Parents trip 2010

This wonderful article comes from Kavitha Arunkumar and my heartfelt thanks to her. Below is in her own words.

The eagerly awaited day has arrived, yes its an escape from the noisy roads, polluted air, stressful work. Its Sep 2nd 7.30 p.m. I had already packed but still had last minute work to be settled. Arun reached (just before checking out) by then Zinia was ready and I was the last one to get ready with little fights as usual. We left Bomnahalli by 9.00 p.m. we reached room by 9.15 Zinia was lulled to sleep on her way still we had to go a second trip (madiwala to bomnahalli) for collecting our baggage’s and last minute shopping. Kubhi and Priya were yet to arrive, before we came back they too have joined us. We have three new guests, who have joined along (Kubhi’s anna , anni and his cute niece Kavisha). Anna was very jovial, already started mingling in the group none of us felt strange or uneasy to get along.

The mood has already set in, all the parents were sitting around for the dinner everyone conversing and sharing interesting things among themselves, while the second round followed by our fellow roommates contributing their part, Vijay from one end and Ramesh on the other side, giving the whole group a hearty laugh. The mini bus has arrived it’s a white and blue bus clean and tidy, shining in the street light I could see the anticipation in everyone’s face, I could tell how much each and everyone were yearning for this moment. The clock struck 12.30 a.m. and all had settled by then and we left madiwala. The first row occupied by Krish and kubi’s paresnts. The second followed by kubi’s brother and kubi himself, followed by ourselves and our parents and the next one by Ramesh and Vijay’s parents. The last seat by the bachelor boyzz. It was 1.00 a.m. we reached Banshankari temple some of us went down and prayed before starting off the trip from Bangalore.

The long drive came to an end. Its 3rd Sep 5.30 a.m. I just took a peep outside and we were opposite to Bandipur plaza little grandeur on the outside but we stayed in Vanavihar it was small but cozy, they have recently established it. The wood houses were really good but I did not get a chance to stay there Ramesh and Kubi were the lucky ones. Everyone finally got settled down in their cabins and went in for a deep sleep. Something was ringing in my ears all of a sudden, someone rang the calling bell I was still in a dreamy state it was Gayathri mantra but it sounded too loud and noisy. Arun managed to get to the doors it was Ramesh’s first call to get ready for the first day. There is actually a change in the trip considering parents, to lessen their travel and give them a relaxed day since the bus wasn’t too good to fit in two big people.

Our first visit was to the nearby temple. Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta , is a hill (betta kannada) located in Chamrajanagar district of the state of Karnataka. It was actually the highest peak in Bandipur was approximately 1450m from sea level and it boasted having the oldest of the temple back from 13th century AD built by the Chola Ballala. Later the Udayars of Mysore who were ardent devotees of Lord Venugopal displayed keen interest in maintaining the hill temple.

This temple is dedicated to Gopalaswamy, which is one of the names of the Hindu God Krishna. Raj was kind enough to do some research on these informations and passed it on to me and I had to explain these facts to our parents and our group as soon as we got in the bus. It was my turn this time to narrate and I wasn’t perfecto though I just did my job. Dense fog predominated and covered the hills all round the year hence gets the prefix Himavad (in the native language of Kannada) and the Venugopalaswamy (Lord Krishna) giving the full name. We reached the spot by 10.30a.m. it was misty and foggy and still the sun managed to show its fragile rays in between. We climbed up the stairs it was sweet cinnamon smell lingering all over the place as we climbed up we could see the whole view to the right and the left of the temple, I just ran here and there not knowing what to do with the magnificent beauty lying aloof in that peak. I forgot Zinia completely thank God aunt and uncle were there to look after so I could just enjoy each and every breath of it.

Chill air brushed through my face as I ran to the left it was a flat space where we could see a lovely valley with its own graces. Myself and Arun stole a titanic pose in that area and started moving forth into the temple. The Gopuram of the temple is single tiered and rests on the compound wall of the enclosure. A dhwajastambha (flag-pillar)and a bali-peetam (sacrificial altar) is present in the mukha mantapa (inner-porch). The parapet wall of the façade of the mukha mantapa contains the sculpture of dashavatara the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu with the centre portion of the sculpture depicting Krishnavatara.

The garbha griha contains an idol of Krishna holding a flute under a tree. Krishna flanked by his friends and the posture is that of a dance with the left big toe resting on the right one. The panel also features several characters and icons from Krishna’s avatar.

It was the day after Krishna Jayanthi so the mantapa was decorated completely with all sacred flowers all bright and beautiful still haven’t lost their spirit showing all their love to Krishna. We were fortunate to have the special darshan on that day. All the parents had a peaceful start after worshipping. We set out on a small stroll down the peak at the back of the temple. We saw huge piles of elephant dung all around it’s said that the elephants linger around on and off there. It was a pretty sight walking down the grassy path I got reminded of what Raj told me the previous day it was just like the gladiator opening scene. The mist had found its way down, we had soft drizzle on our faces it was so refreshing.

Parents were little worried whether it would rain but it didn’t and everyone sat there on little round rocks lying around and took a few snaps. We started off again and reached a local view point few kilometers from there. Again a stroll up by the time I reached there, some of us had already started taking their snaps with the routine poses. Some were able to spot a bison which was so natural in its own habitat grazing around the luscious green leaves and slender grasses it was getting aware that all of us were watching it and were making noises that disturbed him. When the rest of us could reach there it had started moving already after finishing its dainty lunch. Everyone had a chance at least to get a glimpse of it before it eluded.

We started back and reached our cottage by 1.30 p.m. the lunch was ready and everyone of us were waiting to fill. It wasn’t that good but still fiddled and finished whatever was kept on my plate. We went back to our rooms and rested our backs by the time Kubi and team were planning for the next location. Then we heard that the next spot would be Bandipura National park and planning for a safari. So we had to change our costumes accordingly and get ready for the safari. On the way our food committee members took care of their duties very well since the food wasn’t to the expectation there were no hesitation from anyone within half an hour or so we reached the park around 4.30 p.m.

A little fact about Bandipur, located in the southern part of the beautiful state of Karnataka, Bandipur is one of the oldest wildlife sanctuaries in India. The Bandipur National Park was made by the Maharaja of Mysore in the year 1931 and was then spread over an area of 90 sq kms. However, it was later increased to 800 sq kms and renamed as Venugopala Wildlife Park after the residing deity of the shrine located here at Gopalswamy Betta. The name Bandipur National Park was given in the year 1973 when the Government took over the park under the Project Tiger Scheme and it was then made into a Tiger Reserve.

There were lot of monkeys near the entrance of the park we were waiting for the vehicle to fit in everyone of us in a single van for the safari, the wait was worth it ‘cos we had nice time with those monkeys Zinia enjoyed it thoroughly and few of us too. Our vehicle has arrived and we all got into the van myself, Zinia and Arun were sitting in the front seats along with us Krishna was sitting since he was shooting the entire scenario. As the van started moving we caught site of the stags which were quenching their thirst from the nearby pond it was lovely site they were so graceful and elegant in their movements. The driver gave us few moments to relish the site and also get some pictures all our hopes were rested on Krish he was the cameraman for the entire trip. Then all of us started making noises out of excitement but the driver told us to keep quiet ‘cos the animals would get disturbed and hide so we would miss them. As we moved we saw red crested woodpeckers and few other species of birds. Then a herd of wild boars again a herd of stags and there was a silent phase where there was nothing on the way and people got restless and the road we travelling was blocked and we had to take another route( ALL IS WELL) even the diversion was for good cause we found an elephant family father, mother and 2 kids they were feeding on the leaves from the tall trees, the young ones were getting help from its mother it was a wonderful sight and we stopped there and were looking at it for a while then started getting back to the park. On the way back we found Bison, water birds and peahens.

We were back and we had the chance of getting a close contact with the monkeys there were two sorts red faced and the other was with golden fur with a black face. The red faced were so mischievous and were following us for food , whereas the black ones are well-behaved and they had a typical characteristics of holding their tail upright and the walking styles were so magnanimous. One ranger happened to be near us, he said that they were descendants of Hanuman and other stuffs about it. Again there were more than 100’s of deers prancing around the backyard it was lovely sight all in one big flock as there were other people too around us who were disturbing them they started moving farther and we were also following them after a while, we just let them be in their comfortable zone and watched its every move they again few clicks from all angles and all the parents seated under a shed comfortably but still wanting some hot tea. It was time started from their around 6.30 and on the way again snacks were distributed and every time they did it they had a slogan in tamil (food committee tan velaiyai semmaiyaga seidhu mudithadhu) almost for the entire trip this was repeated atleast for fifteen times.

Then we were back to the cottage we planned for a camp fire but everyone wanted some rest so it was postponed to the 2nd day. The dinner was hopeless as usual, Vijay had a little spark on his face for the only hope was the chicken fry. So after dinner we all went into cabins and tucked inside the bed for a tight sleep. I couldn’t imagine how I fell in such a quick sleep but it was disturbed continuously by Zinia and after sometimes the pipes were overflowing and we had to get up and repeatedly attending something or the other. Completely annoyed about the fact that we were supposed to start earlier for the next day.

Day-2 Sep 4, 7.00 a.m. the hot water wasn’t coming and everyone were rushing aunt was ready so she took Zinia along with her to dress up and we were getting ready. We had to leave the cottage by 7.30 and we did. On the way we stopped on the way to get some candies. so many had stomach upset and we planned to breakfast and lunch outside. Our target places were Theppakaadu elephant camp and pykara falls and the view points in Ooty. First we reached the elephant camp it was 8.30 by then as they told the elephant rider would come with their elephants to feed them so we waited till 9.00 a.m slowly one by one the riders were bringing them in, while we were waiting we had a chance to see a 4 year old elephant which was waiting for its meal we touched it and managed to get few clicks.

There was a pantry where they actually had charts and tables regarding the elephants age, nutritional requirements based on their age their diets were listed and they were kept ready on the tables with a placard having the names of the respective elephants and their riders. They were big cubes of rice, ragi, millet and jowar with a handful of salt and jaggery with full coconut kernel. The individual riders arrive at that time and then mix all these cubes in right proportions and make one full bolus out of it and then feed them to their elephants. It was lovely watching them eat it. After sometime we had a lovely chance to meet the finest of all we watched. It was Semmozhian a one and half month old cute little elephant whom they had rescued after his mother had given birth to it and had died. We were never allowed to touch him, only one person was appointed to look after him who fed him and took care of him. He was given a bamboo fence all around him which he was trying to lift off of his neck. I recognized the instinct of his gene emerging within at this young age . He was so playful he was trying to come out of there and wanted to take a walk around. Everyone of us were gazing at him touched by his story. I just tried to peep in he wanted to hold my hand and I could just steal a moment grabbing his trunk and patting him on his forehead he never let go off me I hesitated to get back.

We moved back to the bus and planning to have breakfast and see a few viewpoints as per plan. We ate in saravana bhavan it was a simple and quick brunch and our first place to visit was needle point view it was quite a walk to the point but it was worth it. We were walking amidst the clouds and it was so refreshing and cool we could hardly notice anything beyond the fog it was so dense. As we moved further the fog gave way and we could see the entire view and enjoyed the view for some time. As usual we had few clicks and came down the spot and the next spot we planned was to pykara falls. On the way Ramesh had planned some games like finding out the VIP, dum sharad, finding out things and eatables etc. It was fun and he has planned out well that everyone could enjoy and have fun on the way since the travelling was more this time.

Then we reached Pykara falls it was a nice place we had to walk down the terrain slope few sheeps were grazing around wet in the rain and clogged with soil all over covering their wool it appeared vey dirty, and few small monkeys playing on the tree branches nearby it was so cute watching them play their mischievous games and Krishna shot it for while everytime watch its sure to give those hearty laughter. We had reached the falls. We weren’t allowed to play in the main falls since it was so dense and they had put a wire mesh around to prevent the tourists from entering there but the streaming water on the rocky lands were so beautiful with greens all over water shrubs and plants in between hose rocky lands. We climbed down the sloped to rech those rocky lands wanted to feel the water already few were playing around in the water. I just had my first dip into the water it was so chill for a moment I felt my foot was frozen it was too chill to play for some time so quickly withdrew them and again few snaps down there and had to stroll back. On the way the scenaries were so good everyone started the photo session again. We all got into the bus and were starting to have the lunch. this time we were split into two teams veg and non veg obviously I was in the non veg group had mutton biriyani and fish and soup and the rest took meals and some took biriyani finished it with an ice cream. we had a hearty meal as per plan and were moving back to our homestay . Before leaving we had a shopping in Ooty market we go few fruits and spices and gotten back to the vehicle. It was quite a long journey so we entertained ourselves by singing songs and dancing for few beats. We played paatukku paatu but not all the parents participated only enthusiastic few and the rest fallen asleep after the long day.

I had a very nice time all the way through singing till my throat sored and soul fatigued and then finally had a little sleep. We reached back it was time for dinner we had our dinner quickly and had to get ready for the camp fire we had to make it short and brief since everyone were so tired. Priya wasn’t joining us because she had a fever and Manu Anni wasn’t joining because she had to look after the kid and few didn’t participate the camp fire. First as warm up session we had musical chair little different from the usual this each pair should have one chair two people in one chair so it was fun when all the parents managed to sit on their partners whenever they had to sit and it gave them good laugh and the game ended with Arun’s parents winning followed by the runner up (Kicha’s parents). We had to club the bachelor boys as partners and they refused but still we forced them to be and we had questions for each one.

There were 3 questions. Q. No. 1 What would be the last 3 things you would do when the world is coming to an end and there is no escape to anyone. Q. No.2. What relationship you would prefer your partner to be if you had one more life. Q. No. 3.This one was specially for the bachelors, Which roommate you would prefer to be your wife if they were females and the answers were so funny. The first question’s answers were all common like enjoying the last day with the kith and kin having dinner and talking and praying to God for peace blah…blah…the second question’s answers was also common but very touchy when they told that they wanted their wifes nad husbands to be their sons or father or daughter but the motive for each one was so different from the others opinion but Thenmozhi gave a different answer it was so cool she wanted Ramesh to be her twin so that they would have cherished their childhood together because they always talk about how their childhood were and what did either of them miss when they were young. It was so thoughtful of her giving such a wonderful answer. The third question which was posted to the bachelors were so funny. Kicha’s answer was Vijay because he dresses up so well and he knows the art of seducing and also he is so talkative and talented… Then comes Praveen he would chose Kubhi as his partner since he is so responsible and so hard working and has achieved a great height in his career. Then Irwin’s answer was Praveen because he thinks he is too bold and straight forward and also very hard working and committed to whatever he does.

So there ended all the games and the feedback session started and Zinia was starting get restless as she couldn’t bear me talking sitting in the same place. I wondered how she was quiet for this long. So she became irritated and I had to leave the session and the rest was shot by Arun for my reference. I had to watch the whole length and these were the comments precisely. Everyone of us missed Raj and Vinoth a lot. Second big thing all the parents were so proud that their Children honor, respect and love their parents so much that they bring them every year for such wonderful trips. Third thing was they wanted as much as parents as possible and also the children not to miss anyone in the near future to come. As Ramesh insisted that they had to tell us even the negative one’s so that we could improvise in future so Raj’s mother gave her view that which I felt was sincere that she told that they all wanted to stay under single roof because here is where they had an opportunity to express themselves and getting good company she felt they were all separated and also added that though the food wasn’t really that good it didn’t really matter when they all sat around as one family and had it.

There ended the camp fire and everyone had a good night’s sleep for the next big day. I was in the cottage alone with Zinia I was feeling nauseated and finally throw up and meanwhile Arun came back from the camp fire and took care of Zinia and we had a tough night putting her to sleep already half the night gone without sleep.

The next day has arrived we had a plan to go to Mysore and since it was long journey we had to start earlier and we hurried as soon as possible make sure that we are not the last ones to leave the room and hand over the keys. We had vacated and moving on first place was Chamundi hills to visit the temple . Some had very bad indigestion so we had kept all the precautions ready and the food committee got us lemon pickles and also pills then we all had tender coconut it was quite a relief and moved further towards Chamundi temple. We reached the place while we played some games on the way since the sound system wasn’t that good.

There was a long queue waiting for the rest of the people who were lagging behind and some got into the queue line and Kubhi got the tickets while we were on the line. We had a long waiting queue from there almost half an hour or so passed away since the queue was moving so slow. We had the dharishanam at a lightning speed it was so quick and the long waited hour vanished and lasted for a second and had a good look at the temple gopuram and finally left out to collect our sandals and buy few articles available there. Our next plan was to visit the Palace but we ran out of time so we had our lunch in an exotic hotel. It was nice in ambience giving a typical look of a Keralite style. The food was good as well but I had quite a horrid day with Zinia falling down having a bleed in her tongue I was completely getting on my nerves. I wasn’t feeling hungry after that scraped through a little bit and left the place and we came out of the restaurant we wanted to visit the few silk saree shops nearby but Kubhi wouldn’t allow us he told he would take us somewhere else but didn’t so we had to carry on. Then finally we went to Brindavan garden we had no time to surf the whole place so straight away went to the musical fountain we went through the motor boat it was nice lift. We all found ourselves a place before the show could start.

Then the show started it was a good one it was the first time I had been there and o enjoyed it and we had our way back after having few photo sessions we packed and moved back to our bus and having our trip back to Bangalore again inside the bus we all had fun wearing the satan horn and giving weird poses competing whose face was most horrid and again dancing for few beats until we all became tired. We stopped on our way for dinner we had nice tiffin with hot horlicks served at the end. then we were heading towards the end of the journey departing on the way greeting bye with all long and tired faces waiting for the year ahead to give us another load of fun where we all forget the rules and become kids.. Three Cheers Hip Hip hurray…

I have been too elaborate because I wanted to narrate the whole fun to those who missed it so kindly bear with me.\

Cheers
Kavitha