Ootacamund!!!

"The Team"


Ootacamund!!!
May 18th,2007

Been one year since I left Bangalore for Mumbai; never even thought of getting a summer internship back over here. “Kottaram” had shifted from Rajarajeshwari Apts, Bommanahalli to Airport Road. Balaji, Sinu, Panantha were still here along with Anoop the latest entrant and Praveen’s uncle, Sivakumar (Chittapan sir) who had come over for a month. Well, two weeks later, all of us thought of another trip together –Ooty.


Youth Hostel and the Scorpio


Friday; Friday night we left in a Scorpio from Airport road – the roads were good, so we were out of the city in one hour’s time. In another hour or so we were in Mysore, and then on it was a travel through the forest! There are two ways to reach Ooty , one a short trip through the forest of 36 kms and the other around 76 kms; Since there were no forest officials guarding the shorter route, we went for it and got a glimpse of elephants, wild gaur, sambar and lots of deer.

Saturday; Reached the Youth hostel around 05:30 early morning; was very cold indeed….Except for Panantha who went for an early morning trek through a few railway tunnels, all others were busy with their sleep till 12:00! We then headed for Doddabetta, the highest point! Since there were no security personnel near the fence on the cliffs, we got through and wandered deep into the forests, this was good indeed! Not that dense jungle, but indeed there were distinct marks all around the path we took that proved animals had been around. Later went back to boat house but that really spoiled the day. It was so crowded; we had to run away from there.


Doddabetta ; deep inside the terrain

Sunday; Next day we visited the rose garden and the botanical garden. Balaji , Sinu and Panantha were busy clicking pictures of roses and bees, while the others went around posing for quite a few clicks .

Botanical Garden; The Angry old Tribal guarding the temple

Botanical garden is worth a visit; we moved higher up beyond the collector’s bungalow to the highest point where we saw the Toda settlement. A rude altercation with an old tribal man guarding the temple did not set us back, Balaji was a bit perplexed indeed, but we still managed to visit one of the huts there and saw the bullock enclave too.

Buffalo Enclave with inscriptions; Toda Tribal Temple

After that, we started our return journey. Enacted a sorry figure in front of the forest police which helped us in traversing back through the shorter 36 km route; through the forests-one is sure to sight lots of wild animals.By the time we reached Mysore, I could hear some lively debates going on between Anoop and Chittapan Sire! Later we stopped by Hotel Viceroy to have some late night food , the results which would haunt all of us for the next one week- people beware of the food there! By 13:30 we left Mysore back for Bangalore and reached our Apartment by 15:30.

Resting just after leaving the TamilNadu check post

None felt the trip was lively enough but we learnt a bit; we had never planned for the trip- maybe that was a mistake. Dead tired; just dropped down on my bed and slept off…….

Mumbai to Trivandrum- A railway sojourn

We had been through this before;this was our second trip from Mumbai; in the sweltering heat, we never expected anything out of the journey. Just hoped we got back home in the right condition........

Thats us! .............Along the way


Finally we (me and vergis) decided to run back home and got prepared for the 30 odd hour journey in the kurla express!! Started off around 1 afternoon;Around April , we knew it would be hot, and hot it was! Still we were able to capture a few shots on the way. Had my age old camera with me, better to have something with you! Konkan has almost the same topography as kerala and the terrain seemed very similar .....Felt relieved to be going back , after months of mumbai madness!

Felt like getting off the train and wandering around all the places... Below are just a few pictures of scenes on the way. In mumbai, people are amazed at the scenic splendour of the south ,just putting a few pictures taken from a running train !!! What astounds people ,as you travel along the konkan is the greenery, the rivers and hills spread all around.

Finally, our journey came to an end around 7 evening the next day; As we alighted, voices ran through my mind ;what my friends in mumbai used to say - " Heard so much about your land, full of greenery, wish i could be there .........".

"Parashurama Srusti" ...Mangalore!!!

"We Three" ; At Infy Mangalore DC

It was Prakash's idea to pay a visit to Girish (guppans) and Faris both in Infosys, Mangalore DC. The only concern for me was the bus trip and so we decided on a Volvo Sleeper. Well, boarded the bus at 2130 from Bangalore and then slept off……Early morning got up and had a pleasant surprise. Were we on our way to Kerala?; for the houses, temples and roadside stretches seemed so familiar. And here and there could see hoardings in Malayalam. Well, cleared my doubts when the bus stopped at the main bus stand and the driver shouted "Mangalore".

Warangal CoastLine

Most Infoscions lived quite near to Infy DC; so we never had much trouble finding guppans house. Well the path down the road was just like our nattumpuram with moss filled mud walls and tuber stems lining the borders of thatched houses. Finally made our way to his house, got refreshed and in an hour’s time rushed back to visit Infosys DC. It was a rather compact building, very different from the usual Infy buildings around the country.

On the way to the Island; The Beach!

Took a few snaps within the campus and waited for the hero to come. And Lo, in a few minutes time, Faris came running down the stairs with his beaming smile and shouting "hellons,wats cooking". Well after an unusual fanfare, we made a plan to visit Warangal beach and Udupi Krishna temple along with Manu who turned up a few minutes later. From there we boarded a private bus and in a short time got to the beach front.It was a desolate beach and there was so much of debris washed out by the sea. Still it was an amazing sight and got to see a variety of sea fishes washed up on the beach. There was a lighthouse nearby and a temple. Decided to visit the temple much to the delight of Faris Khader. Went to the temple and I was busy taking the offering from inside and distributing to the others when the priest came running and started shouting as to why we took the offerings without asking him.

The Island; As seen from the boat

On the beach front, pakshi started fine tuning his photography skills which added to guppies' frustration. From there we took a bus to Udupi Krishna Temple. Saw the famous Kanaka's window there. We had lunch at a nearby hotel and left for our next destination "St.Mary's island".

Rocky cliff; Formations on the Island

It was mid afternoon and it was so hot and added to it we had boarded an overcrowded bus which took us towards Malpe beach. The grueling exercise came to an end in 40 minutes and we rushed towards the boathouse. Got into a boat and it took us deep into the sea, never been so much into the sea; we could see tiny islands here and there scattered in the sea.

On the other side of the Island ,Serenity!

We were headed for one of these islands. Right in the middle, we were asked to jump across to another boat somewhat smaller in size. Well, jump! That took us to the island and left us there. It was around 15:00 and the boat would come back at 16:30.

Trek up the island;Awesome sight

The best part of the trip was to move around the island, climb up the slippery rock columns and rest on the fine sand. I could remember one part of the island scattered with mussel shells. There were only a few groups of people around, so we felt at ease. Faris and Girish were busy jumping up and down the rocks with Prakash clicking their escapades. There was this cool breeze blowing all along and it felt good to take a nap for a while, resting under the bushes along the coast.

Faris-Girish Fiasco; Up on a Cliff

Quite often did we slip down through the rocks but we did take care not to try out such acts near the cliffs! It was an amazing sight to climb up the vertical columns of rocks and look around at the blue sea; one gets a feeling hesenacting a part in the film 'CastAway'. Hoped the boat would not come atleast until the sunset, but that was not to happen!


Back from the Isle of Grace,bidding adieu!

Finally we returned back at 5 from there and reached our house at 19:00. Had food at a famous restaurant but had to rush back to catch our bus. It was a wonderful trip and with Faris and Guppans in their high spirits, everyone enjoyed it. Finally boarded the bus at 22:00 and landed back in Bangalore at 07:00 early the next day. That was a wonderful trip and one which makes me laugh out most even now, whenever I think about it.