Well we finally boarded our Tempo…in the beginning all the faces seemed some Bunty , Santi or Babli since I was not acquainted with most of the chaps…. I was really oblivious that very good moments are awaiting us just few hrs from now...
Any way enough of crap now..…..I would not jot down more as Govind, with his sharp memories had this magnum opus called Epilogue…. So here starts the “Epilogue of Our Trip.”
Our fabulous trip cantered with a round of Intro in the cab! I wonder how many times Manish had to repeat his formal BITS, Pilani intro! And the rest of us came up with just name. I guess that’s the price you pay for being the senior most and to be the first to introduce yourself!! Ritesh I doono but why was irked of squandering 90 bucks to come all the way were we congregated though our Royal tempo passed just his home….haa haa
….n our own Manju I mean Manjunath the driver of our royal car endeavored to eclipse the Bitssian brain by charging 900 bucks though the total tariff was just 400/- Govind and Mansih deserve a big round of Bumps for this dexterous effort….Our enthu triggered when we first halted @ Reliance Petrol Pump…were we all prepared for our Shanka to get flushed next day early morning…the food was incredibly delicious though it was the taste of Tamil Nadu…the Chai was also very lovely n some of us even went for the second round of the tea….here I came to know that Chutki ( she prefers to be called Chutki) Anjali is so fond of Hajmola…The royal Tempo escalated again n we halted at intervals for laghu Shanka ( the dirgh shanka still awaited us after the heavy nite meal) and chai….i doono why but the Chai in South India are really worth n satisfying…any way…..on the way we also climbed on the terrace of bus and clicked few snaps……Manju was busy driving and his adroit driving was very instrumental in keeping us alive….He took many sharp turns and sometimes he would swerve to the left and the truck would miss us by a cat’s whiskers!And then there was Ritesh’s harrowing experience of the uphill climb. Anshuli and Anjali were also up and were under the impression that the road was a one way, for quite sometime. But again, M knew!
Then we were there and the hunt for the Hotel began. It was cold and was really nostalgic for me at least. The smell of the pines, the cool breeze, the zig-zag roads and houses built on valleys. The initial impression was really good. I wonder why Sai Baba had to be there at the same time as us. There was this five seater room with dirty BOGS. Thank God we did not take it. Finally we could get a place to stay only when Ritesh did not come along. And then when he did, that too was cancelled.
Then there was the not so great “Cottage” but in the end it turned out to be just fine. Nazneen’s and Anshul’s cribbing for the bath and the guys all clear session definitely deserve a mention. 12 log Aur Sirf Ek Bathroom. Bahut na Insaafi thi! Here it was again proven that why Guys are always united n that is how all of the Guys beated the poor ladies for one single BOGS.
Finally everyone staggered out an
d made a move for the city. M was still in sleep but managed to get us there in one piece. The breakfast at Hill Top was enlightening. Eight people managed in 225 but four needed 177. Aji pet hai ya kooan! And I came across the first Chom who really liked Pongal. I still hold you in awe for that Kim. Sometime here the first bump session of the trip happened.Breakfast done, we went on to “The Lake” which we latter discovered was the Kodai
Lake. The boat ride was good except for the fact that Anshuli and Nazo can do with a little weight reduction exercise. Abhishek aur main kich kich ke mare jaa rahe the. Shilpi aur Anshul ki watt lag hui thi….but they deserve one round of applause for they too made their legs riding the boat for sometime….Atleat shilpi ko to bahut fayda hua hoga….doono of Ahsul’s. The people who really enjoyed were the Anjali-Ritesh and the Shivani-Sonam. Jokes apart, I guess it was great and we should have gone for another session.Then there was Bryant’s park. Not much happened there or maybe I was not there because I had an urgent call ( I guess is was again the Shanka ) to attend to. There were chocolates for everybody and then we went for Coaker’s w
alk. Unarguably the best sight on the whole trip and combined with the Dumb C’s with the reverse walk, could compete for the best piece award of the whole trip….The next thing was the market I guess. The only thing I remember people buying was home made chocolates. Then Manish and Kim went on a futile mission for finding a CD! It started raining and we went back to the cab to give M a taste of what we BITSians can do when we gather together. IHIM was great and I remember quite a few futile attempts of trying to act like a dumb terminal.Dinner was fun, with me and Anshuli regretting our sitting positions and Anjali attempting to help us out of it only to be put back by Anshuli’s formal and naïve behavior. Food was decent but for those hungry eyes gobbling away our food faster then we could ever manage. Here was the first time where Manish and NagP got a tinge of Columbus traits. They Discovered a theme based Antkashri n later on Anjali, Shilipi n Kim joined them n kept the siprit alive.
Then we were back at home to be greeted by pitch darkness. I really liked the idea of having to sleep there and have something like “Darna mana hai” happen to us. We managed to change out of our wet clothes and stagger to the beds on the floors. And then the fun began.
I still thank my stars for getting out of that bumps situation that I got into after my “horror story”. Anjali nearly anaged to put some logic in it only to be mocked at latter. Aur phir meri Atalji jaisa bolne ka tareeka was lot more frustating than the story itself, I guess. Aur phir thoda
ujala hua and we started with the games. Mafia was an enthu session with lots of gande funds and logic. I do remember Abhishek’s “motherly figure” and motion detector funds. And then there were Chinese whispers aur Anshul ki chummi waali smile. I could almost feel Nazo’s jalte hue dil ki gandh. We also played thought process and went through some interesting punishments. Anjali, Anshul and Nazo put up a brilliant “mar dala” waala mujra followed my Ritesh’s “tumhari adao pe main vari vari”. Then I was dragged into performimg Kajraare unfairly without any fault of mine. And also, there were those arguments of Anjali’s and Anshul’s over the baby that Ritesh was bearing for one of them.And then we all slept only to be wake up in the morning. Aur phir shuru hui who 12 log aur ek toilet ki jung. Most of us did manage to get ourselves cleaned up and ready for the day. Some were to wait in anticipation of a waterfall bath that was never happened. Manish ne to shorts bhi liye the! Poor Manish…but he was looking Kooool….with his Goan Hat..
Then we went for breakfast and Anjali had to face my wrath for tricking me in the bathing queue. The second Bumps session happened. At breakfast, again it was Anjali who stole the show with “haath gande ho jayenge, khila do na”. I was asked to do the same. God only knows, this was another instance of a motherly figure or something else.
And then we went for the tour around Kodai with our American guide. I don’t know why I took an instant dislike for him. If I recall co
rrectly, the order was top lake view, sucide point, pillar rocks, fairy falls, the tree waala spot and silent valley. We played the tree waala game at the tree waala spot and as most of you have already stated, this was also one of the best times we had on the trip. Liril ki ad to hum nahin kar pai, but I guess some people did manage to increase their heights for a snap by standing on their toes.Then there w
as lunch at Suvai. Good one and the gulab jamuns were awesome, except for the fact that they cost 18 rupees apiece. Cannot recall anything else interesting here. Then we went for cycling and it was really good. The masale waali chai was great with main, who aur HADS and so was the lake. Sivani n Sonam were together again..Then we started on our journey to Palani and had our first
sight of the train but before we could decide, M took us to the ropeways. Thank God our good senses prevailed and we walked back to the train. The train trip was awesome. But even more so was the wait in the queue with the gaajara and jail photos. Then the worry of our footwear consumed us but could not dampen our spirits for long. We did manageto get up to the temple and have our well-deserved dharsans.The walk back was good with the great view of the city. The temple also inspired some people to think and discuss about life and its futilities. Then we got down and everybody was visibly thankful for his or her footwear. Then began the hurried walk back to the cab and the dinner at the idli dosa joint. Even that food tasted great. And I really liked their idea of us throwing out our own garbage. Sivani stole the whole show buy grabbing 6 cups of hot tea in a go accompanied by few buns n a morsel of Idaly...Next day uski haalat kya hui hogi !!!!!
And then began the back home journey. I do not remember much because I fell asleep early. I do remember us stopping for fuel.When I woke up, we were just a 100 Kms from Bangalore and Manish was trying to stay awake in the front seat. M had driven really fast through the night. There was also the sulabh Sauchalay aka Astoria hotel. I wonder what they would do if they get to know of it. Through out the drives, there were Rang de Basanti and Kaylyug songs. I also remember some romantic songs being played.I guess guys who stayed up at night to give M company deserve simple thanks from the ladies at least, if nothing else. Even better, they can take us out on a treat. Then there was also the sleep in the laps of you know who. On a whole the whole drive back to Bang by M n Manish choice of the songs were very nursing…..
Finally the things we missed include a bath in the waterfall, a campfire and a trek may be in some other trip we will do all the things we missed……
So this is how we Called it a day for the Stupendous trip to Kodiaknal……hey Viola !!! lemme just mention the guys who were back to Bangalore Live ( Zinda ) !!!!
GoPi , AnshulNazo, Abhishek
Manish ( Our gr8 granPop), Shivani
Nagp n Shilpi
Anshul Anjali Sonam n
Me…(Kim) n Manju….(our Driver )
Author: Govind Pandey
Filler : Kim Kam
