The Munnar Bike trip

To all those who expect to read an itinerary on places to visit in Munnar and the like, this article is strictly not for you!

The sleeping valley

Am back! :) Its been some time since anything has been put up over this vacant lot of mine, my garage where I tweak with what I like, I don't, I would die for and I would rather kill for!! :P And yea, I had started missing this crank shop! :)

Its been about 3-4 months since I have left college. Graduate, that's what they call me now!! ;) Devidas K, B.Tech in Computer Sciences and Engg.!! It had been a twisty journey up all along in the past four years of under-grad life, and bless me, I scrapped out unhurt! phew! :)

Struggling to find the normal flow after months of inexplicable silence, I am directly coming to what I had intended to write upon here without much ado: My last and probably the best bike ride till date on which the six of us: Sailesh, Ashith, Rohit, Raman, Rogen and myself had embarked upon in March, 2010. The plan was quick and the trip was sudden! But hey, thats what always happened the past four years! :D

The itinerary just included Munnar, the beauty spot of God's own Kerala :). Though we had been to Munnar in the first year at college as a class trip, Hitting the tarmac with bikes has an entirely different feel to it that a bus journey can just simply can't give! ;)
Destiny lies here within....

Coming back to the team, It was going to be the first ever long trip for Sailesh's babe : a glamorous and sexy black UNICORN, which, thanks to the endurance and patience of Sailesh, was finally delivered to him just a week or two before after a prolonged wait of over 4 months! Riding on the black babe were Sailesh and Ashith ak.a Lt. Ashith Krishnan now, Rohit and Raman on Appu a.k.a Apache RTR 160( yet another dark horse from the TVS ranch) and finally, the ultimate ride that was ever built(exaggerated, I know :P ) my red hot Discover 135!! My trusted friend, companion, partner in crime and what not for the past 3 years= 60,000kms!! :) Riding with me, was Rogen, buddy and friend since the day we met!
Miles to go before he turns me off ;)
We had a big trip to make and 3 days to make it work! The journey started off early in the morning from Thrissur. The route in plan was : Thrissur-Perumbavur-Munnar-Marayur-Udumalpet-Pollachi-Govindapuram-Nemmara- Thrissur.

Lesson learned : Map reading skills are quintessential.

Circumnavigating the forest ranges along the way, the route would take as heights in the Ghats of Munnar, a treacherous journey thanks to the altitudes and mist falls. The otherwise smooth start to this amazing trip was at around 5.30 6 a.m in the morning at Mannuthy. Trip meters were zeroed in, helmets pulled on, jackets and backpacks ready, we were all set for the journey! :)
We stuck to N.H 47, calmer except for the occasional high beam lorries that would whoosh by with the constant humming of tires rolling on tarmac. The roads have been made beautifully apt for us bikes with 4 lane safe driving assured. We did not halt except to take a leak, and were covering good distance in the very first hours itself.

The first major stop was at near Kothamangalam where we halted to correct our directions. The locals were pretty helpful and thanks to the glittering green roadsigns which we blissfully overlooked, we were back on track to Munnar, now about 80 kms away.

Yea, yea we saw it! Its just another 80 kms!!

Then it was time for breakfast, tummies making that ever so familiar grunt. Had some real good typical Malayalees breakfast, nerves pulsating to get the first glimpse of, what would ultimately be, the only thing that we would see for the next 2 days- the mystique hills and ghats! :)

And then finally we were there! the climb started gradually, then drinking in more fuel than what my bike would have ever experienced. The climbs were often steep, accompanied with crooked turns at unexpected points. At one time you would be tempted to charge the throttle high and soar, and ships ahoy! there comes the next pestering turn!! :(
The beginning stretch

Climb went on and on, til the sun was right over our heads and the town was MUNNAR!!! :) Took the first big stop for lunch, before which was the photo session in the woods near the bus station.
The jockies, the stallions!

The next requisite was to find a shelter for the night, which we was gotten even more easily than we expected.

All of us had just backpacks to carry which were kept of at the room, spacious and comfortable for all six to pull rug up together, before we rode down to perhaps the most beautiful view point I have ever seen so far in my entire life as a biker-tourer. The stunning view of the valleys at Top station view point was simply, to put in the least words, breath taking! The sunshine seeping out through the clouds, casting a golden gleam on the green patches down below in the valley was a rare spectacle for the eyes. It was a dreamworld all together, and we stood mesmerized for a few minutes before returning to our senses! :)

Snaps and snaps again, I swear we ought to have had an SLR with us to capture some of them beautiful scenes visible to our naked eyes and contented hearts!
Spell bound...
The return trip included a run over Mattupetti dam, Echo point, deserted completely as it was almost sunset, thereby making sure that the only people shouting for echo would be us!!
At Echo point, the sounds reverberate from hills/ opposite river bank and echo back to where you stand, low yet clear.
Was a nice experience, calling names, making weird sounds and being merry!
Back at room, it was time to catch some sound sleep and to rest those aching limbs which had seen numerous gear shifts, mud tracks, uphill(and a corresponding down hill) climbs all in a day's work!
Early morning the next day we were up and ready to hit the roads again. It had been intended to be a purely ride for pleasure trip and thus, as is obvious, the lion's share of tim was to be spent on the road.period. To make things better, the return route was through the other exit point to the hills, the roads that wind down and down into Udumalpet in Tamil Nadu, crossing the Marayur sandalwood forest and sugar cane fields.
Above: A local jaggery plant at Marayur.
Engines revved and heated up for the day long ride back home, we embarked on yet another 12 hour ride, inquiring directions intermittently until we were put on the route downhill, and by downhill I mean reaaallly down the hill for kilometers together, to Marayur.The rounded vessel which is used for extracting jaggery from the sugar cane juice.

The ride downwards from the altitude was riddled was surprises. There were long stretches of path where the throttle remain untouched. The steadily dropping heights saved a lot of fuel which could actually compensate for what we lost during the uphill climb. It being the off-season at Munnar, traffic was not heavy and with engine shut off, we were, at times, cruising at excess of 60kmph!!
Along the road side were flowering trees local to the place. It was definitely a pleasant sight to see them blossoming, and the fallen flowers spreading a magenta, violet, yellow or blueish tint on the ground below.
The regular pee/tea perks were the only time when the vehicles actually halted, and often otherwise when Sailesh would call for some picture perfect shots en-route. :) We were really having a good time!!!

Though not in our chart and definitely not in our already late running schedule, we decided to take a halt near Marayur, at a place called Muniyara( the burial chambers of saints). The place is supposedly belonging to the Megalithic age, and is surely a surprising sight.Atop the hill at Muniyara, we could see fumes rising from a distant forest fire in ghats. It definitely is a sad thing to find such serenity being destroyed by man and, sometimes nature.
We were way behind our scheduled time, and it was time to hit the roads again. The usual citing of elephant herds, a group of which was blocking the roads, welcomed us near the TN border! :)
after some skillfully mastered snaps of the wild parade, we were racing speeds to reach Pollachi Govindapuram state highway.
One good thing that I admire of TN roads is the way they have been maintained over the years, once built. The speeds gained on these routes were enough to put us back in our time frames.
As always, it was easy to identify where in we crossed back into the Kerala state borders as the road conditions soon turned worse. ;)
The last leg of this enticing, thrilling, and albeit superb trip was less eventful, skillfully making our way through the clogged NH 47 stretch from Mangalam bridge to Mannuthy. The final readings on odo stood at about 55okms.(don't remember the exact number! :) )

Must say it was truly a memorable journey, a ride which definitely made the urge in me to make even bigger, longer and riskier rides stronger! ;) Heard there are some real good places near Bengalooru worth exploring! ;)
P.S: For all those lazybones out there, get a hold of yourself, or atleast, a bike! Wander the roads, feel what it really means to be an Indian! The diversity of virtually everything, bonded by the strand of oneness, of being brothers of same blood and flesh, the sons of one motherland, India. Where else can you find such marvels under the blue sky?!! :)
Current feeling: Nostalgic. Slightly desperate... :)

Au Revoir...

And finally its here.... My mom has been transferred back to Thrissur, our native, after an eternal waiting for 15 years. The feeling of joy is inexpressible, undefinable in words.And its time to look back into the past for a quick glimpse.

The year was 1994 when she bade farewell to Thrissur, when I was in my first year of schooling and my brother still in kindergarten. Time flew by, and came the year of the dreaded Y2K virus. As per the rules of her firm, a transfer could be expected after minimum of four years at a place and we were into our seventh year at Thiruvananthapuram, where I completed my studies till 7th from Kendriya Vidyalaya Pangode. Obscure memories are what remain in my mind about that place. I gained back a few of those forgotten friends from the online friends network of Orkut.

The first transfer from TVPM was to the exotic hills of Kodaikanal, which she refused much to our dismay. The reason was the absence of a K.V there. The transfer to Mysore( or Mysooru) soon followed which she was obliged to take up and proceed with. We were "transshipped" to K.V Mysore, a school with a brief history and modest academic background compared to the giant from which I left.

It was really hard to adapt to the new circumstances ab initio. The major trouble was with communication. Though K.Vians are taught Hindi and English from primary classes, the medium of communication was often the local language among the students. As a result, we were more fluent in Malayalam than all the school's Kannadiga students combined!!

The next trouble was with food, and it really pisses you off, I swear! Though Malayali cuisine is liked universally, I could not somehow adjust with the Carnatic counterpart. It became traumatic during lunch breaks when everyone shared their tiffins. I was reluctant and this offended many!! Hey, what else could have I done??!!

The troubles ended almost as soon as they had come. I started learning Kannada and my first words ( other than swears) were " Nanige Kannada Baralla!!" (I don't know Kannada!). This single connected string helped me to hustle through the trouble of conversing with local Sabji vendors( called "tarkaariwaala") and shopkeepers who would soon switch to their version of English or Hindi, two languages that were known to almost all of them.
The Carnatic cuisine, on the other hand, turned out to be equally delicious as anything and I'm sure of missing the Bisibele-bath and Mosaranna among other delicacies.

If asked what I liked the most in the years I spent in Mysore the answer would be the beauty of this Royal City. The clutches of Urbanisation were defenceless against the expertise of the city planners in keeping the reminiscence of royal splendour exist in perfect harmony with the demands of the present. I haven't been to Paris or Kashmir, but would definitely dare to make the statement that 'here, is the heaven on earth'.

Every child's dream is a bicycle of his own. I got my "Hero Devil" as soon as we reached here. The cycle was sold later to make way for yet another hot entry in the market- The All-New Hercules Top-Gear :). Cycling through the wide roads which were once traversed by the kings themselves, exploring places and new hangouts had a special fervour of their own.

Its hard to digest the realisation of this moment to bid farewell to this city, the city which manured my childish dreams, my ambitions and my "firsts" in many matters.Hoping to return back here once again, after a brief period, alike M. Mukundan's return to Haridwar, to cherish these golden, nopes, priceless memories.
Adios Mio Splendido Paradiso......................................

Mysooru ( Mysore ) Majaa Maadu

Location- Gokulam Residential Area, Mysore, Karnataka, India
Subject- Fourth Semester B.Tech student
Combat Update- Close Range Encounter Accomplished
Head Count- 4
Inflictions- 2
E.R.S(expected result for the semester)- 2 Backlogs
POW s- In accordance with the declared war on the evil forces, the extermination team CS/GEC0610 reported at the combat zone at 0930hours. The battle for final stronghold continued for 180 minutes, at the end of which the team yielded to unconditional surrender. Expected POW count stand at 30 with more left stranded and on AWOL.

POST COMBAT BRIEFING:
As was planned, seven of us started out on a tour of Mysore on 9th April.

Our last exam screwed up totally though it couldn't achieve any merit in demoralizing our spirits. We started from Thrissur that evening itself, reaching Mysore in the early hours. The gang included Ashith, Arun, Raman, Rogen, Rohit, Sailesh and myself. Three days we had in our hands and to make the most out of it. And thus started our Mysore Tour.

Day 1:

After accomplishing a primary objective of our existence, sleeping, we got ready for the first day in Mysore. Our first destination was, S.G.S Ashram, a less known tourist spot, more of a spiritual center, about 6kms from the town.

Sree Ganapati Sachidananda Ashram, Ooty Road, Mysore
The Vishwam museum here, was swarming with rare collectors item from across the globe, which included various ivory carvings, exquisite and intricate works on precious gems and stones.


Our senses reached saturation in no time, unable to comprehend the volume of knowledge the place emanated. The Nada Mantapam, which could accommodate over 4000 people was a wonder in itself. read the Flex below to know more.


The next stop was the Jayachamarajendra Zoological Garden, simply called the ZOO. As seen in every museum across the country, there were animals, and there were BIRDS, and there were more animals and more birds. We finished with the zoo pretty soon, being tired of the 4 km long walk.

The final destination for the day was Karanji lake, a wonderful place to be at, with your loved one, as we could observe. Karanji lake and the park adjoining it is home to migratory birds from as far as Siberia. The aviary had the uniqueness that you could actually touch the birds on exhibition which included white peacocks, swans, strokes, and pelicans.

We stayed there until the park closed, around 6pm. The day ended with a Tonga ride from there to town, a first time experience for many of us.


Day 2:

The temple of Chamundeshwari atop the Chamundi hills(1150m), about 15 km from the city was our first destination on day 2. We had decided On utilizing local transportation for the whole tour. The trip to Chamundi hills was, therefore made in a VOLVO B7R.
Volvo B7R, Centralised A.C, equipped with Mobile Charging points and Rear-view T.V
Yes, the authorities of the district were generous enough to provide Volvo luxury buses that ply from town to Chamundi hills every half hour. We were the only passengers during the onward journey and while returning as well.
Mahishasura statue at the entrance to Chamundi Temple
The temple Gopuram is seven stories high.

A mortar statue of demon king Mahishasura welcomes visitors. After a quick darshan of the royal deity we started climbing down the 300 steps which lead directly to the rock cut Nandi, the holy bull.
Nandi, Chamundi Hills
There are about 1000 stone-cut steps leading from the temple to the foot of the hills, and we contained the temptation to walk all the way down for safety reasons( :), ya, I was lazy and others had to follow!!).

Next stop- Jaganmohan Palace and Art Gallery. The visit, as none of us were of the category "Art-enthusiasts", was primarily to see the 14 or so Raja Ravi Verma paintings exhibited here. This palace was built for the wedding of Krishnaraja Wodeyar in a short period of 70 days. The structural magnificence of the palace is beyond comparison.

That done, next in the day's menu was lunch at Hotel RRR. One of the busiest hotels in Mysore, RRR provides excellent Andra-style Biriyani and other delicacies.

Tummy full and ready to continue, our destination was the mighty Mysore Palace itself. The majestic structure in the heart of the city, was completed in 1912 to replace the one that was partially burnt in 1897. The palace wears mind blowing festive look during the Dasara celebrations, when it is brightly illuminated and processions take place.

Mysore Palace as Seen from the direction Facing Chamundi Hills

The palace bears exhibits from the golden times of Maharajah's rule, the remnants of a vibrant past. The interior consists of vast pillared corridors and stately halls, elaborately carved ceilings, with antique mosaic floors. Lush garden around the palace is well maintained and is occupied in the evenings by people waiting for a glimpse of the palace illumination.

Palace Gardens

At about 3 P.M, we reached the fourth spot- St. Philomena's Church(St. Joseph's Cathedral). A Gothic structure with two spires, standing about 180 feet high, the cathedral is said to be modeled on the cathedral at Cologne. The church was built by Maharajah Krishnaraja Wodeyar in 1933.




The windows of the church are made of stained glass from France.The aura here was quite soothing and pleasant inviting to spend more time in the altar, to pray near the feet of the crucifix.





The final stop was at the Railway Museum, only one of its kind in South India. The engines and wagons kept for display here were used well before our country's independence and thus hold great emotional value.


Interesting to note here was the Maharani's Saloon- 2 coaches that contained all the luxury for the queen of state on her rail trips. Read below for more detailed description:





A drop at Pizza hut summed up the second day's journey through the heart and essence of Mysore.

Day 3:

The long walks had started taking toll on our legs and body by now. Since we had covered five places the previous day, day three was entirely for the ultimate Vrindavan Gardens in Krishna Raja Sagar Dam. A quick trip to Mysore AIR Station, the very first Akashavani in India with its parliament like structure and palatial interior, adored equably with machines from earlier periods of communication such as valve tube and crystal oscillators to the advanced F.M transmitters was, frank to admit, a new experience.


Under the F.M Antenna tower

We boarded the afternoon Volvo to Vrindavan gardens, passing through lush greenery and then the industrial suburbs which included the training facility of Infosys, largest of its kind in Asia, and other major MNCs and were among the first batch of tourists to reach the garden.


An evening in Vrindavan

The beauty of sunset over the seemingly endless horizon across river Kaveri is definitely a heavenly pleasure.



The illuminations and fountains started at 6 P.M. The mist that rose as water fell on marble tiles created a foggy shade around.



Musical fountains where water sprays seemed to dance to popular tones of bygone era was definitely worth the applause it received. The gigantic variety of shrubs and plants cleansed the air and elated us to newer levels of spirituality never reckoned before.
( Got ya!! nothing of that sort, it was all together quite cool and pleasant thats all!!)

And that was it, three exhilarating days spent in the lap of culture, the birth place of Carnatic music and the abode of love. Three days that passed in a blink of eyes, three days, that will stay in our memories for a long time, among the first thoughts while contemplating the good times we shared...

This article is, as I intended it to be, a mini-tour of Mysore, the Pensioner's paradise. A visual and verbal journey through the royal city discovering roots from a rich past. Do comment on my success or lapses...

The greetings bell at Pizza Hut

Rain Rain Go Away!!

A Giant Leap Year ahead!!

The day was 29th February year 2008. The only leap year in our b.tech life.
As decided before hand, almost all of us had worn black attire to mark this auspicious day.

(It is said that leap year is the time when its girls' turn to propose. At least I'm sure I wasn't proposed neither on this day nor on the valentines day that preceded it!!)

We were smoking our brains out deciding what to do to make the day memorable. There were suggestions of mass bunking(as usual!) for the entire day and going for a movie, having a gigantic snack-time at Wimbies and many more. As I could remember, It was our ex-rep Sailesh who came up with the idea of going all the way to Kaiparambu, where Vidya Engineering College is situated, to attend Perizia, the tech cum cultural fest organized by the computer Sciences and engineering department.

Despite some initial hesitation, we finally decided to give his plan a try. Soon a crowd, numbering between 20 and 30, stepped out from the ongoing Environmental Studies class( yes, we do have this!!).

As was obvious, the gathering of "blacks" caught everyones' attention en route. It so happened that, at Shakthan Thampuran Bus Stand, three people from our group strayed off to have some snacks. Not realizing their absence, the rest of us boarded a bus to our destination. The trio, upon their return were making frantic inquiries about us, when an elderly looking man asked them(obviously noticing the dress code)," Are you among the black cats who just left now??"



We reached Kaiparambu by 12 and waited for the three individuals to catch up. Getting to the college was no piece of cake as we walked the 2 km stretch leading there under the scorching sun. A cargo jeep soon came by and some of us could manage a lift in it till the college. The rest, however, continued tirelessly.

Events at the college were ion full swing as we reached. Hiran came to meet us upon informing. Some of our seniors were already present, participating in various technical and otherwise contests. The participation was free and so I gave my name for Quiz, Programming in C and Mobile Photography, along with others.

Quizzing was never this easy. I was in and out of the lab where the event was being held even before I realized. One or two correct answers and that was it!! The words " You are terminated Mister" beamed at me!!

Next in line was the Programming Contest Preliminaries. Almost all of us took part in it. Vinu, Raman and myself were lucky enough to get through into the finals along with our seniors and some other guys. The final was a nightmare and the question was waaaaaaaaay out of my logics!! Sat for about 3 quarters of an hour and finally wrote the following and came out:

#include
main()
{
printf(" good luck with the event! with love from GEC Devidas\n");
}

:)


It was for the first time that I was participating in a photography contest. This event was more thrilling than the rest, frankly. The task was to click few snaps and present any two that were related to the event "Perizia". Here I include the photos I submitted:





Meantime Rushdie and gang were busy preparing for the Ad-Zap event. While we were "busy" with the programming finals , rest of our company left the place to Neetha's home. We soon caught up with them for the photo session that followed. Neetha's identical twin sister, Neema was also present.

The day had , unknowingly become, memorable with all these unexpected turn of events. There were certainly some newbies among us who would other wise restrain themselves to the class. And surprisingly, there were more girls in the group than us!!


Not all are here!

Another page added to the diary of GEC memories, bookmarked to cherish!!