Whims published... It's not an expert's opinion, It's not an online diary, It's not a web journal... It is just my whims published

As we were walking in the direction of the new hill a group of people standing in a t stall called us and asked weather we were trekkers. this obvious from our nike,woodland shoes and t shirts. they asked us whether we climbed huliyu durga. when we replied in the negative they told us they had scaled the peak several times in their youngster days. they also mentioned a chap named chitradurga koti raja climbs the peak like as though it were a lolipop. we said ok and moved on. the new hill called as hemagiri betta was quite 'climbabale'. it was very slopy though.we climbed enough so as to be in line with the height of huliyudurga. from that point we could get a 3 dimentional view of huliyudurga. it looked majestic. i was wondering whether there really was some way up there. we sat down on the rocky slope of the mountain and laid back. it was a great feeling. the weather was just right. we were at an altitude of perhaps more than 2000 meters.it was cloudy with the sun playing hide and seek every now and then. there was the cool breeze and absolute silence. i felt like sleeping there for the rest of my life. ananth pulled out the apples from our bag. for the next 10 minutes it was just the apple and us. we were tired and nothing feels more relaxing than sitting there alone and munching on blood red apples. "so hows work goin" asked Ananth. " its just fine. one of my friends just got promoted" i said rather sleepishly."ok lets change the topic" Ananth said. i was glad he said that. we discussed about our family back home, the daily rat race routine,what we would be doing 10 years from now and things like that. it seemed more of philosophy than practicality. it went down well with the hilly breeze, the solitude and the apples. i saw a chameleon come out of a creek and perch itself on a big rock. it was looking up somewhere and ducking changing its colors instantly. as i turned back and looked up there was a eagle above the hill and it seemed to have noticed the chameleon. we finished our apples and started the climb uphill.

We were still half way up the peak. there were a couple of small ponds on our way up. it was a pretty wide hill top with a ganapathi temple on one side. the locals had told us that people visit the temple only during a fair held once in the year. truly, there was not a single soul in site. we explored the peak a bit and came across a natural sofa like setting carved out into the huge rock. there was ample space to sit leaning against a back rest. there was a pond in the front with some kind of crotens lining the edge of the pond. in front of the pond was the edge of the hill from which we could see the endless horizon ahead lined up with hundreds of peaks and mountains. it was bliss. we were pretty tired and immediately slumped down the moment we sat. it was really serene out there. absolutely quiet.no lorries no autorickshaws no sound just peace. the breeze blew occasionally making the grass sway in one direction with a low whistle like sound then silence again. it seemed like it was thundering somewhere and we were able to hear the echo of the thunder.

'top' class journey
We passed by the same set of shops and lanes we came across in the afternoon.and reached the local bus stop. i was feeling bored that the day was about to get over and a good trip was coming to an end. but i guess only i was thinking so. the fun was far from over for mr ananth as he was sketching something in his mind. i learnt about it after the next 30 minutes. we waited for our very reliable KSRTC bus to turn up but it dint turn us down. it kept up to its reputation and did not show up. there were a lot of rangeela busses but it was being filled like a garbage truck. there were people everywhere. inside the bus, aside the bus, over the bus everywhere. they were spilling out from every nook and corner of the bus. it seemed like the bus was about to burst open. i remembered a fevicol ad once aired on TV. and i had one chance to be a part of that crazy stuff. ananth said "come lets travel atop the bus for a change.I have done it twice before and i tell you its total fun" I was like " what the hell??!!! are you crazy ? these drivers drive like hell. do u want to risk your life ?" ananth didnt sound amused. we waited for some more time. there was no sign of KSRTC. we had two rounds of cucumber laced with chilly powder. still no sign of KSRTC. "come lets go" i said.

Ananth climbed up like spiderman and sat on the roof. i grumpily followed and landed on the roof. it was a nice feeling. soon we were joined by few others and the bus started. i was feeling on top of the world. this was a never before experience. the cool village wind was hitting me in the face and the view around was awesome. just then ananth warned me and i ducked in the nick of time. one had to be very alert for tree branches which were abundant in the forested area. the roof top conductor displayed a couple of stunts as he walked by the railing of the bus dispensing tickets this, even as the bus was moving. suddenly the bus started to pick speed and we were shaking like drunkards. it felt like we could be thrown down any moment. this was the second time i realised my already screwed up, cheap life was at stake. but luckily the driver slowed down soon thereafter. it was an experience of a kind. i suggest you guys try it out sometime if you have a already screwed up life that is. as they say happiness comes in small packages our over the top journey was cut short as the conductors signalled us to get down as a couple of seats were empty. we cursed as we came down. the next moment i was inside the bus sitting in the last row next to a lungi clad old chap who was smoking beedi on my face. ananth had already dozed off.his eyes were closed, mouth was open and he was swaying about the center of axis of his body. he looked like mini gatotgach who could anytime fall on the kaurava army after being hit by karna. ananth was hit by sleep.

We got down in Magadi and got into a rangeela bus waiting for us. he dint leave soon after we got in though.it was filled like a garbage truck. 30 minutes into the journey and ananth was into the second half of his incompleted sleep. his eyes were closed, mouth was open and he was swaying about the center of axis of his body.30 more minutes later he woke up himself and started speaking about thriller movies and novels. one where several people after being invited to an island end up dying one after the other without a clue and it remains a mystery as to who killed whom. we then moved on to james hadlee chase novels agatha christie. i was simply nodding my head and looking out of the window.suddenly ananth popped me this question. "Will you write in my blog? I mean i want to try something new this time so for a change you write and i publish it" I stuck out my tongue like a cobra and continued to look outside the window. Writing isint new to me. I have written tens of mails to my PL TL PM DM and all those abbreviated higher ups you can think of in a software company and each mail was more or less like a blog just that it was on some technical issue rather than a weekend trip but this would be the first time I would be writing a blog. Kya karta boss ? public ki demand thi, toh Billa ko likhna hi padha...

We were returning back from our trip to Huliyuru durga sitting inside a Rangeela bus when suddenly Ananth popped me this question. "Will you write in my blog? I mean i want to try something new this time so for a change you write and i publish it" I stuck out my tongue like a cobra and continued to look outside the window. Writing isn't new to me. I have written tens of mails to my PL, TL, PM, DM and all those abbreviated higher ups you can think of in a software company and each mail was more or less like a blog just that it was on some technical issue rather than a weekend trip but this would be the first time I would be writing a blog. Kya karta boss ? public ki demand thi, toh Billa ko likhna hi padha.

As is the case with me as always, nothing about this trip was planned. Actually the bus conductor decided it for us. "where does this bus go?" was the stupid question i asked the conductor as we hopped into a Magadi going bus. he rolled out the names of some places which i forgot as quickly as he had mentioned it. Ananth asked him whether the bus goes to some place called Huliyuru durga. As Ananth and the conductor were busy deciding on the venue i was busy watching Rakshita. It was the Kannada movie "ayya" which was being shown on dvd coach. Darshan was the hero playing a cop and he was mouthing some explosive dialogues .."illegal agi janagala mele weapons use mado nimgulige ishtu kobbirabekadre legal agi weapons use madoke license iruva namage yeshtu kobbirabaradu ?!!!! niyyatatagi yella ketta vyavahara galannu stop madi. idu ayyan warning alla, ORDER ORDer ORder Order ..." just then somebody patted me on my shoulder and said"ayya kutkollike solpa seat kodayya" some old lady with all broken teeth was asking me for a seat.it was actually an implicit order. chivalrous that i am i gave up my seat. Ananth too gave his seat to a lady.

We reached Magadi at about 9 and started hunting for something to eat. Ananth suggested we try out the local vendor by the roadside. there was tatte idli dosa onion bonda and uppitu. one thing thats worth mentioning is the food served at this roadside eatery would beat the best of hotel foods available in bangalore. it was so very tasty and we relished nearly 4 dosas tatte idli and bondas. the bill: Rs 18/- !!!!!!!!

We soon hit the roads for huliyuru. it was a ksrtc bus. we were sitting in the last row and the driver drove like he was participating in motocross madness. needless to say our kidneys and livers were getting displaced every now and then.

Where there is a hill, is there a way?
In the next couple of minutes we were standing in front of a tall hill. it was a monolith, a one piece rock they called Huliyuru durga. maybe for the first time in years i felt scared to my bones, not by looking at the hill but for the stunt we did in the next 30 minutes. after climbing half way to the hilltop through steps, we hit a dead end. the steps ended there and there was no mad made way further up, but that was not what we were told. a shepered told us get in through the bushes and find a way up there is one in there. we trusted the shepherd u know. we are so used to trusting our PMs when they say "u can do it" arent we? but as usual we were asking to get screwed.

Ananth boss took the lead. he disappeared inside the bushes. I followed suite. inside the bushes it was actually difficult to say wheather we were climbing up or climbing down. we were keeping our legs on whatever was visible. a branch, a tree, a twine or just anything which could take our weight. ananth was determined to find a way up. after following him up to some distance i realised we were going somewhere we were not even sure of + it was not even clear how high we were from the ground.i realised my already screwed up, cheap life was at stake. i realized i had not married yet and there were other hills to explore ;). though i had climbed this up somewhere i was sure i could not climb down. there were leaves all around and i cud not even see where i would be falling. my hands and legs were trembling. the last time i had realised such fear was during my power electronics lab when i was not getting the desired output on the CRO in the final practical exam. i had survived that one. i just prayed God to pull me out of this one safely. Ananth was blissfully unaware of my feelings and busy trying to see if he was already at the top. what he was not aware was that even if we reached the top and dug our flag there it would require atleast a rescue helicopter to get us down. A fact he would agree with after the next 30 minutes.

We scampered down the thing whatever that was we had climbed on to and started looking for alternate routes through the thick growth of bushes. at one point i was running through a new found route through the bushes but stopped short from a huge spider web. i am scared of spiders and luckily for me the spider was not at home at that moment or else i would have anyway jumped down from the hill. at one point there was a huge beehive but again luckily at that moment they were busy with their honey buisness. then, after searching madly for quite some time the truth dawned on us that there was indeed no man made way up there. all we could see was plain barren rock. from that point we could see another huge neighbouring hill at a distance and there seemed to be some kind of a temple at the top. annth said that we had to climb atleast one complete hill that day as we had come so far. so we started for the new found hill from down town.

(lets trek Hemagiri in next post)

Guys,

I had been to a day long trekking trip to hills in MagaDi with my friend Jagadish last weekend. It was evident that I was going to post about this in this space. But having known that Jagadish is a keen observer of facts and a good thinker, I thought that he could be good blogger too. So this time I wanted him to write for my blog about our adventurous [read foolhardy] trip to MagaDi.

Though he appeared a bit hesitant in the beginning, he accepted it and composed a really really really long post for me. I am actually confused where to run the scissors to cut down its length.

May be I will publish his write-up as next two or three posts. I enjoyed his writing style, hope you guys like it too..

welcome the new author and my great friend Jagadish to my blog space..