Third Time Lucky

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Bengre Beach
I was lucky for the third time to make a trip to the western ghats in recent years. It's such a serene and seemingly untouched place that I wish people leave it alone. Considering the limited reach of this blog, it sometimes seems like a bad idea to spread the songs of praise of what is probably the best mountain range in the southern part of this extraordinary country.

The first real road trip was on my bike when we explored a few parts of Kerala. There were so many uncertainties that lead to incredible learning and of course, stories which I am proud to share even today. Last year, I took off on my bike again to visit the western ghats, only this time, we tried the parts belonging to Karnataka. Also, I guess it's about the entire experience rather than just bits and pieces or roads that make for great stories. You need to factor in the company, the weather, the levels of frustration that made you take the trip, the emotions of coming back to the comfort of your own bed after hours of riding. Now that the bar was set high, my experience in travel planning better and overall, a much better informed and mature traveler with the luxury of a phone to navigate me when lost, I was a touch skeptical that nature could bowl me over again. It had to bring it's A-game to stand a chance. After 5 days and close to 1500 kilometers of driving, I realized how insignificant we are in this world. We get worked up over nuances of life that we need escapades time and again to remind us of our utter hopelessness in front of creations much more superior to us.

While we all know Kerala has a lot to offer in terms of sheer natural beauty, I still cannot believe it has been two years since I got off my bike and wrote about it. Nature, it seems does not have to try hard to amaze us at all. Extremely talented designers go to great lengths to highlight their ideas of minimalism, attention to detail, flow of ideas, use of shapes etc., ideas that have been perfected by nature over the course of millions of years.

It all started when a good friend of mine told me he'd be graduating from one of the finest B-schools in the country and that the great Dr APJ Abdul Kalam sir would preside over the event. That was enough for me to blurt out over the phone and volunteer to be a part of it. Once that was decided, I hadn't given much thought about the travel plan apart from being there for the guy on one of the most memorable and important days of his life. Finally, ten days before the D-day, I woke up in the morning and decided to take our new car as a test of various parameters and reliability. The car being an automatic would be put through it's paces in various conditions, number of passengers and of course, get a chance to taste some of the most brilliant roads it would get to see in some time.

As it happens most of the times, we rarely get to detail any plan prior to the journey and even if we do, there is certainly no guarantee that we will be able to stick to it. Being held up with work, I left most of the travel plan to my friend who was by now familiar with quite a few places in and around. The first day was quite uneventful when you consider that all we did was get to Manipal. It's funny how 'developed' roads with miles and miles of no vegetation nor natural beauty take a toll on your journey. Thankfully, we were done with the dreary bits by the time the sun was right on top of us and hit the ghats only to find some much needed shade, fresh air and that green cover. Suddenly everything seems alright. Funny how we go to lengths to destroy nature under the pretext of making our lives more comfortable, only to find solace when there is plenty of greenery.

Udupi it seems is a fascinating town. After some deep conversations (ok, maybe boring for you) about how temples have become centers of economy and how our ancestors thought on similar lines, we decided to visit what I would call the 'town of learning'. Manipal has an unprecedented number of educational institutions churning out some of the best leaders, doctors, engineers and yes, managers. Days two and three were quite sober when you consider there wasn't much driving in the self termed driving holiday. While I saw the joy and pride on the face of parents, whose children were scaling new heights in their lives, listening to the great Abdul Kalam sir, I was straight away taken back to college and all those amazing years of carefree life. It really hit me hard when he said we must realize what we will be remembered for. Something to think about. All said and done, I'm a practical guy, so once the moment passed, I realized my place and congratulated friends and family on their big day. The real journey started now.

Since we were already on a high after the graduation, the overall mood of the camp was high as we hit Bengre beach. Close to four kilometers of sweeping tarmac alongside the coast. Picture that. The icing on the cake was that we were driving towards the sunset. Upon hitting the coast, a literal dead end, when you consider there is only miles of sea later, I settled down just to watch the sun go down in all it's glory and the waves make just enough noise to keep me at peace at the same time remind me of the serenity of the moment. Almost perfect, right? These are places which throw real questions on beauty. It's definitely not restricted to humans. We need look well beyond ourselves to make sense of it.

St.Mary's Island
You know, there are so many religious places in this beautiful country. Some really strike the right chord and there simply is no way you can explain it. Intangible, if I may. Sringeri, the place which the great Shankaracharya thought was ideal to establish the first of this places to spread wisdom, knowledge. To this day, these values have been held to high standards on various fronts ranging from feeding thousands of students everyday to playing a role in advising current national issues which need the religious boost occasionally. While you may think otherwise, I feel such places are now major centres of power not only in terms of economics but also in the political world. Anyway, before we deviate from the journey, I would like to mention about the Agumbe ghat here. All through the drive, I kept telling myself this is exactly where I want to be along with a reasonably good bike for those jaunts with friends. I'm ready to give up my day job and no, this is certainly not some holiday romance talking. The smell of fresh grass, amazing roads, piping hot coffee served fresh from local estates, I guess life does not get any better. I have had enough of pre-cooked food coming to your local supermarket in sachets and tins. That's not a great life if you ask me.

Sringeri
Throughout the week, Mangalore never failed to surprise me and I guess that's the beauty of traveling so long as you have an open mind. Getting too fussy about minute details like that odd stain the towels provided by the hotel ruins the whole experience. It's all about making the best of what you have at that point in time. The joy is always in the journey for which, I thank my friends for keeping such fantastic company and making it worthwhile. I live to tell another tale now. Next stop, Leh. What say?

P.S: I decided to ditch the camera and enjoy the moment without getting too finicky about the photos. Sample pics from my phone.

Comments

Unknown said…
Very well summed up :) And it was such a pleasure to have u alongside me during the important event. I will cherish this all through :)
April 16, 2014 at 7:48 AM
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