These enchantments, these
pantomimes, cannot be described or expressed in the language of poets and
painters, musicians and mystics, for these are creations of a higher being. A
being above all that is tangible and temporal. They must be … taken in without
reply, as animals do with their contemplative and entranced gaze…
The open road. Mile after mile of
endless ribbon of tarmac knitted together with gravel and asphalt. It’s a mesmerizing
indulgence in itself that is hard to contemplate for an average human, to
explain the feeling it expresses as it provides an excellent field for living an
earthly existence and abandoning every bit of agitation and perturbation. It is
as soothing to the mind and body as resting on a cozy pillow, on a cold winter
day or as enjoying good company with a hot beverage on a rainy day. Elusive as
it sounds, maybe it is because of this distinct magical pleasure to thrill yet calm
the senses at the same time, its special.
Day
1: Saturday 13th August.
My ride to kodaikanal meaning,
‘the Princess of Hill Stations’ as it is called started at 04:40 am on a cold
Saturday morning in the middle of the month of August. It was a three day
weekend owing to the Independence Day falling on the immediate Monday. The routes that were in option to take were
a) Tambaram – Tindivanam – Ulunthurpet – Salem – Palani – Kodaikanal via Palani hills and b) Tambaram – Tindivanam
– Ulunthurpet – Trichy – Dindigul – Batlagundu – Kodaikanal which is a much
more straight forward approach and the one that is more popular. The day started
out as every other trip, without a hitch and by 08:30am I was near the southern
city of Trichinopoly aka Trichy. The ride was a pleasant one with the gorgeous
coppery sun skimming the horizon giving a peaceful setting to the land beneath
and with a pack of snickers giving me the strength to fight hunger. However, as
it was a three day weekend, the road was quite a bit crowded than usual at the
tolls which did eat up quite a bit of travel time. Still the roads, everywhere
else were wide open and that ensured that I reach the foothills of Kodaikanal
by 11:15 am. The climb up the hill slope was sublime and the ghat sections are
wide enough to make the ride/drive safe and easy. But, as it was a long
weekend, there was heavy traffic going up to the hilltop. Now traffic isn’t a
big deal when you’re on a bike, when you can weave about and move on. But it
was the ghat section, perilously narrow, dangerously slippery and very wet
making it chaotic for everyone on it, and the ‘jam’ stretched for about three
kilometers or maybe even longer. At that moment it felt like it stretched in to
the far reaches of the globe. It must’ve been an arduous journey for the folks
in the cars and the buses. After a while, zipping past the traffic, reached my
hotel where I had booked my stay by 13:15. Rested a bit, had lunch and I was
out to ‘explore’ ‘the gift of the forests’ as kodaikanal is locally called. Little
did I know that I was about to enter in to a world of chaos and get a firsthand
lesson on why it is not advised to plan a holiday during the festive season or
during a long holiday season. Stepped out of the hotel after my well needed
rest, saddled up on the ‘kwacker’ like the Lone Ranger saying “Hi-Yo Silver!” in full spunk and set off.
Rejoined the main loop road around the town and I was back to a standstill.
Why? Traffic. That’s why. The small petite roads around the town was completely
clogged with motor vehicles. It was complete pandemonium even for bikes. The
immediate thought that came to mind was a phrase something James May would say.
Yeah you get it, don’t you! Anyway, thoughts on kodaikanal were not so good.
Frustration and disappointment crept in to my mind and made itself to feel at
home. I was able to ride from my hotel near Fern hill road which is near the
Kodaikanal Lake only up till the road to Pillar rocks viewpoint past Coakers
walk and couldn’t proceed any further. Making my way back to the hotel it had
started to rain down hard forcing to take refuge from the cold icy waters under
a fruit shop in the middle of the forest. Cold, Wet, shivering and nowhere to
go, it was a matter of choices. Its either stay and hope for things to get
better which could prove unlikely to happen considering the odds or shorten my
two day plan to one day and return home on the next day. With a mind full of
confused thoughts and wet clothes covered with dirt, I headed back to the hotel
to reconsider everything and the conclusion that I had arrived to was to dabble
with lady luck and hope things go from worse to good which seldom happens in
reality.
“And then I realized. Adventures are
the best way to learn and not all who wander are lost”
Day
2: Sunday 14th August:
Well, with everything that had
happened yesterday, my heart and soul was braced and ready for further
disappointment that could present itself if it decide to make a cameo. However,
as we all know and have heard, fate is a fickle mistress. Twilight! Dawn! The
day (for me atleast) began at 05:30 am when the sun forced its cosmic rays tearing
through the subtle clouds. When everyone were cozying up in their snug toasty
linen and tepid mattresses, it was an opportunity to really take in the morning
mountain air and ‘live’ the endless stretch of tarmac draped around the hills
in all its splendor. It was at this point that I had an epiphany. An epiphany
that was, to ditch the popular tourist spots and go deeper into the mystic
forest of Palani and Agamalai. And God, was it a revelation.
“If
you’re a copy of another person, the world would not have the pleasure of
experiencing your uniqueness”
Berijam Lake, freshwater
reservoir at 2,165 m above
sea level nestled deep within Palani hill forest and conservation area is a
wildlife hideaway that houses diverse plants and wildlife. I had decided it
would be a good place to start the day with the ride to the lake at the break
of dawn, and thus started off from the hotel. To reach the lake from
where I stayed, there were two routes. There was the road to Moir point past
pillar rocks that goes to the lake which was about 20 kilometers or take the
observatory road and go via the eerie pine forests and the spectacular
poomparai view point which was around 42 kilometers, almost twice as long. I
chose the latter option as fewer tourists would take the long way round which
proved that it is always good to shy away from the commonness that the world
presents. With an atmospheric temperature of around 13 degree Celsius it was
quite nippy and raw but the excitement and adrenaline surging inside dissolved
all sense of chillness and calmed my chattering teeth. Made my way past the
Indian institute of Astrophysics, being established in 1899, it bore the
architectural aura of the lost colonial era. Rode past the transcendental pine
forests clicking a ton of pictures and basking in the mountain air. Having no
idea of where the road would take me or how the terrain would be, it was a
sublime surprise and an enchanting experience when the mountains revealed the
truly magnificent poomparai valley. Unmatched Solitude, Romance, Nirvana,
Peace, Bliss are some of the words that come to mind when presented with the
pure natural flavor that this gorgeous exotic location offers. A lone tea stall
seated on the very curvature of the road gently kissing the edge of the cliff
offering a vibrant yet sensual view of the valley with the divine Palani Hill
at a distance forming the backdrop for the truly stellar sight was just the
cherry on a cake. If points were to be given for ambience or views offered by
tea shops/stalls, then this place would be at the absolute top of the list
quite simply because of the majestic visual grandeur it offers, coupled with
the chill soothing weather and the unmatched solitude of nature. After filling
up on ‘chai’ and bananas, set off again towards my destination i.e., Berijam
Lake. After meandering about the ghat sections, arrived at a fork in the road
around 7:30 am where there was stand still traffic for a couple of hundred
metres. I learned that the road to the lake is open for traffic only after 8:30
am. So it was again the time for a decision to be made. The left hand of the
fork led to Berijam Lake which was the straight forward route for me to take
and the right hand of the fork led to Berijam via Mannavanur and Kodaikanal
ecological park. Took the long way again, passing through the outskirts of
Mannavanur. This road and the serenity it presents is one of the must do things
when in Kodaikanal. The views and the solitude it offers to calm the senses is
absolutely divine. Being alone in the middle of nowhere with only a two wheeled
machine and a cell phone full of songs to keep company, yet there wasn’t even
the slightest sense of fear or distress or negativity. This is without a shadow
of a doubt one of the best routes to take if you decide to do a long ride on
two wheels. After soaking in the views of the striking Western Ghats, reached
the road that leads to Berijam Lake only to find that the road was closed off
for traffic with a large a barricade and a no entry sign hung on the tree.
Travelled all the way for more
than 50 kilometers in total, soaring above mountains and tackling slippery
curve of tarmac only to find you couldn’t move any further would put any
person in complete dismay or rage. But was I in disquiet? Was I in worry? Was I
disappointed? Did I arrive at an exclamation mark that put a question mark on
my entire trip? What did I learn from this? It’s very simple to be brutally
honest. It’s just that as they say, “it’s not the destination. It’s the
journey”. How true did this turn out to be. Anyone travelling several hundred kilometers
for their holiday with high hopes of relaxation and self-rejuvenation would be irate
and left fuming if it were to be denied. Yet I was not. Why? My first day at
Kodaikanal was a very eventful day in a more bland way that raised several pessimistic
and obstructive questions in my head. But in the end the question marks have
taken a dive and were nowhere to be seen. Simply
because of the majesty and the beauty of the land. It speaks not to any sensory receptors, but
directly to the inner heart of the beholder. It doesn’t grab you by the scruff
of your neck and force the natural aura on to your eyes, but caresses you like
a mother caressing a delicate infant and appeals directly to the depths of the
human soul. Comforting. Reassuring. Offering solace and elegance only to the
one who seeks.
“It is only in adventure that some
people succeed in knowing themselves – in finding themselves”
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