is not well and is discontinuing his journey. Ashok and
Vinod escort Shiva to a
near by hospital, meanwhile the rest searched for a good restaurant and
had dinner. Unable to find a consoling answer, Shiva returns from
hospital and we pacified and persuaded him to continue with us.
Around
4’O clock, as usual Venu chettan, Paili chettan and myself got down
for around of hot tea. This time many accompanied us. The tea served was
tasting bad and was cut-throat priced at Rs. 4. By this time I knew that
we were around Karwar and PC spotted a really calm, smooth and even
ocean front, with almost no slope for at least for quarter of a km. This
was by far the calmest seaside I have ever seen in my life – safest
too. The waves were absent and at night any one could be made to believe
that this was a salt water lake. Traveling further up, we chanced and
aerial view of this beach and discovered the secret behind its serene
face – this beach was enveloped by mountains from three sides and
somehow they deflected the land ward wind reasoning the absence of
waves. Another interesting fact noticed by me was a totally different
coastal synopsis from that of Kerala. In Kerala coastal scenario is
posted by coconut palm trees and fishing hamlets. Differing sharply from
this coastal areas of Karnataka and later Goa is rarely inhabited, if
not devoid of it and just meters from the beach one could spot lush
green bushy vegetation. The soil and forests, a few hundred meters from
the beach showed no signs of salty nature of Arabian Sea.. I deeply felt
sorry for myself for this part of the journey should have happened in
broad day light.
My
watch ticked 6:30 am and we were in Karnataka border check-post beyond
which lies a paradise called Goa. I , being a strong proponent for Goa
during the inception stage of the tour, had collected some information
about Goa . Firstly, liquor and alcohol of any make and brand is cheaper
from Kerala by at least 50 percent , secondly it was off-season during
this part of the year. Thirdly the beaches were not in their most
glamorous outfits and finally that “People For Animals” has a strong foot hold. We checked in to DIYANA
HOLIDAY RESORTS at 8:25 am. Even after fractionally adhering to the
time-table we were late in Goa only by about 2 hours. My happiness knew
no bounds when I heard that this hotel boasts of a swimming pool.
The
pool was poorly maintained probably being off-season and initially I was
reluctant in launching myself into the water. I made up my mind and
slowly dipped in the shallow part of the pool and tasted the water. The
water tasted fresh and sweety – later the hotel boy enlightened me
that it was pure rain water harnessed in the pool over a period of 6
weeks. Except for the algae at the bottom the pool was really wonderful.
Some time later many came to the pool and I feared a humanity flood in
the pool. Once again I was recklessly happy to enumerate that only Viju
and Neuro knew swimming and so would enter the deep zone.
To
my bewilderment and dismay, Rahul jumped into the deep territory where
water was in excess of six foot depth. I raced towards him occasionally
watching him underneath water struggling to stay afloat. Even after
exercising a lot I found myself moving very slowly in the water perhaps
due to trepidation. By the time I reached Rahul, he had already drowned
both Neuro and Viju. Frankly I didn’t do anything for Rahul clambered
on to my shoulders very efficiently indeed and started wading his hands.
I struggled to breath and felt Rahul was weighing over 200 kgs. Never
dissenting the fact that this incident was equally terrifying and
shocking for both Rahul and myself I felt proud that now I have
graduated from an amateur swimmer to a rescue swimmer. Moreover it was a
sort of anniversary reminder, for, it was during my last excursion in Black
Thunder that I took swimming seriously.
After
having a hefty break-fast at Plantain Leaf Restaurant we left on foot
for the nearest beach – Calangute. Beach games like thottu-thottu, kabaddi
and foot ball kept us
enthralled for about 45 minutes and later we plunged into the waves.
Coarse and rough sand strained many of our posteriors. Tall and powerful
waves charged us with break-neck energy. Caught in a potent wave, I was
lashed up to 20 foot into the beach.
On our way back I found time for shopping a couple of toys.
In
the after noon I was busy glancing a Goa tours guide for probable sites of
visit. It greatly amused me that Goa had three Bird Sanctuaries, but alas
I could sojourn none, at least for the time being. Fort Agoda with its
light house excited me a lot. Later in the day we hired two local boys,
Rafeeq and Arun as our unofficial
guides in Goa. I expressed my desire to visit Fort Agoda and our
guides readily agreed to the suggestion.
A
resemblance that impressed me was that stones, rather bricks used for
the construction of Bekal and Agoda forts. They were cut-out from the
heart of strong sedimentary mountains have showed very little signs of
withering even after decades or perhaps centuries of existence. Enclosed
within the walls of the fort was dense green bushy carpet – I wondered
if the vegetation was tendered to grow in that guise.
From
here we left for Fort Resort Beach where we chanced to see a grounded
cargo liner – River Princess. Here I obtained a nature’s rare
artifact – a deodorant bottle studded with live shells which I
triumphantly transported back-home daring many apprehensions. From here
we went to Beach Anjuna where for the first time in my life I handled a professional fishing line, thanks to a foreigner holidaying in Goa.
On our way back, our motor coach’s front tyre got stuck in loose mud
and a tipper in front, got one of her hind legs bogged down in loose
sand. After an unsuccessful attempt to push the tipper back on road, our
Venu chettan skillfully maneuvers our tourer from the situation. On
reaching hotel every one had a bountiful dinner of their choice. Around
11’ O clock the entire group gathered at Calangute beach and spent 2
hours singing, playing and painfully hunting crabs. Miniature festivities and cards led us to a sound deep sleep.
Entire
two days have elapsed since we set off and I compensated for the
sleepless nights with a short 5 hour nap. It was 11’O clock when we
bundled aboard the bus, unless we were a couple of hours earlier we
would have had time for Baga Beach too. Our first location for the day
was a 400 year old Saraswat Mangeshwarnath Shiva temple which was
cosmetically guised to look much younger. Form here we went to new and
old Basilica church and saw the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier.
Hotel Madhavashram was ‘privileged’ when I went to do lunch. I had
my maiden drink of Vodka purely as an appetizer. After the lunch I got
plenty of time to test my connoisseurship on a brand new Mahindra Classic. Next location for the day – Donapola Beach –
all expected another round of bay watching and bathing, disapprovingly
it turned out to be a pier constructed on a wide water channel. The
lashing waters and swirl-pools kept my upper story engaged in excess of
half an hour.
From
here, next slop was beach Miramar – the last of beach visits in Goa.
En route I spotted an amazing visual wherein a sturdy buffalo was being
chased down the road by a bunch of street dogs. The chase was damn fast
and long. Miramar was a low inclination, tough wave beach with a
moderately hard under surface. Even the ever-cautious Sujith sounded the
same, but for David Sir, we were forbidden from really exploring the
waves. There was hell of an anger brewing in my mind for the ‘peaceful’
Sir. And I tried to cool myself by standing on my head and helping a
single tier formation.
Shopping and marketeering was for one thing that I loved, but Goa was
purely unknown to me as market of something. The market that we were
left to shop was a sheer disaster for it was a hopeless maze of shops
displaying stuffs at astronomical prices. For now I realized why Chalai
was the most sought after market in my hometown? I spent my time
munching 100gms of mixture for Rs. 10 and reached our bus at razor sharp
6:30 p.m.
We
had a count of 46 by 6:40 p.m. and had signaled the bus to move on. A
stern warning from PC did not deter Harish, Dipu, Bhatt and Manish from
straying off and being late. When the missing were identified, we made a
return trip to boarding point, Shiva spotted us and later they joined
us.
The
marvelous boat cruise
As
of then none of us never even dreamt of the jubilation and joy in store
for us in the cruise. We were briefed that it was a song and dance event
where all could squeeze out to their extreme. A precursor was unveiled for
us in the form of a glimpse of the previous ride. This particular vessel
was a two tier, twin propeller, 2*40 bhp ( Kirloskar engine ), twin
hulled, all equipped ferry which could ship 120+ souls on board. There
were separate generator for meeting the power requirements of two stages,
cabin and stalls. We were forced to occupy the bottom berth and I caught
hold of the chef to escort me to the engine room beneath the deck. The
installed was so huge and crude, perhaps due to the local construction and
the all-welded frame work and reinforcements appeared to me as a cheap
work of art. On tapping the keel a bit too hard, I could feel the fearful
pressure of water on the other side.
The
cruise started off very well and I went to the upper deck, through the
bridge to the cabin where I spoke to Captain at length and touched the
wheel. I even caught a spectacular lighted view of Goa, its bridges, roads
and assembly hall from the cabin. Sitting in the cabin did I reckon the
utility of three wire lines running all along the ceiling of lower deck.
These were throttle controls of the engines and associated transfer cases.
I wrote off this ferry as a primitive fashionable youth. Aboard the ferry,
as promised it was an hour long gala and party with absolutely no bar on
communion. Here one has to set his limits and dare, only his.
On
my way back to bus, I purchased a crawling fighter from a road-side toy
promoter showcasing a cute kneeling baby, and playful barking dogs.
Fortunately I was short of money, else these would have added luster to
my toy collection. Way back in hotel, I had a bath and then I left for
Calangute beach all alone with a crab. After strain fully spotting
another crab in the deserted beach, I left open the one I had and chased
both of them into the waves. When they returned, I was extremely happy
for I couldn’t recognize the one I had freed moments before.
Singularly
for the next daybreak, we started our back home journey at 6:40 am and
by 7:30 we were at Cuncolim depositing 161
liters of diesel into our carrier. At 9’O clock we were at Goa-Karnataka
check post with myself helping the personal to search our bags. I
fortunately reminded myself to look out for the peaceful beach near
Karwar. A daylight view of this majestic bay was a real delight for
eyes. We broke our night long fast at hotel Sea side view in Karwar. On
confirming the road ahead to Jog falls, simultaneously convincing David
Sir to let us run our normal course, we entered the final phase of our
tour.
To
reach the tallest water falls in India, 146 m high, we had to take a
deviation from Kumta and travel 120 Km, out of which 60 Km is through
evergreen forests. As it is always, I liked a drive through the forests
– the twining, climbing roads always had an element of dubiety. Our
ceaseless companions were deep valleys on one side. Occasional
spotting of a common languor kept the bus cheering. In between, during a
urinal pause, I wandered slightly into the forests and was startled to
see a large tract of forest cleared and a 50 foot slanting granite wall
suggested that it was some sort of check dam. Development and
advancement have not left this forest untouched. Noon 2’O clock, all
were grazing at the shear proportions and force of the falls and
experiencing the blood sucking fear of a fall
from the top of the fall. Some even joked that S4 results would drive many of us back to
this place - for a committal death.
From
here we sped to a township from where we intended to get down to the
foot of the falls. The 146 m high falls was calling out at me and I
under went some meditation to calm down myself and implored for all our
safety – especially mine. It was usual for me to get thrilled and
aflame on such instances during my previous trips forests and have
committed many a unpardonable mistakes – flourishingly I escaped all
unhurt.
Sujith
and myself led the way. While he was keeping count of the steps, I
was looking for the shortest route with minimal complexity so that it
would be easy for our followers, moreover I would lap as short a time as
possible. In between it started to drizzle and slowly I
got drenched and completely. In all there were 1200 steps in advance of
the foot hills and we took just less than 22 minutes for it. The rain had
caught up and a strong current of water was flowing along the path. It
made inching ahead dangerously possible. The rock cleavage was slippery and
in many a places we had to back off due to steep faces.
By
now rain had strengthened and heavy winds lashed all the droplets produced
by the falls on to us. A quarter of a second was more than enough to get
the lens dampened. Even in this disorder Sujith and myself tried 2 snaps
with help sought from a hapless umbrella. Each further pace I chose was
chancy. Knowledge of swimming was of little use as the sand below was
ready to engulf anything into itself. The water level was plummeting every
now and then. This dynamism coupled with rain and wind terrified me for a
while and I kept thinking of my way back.
But
something within urged me to go as near as possible this giant. At least
two-thirds the water from the top of the falls were droplets when they
reached us, I found it to hard to keep my eye lids open and ultimately I reached a point were I drew a big full-stop. All
I can say about the proximity is that 50 foot would be high under
estimation. Stepping a few steps backwards, I opened up and held my hand
across an oncoming gush of wind and bloom……… I was felled down
backward into a shallow pool and advantageously escaped
……………….
A
total of 9 slips and trips were onto me – ironically 9 is my lucky
number, perhaps due to that did I escape unhurt.
Sujith
, Swadeep and myself got a few more minutes of extension to stay on in
this place – thanks to the search of a bag which was not lost at all.
On our way back , a shading rock prompted a snap beneath it. A total of
33 minutes was required for the uphill marathon. It was on my way back
that I cared to notice the plastic and non-plastic litters along the
trek path. It was disappointing and I sincerely hope to return to this
place for cleaning up this mess. This is a place where I would
definitely bring my family and children ( of course in future ) time and
again to witness together the bountiful nature tirelessly sprinkling
water.
Journey
back home commenced a sharp 7:30 p.m. and we were to join NH 17 at
Batkal, 80 Km from the falls. A fresh wave of fog and mist had swept the
forests and the cool nights persuaded them to stay for long. Visibility
was down to 10 foot or so with the head lights beaming. In earlier
situations, I have been familiar to near 0 visibility but with the fog
lamps, surging ahead was not impossible. This time the fog lamps on our
tourer weren’t working and I sincerely wanted us to wait till it
cleared. Venu chettan never thought alike and drove with a
definite sense of accuracy and knowledge of roads. It was 11’O clock when
we stopped in a way side hotel for our dinner. An invigorating cup of
tea was as usual boozed by the crew and myself at 4’O clock in
Payyanoor – this time Biren too joined us.
When
the journey continued, I was badly in need of a sleep and searched the
whole bus to and fro many a times for a seat. I couldn’t find one. At
last a discontented and jealous myself had to harbor in the cabin. In
Mahe we fed our tourer 186 liters of diesel- diesel being cheaper in
this union territory. Hotel Elite, Quilandy happened to be our niche for
our morning ablutions and breakfast. In the afternoon all except me had
lunch in Hotel Najaf in Kaiparambu. Sleep was hypercritical to me at
this specific juncture. Moreover I chanced to learn that in about two
hours we would reach PC’s cousins house in Kalamassery. Here, 12
biscuits and 2 cups of tea quenched my hunger.
Before
leaving EKM district we were happy enough not to see Kalpana;s grand
parents in their ‘Kuzhy’. Only a few wholesome hours were left for
the culmination of this tour and we boys spent time singing all the
notorious parodies out on full throat. New words like stun
stuna, stumbi and neo-usage like thuppi
were the result of this conglomeration. All
the participants of the tour including the crew were given an
opportunity to vent out their frank opinion to the rest.
In these Powder Biren and Air-India Lekha will remain the prominent
ones.
We
had our dinner at Hotel Residency and Arya in
Ochira, by 9:30 p.m. we embarked on the 2 hour journey to TVPM. We
reached Men’s hostel, CET by around half past eleven and each one of
us departed at respective stops when the bus ticked through K.D.Puram,
Ambalamukku, Vellayambalam, East fort and Vanchiyoor. I was dropped at
Statue around midnight, had I not bothered to ring my home.
-
S. Gopanand
