Sharavathi Backwaters - A Toast to Peter and CTC's 3rd Birthday!

The flight had taken off at the right time and now we were flying steadily above the cotton clouds. When I looked through the window, I could see tiny houses and the trees far below. Huge mountains appeared as small hills...

I was lost in thoughts about my loved ones when I heard a sweet voice announcing refreshments! I looked down the aisle and saw a beautiful air hostess coming towards me pushing the food cart. She had the most charming smile I had ever seen, and at that moment, I knew I was in love! She said something which I didn't hear at first. "Hmm.. her voice is so soft, it is barely audible. Sorry mom.. you are going to have a hard time hearing your daughter-in-law after our marriage!!!" I tried hard. Still I couldn't hear a thing. She came very close and shook my shoulders. At first, I didn't feel a thing. Again she shook my shoulder, This time I felt it... and also heard it clearly

"Swalpa jaga beedi" (please give some way)

Suddenly I was awake!

The Air hostess, the beautiful smile, the food cart, the window, the aeroplane... everything vanished! An old lady was standing there trying to figure out how to cross all the human obstacles and luggages on her way and reach the toilet in an over crowded, unreserved compartment in Shimoga Express! I was one of the human obstacles.

I looked around... Rajanna was sitting in the opposite seat with Ram and they were in serious discussion with Sujai (...about everything from SLR lens to guns) Above them, Rajini was lying on the wooden berth stretching from there to the luggage rack on the side. Above my head, Shankar, Manoj and Nagul were having the worst night of their life on the broken wooden berth. There was no place even on the floor which was unoccupied. Yatin, Divya, Krishna, Vishnu and others were also going through the same experience in the adjacent section of our compartment. The other ladies were luckier as they got enough seats in the ladies compartment. A few less fortunate ones were sitting near the toilet in another compartment!

I was happy. At least, I had a seat and the cool breeze through the open door! They say, the journey is greater than the destination! It always is! (At least... most of the time) So why not start enjoying even the smallest of happiness? Like... getting a seat in an unreserved compartment, having a mobile with lots of songs, snacks and even the fact that you are with some good, like-minded friends!!

Ram, myself and Sujai on the edge of his seat - Krishna's click

Rajini - Ram's click

Manoj - Ram's click

Krishna trying to complete "Of-course.. I love you!" - Rajanna's click

CTC (Chennai Trekking Club) was celebrating its 3rd Birthday on Feb 22, and every CTC-ians were on a trekking spree. With so many (easy, moderate and tough) treks, social causes and birthday parties, February had been busy for most of us. When others celebrated their birthdays littering all over the place, we celebrated cleaning it! When others went to the malls and movies, we went to the nature. When others checked out the pubs, we explored the wild! Thats Peter's way of celebrating birthday... and CTC's too! 17 treks were available for anyone who was willing on the Feb 19th-20th weekend!!!

I had just joined CTC and gone for one easy trek to Nagala on Feb 6. There were some '*' conditions applys, selection criteria for the toughest ones, and me being just a new kid on the CTC block, I targeted an easy one - a 2 day trip to Sharavathi Backwaters near Shimoga in Karnataka.

After 3 days of registration, and just 4 days remaining, I got the sad news that I was waiting list no 9! Two days and many prayers later, still there was no update. I sent a gentle remainder to Rajini and Manoj - the organisers, regarding my humble existence and the reply was "We are sorry to inform you..." I didn't read the rest...

Just like a sad hero of an 80's movie (when heroine is getting married to another guy) I wrote... "No problem... Thanks for the reply.. I will surely try the next time... You people have a great time" (Neenge enge irundaalum, nallaa irunge! Where ever you are... be happy!) I got down at Vadapalani and walked towards The Mustang @ Green park!


I guess someone heard my prayers and I got a call from Rajini. He said some people had other plans and they dropped out, ...am I still willing to join? Am I willing to join?? You bet! yes.. yes.. yes! Finally I was in the list! I was so happy, I called my friends and informed them about my weekend plans. Finally I was going to Sharavathi!

Earlier I was anxious whether I would be selected or not. Now my anxiety was regarding the group. The only person I knew was Nagul Ram, whom I met in the Nagala trek. Will I be able to adjust with the 25+ new friends? Should I have dragged a couple of my friends along with me? How will it be like camping under the stars on an island... won't it be cold??? will my cameras be safe...?

All my concerns vanished as soon as I reached Chennai Central on Feb 18th afternoon and saw the non stop chattering and enthusiastic group with backpacks and sleeping bags. Most of them knew each other from the earlier treks and I knew I'll also fit in gradually...

The organisers of our trek were Rajini, Manoj and Rajanna and they did a wonderful job arranging everything. There were 3 different trekking groups in the train, so most of the passengers in the compartment were CTC members! Peter was also there, going on one of the toughest treks a 3 days trek to OG! The journey till Bangalore was filled with so much fun and excitement!

At Bangalore we bid farewell to the other groups and went to our platform. Some of us went to buy the tickets and some went to get food. From Bangalore 2 more people joined the group (Shankar n Parvathi) who were also from Chennai but working in Bangalore. We reached Shimoga early in the morning and from there it took 2 hrs to reach Sharawathi. There we met Ram, our guide and caretaker for the next 2 days and we quickly started towards our destination the islands in Sharawathi Backwaters.

The Sharavathi batch - courtesy Rajanna

The just 1 km easy trek to the back waters!

Finally the water! You can see the islands also here...

The train and the road journey till here was kind of 'adventurous' and exciting, but the destination was more awesome! Ram and his helpers started preparing the breakfast and within half an hour hot dosas chutney and sambar was ready. After having a great breakfast, we were taken to the islands in batches on plastic coracles.

Nandini and her new friend 'Handa'

Ours, was the last batch and by the time we reached in the island, others were already in the water with their life jackets on. Ram explained the rules and safety tips and the moment he said go.. we were also in the water!

The Sharavathi Backwaters - courtesy Krishna

Petcy, Yatin

Pradeep

Nagul

Chandru!

Vikrant

Krishna

Parvathi

Ram

Nagul

Manoj

Chandru

Rama

Sujai

The pirates!

The loner

Sunset @ Sharavathi

Sharavathi @ the dusk...

Sharavathi @ the dusk...

- courtesy Rajanna

- courtesy Rajanna

- courtesy Rajanna

- courtesy Rajanna

The dawn

Divya and Padmini - the Meditators

Rajanna and Krishna

Rajini... Rajinikandh!

The return :-(

The toughest part of any journey is the returning part. I fully agree this time, that the journey is greater than the 'destination' - the crowded Chennai!!! But what a weekend it had been! We swam from island to island, we kayaked, we coracled, we rowed, we dived, we took photos, had an awesome dinner under the stars! We enjoyed the camp-fire, tea, snacks, the climate, the nature, the long walks, meditated, enjoyed new friendships and even the peaceful loneliness!

Checkout Nabble for more awesome photographs and experiences from the others...

Once again, my sincere thanks to all the organizers for this awesome trip!
See you all soon!