Notes from a road trip

13 of us had gone on a road trip to Hogenkal last week. Ok, wait, you are now thinking that you know how this will end, don't you? Don't worry, no one was crucified but we still had our fair share of incidents. The following are some things which need to be taken care of, if we ever go on another one.
* When it is decided that we should start at 7:30, we better start at 7:30, not 9:30.
* Frost is right, the road travelled does make all the difference. The views along the route we took were breathtaking. So, remember that the easiest route may not be the best one.
* Never, ever try taking a turn at 60 mph. If you miss, it definitely hurts.
* When you're swapping vehicles, make sure that you do not have the other key before riding off.
* Ask everyone whether they'll be interested in joining you. Do not, I repeat, do not assume.
* Having a car along can come in handy, especially if you want to hide from angry authorities at unearthly hours.
Hogenkal though, made the journey worth its hassles. The sight of the calm waters of the Cauvery descending suddenly into roaring waterfalls and the coracle ride to catch it certainly will stay in the mind for a long time.
P.S:(To self) Do not irritate others who come along with you, because the next time you might be the one who is conveniently forgotten.

Escape

Some said they would make it, but they did not. Others told they would make it too, while we fervently prayed they don't. We were as confident as pulling it off as Pakistan cricketers are about winning these days, but we did in the end. 'It' being the recent trip with my friends.

The places we visited were varied and equally breathtaking. Yana with its majestic monoliths, the graceful Vibhuthi falls, Sykes point which was worth the wait and the gorgeous Sintheri Rocks were a treat for the eyes.

But a trip can be never be described in terms of places seen, it also needs moments that one can cherish. The moments, in our case, were plenty. We made Shrestha think twice before speaking. Pragathi saw 'the actual world', be it forest, village or buffaloes. I was set up by my friends, of my friends and for my friends. Shivanand, Sandeep and Sai demonstrated that eating a lot of grapes (9 kgs, in fact) is the same as getting drunk. A future conglomerate was planned, inspired by Sushanth. There was also a lot of unmentionable talk about the unmentionables. Shivanand tried to climb every tree in sight and succeeded. We slept under a blanket of stars, started a camp fire and frolicked in the water with all the elegance of a water buffalo. The only people who maintained a semblance of normalcy were Shwetha and Nagesh.

The train journey from Bangalore to Hubli consisted of a lot of chatter, emptying of the train's food stocks and a game of dumb charades. The return journey was comparatively serene, probably due to the lunch we had although we managed to surprise a couple of senior citizens with our antics.

Special thanks to Shwetha and her parents who made the trip enjoyable and ensured that the expenses never got out of hand.

kahan mile sur?

To 'celebrate' 60 years of India becoming a republic, a television channel promptly decided to remake the iconic 'mile sur mera tumhara'. The new version suffers from indifferent selection of artistes and poor quality of synchronization to begin with, there is an overdose of bollywood and some of the video segments make you go what.the.eff.

I could hardly find anything good to say about the attempt. And it is freaking lengthy too.