The Transformation……….

… And that was the starting. Slowly but steadily and without much of my knowledge I was falling for Temples, Forts, Havelis, Palaces etc.  i.e anything with historical value. I realized that much later.

Photography, took a pivotal role in my life. I was graduating slowly from a very casual travel clicker to a serious amateur. Apparently Nature took away my heart. There had been lot of interesting outings in and around Chennai, some of them were just a half or full day trip while the others were for couple of days.

I allowed my heart to take over my activities as far as weekends and holidays were concerned. I was running after Birds very frequently. I also found myself visiting the beaches, fairs and not to tell about Kanchipuram which I went many many times.

Kovalam Beach

 Like a kid I was getting excited in any kind of Shooting that was coming in my way.

Those days, I went for a small trek to TALAKONA which made a real impact on me. It was small for almost all others who went along but for a few of us; the reason, around 5/6 of us were 40+ and rest were between 20-30 and a handful in their mid & late 30.

I still vividly remember the evening before the day we would start. I was coming back from an official trip to Calcutta and was damn excited. Next day our journey started in a bus at the wee hours. Breakfast was on the roadside Dhaba and we reached the destination around 11am. There was a long way through jungle, a slight up & down and lots of Monkeys & Butterflies. After ascending a good lot of stairs we reached the Falls. On the way we noticed lot of activities in connection with Cinema shooting. Our friends have identified some local actress also who allegedly have some relation with some Indian Cricketer.

The day was sunny but cool. The excitement of trekking went on tickling me. But I won’t forget the next one hour or so after the halt near the fall. There was a steep climb waiting for us before we reach the summit.  And it was really tough for me as well as for many others whether they are my age or younger.

Once in the summit, it was a small shed where we were to dump our backpacks and rest. This shed had one roof and …. that’s it. Yes also some steel poles on which the roof was resting.

We had our lunch, rice and sambar packed in plastic sheet & newspaper; we were to had it without any plate, forget about spoon and all.

Surprises after surprises….  But I managed.

We had many such things throughout that day and also in the next day.

There was no toilet and a good lot of girls were also in the team. These may be very common for trekkers and if someone with such background read this, he/ she may laugh it off. But for me a typical urban person, these were something.

Throughout the two days we had water taken from the streams. Believe me, after my second Jaundice in 1995, I have never taken anything other than mineral water once out of home, but for this two days. First I was very tensed and apprehensive but by the end of first day, that became normal.

We went around throughout that afternoon and evening till there was sunlight. We had an early dinner (same menu) and went to bed. All of us carried either sleeping bag or some kind of sheet, sorry I forgot the name but its very common to trekkers.

The night was a real experience and achievement of my lifetime. All 25 odd people slept under that shed on the open ground in the middle of a jungle.  Many times I woke up to find most of my friends are in deep slumber.

But before going to slumber we had a long chatting hour on various subjects. When almost all of us started getting sleepy and retired, the Moon rose up on the horizon with its full beauty. For the first time I tried shooting the Moon. After many tries I was satisfied and finally retired.

Next day after breakfast we started descending in different groups. Little did I know that this can be more trying than ascending. On the way we stopped for a break near a pool made by the Waterfall. Thanks to my trekker friend who led us there because Mother Nature had stowed it away very secretly, deep inside the forest cover.

I have never seen or rather experienced more serenity. There was absolute silence. During afternoon hours also it was very cool and thoroughly shadowed. Every one of us tried to capture the beauty in our camera. But I believe no matter how great a Photographer is, he can never capture the beauty of reality.

After that it was again descend and finally reaching the point where we have left our bus on the previous day. The return was generally uneventful. But for me the very trip was a great event  only second to my four years of Engineering College in Jalpaiguri.

In these two days I have seen and felt Nature so closely for the very first time. It was like a rebirth. I realized that urban amenities can definitely make and keep one happy but one has to go to Nature to attain fulfillment. Two days was too short but it gave a glimpse of reality which so far remained unknown to me.