AMK_December 2010

A-M-K SAGA

This is it! Life’s happening!! Gawd, I’m a fortunate fool!!! Damn right I was to go on the treacherous Alang-Madan-Kulang trek in the Sahyadris that see-sawed between ‘terrible’ and ‘terrific’ at every undulating turn of the terrain. There was no thought, no logic to my adventure, just an overwhelming attraction of a gigantic heap of rock – straight up and flattened (Alang and Kulang) or rounded (Madan) on the top – greeted by an impressive gateway. The epic 4-day trek was a short-cut to the afterlife. We died a thousand deaths and were reborn the same number of times or even more to relish our hard-won moments of glory. And who wouldn’t after a cathartic seven-hour trek every single day trampling across forests pulling up the knees to waist length, traversing the sheer scarp that plunged to 4,000 ft for miles on end, rapelling into the dangerous depths below and climbing them all up hooooooooohing and haaaaaaaahing our lungs out. And how can I forget the trudging up of the dozens of st-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-eep steps dangerously exposed to the valley. But once we reached the top it was Nirvana. And even if we didn’t we would have attained to Buddhahood. It was a win-win situation. Don’t believe me? Then get on the photo adventure before you go back to your monotonous multinational life.

P.S: If you are the kind who loves to curl up in your couch with a mug of coffee watching Katrina gyrating sensuously to Sheila ki jawani, this is a strict no-no for you. Kat’s curls and curves are a better bet. Any day. See, you haven’t missed anything! Only God-forsaken fools like us who are haunted by the emptiness of a working soul do. So let’s raise a toast to Sh…e…i…la….

Written BY: N Venugopal Rao

Rajmachi_June 2011

BOY, WHAT A NIGHT!!

At RAJMACHI -

You don’t go for a monsoon trek to savour the cool breeze of winter. You go to drench yourself in the pouring rain, wade in ankle-deep puddles, and trudge up all those slushy hills. Our trek to Rajmachi, on Saturday, had all these delightful ingredients and many more. And we didn’t feel a wee-bit disappointed meandering all those cool curves of the metalled hill road in what seemed to be a never-ending journey.

And the add-ons were heavenly. The rain took a break as night descended, and the beautiful moon, crowned with a colourful ring, lit up the sky with its soothing rays. The fireflies, the movers and shakers of the night, put up a grand show mesmerizing us with some of their beautifully choreographed flickering moves. And as we went deeper, the hoary sound of the waterfalls provided the perfect background music gently reminding us of our deep disconnect with nature.

But our dalliance with nature’s glorious splendour wasn’t over yet. Devouring some delicious dinner, we went for a walk to the lake in the middle of the night, 1 O’clock to be precise, and sat silently on its shore listening to the blaring croaks of the toads and the plomping of the diving frogs, as the fireflies treated us to some more of their brilliant moves. It was the perfect good-bye to a perfect night trek.

After a sumptuous four hour sleep, the next day, we went up to see the Srivardhan fort clothed in a sea of mist. Boy, it was like walking in the clouds with nothing visible except for the thick bastions of the fort.

We quickly downed our breakfast and trekked down the slippery pathways in the hills to reach Kondane by 2 pm. Savouring some steaming chai, we left for Karjat in a jolly good ride on an eight-seater, and got on to our respective trains to reach our destinations by dusk.

Thanks Rohit and Parag and Sameer for organizing a wonderful trek.

Written By: N Venugopal Rao