The Picnic

The first day of 2005 had actually started last night at 12:00 with the reverse countdown echoing in the basement, bouncing off the pillars and as if by some magical uplift, crawled up the walls to my second floor apartment, seeped like sand through the crevices and cranies of the closed door and made their way into my ears, riding my nerves and finally registering with my mind which was still floating in the sound of silence. I really couldn't sleep well after last night's experience with the eerieness of silence - all kinds of thoughts ranging from pleasant to scary flashed in front of my eyes like neon signs. I tossed and turned in bed - partly because of the thoughts, partly because of the back pain and mostly because of anticipation of the what the first day of the new year had in store for me. I remember drifting into sleep during the wee hours of the morning when it becomes cold and the head seems to have given up on all waking moments and the only sound that can be heard is one's own breathing amidst the occasional shreiks of a maina or a restless rooster.

The alarm went off at 5:30 and I made an effort fumbling through the blanket to stop its shrieking. My body had reached a stage where changing states from sleeping to waking or lying down to sitting up had become a gargantuan task. So I took it one at a time and finally managed to stand up at 5:45. Still rubbing my eyes, I put the tea pot on the stove, somehow put in the essential tea ingredients and lit the stove. Outside, it was still dark. It seemed last night's thoughts were still lingering somewhere in the corner waiting for my head to get a little lighter so that they could recamp in. I shrugged them away, made my way to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face and got back to the kitchen where the refreshing smell of ginger and tea was oozing out of the boiling tea. I helped myself with a large mug of tea and thought about catching the first rays of morning sun. By this time, the black of the sky gave to an indigo and the indigo was turning fast into a greyish-pink. Still sipping my tea, I opened the door of my north-facing balcony and a cold draught of air hit my face blowing the steam hovering on my tea mug right into my eyes. Though I could not see the sunrise, a small spot of light hit the pillar supporting the roof. It lasted for a minute and then it became cloudy and I knew that I had lost the sun in the clouds. I closed my door, finished off my tea and proceeded for my bath. I was ready by 6:30 since the proposed pickup was supposed to happen at that time. So I just turned on the TV, reheated the remainder of the tea and switched to CNN which was flooded with news of the destruction caused by the Tsunami waves. I just laid on the couch, maybe dozed off for a while and rewoke to another news channel with the same snippets of the tsunami-induced-destruction. I finally switched the TV off, finished my tea and waited for phone calls. Finally at 7:30 AM I left for Sudip's apartment and eventually boarded the bus ( a tempo traveller ) at around 8:00. Among the picnickers were Sudip, Archana, Sonal, Ruchita, Uncle, Aunty, Gautham, Shomu, Riju and Manish.

While the first half of the trip in the bus was spent discussing Babydoll and singing songs, the latter half was spent cursing the road and playing dumb charades on movies - most of which had legacies running into the world of hindi porn cinema. We stopped midway twice - once to have breakfast comprised of hot idlis and vadas and the next time to empty our bladders. We reached Shivanasamduram - the gaganchukki falls - around noon and after taking a couple pictures at a vantage point and refreshing ourselves with coconut water, we started hunting for a place to set camp. After a bit of hunting and a hurtling ride through the brambles and bushes, we reached a spot which overlooked a bed of rocks interspersed with pockets of stagnant water - which at some point could have been a gushing stream emptying into a ravine which extended beyond the rocks. After some speculation on the logistics of time and space, we decided to cut down on our menu and decided to cook some pulav and a curry. So the men started down to the peripheral work of setting up the gas stove and peeling green peas and the women started the core work of cutting the vegetables, boiling potatoes etc. By this time, the cloud cover had vanished and the mighty sun shone in all its glory. Somebody gave the idea of actually setting up a cooking fire to prepare some kheer. So bricks were arranged, wood was stocked and fire was lit. But when it came to boiling the milk for the kheer, we realized that the milk had already gone bad. So the already lit fire was used for boiling taters and cooking the still uncooked pulav. By this time, the heat had become unbearable and was scorching most of us. So we decided to move the tempo traveller in a position so that it could block some of the sun. Uncle and Aunty set down to the work of preparing the curry and by 2:45 we had some of the best food cooked under such conditions. Thanks to all and keep the good work up. Everybody was so hungry that we gobbled up the food really fast and by 3:30 we were ready to make a move somewhere closer to water where we can get some relief from the heat and exhaustion.

After driving about 5 km, we reached another set of water falls called barachukki falls. Without giving much thought, we started the 30-40 feet descent down to the falls. The descent was actually quite exhausting but when we reached the falls, the dampness and the breeze caused by the force of water falling from a height of 50 feet and crashing down on the rocks below caused a reverse osmosis of sorts and drained all heat out of us. So once again we gathered at the bottom of the falls and started to make our way towards the falls. The way to the falls was a bit treacherous as we had to step through mold covered slippery rocks but the lush undergrowth provided enough twigs and branches to support. Once we reached the falls, the water was so inviting that all everybody wanted to do was just head straight for the water and stay there till the end of time. The first to venture out were Sonal and Manish along with Shomu.
Next, I stepped into the pool below and a shiver ran through my spine as the water was icy cold. The setting sun was probably making it cooler. Thanks to the bottle of brandy that we had brought along with us. So on Sudip's suggestion, I had a shot of brandy and headed for the rocks where the water was breaking down on the rocks. Sonal helped me climb up the rocks and once the fresh cool water hit my body, it was the most amazing feeling - envigorating, cooling, natural and refreshing. Gradually everybody made their way up and I think we spent close to 30 minutes sitting under the water crashing down on our bodies, taking away all dirt, grime and sweat along with it. Now that everybody was actually refreshed and started feeling cold as well, we started our way out of the falls and made it to the lake formed by the water. We decided to take the coracle ride to the base of the water falls. The coracle was in the shape of a petridish made out of bamboo shoots and was capabale of holding 4-5 people. I, Ruchita, Manish and Riju ventured out on the coracle ride to the base of the waterfall. As we approached the base, we were doused with sprays of water emanating from the water crashing on the rocks and there our coracle driver started spinning the coracle horizontly. It was the first time in my life I was having such an incredibly exhilirating feeling. The spinning coracle produced a myriad of recurring scenes comprised of green trees, a serene lake, a white waterfall and the sky above. A natural kaliedoscope of immense natural beauty.

We started our climb back around 5:45 and reached the top by 6:00 - exhausted, breathless but happy and energised at the same time. By this time, the sun was on the verge of setting and had it not been for a cloud cover, we could have captured a beautiful sunset. We started our ride back in the tempo traveller and all everybody needed was a strong cup of hot tea. After a few brand shots and driving for about an hour, we reached a tea shop. A cup of tea there did wonders and we started our way back to Bangalore - singing songs and playing donkey. We could have ended the picnic with a good dinner at one of the dhabas enroute but unfortunately Gautam felt extremely sick and we decided to cut short that plan. We reached home around 9:15 PM and it was at that time that fatigue and tiredness hit us really badly. Thanks to Archana for preparing a bowl of noodles after which I reached my apartment and fell into a deep slumber hoping that the remaining 364 days could be as pleasant.

Photos of our trip could be found at:

http://photos.yahoo.com/manishrajsharma

The Sound of Silence

My year ending celebrations actually started on the 30th itself with a party held at office. I probably had too many beers and bad food which was the cause of my ruin. I was completely wasted by 11 PM and I definitely remember being picked up by Sudip and dropped on my bed. The next morning, I woke up at 6, nauseated, wasted, upset and with a pounding headache. I barely had the energy left to relieve myself after which I again flopped on the bed and finally woke up at 8:30.

Besides having the usual hangover symptoms, too much alcohol typically leaves me with an intense feeling of remorse and guilt the next day. Anyways, I somehow made my way back to work and thankfully did not have to face any work. After having lunch, my nausea and fatigue subsided a little, but it had drained out all desire to do anything on new year eve. Anyways, since sitting inside the office was making me sick, I decided to take the day off and went to see a movie all alone. While returning from the movie I came to know that whatever plans were being made for the new year celebration have been sloshed down the drain for fairly lame reasons. So here I was stranded in the middle of no where and made to do groceries for an impending picnic the next day. So my last 5 hours of 2004 started with me pushing a cart in a grocery store buying vegetables and weaving my way through other cart carriers who were buying chips, cold drinks and liquour. Thankfully the torture didn't last more than 45 minutes. At 7:45, I was riding an autorickshaw being pushed and pulled in 10 different directions, my innards being shaken with the violent force of Bangalore roads, the traffic jams being the only distraction to my anger which had welled up due to a series of bad events that day. Ironically, this was the day when I had finished reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" and had decided to live my life the Morrie-way but as they to err is human. I reached home at 8:30, decided to put away the bad feelings and come into my Morrie-induced-forgiveness mode to welcome the new year with some pleasant thoughts.

So I descended down the ramp which leads to the parking garage of my apartment complex to find it filled with people, all dressed up for the new year, kids screaming, women sitting in groups and pointing fingers, men trying to be "cool" to each other. Amidst all the commotion I meet Rajeev and Vishal gobbling down a puchka. I unabashedly ask them if it was still possible for me to pay hundered bucks and join. Thankfully I did not have to do a great deal of explaining as to why I didn't pay earlier and why I am paying now. So I paid my dues, went up to my apartment to change and came back down. Within 10 minutes I was gobbling puchkas and like other men trying to be "cool" to others. Dinner was served at 9, was pathetic and beyond redemption. Hungry as I was from last night's excessive drinking and lack of food, I gobbled up the junk as fast as I could. It was then that sleepiness hit me like a tequila shot and after saying my good nights and happy new years to a selected few, I retired to my apartment.

The apartment was cold, lonely and sick. I turned the TV on to get rid of the deadly silence which prevailed - though it was filled with intermittent screams coming from the basement. I changed, brushed my teeth, set the alarm for 5:30 the next morning and laid down on the couch in front of the TV. I don't know when I drifted into the realm of the sleepy world, sailing away blissfully when suddenly there was a pounding somewhere - as if someone was dragging my feet back and yelling in my ears. I opened my eyes and realized there were loud crackers bursting in the distance but amplified by the wind which knocked and crashed against my doors and along with it brought the bangs and booms of crackers. The TV was switched off, the hands of my clock showed 11:30 PM. The last 30 minutes of 2004. I decided to get up, my back pained like somebody was pricking me with the force of a thousand needles. So I held on to the edge of the couch, waited for the pain to sink in, allowed my brain to register the pain and sat up. Suddenly time seemed to have come to a complete standstill. There was no sound - complete silence which unnerved me for a second. I did not know whether it was the pain which had blocked everything else out of my mind or the silence was for real. It was an amazing feeling - light, warm, drifting, spiralling. For an instant I thought I was dead. The silence was beautiful, it was big, engulfing, growing like cancer and there was nothing to disturb the sound of silence. All that was echoing around me was silence. I don't know how I long I was in that state but I came back into this world with echoes coming from the basement of a reverse countdown. Six, five, louder, four, still louder, three, two and bang one....claps, screams and more sounds. I knew I have passed into 2005 and I am thankful to the Sound of Silence.