The trip to Madhumalai

This is a note on the trip we went on the last Friday and I happened to pen it down. This will probably give an idea to the guys who did not come.

And so, here it goes on a first person account...........

This was the most awesome weekend that I've ever had, probably after a very very long time.

I had been to Madhumalai (enroute to Ooty via Mysore) along with about 29 others from all around the globe.

We started at 10:30PM Friday, 25 July 2003.
Couldn't sleep a wink as the bus rattled through and finally when it stopped at Theppekadu (3 AM), it is supposed to be the entrance to the sanctuary itself, boy 'O boy, did we have to wait for the jungle jeeps to pick us up to go deeper in to a place called Masinagudi, that's where the "Jungle Retreat", a jungle resort is. It was a good thing that it wasn't freezing out there. The idea behind this visit was to trek, go on a safari, dine & do some partying around bonfire.

The place greeted us with a nice hot cup of tea and biscuits. Introduced ourselves first to the big Labrador "Duke" and his son, forgotten his name though. Doesn't really matter eh.

6.30 AM - the trek begins, with no change of clothes, just with the basic things done to keep us fit enough, the group is split in to 2, one led by a "The best Ornithologist" in the South of India, he really is THE best I should say as he can tell you the birds names by just listening to them and would you believe this...?, this guy actually chases tigers when he sees them!!!! He can see things that we normal "concrete jungle" guys can't see. So, unfortunately I was with another budding guide who knows the place pretty well. This guy resides deep in the forest, about 25 kms and walks to his place once a week or something. You should feel the muscles on his spine, rock hard & stiff and he walks the mountains like it's a tennis court. I was amazed by his ability. I guess one ought to look upon such people to participate in marathons.

The 3 hour haul in to the mountains took it's toll on the not so fit but surviving ladies and gentlemen. The trek was aborted and brought back on to the normal course and to a snail's pace. "Pissed off" is the word and I bid adieu to the party and trotted/galloped/ran along the already well known trail in something like 15 minutes. Ah, I should mention this untrusting lady who happened to slow me down a bit and what with clinging on whenever she hears a cow moo. Pretty funny sight that was.

Well, having reached the Retreat, breakfast was downed just like that, famished wasn't I? A dip in the pool, and back to the lounge overlooking the blue mountains.
PEACEFUL.!!!! Living life to that extent is worthy enough I thought. We humans are so tiny, yet so dangerous, do I have to tell?.......

4.30PM Time for the jeep safari and a ride through The Wildlife sanctuary by the assigned bus. Elephants showing off their might, protecting their young ones.
The revelation to me is that the aunt takes care of the baby while the mother is busy chomping to produce enough milk for the young one. A very very sensible
family value that. AND it's up to the baby to sound an alarm if it feels threatened.

I missed a peek at a tiger which was supposed to have just passed by but I did hear the barking deer. I guess it is a kind of an alarm if there is a predator around.

The ride in the jeep was far more exiting when I climbed on to the top of the jeep with a line in a song coming to my mind. "Cool wind in my hair...."
Real cooool. The Bison, Spotted deer, Elephants with radio collars,... why the hell did they need them, free animals. Man responsible again, will it ever "dashin'" stop?!!!

7 PM Back to the Retreat, evening already set in....
with a few drops of rain once in a while, a very welcome feeling and experience.The mountains around us getting darker.... Sometimes the stars shine brighter there. No need to tell you why....

Bonfire..... We sit around it, watching the flames, wild movements, was it saying something. swish-swash or lick-lick, haha ...., well, depended on what I was
thinking.

3AM was when I slept, waking up to a call from our trek guide choosing only the fit, fast, endurable, agile, okay okay, I stop, .... at 5.30AM. 6 of us and the young guide, Mani. A good 3.5 hour trek it was. The morning chill was good enough to take us through. A big bear at a rivulet and we decided to follow it. Man, did we ever thought it was going to blow on our faces. Luckily we had not casualties and even lucky to get away without having to wet our pants. Life seemed so dear when that happened HAHA.

Then there was this skull of a Samba deer with it's horns intact. could have been a good souvenir if it were small. An hour or so passed by and I spotted something amazing, apart from what we see on the TV. It's the real life experience which makes it so exciting. A cheetah or some big guy had pulled up the entire body of a Samba deer which probably weighs as much as a well fed cow, on to a tree which had just a trunk and about 30-40 feet tall. That gave me a feeling of the strength of these animals. The next time you get ideas like fighting a cheetah or any big cat, think twice, sorry..., just don't let that come to your head. Just stay away from these guys and don't get in their way.

The delicious fruit that you will be able to eat if you dare to do so (but not the pips in them) is the cactus fruit. Yummy, Pinkish-red in colour. It's thorns, if you are unemployed, even temporarily, can be a good employer, haha, can keep you occupied the
whole day if you want to be.2.30PM A good meal, a few moments later, we get a brighter idea of reaching the top of one of the peaks and it was shot down like a mad dog. 6 hours was what was required for the ascent and descent and that would be about 8 - 9 PM by the time we reach back. The Retreat guys just didn't want to add us to the statistics of elephant related deaths in the mountains. This is supposed to be about 5 – 7 people a year. hmmmm, pretty low for the number of people trudging in the mountains.

But, being good adamant humans as we are, we decided to conquer atleast half the mountain. This time it taught me of the agility of the village women folk who sweep the ground using small brooms and with their knees straight, painful.... This trek was more in to the deep woods, twisting, turning, stooping, crawling, a frightful encounter with another big bear. lucky for us again. Saw death on the face of Mani. Had a chance to sit at the edge of a cliff which had a neat fall of about 500 metres. I imagined getting a hang-glider of my own.

And towards the end of the 2nd day, no tears were shed but we were discussing religion and God. Pretty ironic, with the circumstances in which we live in.

Midnight, we depart to Bangalore and here I am using my office hours to tell you the story.

Hope you liked it.