2 days

2 days of just getting away from it all.

Brief, significant impressions....

- Reaching Darshan;s house at 1 pm, after a horrible, disgusting party that had left a bad taste in the mouth. ANYthing wld have been great after that.....that way it was a good start, as we left 5 hrs later.

- Getting money out of the ATM....an hour delayed....WHY cldnt this have been done a day before??Irritated.

- Shaan soothes me. "woh pehli baar" still gives me that knot in that stomach and that smile on my face. Thats followed by the Beatles. Its Darshan;s turn to hum. After that, George Michael is the unanimous choice! Freedom!

- A stop for breakfast. Lovely dosa...made all the more delicious by the fact that we were starving! I then went to the rest room...back....down a corridor....the yellow walls getting blacker....take a right and go into an iron door, rusted with age, into a small space that is as "clean" as it is cramped. On the way back, u take a look at whats on yr right....the scene is right out of Oliver Twist or one of those - a large stuffy room, walls blackened with soot(dust?tar?)...large, brown mechanisms producing food startlingly light in colour..flashes of fire and the smell of oil..and 2 teenagers staring at my shoes. I came out into the blinding light and bought a Sprite for the rest of the journey.

- Reached Yercaud exactly at 12....its not really chilly, but its cool. And v v windy. My poor hair (fast disappearing)....we saunter in confidently to Sterling resorts, talking about bargaining and getting a sexy room....our conversation dies down as we enter the parking lot - full. We spot 5 Mercs, several Skodas/Accents/Ikons etc. Fears confirmed at the reception - "full house, no vacancies".
We decide to grin and bear it. That grin is fast replaced by a frown as we get the same response EVERYWHERE - from budget hotels to hovels in the ground. What the fuck is happening? A kind soul enlightens us - the local elitist boarding school is having its Sports Day and Old Boys reunion. Hence, the deluge of visitors to this sleepy town.

- Resigned to going back at night, we are driving....when we come across this "holiday home" in the middle of nowhere, that hadnt been advertised ANYwhere in this billboard plastered town. Dar:"why do u want another no?" Me :"lets try".
It is empty. We are welcomed with a smile.
An empty hotel in a town chockful of visitors. Clean, bland rooms. 2 workers who dont have any additional service to offer. My antenna is perked.

- A short drive through intense flora (and fauna...was that the rustling in the trees?), listening to soft instrumental....a short trek leading to "Kiliyur Falls".....there;s no water! But there;s peace. Not a sound in the air except the click of our camera and the whoosh of the trees in the wind (Wordsworth anyone?!) Lying on the smooth rock, eyes closed, and the mind blank, for once.
Until Darshan has a "funny feeling that we should leave". In the middle of this green heaven, this gets curioser n curioser

- Lets not drive, lets walk - thats my suggestion.
And what a walk it was....at least for me! We go up n down, up n down..legs starting to ache at the mere thought of traversing this terrain on the way back. We pass 3 tall stone arches, just there, leading to nothing. Is it a trick? Thats my LOTR/HP hangover.
The Pagoda point - strong gusts of wind, and a view of the plains - twinkling lights in the fast fading light. Time for some crisp Lays (consumerism, hallelujah!) and quiet contemplation (!)
Time passes, and its cloudy night....there are no stars, just a dim grey light, and in this we start our walk back. On our way is a set of houses, about 20 of them, neatly laid out on proper streets. All empty. Broken panes and fading paint on never-lived homes. Blank windows staring at us as we pass them. I, of course, stare back.
This bravado is tinged with an over active imagination, which is certainly not quietened by the lane that awaits us. Thick foliage around us, with an occasional glimpse of a hut or a cottage, that has a dim yellow light shining inside. Else there is silence (eerie silence). Fireflies flit around, and we spot them in wonder. Scenes from movies - A/B/C/D grade - all welcome! - crowd my mind. Stephen King;s storytelling techniques prove their excellence. Thankfully, I enjoy it, and can smile.
But what about tomorrow? Wl I always smile?
I need to get less obsessed with the supernatural/morbid/dark stuff...I may "enjoy" it now, but what if that walk had turned me (or poor Dar) into a neurotic wreck?!!!

- Down the hill we go, listening to the rambunctious beats of bhangra and the quiet passion of ghazals. 2 hours and Tracy Chapmen later, we are at Hogenakal falls - there;s nothing to eat, the sun is disgustingly hot, and there are HORDES of people around, all chattering seemingly oblivious to the heat. A half a km walk through crowded market and we reach the river. Haggle,haggle with the boatwallas, then step gingerly into a round, bamboo-made boat (at least I think its bamboo) and we swish off into the swirling current (nicholas monsarrat, gentlemen?!)

- One of the most pleasurable rides I have had....not much falls due to lack of sufficient water, but enough to generate a current that pleasantly scares, and we watch anxiously at the boatman who confidently wields his oar. Never mind the multitude of boats-bogged-down-with-humanity that pass us, never mind the vistas of half naked men n women who are bathing, never mind the sun that BEATS down relentlessly.....I enjoy myself.

- We are hot n sweaty, but (and I speak confidently for myself) happy. Our chariot is not too hot, and while the AC does take time to cool, relief is instant.
Plunge back into the crazy combo of good n bad roads, sleepy n hungry.
Things improve for him after Massive Attack. I am now sleepy, hungry and edgy.

- A genuine Punjabi dhaba...hurrah! A request for Chicken Tikka at 4:30 pm, which is promptly accepted, and then politely refused. Nevertheless, hot sweet tea, oily pakoras and solid roti-bhurji down our throats, and life begins again. So does conversation.

- Which brings me to the common theme in this whole flow of thoughts n experiences - conversation. With someone who you connect to, who you care for, who is as much a part of you as your own self. Sometimes irreverent, sometimes edgy; sometimes sarcastic, sometimes intimate; mostly comfortable chatter.

As I said, I had a lovely weekend