Nagala Re-visit

"Whom did you like the most in this group?"

Biju asked..

"Come on yaar... don't be shy... which girl or lady did you like in this group?"

We were having an intro-session at the 2nd pool in Nagala on a Sunday afternoon. Biju was the organizer who took the challenge of taking 82 members, most of them first-timers to CTC's most favourite trekking spot, the Nagala western entry. We had started from Koyambedu at 5:30 AM and after a short stop at Poondi reservoir, we reached Nagala at 8:30.

Photo courtesy Karthik R

After a quick breakfast of Sweet Bun, bananas and frooty, we started the trek at 9:00 AM.

I got my first shock ten minutes later when my Nikon D80 declared 'she' was not working on that Sunday! Good bye to all the plans of practising 'people portraits' and the blog post! :-( I was left with just the Fuji finepix XP 10. However 'she' was only 'cool' underwater. Above the water level, she was just average!

Any ways, I decided to enjoy the trek, rather than worrying about my cameras. And then the second shock hit me at the first stream.

This time, it was not electronic, or mechanical. It was the work of *****, senseless, empty headed, cracks who call themselves humans. The beautiful place was totally 'raped' with hundreds of plastic plates, cups and plastic bags. It looked as if someone had a party there and those idiots weren't taught about cleanliness in school!

We reached the first pool and spent half an hour swimming and diving. While swimmers were having a great time, the non swimmers weren't left behind. They were given tubes and taken into the pool. Few decided to take rest for some time. After enjoying there, we headed to the second pool up to where I had gone the last time. The water was less compared to last month but the enjoyment was the same! I swam, dived, took some snaps underwater, climbed the rock, again dived...

The third pool was the best surprise of the day! It was some 40 feet deep with steep rocks to jump from and the water so clear and inviting. I wasted no time, jumped into it and swam for 10 minutes.

Initially Biju said we cannot go further as it will be late while returning and the trek ahead was a bit tough. But somehow a few others convinced him and he said he will take only the fit and runners. How could I miss this opportunity? Kishore and myself joined the group of 10 and Biju lead the way. Helping each others during the climb and through the slippery rocks, we finally reached the last spot - a beautiful water falls! After enjoying the falls and the photo shoot, we returned quickly to the 3rd pool! There we took rest, had lunch, did the cliff jumps and dived into the clear water to my heart's fill!





Biju repeated the question... "Whom did you like the most in this group?"

Shy smiles, diplomatic replies, blushing... it made me think. "which girl or lady did I like in this group???"

Was she the one who had the cutest smile which reminded me of someone special...?
Or was she the one who had beautiful eyes...?
Or was she the one who endured all the difficulties and completed the whole trail..?
Is it the
ladies who accompanied their loved ones into the forest, over the hill and through the water..?

Thinking about it more and more, I realized, though they all were from different walks and ages of life, they all had one thing in common. A heart that loved nature, which sought adventure and was ready to take any risk! That's what made them get up at 3:00 AM, get ready and come for this trip! Clearly they were not the "Saas-bahu" or "Kolangal" drama addicts and that difference made me like all of them very much. Not just like but respect too!

Here is my salute to all those special ladies I met in this trek, the earlier ones and throughout my life!


(Belated) Happy women's day!



Comments

  1. good finishing Praveen bhai......

    ReplyDelete
  2. Praveen... Nice write up...

    Peter and a team which went in to Nagala for a two day trip cleaned up the entire place... CTC Cares for nature... :)

    Hope to see you in future treks :)

    ReplyDelete

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