Anything but a Travelogue : Chikmangalur

24th Dec 17 - 5:45 am Bengaluru

Breaking dawn.. My spirits were effusing with the boiling tea on flames.. Dash of ginger.. providing  a mighty nitro boost to my already cranked up engine.. Soon we'd  be hitting  the road,  embarking on yet another excursion into the unknown..  excitement paramount..

24th Dec 17 -  11:35 am Coffee Choza homestay, Chikmangalur

Gorgeous sun, hint of a chill in the air,  thick foliage against the breathtakingly blue skies. I was soaking it all in, infusing  it with..

This is my first ever travel diary,  as the hopelessly naive report on our trip to Karnala bird Sanctuary back in school days doesn't count. All "white lies ", as the only bird species we'd managed to spot then was a lot of pigeons that spray painted our bus before it started on its journey. So to cut a needless digression short,  I want to make an impression and I've read somewhere that linear writing is dull and drab.. (That author himself demonstrated this brilliantly in his next few pages)

I'd made myself comfortable on a swing in the front yard, Kygo good vibes in my ears, left palm clutching a book, and right one wrapped around a cuppa..infused  with the cheesy details of first paragraph (sun, leaves yada yada!)

With every single page of the book turning, with every changing song on my play list and every slow sip of the coffee, my mind was brimming  with fresh thoughts.. I was completely oblivious to my surroundings when it happened..

Goosebumps..

Usually  the rarefied  hair on the back of my hand have a habit of paying  a prompt salute to sudden outbursts of nostalgia, emotions and shifts in music, but it was neither of these that commanded their attention  this time..

The cuppa, in what could possibly be its cry  for attention, decided to set itself free, spilling the last bits of coffee all over my already  dirty shoes. As I stooped low to wipe it off, the domino effect at play pulled the earplugs out, music died abruptly, the rhythmic creaking of the swing followed it lazily..

Silence!

 nature was composing a mellifluous symphony of its own with soft rustling of leaves and sweet chirping of birds. (There were plenty to be spotted  here.) All my thoughts drained off in a jiffy and it was this pure unadulterated absence of any thought that gave me those strong, chilling goosebumps!!

24th Dec 17 -  6:10 pm Mullayangiri

I was frantically sprinting like a galloping wild horse down the hillside, gasping for breath..Wind sweeping through my disheveled hair, combing them backwards (Remember Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy?) Beads of sweat trickling down the  throbbing veins of my temple. I had to circumvent that small hill in a space of five odd minutes. Five minutes!! yes, that’s all I had at my disposal...

Earlier, as the shadows began to lengthen, we found ourselves on a hiking course towards Mullayangiri, the highest peak of Karnataka. Halfway through the climb we allowed ourselves a bit of a breather on a small plain. The lush mountain slopes basking in the evening sun, made for a view too captivating to turn our backs on. Not to mention the tattered laces of my ragged shoes needed some tying

Admittedly I spent five more minutes indulging into clicking a clichéd selfie of my feet (I’d never spare a chance to show off my ordinary if not nonexistent photography skills)

It was 5:50 already, with half an hour worth climb still staring at us. Mustering every bit of energy (read red bull) I could, I marched on, only to find myself in a catch22 about 20 min later..

He had the same urgency and nonchalance of a govt servant to call it a “day” sharp at the closing hours of his office. He was hastily shutting his yellow orange and purple coloured files.. Behind my back, concealed behind a tiny hill he started taking the golden crown off Mullayangiri’s head

The distant horizons were already sealed in red tapes.. (enough built up now I guess) The sun was about to go down, on the west, the peak on the opposite side was still beckoning at me..winking, almost mischievously. 

Had a tricky decision ahead,
whether to carry on and conquer the summit or to retreat, go around the hill that blocked my view and savour the sunset..

"Some other time mate", I muttered under my breath to the proud peak still holding it's head high.."this is far from over"

My heart was always going to place the sense of wonder a notch above the sense of adventure.

I made it just in time to catch his exhibition of hues. He maybe a government servant by the day but surely was a consummate artist by the fading twilight...

24-25th Dec 17, around midnight, Coffee Choza homestay, Chikmangalur

Night woke up, rose from her beautiful bed of roses, clad in her comfy nightgown she fancied a night stroll, sipping on a classy glass of red.. casting a spellbinding aura..

Night in Chikmangalur was unlike any other I'd ever seen before..She possessed an exotic beauty that outshone all its elder December sisters and yet she exuded a homely warmth around that blazing bonfire.

We sat huddled around the flames, the gaunt grey trees had ambushed us from everywhere. I craned my neck upwards. A tiny  patch of starry sky was visible through the surrounding canopies. Orion was spanning across that entire visible patch..shimmering slightly, giving a rather mystical feel. 

In the prehistoric era our nomadic hunter gatherer ancestors must've sat just like this around fire..the only difference was that they were thwarted by far sinister threats lurking in the woods and they possessed minds a great deal sharper, senses much more aplomb..

my senses however were being probed in the calm of the night..after the initial foot tapping beats the music had toned down..It took nothing more than this magical cocktail to "get me feeling drink and high" (Chris Martin. God.) Even the particularly annoying mosquitos didn't seem too enthusiastic to break the spell..

There were no carols and bell chimes resonating from distant churches, no cakes and puddings to savour, no mistletoes to get canoodling under and yet, it was a "Perfect" Christmas night (shout out to Ed Sheeran, loved that song)

25th Dec 17, 9:00 am, middle of nowhere

He was tense.. visibly awkward in his casual attire, a fish out of water, not being suited up. A victim of his habits, he kept readjusting an imaginary tie around his neck, push the absent specs up on his nose. And pull the missing sleeves back enough to expose the nonexistent Rolex. Scrum meetings, boardroom work sessions, monitoring the Gantt charts was all but a cakewalk for him but here...

Here Mr. Mundane Monday was being burdened with the expectations of stepping into the shoes (treacherous high heels) of Ms. Saucy Sunday and be just as "fun"day (Not to mention Mr. Frolic Friday and Shady Saturday had shamelessly stalked this cool girl towards the end of last week with no luck) "Fancy wardrobe Mon", greeted Ms.Sunday with an impish grin and flattered him with a playful wink over her shoulders before she left..

Mr. Monday didn't disappoint, after a nervous yet steady start, he offered us a brunch that can be best described as an explosion of flavours (chats, noodles, eggs and breadpakoras.. still drooling over them) Then carried us on a particularly bumpy ride up the second highest peak of Karnataka, Baba Budan giri.

When we made it to the top plumes of dust were settling over the crisscrossed treadmarks and our car was painted red in liberal diposits of the same laterite soil. The peak offered a vantage point to behold mountains with splendidly carved stark, stone facades. I was petrified by the sheer austerity of this geological marvel! However, much to my ire and irritation, my experience was tarnished by hoards of tourists who were fixated on clicking a perfect DP for themselves

Even I do enjoy the vanity in capturing selfies every now and then but I believe, the beauty lies in doing so discreetly and there's a fine line beyond which it turns into a blinding self obsession that causes more nuisance than capturing the desired attention. Crowd there was creating a ruckus in a race to stand at that deviously hanging cliff edge.. feigning a false bravado.. putting their already worthless lives in the line.

I shunned myself away from the humdrum.. little did I know of the wonders waiting for me on our way downhill..

The winding road was literally bathing in dazzling sun..It was forming glorious ornaments as it fell upon the avenues of trees on the way. Alternating  patches of sun and shade were weaving a magnificent tapestry. From the side window, every curb was unfolding a new landscape. The same hillsides that looked ordinary by the midday were looking other worldly in the afternoon sun. They were tiny islands of woods engulfed by oceans of uncovered mountains. Human eyes are undeniably the most cutting edge camera lense ever designed... capturing every frame with all its intricate details....

It was a truly a divine scene that capped all the mesmerising stills from this little vacation! Left the place feeling heady and high ( as though on a hundred hot cups of ginger tea)

-notsomadnomad
‌
‌