Ganeshpuram- silence in soliloqy

Kodai Express ground to halt at the sleepy station Kodai Road early in the morning at around 4.30. The only Tempo Traveller in the parking lot meant to be our mode of transport hereafter, was easy to loacte and we bundled ourselves into it without much struggle. Having chatted away late into the night, we were finding it difficult to break free from the shackles of slumber. A cuppa was a desideratum. The outstanding feature of Tamil Nadu is that it wakes up quite early. By the time we reached the tea shop at Bathalakundu, there was a sizable crowd sipping the invigorating drink. After a cup of steaming hot tea, moods brightened up and the entourage was ready to take the winding road up the Palani hills.

 Our destination was Ganeshpuram, a sleepy little hamlet off the village Pethuparai. It is located 76 kms from Kodai Road and 18kms to Kodaikanal. Compared to 2133 meters elevation of Kodaikanal, Ganeshpuram was only 1034 meters above mean sea level. Thus, climate was just salubrious enough for comfort and not biting cold as Kodai in this December month. Our choice of places to rest and recuperate is usually far from the maddening crowd and would invariably avoid tourist places. The present place was identified by my friend D.Srinivas a year ago. Except for a small hamlet of around 200 residents there was no habitation in the vicinity and this was the lure of the place-Zac Valley Resorts.

 It was breakfast time by the time we landed up at the resort. Post a brief debate, whether bath should precede breakfast or the other way round, it was decided that we will go ahead with a simple breakfast of sandwich and tea. As it was a stag only gang, we took just two cottages for the 8 of us. Thus began our lazy holiday at the resort. It was two o’ clock in the afternoon by the time all of us finished our bath and then joined in the restaurant for lunch. It would be pertinent to admit here that food wasn’t great. But in the beautiful weather simple chicken curry, veg stew and rice appeared delicious. Post lunch, we had plans of a rummy session which was quickly abandoned as most of us were sleep deprived. With more than a stomach fill, most of us enjoyed the afternoon siesta.

 The sun was casting its long shadows when we woke up. With tea and biscuits in hand, we decided to explore the property. The rooms/cottages are on either side of a steep gradient on a hill. Up the path, there were plantations. Lumbering up, our friends who had visited this place last year narrated their experience of having sighted an Indian Gaur (bison) among the plantations. We decided to try our luck and trekked up. As we turned the corner, there stood the Gaur right inside the property! Initially it appeared harmless and regurgitating the afternoon meal. But within a second, it changed its disposition and the vapour emanated by the loud snort was clearly visible. I was taking position to click a picture to find that all my friends had scouted in a tick.

 

Hearts beating fast we ran down the slope and entered our cottage. The gaur advanced for a meter or two and stood its ground appearing to be domineering and challenging anyone who would dare to tread into his terrain. With a hearty laugh of having escaped being catapulted and trampled by a two tonner, we dumped the idea of seeing the plantation and decided instead to take a stroll down the village road. There was nothing much on the offer except for a few small cottage industries manufacturing lemon grass oil. Winding up the lazy walk, we trudged our way back by dusk all geared up for the bonfire.

 With the sun dipping into the horizon, there was a nip in the air and sweaters became a necessity. The bonfire having lit and as the group warmed up with a couple of shots of Bacardy, the mood enlivened. Nassar assumed the role of the master of the ceremony for the evening and beguiled the audience with his immortal Malayalam song “ethoru thondaravu, ethoru thondaravu.. ammayimmde” extolling the virtues of mother-in-law . Spirit of the evening was fed and fuelled with spirits and what started off as foot tapping soon progressed into a wild dance-wild because none of us knew how to dance. It was a moonless night and with the power failing for an hour or so we were enveloped in absolute darkness with only the embers from the flame to illuminate the immediate periphery. The thought of the bison lurking behind came to me and I often scoured the area, though very little was visible. Our friend Jagan asked me what I was looking around. Initially I resisted the answer but on repeated queries, I told him that I was scanning the area for the bison. The very mention of the word bison was enough for our friend who within a split second leapt and reached the veranda of the cottage. It took a lot of persuasion from all of us to bring him out and he was offered a seat farthest from the pathway and sandwiched by two others.

 As night progressed, the frenzy slackened a bit and we decided to sit back and relax to enjoy the quietude. A million stars were visible in the sky and a gentle cold breeze blowing, the stage was all set for some blue numbers from our friends. Sinhaji rendered few evergreen numbers of Talat Mahmood. The tranquillity of the environs interspersed with the loud chirping of the crickets was empyrean. As city dwellers we had long forgotten the twinkling stars. Did we hear a jackal howling? Jagan was up on his feet again. Despite the overpowering lure to sit and enjoy the serenity nonchalantly, the chef summoned us for dinner and we had to dust off and walked to the dining area. After a quick bite we returned indoors for couple of games of rummy before resigning to bed at around 1 am. The waterfall trek beckoned us the next day and we had to get up early.  

 Gearing up for the morning trek, we were to be led by two experienced guides. As we were to leave early, it was decided that breakfast would be made available in the course of our trek. Coursing the path of a small stream we moved ahead with narrow misses in the slippery path. Within half an hour we reached the head of the waterfall which was our first pit-stop. We watched in sheer child-like joy as numerous small streams converged and moved towards the waterfall. Crystal clear cold water in the small puddles among the rocks were enticing. We sat there enjoyed the scene for over an hour before moving on.

 

From the waterfall came our first tryst with climb. A rock face at around 75 degree with no hold had to be climbed to continue the trek. In retrospect, I find that this was a very precarious adventure. Any slip and you would tumble down several hundred feet down to the bottom of the waterfall! The mere sight of the rock face was exacting. The guides scrambled up effortlessly. I made the first attempt from the team and was largely successful and could reach the summit without much of a hassle. Such attempts call for a disciplined body and stamina in ample measure. With increasing girth of their middle, some of our members were struggling within the first few steps itself. Soon they could be seen in all their fours, literally crawling up.

 

It took almost an hour to cross this hurdle and then we were on an elevated plain with a vast expanse of the Palani hills below us. I climbed up a solitary watchtower in the open land. The view from the tower was electrifying.

The trek continued then into the wooded area. Initial phase was not very thick but as we progressed, we had to manoeuvre through thick lush green woods with no path. 

Morning rays were fighting hard to penetrate through the thickets. Last night rains on the dry leaves were also posing no less challenges. Sometimes the undergrowth too was entwining between our tired legs.

 

My friend Mishra asked the inevitable question to the guides- Are there any wild animals here? The guide replied nonchalantly- “There are no tigers or elephants here but bears are there in plenty and they come to savour the jack fruits”. 

This was enough for Jagan to grumble, whine and bleat. In less than an hour, we were out of the woods and at the sight of the stream where our hosts were waiting with breakfast the entire team heaved a sigh of relief.  

 

Even though this part of the trek was short in terms of distance, the initial climb and then struggling through the thick woods in trepidation made us really hungry. A quick wash in the cold crystal-clear water rejuvenated us while we settled down for tasty breakfast of upma, peanut chutney, bread and boiled eggs.

 Amidst the ravenous hunger, the food parcels soon vanished. A cup each of hot masala tea poured from the thermos topped it all. Post a small blather about the risky path endured, we were back on our feet.

 

 

 

Following the course of the stream we walked along, with once in a while hopping from one bank to another and in the course landing in water at times. It was no more challenging but a pleasant walk. We reached our resort around 1. Post a bath and lunch, we enjoyed the afternoon siesta and then the evening stroll through the village. A brief drizzle added to the fun in the evening as the temperature came down drastically. Unlike the previous evening, we decided to retire early as the next days trek was a tougher one.

 Day 3 dawned with a chill weather due to the rains last night. With packed breakfast we left the resort at 7 and started our trek to Kodaikanal. We had to ascend 1100 meters climbing up the winding path through plantations, crossing rivulets and streams. Initial kilometre or so was pleasant as the gradient was less. But by the end of another two kilometres the sun came up in all its glory and the incline too became tougher. Most of us were panting but two of our friends were ranting too. Soon, Jagan and Sinhaji decided to drop out. It was proving to be tougher and with a heart condition we did not want to persuade Sinhaji to go further. Jagan with his rotund belly was looking for an opportunity to scoot but was holding back as he could not muster enough courage to walk back alone. Unlike the previous day we were climbing with no tree cover and was at the mercy of the scorching rays hitting unhindered as the sky had cleared up.

 Every hundred meters we sat and quenched our thirst under a rare tree on the path.

 

Occasionally we could see tribals coming down the slope with some random forest produce. After an hour and half we sat down besides a gurgling stream and opened our breakfast packet. Hungry, as we were, idly and chutney were soon gobbled up.

 But there was one problem. Water was rationed. Each of us were given a bottle of water and we had to make do with this and make the entire course of our trek. Sweating profusely, our parched throats were seeking water very often. There were two options-one conserve the water available or refill from the stream. I and Srinivas decided to take the latter approach.

 

We dusted ourselves and sprung up to move ahead. The path ahead proved to be further formidable. Balancing between boulders protruding from the hill face we moved ahead. After an hour of hike, we reached a less exacting area. Walking between fields of carrot and other vegetables, the fragrance of lush green fields provided the much needed impetus to move on.

 

As we had ascended almost a thousand meters, the weather too had mellowed down. Soon we were at Kodaikanal and all famished. Dog tired and hungry we were in mood to ferret around for restaurants and dashed into the first sighted Gujarathi joint for a meal. The meal was sumptuous and appetizing. We had asked our jeep guy to pick us up from Kodai who reached after quite a wait. Back at our cottage, our muscles were craving for rest. Hitting the bed immediately we had a delightful sleep. Post the evening bonfire and dinner, we settled for a game of rummy. We were in no hurry to wake up early in the morning and therefore the game lasted late into the night.

 On the fourth day morning post a late lunch, we bid adieu to this wonderful place fully re-charged.