When Strangers become Colleagues and When the Colleagues turn into Buddies…

Hello all, it gives me an immense pleasure in catching you all yet again, a belated happy and a blessed Easter to all my friends and readers, and not to forget the little master and the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar turns 41 today. Older the fiddler, sweeter the tune. Has India found someone who is as good as the master who united the diversified Indians belonging to varied caste, creed, region, religion, language and what not? Unity in Diversity and Sachin Tendulkar... can there be any other two synonymous phrases that would go hand in hand? I would go with a big noooo....

For an introvert like me, who was already lost in the transition from college life to corporate life due to the apparent insecurity or coyness or whatsoever you would name it, what could have been the one X factor that should have brought me out of the shell called shyness? Yes, I may not be open to many, I am usually personified to be quiet and to be frank I really don’t know how to grab attention like few others. So if I like you enough, I will show you the real me, you must consider yourself to be someone special in me. My shyness has ruined so many good opportunities. Yes I do confess that I am shy at first, most people don’t find the time to get to know the real me and those people who tried to explore me, despite my shyness, have now become my best buddies all throughout my thick and thin.

The Strangers who became colleagues (From the left Praneeth,Kavita,Uday,Rohit, Roshni, Sunil,Paul,Swathi, Santhosh, Mukunth)

I consider myself to be fortunate enough to have found few strangers who later turned to be my colleagues and those colleagues and their family who later mutated to be my buddies. People please don’t panic, this isn’t an autobiography. Let’s get into the topic of interest now.

Yes it was my second tour with my office friends, the first one being the beautiful and the all extempore Gokarna trip. Being away from home and being away from your School and college friends regardless of the pay you get, what is the one thing that keeps you bonded to the office life, that keeps you moving forward with joy and an exuberant excitement and that keeps your professional life engaged without getting bored in the so called politically biased and the partially prejudiced corporate life? Yes it is your colleagues who turn into your camaraderie and the rapport you develop with them.

The Colleagues who turned into Buddies

The Colleagues who turned close pals here are: Paul,Praneeth,Kavita,Sunil,Vineeth,Roshni,Santhosh,Priya,Rohit,Akash, I (Mukunth)  and last but not the least Uday and Swathi who are the better halves of Kavita and Paul respectively. Everyone mentioned above are idiosyncratic and versatile. They are more than just friends with whom you intend to share anything and everything in this world without any hesitation in the course of time as and when you get acclimatized to them. The beauty of this kind of friendship/Relationship is that there is nothing called a boy's thing or a girl's thing to be hidden from each other. No gender discrimination, we all fell under only one category that has been beautifully christened as "FRIENDS". Be honest to yourself and you can be best friends with a guy or girl with the same kind of intimacy that you would have with the person of the same gender.

Once again we all found a beautiful place to get lost, this time in the God's Own Country, Kerala (Wayanad). Like how most of my Chennai friends jinxed the perennial Bangalore weather, it became damn worse and sultry hot as that of Chennai. So we thought we would land up in some hill station to enjoy the climate, after a series scrutinization we ended up in Wayanad. Everything was perfectly planned much in advance this time. As usual few dropped out due to unavoidable circumstances. I still wonder has there been any trip with a gang of over 12+ in it where in people have never dropped out till the end?

The All Scenic Pookot Lake

Let me brief you about my friends who were supposed to make it to the trip, Pleasing, jovial and a gregarious Paul and Vineeth, The all geeky Praneeth, Patience Personified and a happy go lucky Kavita and Swathi who will always be there to take care of everyone in the gang and to make you not to feel aloof, The all Hilarious and a friendly Rohit and Akash, the affable, live wire and the ever cozy Sunil and Roshni, Amiable and a warm hearted Santhosh, Multitalented and a jovial Uday(Dancer, Singer and on top of it an awesome Cricketer),last but not the least the cricket crazy Priya (the girl whom any guy would love to have her as his friend just because she follows cricket closely) girls who follow cricket are very few and one among them is you... hardly I have seen girls follow cricket and I was awestruck with her freaking crickenomics apart from her amicable nature. Unfortunately our camera man Vineeth, Priya and the all new dad Akash had to drop out.

Praneeth and Paul were well ahead with the perfect planning and execution this time, as we had ample time in prior. The Friday at the office was even more frenzy than the usual ones. Without any second thoughts, the sheer anticipation about the trip brought in the wild excitement and the delirium that made the day move faster. Paul and Praneeth were the trip organizer this time. We all were supposed to assemble at Kavita and Uday's place say at 7.30pm. I would personally advise every one of you to always have a grace period of an extra half an hour whenever you plan something especially in the Traffucked Bangalore. After a huge hiatus I was able to reach Kavita's place only after everyone had already arrived. Much to everyone’s surprise and happiness we had a cute little guest who was the center of attraction for the next few hours at the terrace. It was Avyaan (Who was Just 180 days old, Akash Junior) who had come all the way just to see and play with us.

The All Excited people at Fish Spa 

After a brief Pizza dinner which attributed to bit of drama in the delivery and the supper, we had to bid adieu to Akash and family as they were in two minds whether to join us for the tour or not. Hope Avyaan grows sooner and Joins us for our upcoming trips. Thanks to Santhosh for getting some good music and movies loaded for the trip.

It was around 12 am when we started playing Ragini MMS 2 and people fell fast asleep within no time. So the cab was called around 1 am with everyone all set ablaze with their back packs and luggage moved to the ground deck to board the cab. Finding a good driver is as important as finding your life partner, in both the cases our precious life is at stake. We were lucky enough to have had Mr. Nagaraju as our driver. He drove the Tempo traveler very subtly and he was patient and silence personified all throughout. So with bits and drabs of sleep we reached the forest entrance say around 5.30 am. It was pretty cold and we thought the weather would be the same as we were marching towards the God's Own Country whereas on the contrary it never seemed to be hill station as it went on to resemble the same Bangalore weather in no time.

The Trial selfie which paved way for the best in the business

After a brief photo session near the Road tax toll plaza we went on to halt at Sulthan Bathery for breakfast. As no one had freshened up and brushed we went on to buy parcel so as to take in the home stay where we were supposed to lodge in.Yes we reached Kerala by then, our built in 576 Mega pixel camera called eye confirmed it, as we were able to spot people with Dhotis and dense dark oiled hair and until vodafone beeped with a message of welcome to Kerala and a happy Roaming message. This time it was Praneeth's Lumia 525 which came in handy with the GPS for us. Thanks to the 31+ satellites zipping around the world that made us navigate bang on to the destination every time we typed one. The Trip Advisor website played spoilsport as we headed to a home stay which was scenic but then that was never meant for our crowd that had come only for partying.
 

Bit of heated argument followed by the light hearted hospitality of the guy over there melted us, it was say around 9.30 am until our stomach started cribbing and grumbling for food. We had to procrastinate our hunger until we reach the next home stay. The Kurkure, Lays, Gems, Silk, Kitkat etc that were left untouched vanished within no time. The Squealing stomach that was cribbing for food didn’t stop Sunil and Roshni’s photo shoots over there. So Vinu or Binu or Manu (The discovery and the fact was that 90% of the Mallu guy's name ends with a "NU") we reached the guy who was instrumental in booking us our home stay. So in no time we moved away from the wonky, muddy road that literally seemed to be a Quagmire, to the main road where that Binu had asked us to assemble. Binu took us to the home stay which he had given us in the mail. It was pretty eye catchy from outside but then it didn’t have the AC we had requested for.

Selfless Selfie at its best... The Seflie which would be cherished for the ages to come 

We had no other go but to settle down there as we were freaking hungry and tired. Idli, Kadla Curry, Puttu which had never been my favorite seemed to be a sumptuous breakfast for the kind of hunger we all were stricken to. It literally meant elixir of life to most of us at that instant.
 

After bathing and dressing up we headed to our first site seeing for the day. Soochipara falls it was, and the God was never kind enough to us in his own country. It was closed to due to scarcity of water. It didn’t stop us we then headed to Chembara peak which was closed again. Disastrous start to the trip aint it? We were never disappointed or dejected we went inside a tea plantation and took as many snaps as one can so as to subside or evade the disappointment that everyone were hit by. It was fun out there. We didn’t even leave the selfie untouched. Thanks to Roshni for her beautiful selfie that shall stand a testimony to trip and the bonding we all had and will have so as to cherish it for the ages to come. (It would not be fair if I don’t confess that I revisited the selfie innumerous times, which I had lost the count already) and people with all your due permissions and patent I would like to send across the above selfie for the various selfie contests that are on the run. I am very sure we are going to win it hands down and the prizes shall be partitioned amongst the ten of us and the majority shall go to the one who clicked this.

Oh Boy...This is not a palace but the Home where we lodged in

We then moved on to the Pookot Lake, much to everyone's bewilderment it had water, but none of us were interested in boating as it didn’t have a ten seater so as to accommodate all of us. It was the eye catchy fish spa that then grabbed the people's attention. Swathi, Kavita, Praneeth, Uday and Roshni gave it a try and the rest of us enjoyed watching them being bit and licked by the fishes. It was around 3 pm when we were all damn hungry yet again and halted in a hotel for a Tiffin. Surprisingly the food was too good over there. kerala Parotas, Egg Dosas and Ghee roast made our late afternoon lunch a pretty decent one.
 

A series of disappointments and failures during the expedition kindled a serious thought in Paul, which just meant we had to party hard all night and we shouldn’t be sleeping until the next day's dawn greets us. Paul had a terrifying punishment for everyone who felt sleepy, it was to just go and bathe to evade the sleep.

Yes we were surrounded by water on all the four sides here

The Rain God was kind enough to shower his blessings later that evening. We all went for a short nap so as to stay awake all the night. Rohit and I went to a Kerala restaurant for ordering a pompous supper. People back at the home stay were all set with the stereo system in the terrace. Once the food was brought we moved to the terrace and therein started the party. Some good bollywood numbers were played and people were unleashing the innate dancers in them. To be frank except for me everyone had discovered a Prabhu deva in them that night. Sorry Uday and Roshni, you guys literally got your arse out in teaching me dance but it went in vain. I will make sure that I become an improvised dancer in our next trip if at all we plan one.

Enroute to Kuruvu Island

After some 2 hours of dance and music. We went on to play truth and dare, which had many embarrassing questions and dares to many of us. It was fun and we were lucky enough that none were asked to narrate their love stories for the nth time in their life. It was around 1 am we started having our supper which was yet another slump. Food was ok kind and we were just able to get away with it.
 

Say around 2 am when people were almost fast asleep and most of our eyes were drooping automatically, Roshni had brought in the most interesting game of everyone's life time. “Risk” it was as the name suggests she did risk all those small coins that were meant mandatory for play as majority of us were totally out of control, Such a strategic game to be played at the very wrong time. Roshni had a horrible and a strenuous time in explaining each and every one of us the confusing game rules, as most of us were already into our sub conscious state. Utmost fun it was. Thank you Roshni for such a fun filled game. Make sure and check out whether you have all the soldiers, Canons and the nights. I would rather say we were prone to conquering the whole world at the wrong time.People fell fast asleep. (Santhosh and Praneeth's fun filled laugh riot is skipped here, if you know what I mean). We all slept around 4 and got up say around 8am.

The Breather of a Stream there at Kuruvu Island

After a not so great breakfast which wasn’t worth the brag and which proved to be fatal as time crept on? We headed towards the most beautiful Kuruvu Island (Sarcasm at its peak). A travel alongside hills is always incomplete without motion sickness. Roshni, Paul and Rohit were the victims of motion sickness and rest were quite immune and didn’t puke.
 

It was a strenuous travel from then on. We would have travelled more than 80 kms to reach the most beautiful place on the universe called "Kuruvu Island". Never ever miss out such a scenic beauty. It’s a must watch and a highly recommend spot to all those who plan to visit Wayanad. Phew after having a horrible time in the Kuruvu Island which was fun only because of the people who were with me, we were completely drenched in sweat and it was sultry to the core. The only sigh of relief and a breather was the stream of water that ran there in the so called island.

The Unexpected Safari near Nagarahole Sanctuary

A Paul Praneeth Raj Capture (Don't you get a sound sleep when people around you are too sweet and too good to resist? yes, you get one and here is the proof...

It was around 4 pm when we started our way back to Bangalore. We were lucky enough to have had a walk in the park wild life safari near the Nagarhole National park. Deers, Elephants and the bison were spotted. The picturesque Meander of the Kabini River swept us off the feet as we were heading to Mysore.  Hunger took a toll on us yet again; we halted some 40 kms before Mysore for a snack break.  We plundered a bakery; Egg puffs, Aloo bun, dil pasand, badam milk, coke and sprite pushed the people around me to oblivion. The Bakery owner must have been the happiest man in the vicinity. At last we reached Mysore around 7.30 pm. The next destination was hotel Mayura Jewel rock with bit of struggle the GPS came in handy for our rescue. The food was utterly butterly delectable over there. Thanks to Paul’s friend who had directed us to eat there. The food was too good that the allergy that had already crept on my face restrained me from enjoying the grandiloquent supper. 

The supper was followed by a nostalgic Tonga ride around the palace. Swathi, Roshni, Kavita and I were a part of the exciting Tonga ride. Roshni even went to the extent of displaying her mastery and prowess in riding the horse. Horse’s name was Gabbar Singh. It was around 10 pm when we all started to Bangalore. It was driver Nagaraju’s heroics from there on. There was no looking back as we landed Bangalore at around 2 am.

The All Elated Crew

There ends the beautiful and exhilarating 2 days (12^th April-13^th April 2014) with my friends and not at the so called God’s own country or Wayanad.  I literally leave humbled and say this with a candid admission from the bottom of my heart - "I will treasure this spectacular and a home away from home association, support and camaraderie which was felt over the years among my colleagues who turned into buddies of late. I have learnt a great deal from every single one of you and without any second opinion I will for sure carry a small piece of your mind with me for the days to come. As Helen keller quoted “we would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light” won’t we?

Love this Pic a lot

It’s the time that creates a new buddy to us and everything happens for a reason as we know friends are born and not made. No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel with your friends until he comes home and hits the sack and cherishes it soliloquizing for quite some time before falling asleep.

 

Thank you everyone for your continued patronage and your forbearing patience that made you read such a lengthy post. Catch you all in another travelogue wherein none of us gets spared and let us all optimistically hope that the next place turns as beautiful as that of my friends. Happy reading…