I thought of writing about you, but i couldn't and all i could say is "Ye Maaya Chesave!". I think that i shouldn't think about you, but i think about you, All i could say is "Ye Maaya Chesave!". I thought of living with you but i couldn't, All i could say is "Ye Maaya Chesave!"
Fumbled,
Alagiri Samy.S
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
It is our way
What do you do when you are put in an unknown place? What do you do when you are asked to do a trek? What do you do when it is not a trek but mountain hiking? What do you do when you have a guide and you lost him? What do you do when you don’t know how to climb a steep mountain? What do you do if you are surrounded by thick mist which makes you impossible to see even your own hands? What will you do? I'm asking you, loud and clear, what will you do?
Drizzling rain, sumptuous dinner, cold weather, silent streets. There is nothing better than this to end a day at bed. But all twenty six of us who came from different parts of the country prepared our self for the get-together celebration. A sudden plan to a remote mountain for trek was the icing on the cake. 8 PM, all the guys who stayed together in a posh bungalow woke up after a four hours of eternal rest and even the other gender had the same. Friendship got its meaning when most of the guys at house had stomach upset at the same time though they belonged to different places. "Wow, what a coincidence" is what everyone would say. This din’t end here. Some had muscle tear, knee injuries and even fever.
Aditya who always had a passion for trekking was not able to clear initial rounds of test because of the nauseating feelings plus hot boils plus fever. Thanks to McDonalds and KFC chickens. Without him started the journey to the hill many missed him, but still we had to take the fact that he was not there. By 10.30 almost everyone was prepared to move and we were informed that only by 11 the van would come to pick us all. I was searching for my mobile from 10.30PM to 11PM and by 11.05 I found that it right inside my pocket all these time. "yay",i said to myself, but I never realized that it had no charge.
Aravindan packed his bag with a torch and he was all the way proud to say that he has a Zac Efron haircut, but didn't get himself a jacket to cover up. After all the drama, everyone got into the bus. We went to the hostel where the girls stay. They looked at the bus as if it was a rocket and they got into the bus like kalpana chawlas and their anxiousness was as high as a Rocket. Arthi was too happy to see all the refurbished faces as it has been three months since each of us saw the other.
By 12AM we celebrated our Batch day with a cake. What is better in this world than cutting a cake in the middle of the Nation highway?
After the cake eating ceremony, we started again towards the destination. The bus started moving steady. Biting cold winds from the west against the bus made it even ‘more’ colder. The one hour journey gave us the nostalgia of Industrial Visits and the fun that we had whenever we meet. It is around 60 kilometers from the starting point and the roads to the mountain were so confused that even the GPS could forget the path. Initial hiccups in finding the path gave good amount of blasting from Arunachalam to the organizer of the trip Daniel. This was silently observed by Bairavmurthy. The van driver instead of following the path which leads us to the hill was lead by drunken biker. But that wasn't a problem for a long time as we reached the foothills of the mountain.
It looked small. Even comments from folks said, "cha, small hill. I thought it would be big". All you can do at the time is listen to them coz that's perspective. By the time we got down from the vehicle it was 1AM. Divya looked as if she got two lives and she was ready to give one and a half for this trek. She was so much excited that she was ready to give anything for the trek.
Everyone was in dilemma whether to arrange a guide for the trek. But later we decided to take a guide as it would be safe. We shared the same guide with another as it is cost effective. But all these were not their problem, they got another reason for getting together, Jeevitha and Michael. Michael was in so much resonance with Jeevitha that he was even able to foresee where she would keep her next step. If it was a stone that Jeevitha was about to step then Michael would collect the stone and build a temple. I mean it that is resonance.
We started walking; finding the hill for trekking wasn't the toughest job but it was a tough job to climb it.
The guide was a 13 year old boy who was winged. The family who came with us and some of us were following the guide while the rest were walking so slow that we need an hour to catch up with that gang. Rocks everywhere. Silence Everywhere. Stars everywhere but you find people nowhere. Nithya had some problem with her foot so she had to walk slow, so some of us in the name of Nithya took rest. While the rest thought it is not ‘adventurous’ to sit so they were moving with the Guide and the family. Now the two groups cannot reach through voice, but only through signals with torch. And initially no communicating signs were discussed, so everything was just an improvisation and not pre-planned.
Priya was walking with Aravindan and Priya Dharshini was with us which means the whole crowd split into two groups which had Shivram who was very much interested in impersonating the army. He had Sri Lekha, who was self proclaiming that she lost weight due to her rigorous aerobics class. “Yes”, her words should be reconsidered. The mountain was totally unfriendly that every step has to be placed after thinking a lot. It had rolling stones which would make you fall from the great heights. It had transpiring fibrous plants which can give you no grip but can give you a free ride downhill. Sharp stones which can pierce through your skin and can give you and taste of real pain. And last but not the least steep hill which can only be trekked by experienced people. Yes, that’s a positive start for a trek.
As instructed by Sudharsan we took some time off as certain people were unable to walk as it was their first trek. By that time the first group which was formed by Vignesh, who just a shirt covering his entire “improved muscular” body had Shivram, Aravindan, Vinoth, Arunachalam, Manohar, Priya and Sri Lekha were way ahead of us. We used torch to signal each other. Fog was penetrating from all directions. After taking some unsuccessful pictures we thought of moving ahead. As we had only 12 torches, one in two had a torch. So every person who had a torch will lead the other who had no torch. And the first person who is leading the group has to find the way. For the first quarter we were lead by the first group who were enthusiastically following the Guide. Later because of few unwanted rests, we had no trace of them. So, we had to find our way by ourselves. So, the first person who was leading the group would find the safest path, if there is a path available. If he finds one, he will be instructing the shortcomings in the path, so that others can easily make it.
Instructions like, “Don’t and never” were heard all through the places. We moved quietly with all our concentration on the path and not on any other thing. At one point of time we queried Shivram who was like an hour ahead of us from the place where we stood, “Which way?” and we had a reply, “Take left”. Initially all of us laughed as we thought it was sarcasm to our Indian traffic rules and we were finding our own way. Michael was walking all through the places swiftly. At one point of time he was so fast he took Jeevitha, Daniel and Arthi to a rock from where there was no other path. If they were planning had to get down then it would cause a cascading effect by which all us who were at the bottom would roll with them if they had slipped at some point. It was 3AM, We were struck, for rescue to come we have to wait at least till 6AM because only by that time people can identify that somebody is struck in the mountain. It was so foggy and misty that we were not able to see even the stone that was lying in front of us. It was pitch dark, all we can see is the mother like moon and stars which looks like her children.
We had no other choice. Voices from Daniel and Arthi said, “Wait there. No path here.” Aparna was waiting for a helicopter to get her down but Sudharsan was arguing over an insect. Vinitha ‘looked’ playful, but Vikram was responsible. Jeevitha was joyful of finding credit cards which were lying on the ground which later turned out to be her own. Divya was in the ‘adventure land’ were Michael was living. But, all I wanted was to get to the hill safely.
After few minutes, we heard sounds from a distance which looked more like Michael. But it was not at all possible, how can sounds of Michael come from this side when he is struck on the other side? Everyone was instructed to switch off their lights and only one light was waved from the place we stood. Again we had the same signal from the other side with that came a sound saying, “We have path, we have one here!” It was Michael who had moved from one side of the hill to the other like a monkey. We shouted in unison, “Hurray”. By then only we realized by meaning of “take left”, we were moving towards the right side of the hill so we were not able to find the path. Michael had moved horizontally from the right side of hill to the left and so he was able to find the path. And then after finding the path we moved like a colony of ants moving on the wall towards the food. After few hundred yards, we found a wall. That was the ray of hope that we were about to reached the top of the hill. After that the whole crowd went haywire. After few minutes of rest we started moving towards the top of the hill. At one point I was able to hear Vinoth’s voice. This time I heard a different voice of him, a happy one. And then I realized that we have reached the top of the mountain.
Every trek needs someone to help others. This time we had Vishnu. He used to climb the hill as fast as possible and get a place to sit from there he would use the torch to show the way to the people who are coming next to him. By this, he was able to help everyone who had no torch and lighten their path.
By the time we reached the top of the mountain it was 5AM. I have heard about bitter cold winds, but I felt it. I had a jerkin, but it wasn’t enough to stop the wind. Divya offered me her blanket,I refused it just because something in me said, “Enjoy it”. Every one of us slept on the rocks which were on the top of the hill for the next one and half hours happily celebrating the batch day. We rocked the mountain but never rolled.
Ask us what we do when we are put in an unknown place? Ask us what we do when we are asked to trek? Ask us what we do when it is not a trek but mountain hiking? Ask us what to do when we lose the guide? Ask us what we do when we don’t know how to climb a steep mountain? Ask us what we do if we are surrounded by a thick mist which makes us impossible to see even our own hands? Ask us.
We fight. We fight with spirit. We fight. We fight with love and friendship.
We fight. We fight against looking back. We fight. We fight against giving up.
We fight. We fight with oneness. We fight. We fight to win.
We fight. Because, “it our way”.
This one is dedicated to all the friends whom we missed during this trip and to God who was with me when I was writing.
With Love,
Alagiri Samy.S
Drizzling rain, sumptuous dinner, cold weather, silent streets. There is nothing better than this to end a day at bed. But all twenty six of us who came from different parts of the country prepared our self for the get-together celebration. A sudden plan to a remote mountain for trek was the icing on the cake. 8 PM, all the guys who stayed together in a posh bungalow woke up after a four hours of eternal rest and even the other gender had the same. Friendship got its meaning when most of the guys at house had stomach upset at the same time though they belonged to different places. "Wow, what a coincidence" is what everyone would say. This din’t end here. Some had muscle tear, knee injuries and even fever.
Aditya who always had a passion for trekking was not able to clear initial rounds of test because of the nauseating feelings plus hot boils plus fever. Thanks to McDonalds and KFC chickens. Without him started the journey to the hill many missed him, but still we had to take the fact that he was not there. By 10.30 almost everyone was prepared to move and we were informed that only by 11 the van would come to pick us all. I was searching for my mobile from 10.30PM to 11PM and by 11.05 I found that it right inside my pocket all these time. "yay",i said to myself, but I never realized that it had no charge.
Aravindan packed his bag with a torch and he was all the way proud to say that he has a Zac Efron haircut, but didn't get himself a jacket to cover up. After all the drama, everyone got into the bus. We went to the hostel where the girls stay. They looked at the bus as if it was a rocket and they got into the bus like kalpana chawlas and their anxiousness was as high as a Rocket. Arthi was too happy to see all the refurbished faces as it has been three months since each of us saw the other.
By 12AM we celebrated our Batch day with a cake. What is better in this world than cutting a cake in the middle of the Nation highway?
After the cake eating ceremony, we started again towards the destination. The bus started moving steady. Biting cold winds from the west against the bus made it even ‘more’ colder. The one hour journey gave us the nostalgia of Industrial Visits and the fun that we had whenever we meet. It is around 60 kilometers from the starting point and the roads to the mountain were so confused that even the GPS could forget the path. Initial hiccups in finding the path gave good amount of blasting from Arunachalam to the organizer of the trip Daniel. This was silently observed by Bairavmurthy. The van driver instead of following the path which leads us to the hill was lead by drunken biker. But that wasn't a problem for a long time as we reached the foothills of the mountain.
It looked small. Even comments from folks said, "cha, small hill. I thought it would be big". All you can do at the time is listen to them coz that's perspective. By the time we got down from the vehicle it was 1AM. Divya looked as if she got two lives and she was ready to give one and a half for this trek. She was so much excited that she was ready to give anything for the trek.
Everyone was in dilemma whether to arrange a guide for the trek. But later we decided to take a guide as it would be safe. We shared the same guide with another as it is cost effective. But all these were not their problem, they got another reason for getting together, Jeevitha and Michael. Michael was in so much resonance with Jeevitha that he was even able to foresee where she would keep her next step. If it was a stone that Jeevitha was about to step then Michael would collect the stone and build a temple. I mean it that is resonance.
We started walking; finding the hill for trekking wasn't the toughest job but it was a tough job to climb it.
The guide was a 13 year old boy who was winged. The family who came with us and some of us were following the guide while the rest were walking so slow that we need an hour to catch up with that gang. Rocks everywhere. Silence Everywhere. Stars everywhere but you find people nowhere. Nithya had some problem with her foot so she had to walk slow, so some of us in the name of Nithya took rest. While the rest thought it is not ‘adventurous’ to sit so they were moving with the Guide and the family. Now the two groups cannot reach through voice, but only through signals with torch. And initially no communicating signs were discussed, so everything was just an improvisation and not pre-planned.
Priya was walking with Aravindan and Priya Dharshini was with us which means the whole crowd split into two groups which had Shivram who was very much interested in impersonating the army. He had Sri Lekha, who was self proclaiming that she lost weight due to her rigorous aerobics class. “Yes”, her words should be reconsidered. The mountain was totally unfriendly that every step has to be placed after thinking a lot. It had rolling stones which would make you fall from the great heights. It had transpiring fibrous plants which can give you no grip but can give you a free ride downhill. Sharp stones which can pierce through your skin and can give you and taste of real pain. And last but not the least steep hill which can only be trekked by experienced people. Yes, that’s a positive start for a trek.
As instructed by Sudharsan we took some time off as certain people were unable to walk as it was their first trek. By that time the first group which was formed by Vignesh, who just a shirt covering his entire “improved muscular” body had Shivram, Aravindan, Vinoth, Arunachalam, Manohar, Priya and Sri Lekha were way ahead of us. We used torch to signal each other. Fog was penetrating from all directions. After taking some unsuccessful pictures we thought of moving ahead. As we had only 12 torches, one in two had a torch. So every person who had a torch will lead the other who had no torch. And the first person who is leading the group has to find the way. For the first quarter we were lead by the first group who were enthusiastically following the Guide. Later because of few unwanted rests, we had no trace of them. So, we had to find our way by ourselves. So, the first person who was leading the group would find the safest path, if there is a path available. If he finds one, he will be instructing the shortcomings in the path, so that others can easily make it.
Instructions like, “Don’t and never” were heard all through the places. We moved quietly with all our concentration on the path and not on any other thing. At one point of time we queried Shivram who was like an hour ahead of us from the place where we stood, “Which way?” and we had a reply, “Take left”. Initially all of us laughed as we thought it was sarcasm to our Indian traffic rules and we were finding our own way. Michael was walking all through the places swiftly. At one point of time he was so fast he took Jeevitha, Daniel and Arthi to a rock from where there was no other path. If they were planning had to get down then it would cause a cascading effect by which all us who were at the bottom would roll with them if they had slipped at some point. It was 3AM, We were struck, for rescue to come we have to wait at least till 6AM because only by that time people can identify that somebody is struck in the mountain. It was so foggy and misty that we were not able to see even the stone that was lying in front of us. It was pitch dark, all we can see is the mother like moon and stars which looks like her children.
We had no other choice. Voices from Daniel and Arthi said, “Wait there. No path here.” Aparna was waiting for a helicopter to get her down but Sudharsan was arguing over an insect. Vinitha ‘looked’ playful, but Vikram was responsible. Jeevitha was joyful of finding credit cards which were lying on the ground which later turned out to be her own. Divya was in the ‘adventure land’ were Michael was living. But, all I wanted was to get to the hill safely.
After few minutes, we heard sounds from a distance which looked more like Michael. But it was not at all possible, how can sounds of Michael come from this side when he is struck on the other side? Everyone was instructed to switch off their lights and only one light was waved from the place we stood. Again we had the same signal from the other side with that came a sound saying, “We have path, we have one here!” It was Michael who had moved from one side of the hill to the other like a monkey. We shouted in unison, “Hurray”. By then only we realized by meaning of “take left”, we were moving towards the right side of the hill so we were not able to find the path. Michael had moved horizontally from the right side of hill to the left and so he was able to find the path. And then after finding the path we moved like a colony of ants moving on the wall towards the food. After few hundred yards, we found a wall. That was the ray of hope that we were about to reached the top of the hill. After that the whole crowd went haywire. After few minutes of rest we started moving towards the top of the hill. At one point I was able to hear Vinoth’s voice. This time I heard a different voice of him, a happy one. And then I realized that we have reached the top of the mountain.
Every trek needs someone to help others. This time we had Vishnu. He used to climb the hill as fast as possible and get a place to sit from there he would use the torch to show the way to the people who are coming next to him. By this, he was able to help everyone who had no torch and lighten their path.
By the time we reached the top of the mountain it was 5AM. I have heard about bitter cold winds, but I felt it. I had a jerkin, but it wasn’t enough to stop the wind. Divya offered me her blanket,I refused it just because something in me said, “Enjoy it”. Every one of us slept on the rocks which were on the top of the hill for the next one and half hours happily celebrating the batch day. We rocked the mountain but never rolled.
Ask us what we do when we are put in an unknown place? Ask us what we do when we are asked to trek? Ask us what we do when it is not a trek but mountain hiking? Ask us what to do when we lose the guide? Ask us what we do when we don’t know how to climb a steep mountain? Ask us what we do if we are surrounded by a thick mist which makes us impossible to see even our own hands? Ask us.
We fight. We fight with spirit. We fight. We fight with love and friendship.
We fight. We fight against looking back. We fight. We fight against giving up.
We fight. We fight with oneness. We fight. We fight to win.
We fight. Because, “it our way”.
This one is dedicated to all the friends whom we missed during this trip and to God who was with me when I was writing.
With Love,
Alagiri Samy.S
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