Friday, April 27, 2007

The Watch Tower...


I joined SDM-IMD on June 4th 2005. It is an architectural marvel right under the base of Chamundi Hills, the torch bearer of Mysore tourism. From our college campus we gt an amazing view of the eastern side of the hills. Especially the early morning view with the hill covered in mist is breath taking. It was only after a few days of my stay in the college that i happened to notice a small watch tower on top of the hills. It was used by the forest guards in the early years, only to be abandoned after a few years. I always felt that i should try and get to the top of the tower, trekking.

It took a long time of almost six months for that dream to materialize. It was some time in the second term end that we decided to to trek to the watch tower. yeah.. We, Me Mohit and Manjunath. :-) Winter season was just about to begin when we made our plans. On a lazy sunday morning, the three of us set off to conquer the watch tower at sharp 6.15am. From our campus the watch tower was a tiny speck and i was already having doubts about my stamina. But I didnt say a word fearing the comments passed by to other two.

We started the ascend by around 6.30am. It was a route filled with thick bushes and shrubs. The route was tricky and confusing. We were not sure as to weather we were moving in the right direction. But the gut feeling took us or rather dragged us all the way up.

We had let off hopes of seeing walkable or trekkable paths as the route was becomin tougher and tougher. Mohit, the most flexible and energetic among the three would go first and find an easy way up both me and Manja. I could still manage but it was Manja , with is out of shape build, who was a tough time. It was recentle that i had purchased my Samsung Mobile phone, and i was pretty excited about taking pics with it. The view from the hill side towards the city is just mind blowing. We even had the a chance to see some of the rarest species of Spiders. (Mohit is an expert with reptiles, Spiders and other creepy stuff... ). It was a demanding task. After almost an hor and half, we reached the watch tower, or that what we though!!! We had actually reached a place from where we could see the watch tower, but could not climb it, as it was surrounded bu thick thorny bushes from all the sides. I think it was deliberately done soon after it was abandoned, so that no body uses it for any other purpose. The three of us had put in a lot of effort to reach till here and were not ready to give up so easily.

We then decided to take a round about way to reach the opposite side, though we knew it would cost us atleast another 45 min. But we still went ahead with it. This was the most toughest part for the three of us. The path was covered with thorny bushes, slippery rocks. To add to our worries we had even seen 3 to 4 snakes making their way through the bushes. But some how we managed to reach the other end. But it was not over yet. Though we had found our way to the top of the watch tower, the entire way was covered by bushes. We had committed ourselves a bit too much to give up now. Mohit, taking advantage of his lean built, found his way by jumping on directly to the ladder. But both me and Manja had to crawl ourselves to the stairs.

Once we were on top, the feeling was totally different. None of us were feeling tired. The was a sense of accomplishment. We had done something that no SDMite would have dreamt to do. We trekked for 3hrs continuous;y to reach the watch tower. The view from atop the tower is just mindblowing. The entire Chamundi hills could be seen at a glance. We could also see our beautiful college campus from up there. It was so windy up there that we had to hold on real tight to the railings. Both me and Manja were worried about Mohit.. He he...

As soon as i got network on my cell i franctically called a few of my friends to let them know that by the time they were up in bed, I was up the watch tower!!! Manja then engraved our names on the door of the tower. We decided to take a small nap after all the hard work and trust me the experience is one of a kind. I took off my jacket,shoes and just closed my eyes. I could feel the winds rushing by my side. It was amazing.

After spending almost an hour on the tower, we decided to head bak to the college. I must admit that the old and rickety stairs scared the hell out of me. Some how i managed to fumble my way down.

Now comes the best part. All three of us forgot the way down!!! A little bit of confusion took us to the wrong direction. But we never gave up. We some how struggled, crawled our way through the forest and after nearly an hour we reached the road, almost at the top of the hill. The entire experience is beyond what words can convey. We started to walk. All of us were dead tired, but we never revealed our weakness. Finally to our luck a bus was coming our way and we hitched our way down.

This is one experience that i will never ever forget in my entire life. Plus this episode had also made the three of us the latest adventure heroes in college who conquered the watch tower!!!

GSB!!!

It was a cold Tuesday morning on August 15th 2006. There was an annual sports event being conducted in our college. It was a holiday that we longed for-- Myself Ashwin, Manjunath and Mohit!!! The three of us decided the previous night that we would set off to the one and only Gopal Swamy Betta.(Kannada for hills). The most beautiful hill station i have ever seen in my life. It was 5.45 in the morning when Mohit came and woke me up. By 6.15am the three f us were ready with our Bikes, Helmets and Jackets. The three machines were a Hero Honda CBZ 150cc, a Honda Unicorn 150cc and a Bajaj Caliber 110cc.

We left the college premises by 6.30am when most of the students were lost in their dream world. The very first pit stop was a Fuel pump. Each of us filled fuel for Rs.250. By 6.50am we were off!!!

The best part was that the roads were excellent. Though it was full of fantastic twists and turns, it was also covered with a smooth layer of tarmac. It was a treat for my eyes and for our bikes. Both me and Manja (thats how i call him) were well ahead in our powerful bikes, but poor Mohit had a lot of catching up to do in his Caliber. But he did a pretty good job. The total distance to Gopal swamy Betta was around 86kms. The three of us maintained a steady speed of 70km/hr. It was very tough to control the irresistible urge of just letting the throttle loose as all i could see was wonderful black tarmac inviting me to hit the gas. And inevitably, there were times when i purposefully gave in to the temptation. It was an opportunity to check my bike's limits. I could actually feel the rush when i saw the speedometer touching 105km/hr. All i could hear inside my helmet was the soft humming of the bike's engine and all i could see through the vicor was the blurred images of trees and cars and other vehicles that passed me by.

It was not me alone who fell for the temptation. I could also see Manja trying to catch up with me on his Unicorn. It was fun leading the way and then being lead. At around 7.15am we stopped 4 a small break. We decided that the next stop would directly be a GSB. At 7.25am sharp, we were off again. This time there was No stopping, No turning back, No slowing down.

The three of us ripped out bikes till we reached the GSB Entrance at around 8.15am. We paid the small entrance fee and we were on our way uphill. The total distance from the foothill to the top was around 7km of steep ghat section. I had to lower the gear to 3rd to climb the hill at a comfortable pace. At times even 2nd gear wasn't enough. I can imagine how tough it must have been for Mohit. One funny thing observed was that at the base of the hill it was very warm, bright and sunny. But as we reached towards the top we could actually feel the difference. The roads ahead of us started disappearing coz of the mist. It also started raining lightly. The three of us couldn't help but stop our bikes to enjoy the climate... It was amazing.... This was when i decided to take off my helmet so that i could feel the air. It was getting cold as we moved higher. Thats when i see Manja taking off his leather jacket.. Can you believe that!!!! Me and Mohit didnt wanna act foolish and were tucked inside our jackets.

As we reached the top, all three of us were spellbound. It was terrifyingly windy, Al the roads were wet, It was still raining and the mist made it difficult to see more than a few feet. This was what excited us. While most sane people would find it wise to just visit the temple and go back, we decided to go trekking!!! Yeah u heard it right. GSB is famous for its elephant inhabited forests around the temple. We just wanted to have fun and loads of it... We trekked deep into the hills with almost zero visibility and with rain goddess showering her blessings on us. I was truly one of the most amazing experiences i have ever had! All we had with us to record this wonderful experience was a puny little camera. A 1.3 MP cam which was integrated in my Samsung E880 mobile phone. But it was doing a decent job. Missed a digi cam though...

After enjoying the climate and ofcourse the trekking we decided to head back to the college. It was 12.15pm in the afternoon and the hills were still covered in thick mist. We never wanted to leave the place, but had to. We had plenty of assignments to be completed for tomorrow.

The way back was even more fun. As we reached towards the base we could see the mist fade off and the bright shiny sun smiling at us. It was almost like two different worlds out there. The experience is beyond words. I for the first time in my life entered into a sunflower garden. With the sun shining at them, it was truly a wonderful sight to see all the flowers bloomed to their fullest.

This trip will always occupy the first row in my memory banks. And i am sure it would be the same for both Manja and Mohit. This was a wonderful experience and i would request all the people in and around Mysore to visit this place atleast one, Coz its worth it!!!