A 2-Day Chapter in WOW’s History

A 2-Day Chapter in WOW’s History:

Visit to Kushalnagar Monastery; Trek to Brahmagiri Hills & Iruppu Falls

Prologue:

1) Baithe baithe kya Karen, Karna hai kuch kaam, Shuru Karen ek aur blog, Lekar WOW ka naam :P	3) Phir jab aaya, Captain Ajju ka, ‘to-do’ and ‘must-carry’ mail, Work-life balance apni patri se Hui boori tarah de-rail!
2) So, jab WOW ka much-awaited 2-day trek hua announce, Sabse first enrollee tha main Grabbed it like some Tiger ka pounce :D	4) three-days continuously jab kiya, Head-scratching and treasure-hunt, Tab jaakar finish hua ‘Luggage-packing’ ka stunt...

Aage ki kaahani hai - ek ‘weekend-long’ story,

Jo ban gayi hai ab WOW ke, 2-day event ki History….

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Dear Readers,

Even before I start this post, I warn you of the length of this blog. My first overnight event with WOW and I wanted to pack as many memories as I can in here. The stupid poem above was all about what most of us shortlisted girls went through :P; just a few days before the event.

And our actual journey starts here…

November 8, Night:

The Journey begins..

The 13 shortlisted girls, assembled near Shantala Silk House waiting for our TT. For some strange reasons, we all met one another like some long-lost friends and instantly started cracking jokes until the TT arrived. Thankfully, the TT had a music system that made it a perfect Friday dance party night [yeah..’perfect’ because the TT  had some disco lights also :P lag raha tha humaare liye hi specially yeh bus bana hua tha :D] 

Time flew with Shree’s ‘vegetable-chopping’ moves, Ritu’s ‘literal-translation-of-lyrics’ moves, Yogita’s ‘jatka-matkahs’; Krupa-Vini’s ‘side-bend’ dances that turned out to be total fun [and of course, howling and bugging Captain Ajju for a ‘song change’ every 2 minutes (which she did patiently!!)]. The jig continued till midnight, until we got a STRICT ‘good night’ call from the organizer as it was gonna be a long day ahead (of course, none of us slept, just pretended :P)]

November 9 – Day 1:

Morning – Kushalnagar : The Tibetan World

Somehow, we reached way too early to our destination Kushalnagara (monastery); so we decided to spend some time strolling in the surrounding locality. While walks and jogs in Bangalore are most of the time for weight loss / fitness and a thousand health purposes; I loved taking this walk, just for the sake of it – no purpose, just a mindless wander.

Wandering aimlessly - enjoying the misty morning..

After spending some time in the Tibetan colony, watching a very humble-culture of the place; in the beautiful misty morning weather; we took a heavy breakfast and then entered the Monastery gates (that were by now, opened for tourists)

The trip inside the monastery was as peaceful and knowledgeable. Got to know some history behind the Tibetan settlement and their religious beliefs via the Architecture inside. Though it was quite a calm and peaceful place, ‘that special feel’ was still missing [yes. The place had set some kind of an expectation in me – not a great enlightenment sort of a thing, but I was looking out for some unique experience / vibes to be felt from here]. Did nag to Ajju also about it, and we ended up blaming the ‘insensible’ tourists who kept disturbing the silence (and hence the vibes) of the place by making noise (as if it was some picnic spot).

Nevertheless, the quest was still on…

**Respect the monks' personal life, so refrained from posting their pics here.

WOW’s ‘Luck’ streak:
So, here was I, in search of a ‘unique’ experience within the monastery.

Just a while later – Joe, Vini and I came outta the temple of Goddess; when we saw a group of monks with a cart full of a kind of ‘prasadam’. Initially we thought the ‘prasadam’ was not for tourists, but something kept me waiting and watching this group (as if they were just gonna offer us!) think I even thoughtlessly blurted out to Joe – ‘I want that’.

Lo and behold!  A couple of monks called us and offered us ‘plates-ful’ of the rich prasadam and a Tea of their speciality. We trio literally ran as if some kids - lured by some delicious goodies would - and received all that they offered us. Looking at us run in this way, the rest of the WOW followed suit, and we all had the tasty, rich Tibetan offerings. This even gave us a chance to interact with the monks, who were answering our questions with no tinge of irritation [generally they prefer to be on their own, and not bother tourists]. What more – we later realized that the ‘prasadam’ was indeed meant for internal purpose (not for tourists). There was a Students’ function going on in an auditorium and the Final year students had prepared this dish for the rest of the students and staff!!

Was it a timing, or was it that the quest for that ‘unique-experience’ was real – WOW just got lucky to have been offered itJ With the ‘excitement’ feeling of the whole experience, it got much easier to gulp down the ‘prasadam’ that was rich in its contents , despite a heavy breakfast :D

Afternoon – Shopping, lunch, travel to Homestay:

The Monastery visit was followed by a shopping session in the afternoon, which, towards the end, turned out to be an arduous task for Captain Ajju :D the girls inside the bus kept escaping for a ‘second-round’ of shop (whenever ajju was not in sight); and finally Captain decided to stand guard at the bus ka gate, until all of us were shoved inside :P. Soon, we had our lunch and then headed out for our Homestay.

Spotted an elephant and a Mahout training camp on the way…and…with this, we were now getting into the adventurous groove...

Mahout training Camp

Yayy! there was spotted an elephant in the wild 

Evening: Iruppu Falls:

Dropped our luggages at the homestay and set out for Iruppu Falls late in the afternoon. Personally, to me, I have never come across such a unique place. The surrounding was splendid.(the path to the falls reminded me of some Takeshi’s castle set up – this was a natural set up). Climbed for some time until we met the water-falls. Landed our feet inside – freezing chill water!!

Iruppu Falls

Some of the WOW girls even dared to drench completely in the cold water (the Dare devils throughout the trip were the duo - 'Geetha & Preetha' :P), while the rest of us felt it good enough to dive till neck depth. Enjoyed the fresh waters till the chill became little intolerable. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the naturally conditioned air around the Falls and then climbed down back to get to our homestay (of course, after a kaapi-bhajji break at the entrance of the place)

Night: Homestay – ‘Comedy night’ of WOW:

By evening, inspite of the tiredness, our big mouths were all in a ‘charged-up’ state as soon as we entered the homestay. The evening later turned out to be hilarious, when some of us went totally freaky. Right from Ritu’s ‘keep-the-floor-clean (by letting the snacks remain on ur clothes)’ talent to Shree’s maha gyaan on ‘keep-your-hand-at-the-right-places’ during a massage – it was all laugh, laugh and keep laughing to the extent of hurting our tummies [dint spare even Captain Ajju for that matter :P]. and this was a true ice-breaker (if there was any between us:P)

Post the comedy-circus, we took a small walk in the dark evening just outside the homestay and then returned for dinner. The next day’s plans were announced over dinner and we were all geared up mentally to take on the challenge. After dinner is when we realized that we had not slept for more than the last 24 hours and one by one started laying our beds and went in deep slumber…..

End of Day 1….

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November 10 – Day 2:

The Grand stretches of Brahma Hills - Brahmagiri

We took our breakfast (prepared with full love by Ajju and Monu) and started for the Brahmagiri trek. The Forest trek path starts at a deviation enroute the Iruppu falls (which means that the entrance for the Falls and the trek base is the same). [Brahmagiri trek being a Wildlife trek – you need permissions from the Forest officer]

Trekking somewhere inside the deep forest..

We followed the guide. Least did I know that I would encounter these tiny little creatures that loved me the most – LEECHES! We were asked to continue walking and not bother them, but at one point of time the leech bites became an uncontrollably irritating feeling and I had to halt and take off my shoes. Only to find them happily rolling down my shoes after having done their blood-sucking job! [this was my first time ever Leech experience]. But this was not a priority (touching the Peak was!) and we continued forward.

All about the Trekking path, and the climb…

A major chunk of the trek path was on a narrow ‘one-person’ path; with a hillock on one side and valley on the other side of the lane. As we walked deeper into the forest, a peculiar calmness dawned in. The sounds of stream waters dashing through the pebbles and rocks, was a pure bliss to experience. On the way, we also saw fresh elephant dung (which meant there was a possibility of encountering one). Taking this hint, the guide picked up few larger sticks from broken branches and asked us to keep some as well (just in case)

We halted in between near a stream that is apparently the origin of the Iruppu falls – relaxed for a while, did some feet clean up (the count of leech bites on my feet had increased by then); and then continued for the trek. At the end of the deep forests, we reached the wide dry grasslands of the hill.

Here, the view turned totally Spectacular – only hills, greenery and rocks around.

Origin of Iruppu Falls

The wide grasslands and view from the top

We walked further on this plane and reached our destination – the Narimale Guest House [we were supposed to stay here the previous night, but this place was apparently destroyed by elepahnts few weeks ago; and thus it turned into our peak destination for today’s trek]. Took our lunch outside the destroyed structure and then prepared for the descend

Descend and WOW’s History:

Just at the start of the descend, we heard few elephant grunts from a distance. But, fortunately or unfortunately – we did not encounter any. Descend, as usual was comparatively easy and more fun, rather than thrilling. By now, we started making little noise and continued our ‘comedy-circus’ from where we had  left it, the previous night. Created weird and unusual love stories between humans and animals [Krish 3 ko bhi abhi release hona tha. Our imaginations went wild:D ] Thanks to the marshlands, they did a great deal in dirtying our shoes (could not figure out if one was the pair of the other :P)

Finally, late in the afternoon (arnd 3.30pm) we made it to the base – successfully creating WOW’s history of a 2-day event – happy, safe and with a proud feeling.

Iruppu Falls: take-2:

As its been always so far, we completed our trek, well on time (still had some time to kill), and so we decided to visit the iruppu falls again. Just before few of us could make it to the falls; Captain Ajju and Krupa (blissfully ignorant) were upto something at the downstream, without noticing a huge water-snake right beside them [until Yogita realized and saved them by making them AWARE of its presence!]. we chucked the idea of going downstream,and maintained the main Water falls as our destination.

An advise for tourists: Please do not visit on a Sunday, since the crowd wont be pleasing enough. Since we already had had enough fun the previous day, we dint mind giving up the dip today (due to the crowd). All I wanted to do was to let the blood on my feet clot in water (obviously due to the Leech bites).

And here, I was, unwillingly, declared the ‘Winner’ of a supposedly ‘Maximum leech-bites competition’ (with totally 18 bites), beating Shree and Krupa (3 each) {yeah..i left no margin for competiton:P}. Wonder how the rest of the gals were not attacked even once!!

Well, as they say..all’s well that ends well and safe..It was time to leave the place with a mixed feelings - of Victory celebrations, and that of nostalgia. We headed out for our homestay, did our final packing, took a photo session with the BTC sponsored gifts :D.. and then started our way to Bangalore…

What followed during the return was:

1. Dinner and some more shopping @ Madikeri [with more sessions on ‘comedy-of-errors’].

2. Surprise Bday celebrations for Shree in the midnight in the middle of some road [this was equally awesome. Never done such a thing before with an all-gal gang!] and some more dance.

We were also lucky for having got such a sensible cab driver, who stopped by,at his own house in the midnight (at around 2.00 am), so that the girls could have a recreational break. The family also offered snacks to the gals. Such a treatment was not at all expected, and we were humbled to have received such a kind of hospitality (touch wood). Like Monu says - ‘WOW events are more about the ‘Experiences’; than mere trek’

A Big thanks to Captain Ajju, and the extended organizers group for having planned a safe, and an amazing trip.

Congratulations to all those who were a part of this History…J Proud!!

And finally (phew), I close this post by just saying that –

..Ever since I returned from this journey, I replay that beautiful forest walk often in my mind, and get a sense of exhilaration..that of a true achievement…

Cheers!

Swatz

Photo courtesy: Ritu, Sindhu, Shree, Monisha

  

WOW stands for BTC World Of Women

The Hot-Trek on Savandurga

October 19th...

·        What happens when 20 strong and hot girls step out to tame a Monolith together? – The Sun smiles brightly

·        What happens when difficulty level on a trek increases – We start conquering fear!

·        What happens when North-South meets each other in the game of Dumb Charades –  (un) moonji-lia-sum becomes Mughal-e-Azam, Bewafa becomes Pai-wa-fai and Rajathiraja becomes Raja-the-Raja :P

·        What happens when there is no Music system in the bus? – nothing! We will dance, anyways, even if its on the road ;)

Yes. All of the above and more - is what we really did in WOW’s fifth trek (my third one) to one of the largest monolithic rocks in Asia – Savanadurga.

Well, Bangalore has a strange problem with public transport and roads – sometimes its jampacked and at times, totally empty (with no single auto / bus to your destination). I was a victim of the latter when I had to reach Majestic to meet the WOW gang for the trek. Somehow, with God’s grace, managed to reach on time [5 minutes late, according to IST, is considered on time :P]. Thankfully, I wasn’t the last one [was the last-but-one] to reach to the TT. Met few old faces, many new and began the journey to Savanadurga, with a brief round of introduction to one another.

No music system in the bus, meant chatter-boxes continuously at work – and the troupe of 20 gals randomly started chitchatting in separate groups based on their comfort level. And here, we, the last benchers in the bus, got to interview our ‘Organizer-turned-first-time-WOW-Participant’ on her journey of trekking and BTC. And realized that real blood (donated to leeches) and sweat have gone in coming up with BTC and WOW! [these were interesting..willing to explore more of the inside stories ;)]

After breakfast and a small session of dance on the road (at a halt for recreational activities), we reached Savandurga.

The Rock and the t(r)echniques:

Savandurga, as the facts say, is one of Asia’s largest monolithic rocks. More details about the place here Wildlife includes bears and leopards (we did get a bear alert from one of the villagers at the base itself. Thankfully, we encountered none!)

Starting off - immediately after the Bear-Alert call!

The Rock - Photo courtesy: Ritu

The Rock 

The entire group was divided into 4 teams [for the first time I was in the Lead group! Yayy!:D], and we started climbing up. The Giant rock, with no proper route carved on it, makes it a core trekking activity (you really need some experienced trekkers in your group, to be able to figure out the right path. It gets tricky and a bit risky, otherwise!). This being a moderate level of trek (with a good amount of steep and no support whatsoever) was a real challenge and demanded diligent climbing and descending.

The technique is to bend your body towards the slant (bend forward like a bear while climbing up and bend backwards against the steep while descending). You also need to control your entire body on your calf muscles (demands a lot of calf strength). [Trekking is about fitness and techniques also -  you see! ;)]

The climb

The Descen

At places, even these techniques don’t work. The only option is to move with all your four limbs [climb up like some animal and while descending, you need to sit and slowly slide down]. {Now you know, why is it a ‘moderate-level’ of trek}. 

A tree-climbing somewhere in between the trek, aroused the ‘animal instinct’ in few of us and made it relatively easier to trek the rock ;)

Tree-climbing, just for a warm up :P

As we kept ascending, the sun kept shining gloriously at us, making it a Hot-trek (difficult to decide which one was Hotter – WOW or the Sun :P). After beating the heat, reaching the peak felt triumphant! Took a much-deserved break on the top – had a small group-photo session and then everyone dispersed to savor the Nature and the View, in their own sweet ways. Though the entire surrounding was dry, hot, and barren – the view of river Arkavathi (from the peak) and the green beyond it was a retreat. Happy that we were among the early birds for the day.  Spotted many other groups following our trail seeing us on the top :D)

Descend was a tad more scary this time. However, it successfully brought out the adventurists in us. With the girls helping and motivating each other, we got back to where we had started from – safe and sound. By then, the Sun started playing hide-n-seek with the clouds [and we were thankful it did not rain while descending]

Manchinabele Damn – Lunch time

By the time we reached the base, most of us were worn out due to heat and humidity. It was time for Lunch B-). Visited Manchinabele damn (only 1 girl in the troupe could pronounce this correctly!). Unfortunately, the entry was limited due to an accident that had taken place just a few days ago. Nevertheless, watching the serene waters of Arkavathi river was a breather. Had a small break near the damn and started out for lunch.

Damn view

For lunch, we halted at the same spot where we had our breakfast. Lunch toh aise kiya jaise koi shaadi par aaye the..The fact that Curd was available (after beating all of that heat) felt a great relief for few of us (read Tamilians!), and we mercilessly attacked on food. Owner-uncle looked genuinely happy serving food to the gang of girls (on enquiring, he revealed that he rarely found people emptying their plates so quickly and asking for more – which we did – like gluttons!)

Machi! Tamil-u teriyada,

Appo dumb charades la once again ra..:D

After enjoying a hard-core trek, and filling ourselves up with satisfying lunch – it was time for some Fun. By late in the afternoon, we reached the Big Banyan Tree, for chillaxing.

After brainstorming for games, we finally zeroed in on – Dumb Charades. Now, our WOW team had a small patalam (gang) of people hailing from Tamil Nadu [who happily ignored which group they belonged to, helped every other Tamilian in the game :P]. Loads of creative (literally out-of-the-box) Enacting happened to come to the Hindi movie titles and that triggered loads of laughter! These girls added a ‘Fun-element’ to the entire trip! :P. 

The day was truly a perfect weekend escapade – with a balanced amount of adventure, fun and chitchatting. We finally called it a day and started on our way to Bangalore. And yeah – what a Time Management! Everything went as planned and on dot time. By 5.30 in the evening, we were at Majestic (so you can ignore the 2 of us making it late to the TT in the morning :). With yet another promise of meeting up in future treks, we dispersed to our respective abodes.

Congratulations to Kiruba on her first trek as an Organizer:)

Congratulations to all the ‘first-timers’ (including you-know-who :P). You really did a great job :D

Author’s personal note..

Despite the tough climb, personally, this trek had been an extremely Peaceful experience (would have pestered people around me with this dialog again and again! :D). Reasons? I don’t know!

All I can say is, with such beatitude experience, trekking is turning into an addiction…

Cheers!

WOW stands for BTC World Of Women

The Braille, the language of feel, and their World of Fun!

The Braille, the language of feel, and their World of Fun!

‘KIIIDS’ – I yelled.

‘…what idea have you got about today’s program?’ – the ‘trainer-brain’ in me urged me to ask the kids of my team….

We were a group of 85 volunteers participating in the ‘Joy of Giving’ event at Fun World. The program was about assisting Visually Impaired [‘beneficiary’ henceforth] kids and adults for Joy rides @ the Fun World. The whole bunch of volunteers were divided into 4 teams; and paired with beneficiaries on 1:1 basis. The team that I belonged to [Chak De!] had only kids J [had to be so! especially with ME in it(wink, wink ;))]

‘We are gonna play games’ – was the collective reply. [Fair enough!]

‘So what kind of games do you usually play in school and home’ – I shot back at the already enthusiastic kids

‘Merry-go-round, jaara bande, swings…’ and few other names I’m not able to recollect [blame my poor technical knowledge in Kannada..didnot spend my childhood in K’taka :P!]

‘So, today..its gonna be similar games..but they will be much bigger, speedier and few will be slightly different’ […few imaginations already sketching…few smiles already lighting up!]

‘CHAK DEE’ – with a shout, a round of claps and whistles, we made a grand entry into the Park; thus kick-starting our Fun Event organized by ‘Gift-abled’ together with the Bangalore Trekking Club, Shree Ramana Maharishi School and few other volunteer groups.

Now that the rides were going to be relatively ‘bigger’, we started off  explaining few of the kids (including my beneficiary), the meaning of what ‘Big things’ mean. Touch-and-feel of the of a Giant wrestler’s arms (installed right at the Entrance) proved to be just the right activity for this!

With ‘Awe-struck’ ‘Surprised’ ‘Thrilled’ and ‘Happy’ expressions, the kids n elders, all moved on to the core rides.

She, me & the rides:

My pair was a 10-year old girl named ‘Gita’. A ‘chota-packet’ of talent and enthu, who has learnt Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam [still learning] and has given group performances in a TV channel!

On any other normal day, joy rides would mean ‘just-sit-n-enjoy’ stuff. Never cared about what direction / path a ride took..how many compartments did it have..where the supporting bars/belts are located..or even the shapes and sizes!

But today, the experience was something different! Explaining each ride with as much detail as possible - drawing directions in the kid’s arm, giving a rough imagination about the area a ride covered (via sound analysis, while we were waiting for our turn), comparing each ride to the best possible example she could relate to – was sort of, an eye-opening (and of course, my ‘mouth-opening’) experience. [my personal thrill was that - there was none to control the ‘chatter-box’ in me :D ‘touch-feel-talk’ was the key mode of communication with the Specially abled people, to make them understand the surrounding]. Even more thrilling was - when she took all the download from me diligently and we experienced all the rides in the same way! And as we started building that understanding between each other, the girl started asking for more n more; and we kept increasing our pace and Fun :D Thereafter, it was just jumping from one ride to another, meeting the rest of the group here-n-there, shouting, howling, clapping, whistling and ‘Feeling’ the rides - till the day was called off.     

    

Throughout the day, the Event was an energy-packed, thrilling and a Unique experience!                        

                                         

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The Philosopher’s note:

Frequently, I hear a saying in Kannada which translates to this – “Help done from one hand, should not be made known to another”. A saying which, I guess, most of us believe in.

However, the Fun world event modified this belief in me a bit. Volunteer activities such as these deserve to be promoted and publicized, of course, with the right intentions. It’s the events such as these that bridges all kinds of differences – old, new, abled, specially-abled – all coming together with a common purpose. And this time, it was simple – Have Fun! That’s itJ

And, if you closely look at your own life, come to think of this - We never needed support to live our own reality (each is better off with his own). It was only when we chose to move out, did we Reach out!

At the end of the day, we all are incomplete in some or the other way, and seek support when we truly dare to look beyond our limits! They pushed their limits and dreamed of making it to joy-rides, we just rendered them the support they needed to make this live.

Well, I know the stuff right above was more of a Social science, but equally important for me to let the world know :P The ‘Joy of Giving’ event was truly a joyful event, with a lot of take-aways that would surely count in life down the lane.

My take-aways from the Event:

1.      People, people and more people: Meeting new and old people, all for a common goal, was a very pleasant thing happening over this event. I had no clue, that an entire troupe of my ex-colleagues would also be a part of the volunteer group. Was taken aback, nonetheless, happy meeting them :P

2.      Awareness about the braille: At the end of the event, the entire group of volunteers and the beneficiaries had a gathering. Post the thank-you speeches, there was a brief session on how the braille works. [this was really something new and very knowledgeable!]. Watching the kids happily teaching the rest, about the braille was a kind of delight we get to perceive very rarely!

3.      The real million dollar smile: In the middle of one of the speedy rides, I casually checked with my kiddie beneficiary as to how was she feeling. The warmth and innocence that came with the response, was once again, a rare experience. That genuine expression of the kid, had the power to melt a hundred hearts – I was after all, just one [aint an exaggeration! U feel it, u believe it!]. And to get more of such an effect, I repeatedly checked on her feeling throughout the day :D [greed did this job, not I :P]

4.      Victory feeling: Got a chance to take an elderly VI lady Marisha’s feedback on the event, while on the way back home. As expected, she confessed that she did not want to be sympathized or pitied by other (read normal) people and was little skeptical about the entire event. And immediately she glows with a smile and admits – ‘but it turned out to be a lot of fun and I’m thankful I did not miss it. It was because people were there to support, that we enjoyed’. Yes – they just needed a ‘support’. We all need it at some or the other point of time, don’t we? And yes! This meant that the event was a Success – in its motive, purpose and in every way J So, kudos!

All in all, it was a day filled with fun, and something called as ‘Soul-satisfaction’. You name it as a ‘Social help’ ‘Social commitment’ or any other buzzing term. But for me, the ‘Joy of Giving’ was truly a joy given to me! A satisfaction that no money, flashlights, or glamour can buy.

Thanks to one and all involved!:) A special mention to the Organizers.

..A message to the ‘Heidi’ fan club:

To all the Heidi fans out there! I found a real-life Heidi in the girl I met :D. The way this little girl expressed ‘akka, nange thumba khushi agtaide’ [akka, I am feeling extremely happy] – felt as if little Heidi has jumped out of the book and manifested herself ;) :D

P.S: This post is a small dedication to my beneficiary ‘Gita’ – as a gift for her birthday [October 16^th]. A bundle of energy as she is, someday I hope to see her breaking some record in Dance. Prayers and wishes to all the specially abled kids and elders alike..

Cheers!

*Names of the beneficiary’s changed for protecting identity

"Heights" of Monkeying around ;) at Shivagange!

     I thought this post would take even longer to come out (considering the hell lot of tasks@hand I currently have!). But then 2 things post my return from the trek kept urging me to write..

       No. 1: Couldn’t stop feeling happy for another ‘rocking’ day I’d just spent

       No. 2: Monkeys started haunting my daydreams!

Tough to relate to no. 1 & 2? Don’t worry..u’ll soon get the point!

Trek to Shivagange:

2^nd trek with the WOW gang. The 14 shortlisted girls for the trek had assembled at the Bangalore KSRTC bus-stand. Again, a bunch of all new ppl [with just the trek admin group familiar :P].

Plan was: to reach Dobaspet (the nearest bus-stand to reach Shivagange) and hire autos to the destination [a standard format for tourists visiting Shivagange on public transport].

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The journey begins….

Bus is half-full:

     After a couple of enquiries, we reached the platform where buses to Pavagadh enroute Dobaspet stood. Here, we find 2 buses: One empty and one half-full. Temptations drive us towards the empty bus, but then we learnt that this was starting only after an hour or so! Quickly, few of the girls who had rushed inside, got out of the bus; and the ones standing in Q took an about turn in sync (in that narrow lane between the two buses) and ran towards the half-full bus..thankfully.. just-in-time!

     Luckily, we managed to grab seats here-and-there for our counterparts, and were spread all over the bus [including the balcony seat – next to the driver’s deck ;)]

BTC promotions - on the drive!

     Bus to Dobaspet started. There was this techie sitting beside me (who had, OBVIOUSLY noticed the hungama that that we had created in trying to locate seats just a while ago – and by now had a fair idea that we were some sort of a ‘women-oriented-group’ going on an outing).

     He started enquiring about the group and surprisingly was aware about BTC (though a little vaguely). Took a chance, and started promoting BTC; and in turn learnt about a couple of other places to explore around Tumkur (which he proudly spoke about, as this place was native):D

Dobaspet to Shivgange:

     Reached Dobaspet. Had breakfast and finished a small photo session. Hired 2 autos to Shivagange (had absolute fun trying to pose for pics in running autos ;) ). The auto-walas also sensed the fun that we girls were upto; and were equally co-operative! The route itself offered views of scenic beauty and we were all set to take on the adventure. Pretty cloudy morning, though it seemed very fresh and pleasant.

     The ‘names-byhearting’ ceremony had already begun (much before the formal round of introduction!)

Introduction!

     Reach Shivagange – the Dakshina Kashi (you can find out more about the place in Wiki / google..apart from the history, pls don’t miss out on finding about the ‘monkey businesses’ here! You need to be careful of your luggages, not isolate yourself at any spot and stick to your groups, and do not hold any dang thing in your hand!)

now back to WOW 14 story :P..

     After climbing the first few steps of the temple premises, the WOW 14 gathered in a circle at a place for a formal round of introduction. So, our captain Ajju, just starts to talk something..and oh..what’s that..look around..a whole bunch of monkeys..forming groups all around us! One of the Bio students in our group felt it safe to disperse from that place (sensing a potential attack on our bagpacks), and we all were obedient enough to follow instructions (wisely). We climbed a little more upwards and assembled at a place that felt relatively safer. With quick introduction and division of the group into 3 teams, WOW 14 began the trek with full swing!

     The ‘names-byhearting’ ceremony still continued..[I heard my name a couple of times from the other teams in the group. turned back, and got a response 'nothing'!]

All about the Trek, Nature, Fun……and monkeys (of course)!

     Soon enough, we reached the Gangadhareshwara shrine [famous for the belief of abhishekam ghee, turning into butter!]. We offered our prayers here and continued the journey further.

     The Shivagange hill, being more like a ‘Shivalinga’ shape, is a bit steep for a climb. And because of the steepness, the place started offering panoramic views after crossing the initial levels itself. What followed post this, were just treat for the eyes!  Despite the earlier wear-n-tear that we felt (due to lofty climbing), the captivating view around us, gave us that motivation to get going.

The steep stretch

     Monkey-burglary started, when we came outta the cave temple (Olakala teertha). We had this lady from our group (I would call her the ‘King-kong lady’..not a personal remark, but you’ll know why ;) ;) ), who had opened her bag and was digging into it with full concentration (without noticing a monkey sitting right opposite to her, helping her keep the bag open, and peeping into it with equal concentration as she did!). One of us noticed it, and managed to quickly shoo it away; and keep our things and people safe (this is why you need to stick around in groups).

Monkeys ganging-up!

     With a roar of laughter and a cheer over this, we ascended further the hill. Most part of the hill has uneven steps along with the railings. What makes this an interesting trek is the uneven-ness, narrowness of the steps itself! You cannot climb these parts without the railing support. Moreover, you cannot stick to one side of the railing, and have to keep changing sides depending upon the width of the steps and the direction of the trek. Also, at many places you need to maintain a side-walk along the railings (because the steps are too narrow, even for kids to climb them straight!).

View from the top

     By then, we had got accustomed to the monkeys. Many a times, we dint bother them walk past us, but we still were with our groups for safer side. Moreover, it was the mesmerizing scenery that captured our attention more than the little creatures. The weather was little dull and windy, and the entire stretch looked covered with blankets of clouds.

     The trek became more of a ‘halt-and-proceed’ journey as the hill got steeper. And our lady (whom I call the king-kong lady) tried to open her bag again, probably for taking out the water bottle, only to find monkeys jumping towards her (bag)! We decide to share our water bottles and open our bags for as less times as possible.

     We had covered almost 3/4^th of the hill, when we found a ‘live inspiration’ who blowed our minds off! An Ajji [no. not our Captain Ajju ;) ;) !] – a skinny old granny descending down the hill, bare-foot! Even the other folks who were trekking along with us were quite astonished! [we had just covered that distance and knew the challenges the path had!]. Here we were - carrying all the necessary first aids and back-ups, and there she was descending gracefully down the hill, with nothing in her hand, and chanting the name of Lord shiva after taking each step! A live-wire…felt her worth of worshipping (literally bowed down to her). What more – she asks us ‘makkaLu (kids)’ to stay careful and safe! This was indeed a WOW moment during the trek. We continued marching forward. 

[the ‘name-byhearting’ ceremony was still on! I still heard my name being called out a couple of times:P ]

     Reached a juncture, where the direction of the trekking-path, takes a sharp 90 degree turn to the left. This is almost towards the peak. Here, we found a small stall, where we stopped over for some energy drinks. Trust me! The butter-milk at this stall was too good and refreshing. After a small photo session here, we continued our journey to meet the peak.

The monolithic Nandi statue!

      With all that new energy, Captain Jo and I started to whistle aloud – only to find the folks (even the other families) surrounding us howl with equal enthu (ain’t an over-statement)! The excitement and joy of reaching the peak had just build up inside all of us, with all this energy. It felt awesome!

     Within no time, we reached the monolithic Nandi statue and then the peak of the hill, thrilled by the enchanting Nature and the breezy climate..

The peak and weather!

     Reached the peak..all triumphant..Luckily, there were no monkeys at that point of time and we managed to almost-complete our lunch. But then the animals found their way and succeeded in invading the spot that we had located [(rather, claiming the rights to their adda; that we humans had just invaded!). We stopped our meals and gave away the open food packets to them. And this time again! A monkey approaches right towards our ‘king-kong lady’ just when she is about to open her bag! She realizes this pattern now, and shouts ‘why am only I targetted!’ – and this is when I remembered the movie King-Kong [the only difference being, the ‘king-kongs’ here were of much smaller size. Were they attracted to her bag or to her – honestly, now I don’t know! :D]

     Jokes apart, the view at the peak was just too brilliant! The weather got too cloudy by then. A mix of the gloomy weather and the 360 degree view, made us feel lost in some other world. We were literally in the midst of clouds and it all made the entire atmosphere – Beautiful!

The blanket of clouds! when we reached the peak!

     Of course, we did get a little wary of the challenges a heavy downpour would put-forth during our descend. But you call it a miracle – pure luck – or loopholes in weather forecasting;), there was no heavy rains, but just a misty weather throughout. The clouds did meet n greet us..gave us nice rains and breeze..but that was just a ‘flying visit’; when we were at the peak (probably to congratulate our determination:P )..and they gracefuly bade us a goodbye while we started to descend [ I remember – with a very heavy downpour that had occurred just the previous evening – news had showed predictions of equally heavy rains in the next 48 hours (nothing of which had happened :P)].

     With this, the descend looked safer than expected, and we had a smooth travel back to the base, though equally challenging. As always, the descend was a little quicker than the ascend. It was just during the descend that the Sun-god finally broke open! The rains and the Sunlight just made everything around us look as bright and fresh as a New morning itself!

Sun giving a freshness, late in the afternoon (after a slight downpour)

     We did have our pit-stops for refreshments, during the descend. And again! Our ‘king-kong lady’ was approached by her favourite heroes, eyeing her bag (or her?). Finally, she decided not to even attempt opening her bag :D Reached the base, with a victory feeling; and waited for the rest of the group to reach. 

     And again! heard my name being called out by someone in the group! I turn back and again get a reply ‘nothing’. Understood! [I guess we took each other’s names more than the deity himself, during the entire trek :P !].

Finally, the entire group reached the base – safe, sound and feeling accomplished. We congratulated each other; and headed off to Dobaspet bus-stand, in autos.

Bus is half-full..again!

     Coming to an end, with a full circle - A perfect climax, for a perfect beginning! 

     At the end of the adventure, we reached the Dobaspet bus stand. And again, on enquiries we found that we were just-in-time for a bus to arrive. And oh, not 1..but 2 buses to Bangalore arrive..Once again! One empty, and one half-full..Once again! Temptations drive us toward the empty bus (and then we learn that this was not going to the main Majestic bus stand)..and Once again! We take a U-turn in sync and rush towards the half-full bus that was just about to leave! <>. And once again! typical women mentality --> though we all were confused, atleast we all were on the same page :P

Climax:

     The way to Bangalore from Dobaspet was equal fun. Got to know more about each other during the journey. I was the first one to bid everyone a good-bye as I was supposed to alight at the much earlier Stopping point in Bangalore.

After all of this fun, adventure and hungama throughout the day; walking back home felt a drag for 2 reasons:

1.                The nice, smooth tar road seemed unusual (Of course, we were on a 'high' the entire day:P)

2.                I missed the monkeys! (suddenly it felt too isolated!)

Mom couldnot control her laugh, when I mindlessly explained her this….!

 A final thanks:

Thanks to the Organizing team &; Ajju once again, for taking all the risks of planning this trek and brilliantly pulling it off!

Thanks to all my fellow trekkers. It was a wonderful day with equally wonderful people! :)

Note: Mention of the 'name-byhearting' ceremony throughout the post is not an exaggeration! :P

Cheers!