Vedanthangal trip
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Having done Mahabs last February, yesterday, we - Naresh, Avinash and myself - decided to go cycling to Vedanthangal, a bird sanctuary situated about 85 kms from Chennai. The decision was made a week ago, which in fact gave us enough time to prepare ourselves for this marathon physical exercise, but all that we did was to eat and sleep during the whole week. Come Saturday, we went ahead with our plans in the most optimistic mood.
One has to go on NH-45 (Chennai-Trichy highway), which IMO is one of the best highways in the country for most part of the journey. The last 12 kms is on country roads which give you a taste of rural life in Tamil Nadu.
On Friday evening, I went to the medical shop and got 3 packets of glucose, a few tablets of crocin, dygiene, and lopomaide. I forgot brufen, which later happened to be the most necessary medicine. We hunted to get a pair of binoculars but rather surprisingly, didn't get one. Six water bottles were collected. I also put a South India Travel Guide in my bag. We had read in a tourist guide book that the best time would be between 3 p.m and 6 p.m. So, we thought that we would halt for the night at Chengalpet, and so I also took a blanket and mosquito repellant. As a part of our accoutrements, there was also a cycle pump. So with this much preparation, we set out on Saturday morning, at 5:30 a.m from IIT, and took the road to Tambaram via a very bumpy Taramani. Naresh was on a BSA Mach, Avinash on my brothers Hero Hawk, and myself on my own Hawk. I am specifically mentioning this because we owe a lot to these cycles, but for which, we would have never been able to complete the trip in one day.
Having left before sunrise, we had to encounter stretches of unlit pot-hole ridden roads. Soon the light of dawn brought us some relief, as we cycled the first 20 kms non-stop (not really non-stop, as Naresh had a phone call, but it was more or less so), till we reached a point where the NH45 meets the Chennai bypass road. This is about 2 kms after Tambaram. Standing on top of the bridge, we had a good view of the morning sun. We went a little further, and had our breakfast at Perungalathur. It was about 7 o'clock.
We resumed at 7:15. From here it was a nearly non-stop exercise, except for a brief halt at a petrol bunk for answering calls of nature, and a few more to take snaps of the places around (snap 1, 2, 3), and sometimes to adjust my bag which always kept falling off. At about 9, we reached the Chengalpet bypass. As we were cycling a train passed on the nearby track with a hill on the backdrop - a perfect example of a kindergarten child's drawing. Sadly we could not capture it on our camera. It was near Chengalpet that we found cycling a little more tedious, thanks to the many ups. Thankfully we were energetic, and there wasn't any sign of tiredness, except the numbness that you feel in your hands.
As we went further, I suddenly saw a board which said Vedanthangal was 12 kms. The board was in Tamil, which only I can read. So I cycled a little fast to catch up with Naresh, who mostly remained ahead to tell him this good news, since till then we had no idea how much more we had to go. Naresh then told me that if that was the case, we had to take a right turn at the next intersection. I had totally missed this direction. So, I enquired with a shopkeeper near the intersection who confirmed what Naresh said. This was around 9:40.
As soon as we took a turn we stopped to have the first round of emptying bottles....yes we too were surprised that we had travelled so far without drinking any water. Here we took a few snaps (1,2) of ourselves, ate some biscuits that Avinash had brought and rested a while. A little further we saw a few ducks quacking and swimming in a canal. As we went further, we saw a temple atop a hill. Avinash wanted to go, Naresh and I didn't. Finally we agreed that we would put the cycles below, and walk upto the temple. So we stopped near a tree, one similar to those that we see in movies under which a village meeting usually takes place. These two guys went up, while I stayed back as I was in no mood to climb up. After some time they came back, and we continued. Soon we reached Vedanthangal. By now, my right knee, which had caused me a lot of trouble during and after the Mahabs trip had begun to ache badly. The others too began to have pains in the hand or back or the butt. It was about 11:30.
We were hajjaar hungry by this time, and all that was there for us to eat was a few cold idlis and hot vadas at a small stall, which usually city-bred people don't visit. But we had no choice. When hunger strikes, nothing matters except food. What was great about it was its price. We ate 22 items, and paid 25 rupees. We bought a two packets of biscuits and a half a dozen guavas before going into the sanctuary. The ticket is Rs.5 for and adult, and Rs.25 for a camera.
The place is basically a marsh with a lot of bushes standing out of the water. It is on these bushes that the birds build their nests, and obviously, the fish is their food. A kind of elevated walkway is built on the fringes of the marsh, the elevation is necessary to make it a ticketed area. A few watch towers are built along the walkway. Soon we realised that we were the only people there without binoculars.
Here we took a few snaps, and owing to our tiredness, sat on a bench. Soon, Naresh and Avinash took their afternoon siesta, as I sat there taking care of the belongings, and musing about the whole trip so far.
After a while, we walked around, sighted many birds, and captured a few on the camera. OUr original plan was to stay till the evening, and stay for the night at Chengalpet. Some good fortune helped us decide that we better make our way back home the same day. So after spending close to 4 hours there, we left at 3:15.
The return journey was one of the most painful I have had. We stopped almost every 6 to 7 kms for water or glucose or toilet or otherwise, simply to rest ourselves. This time, we could not cycle up the slopes. We would get off the cycle and push them up. The pain in my right knee began to increase little by little, and the worst thing was that I had no pain-killer. So I took a paracetamol, hoping it would help. May be it helped. It was 5:45 when we reached Chengalpet. Hand paining, butt hurting, head aching, and of course, my right knee. We went on.
At about 6:30 we were at GUduvancheri, 10 kms to Tambaram still. It was here that my pain became unbearable. All the power came from my left leg. I stopped at a medical store and bought brufen. Took a pill. A little further, we also had glucose. It was here, while getting off from the cycle, I pulled the muscle in my left thigh. So now, I had a pulled muscle and a hurting knee. And we still had nearly 25 kms to go. This was the lowest point in our trip. We rested for a while here. I knew that there was only one way out of this - get back home. I closed my eyes, caled myself, and told myself that I can do it. "God is with me. He is riding the cycle. I will make it." Soon, we were back and at about 7:45 reached Tamabaram. What was indeed amazing was that my pain began to reduce, and what was funny was that the pain came back if I stopped cycling, but disappeared if I continued to cycle. I have earlier written about the power of positive thinking. This was a great example to prove it yet again.
We had dinner at Tambaram and left there at 8:15. Soon we were cycling fastest in the whole of the return journey, probably the home-coming put enthu into us. Without many more halts, we reached IIT at 9:30. Went to Dabbha and had a lassi each to refresh ourselves. My body seemed to be aching much less than what I expected. The right knee was hurting just a little. Miraculously, I would say. Soon we were on the bed. My whole body is still aching. It hasn't completely recovered from the onslaught it received a couple of days back.
I have a few thoughts to share on this whole trip. They are a bit philosophical. First of all, I think we stretched ourselves a little too much. The body has its limitations. None of us were sportspersons. Naresh never plays any sport, I play rarely. Avinash is the only one who plays quite often. With no physical preparation, we certainly did not have the fitness levels of Lance Armstrong, or for that matter even the most injury prone Indian cricketer. Yet, we went on. This, on hindsight was very foolish. The fact that it doesn't matter doesn't make it any less foolish than if it mattered. What if I did not have the mental strength to go on? It would have been a terrible situation for all the three of us. They would have had the burden to get me and my cycle back. So lesson 1 is "Be prepared completely".
Next, on the way back, my mind, as usual, was not quiet. It began to think about the whole purpose of the trip. What were we trying to prove? I could not come up with any convincing answer. The best answer was that it was our boyish enthusiasm for adventure that made us undertake this trip. It all seemed to me so empty. Is human life to be wasted on such adventures? I say human life, because I have no idea how many times God saved us from sure disaster. I know there was atleast one instance where He saved me from a certain trip to either the hospital or heaven. What if in the risk we took, something unpleasant had happened? This might look a very pessimistic view, but the fact remains that for you to meet with an accident, only a second is needed, but to be accident-free, you need to be so throughout the journey. This shows the need for wisdom in deciding what to do and what not to. In hidsight, I would say this was rather unnecessary by which we probably gain nothing. Ok, at least, I have gained nothing out of this. In the end I would say this: Do not be stupid. Life is not worth taking such risks, no matter what thrills they give. There is a much greater purpose to life. It is not to be wasted in silly thrills like these, or for that matter, any adventure sport.
Having done Mahabs last February, yesterday, we - Naresh, Avinash and myself - decided to go cycling to Vedanthangal, a bird sanctuary situated about 85 kms from Chennai. The decision was made a week ago, which in fact gave us enough time to prepare ourselves for this marathon physical exercise, but all that we did was to eat and sleep during the whole week. Come Saturday, we went ahead with our plans in the most optimistic mood.
One has to go on NH-45 (Chennai-Trichy highway), which IMO is one of the best highways in the country for most part of the journey. The last 12 kms is on country roads which give you a taste of rural life in Tamil Nadu.
On Friday evening, I went to the medical shop and got 3 packets of glucose, a few tablets of crocin, dygiene, and lopomaide. I forgot brufen, which later happened to be the most necessary medicine. We hunted to get a pair of binoculars but rather surprisingly, didn't get one. Six water bottles were collected. I also put a South India Travel Guide in my bag. We had read in a tourist guide book that the best time would be between 3 p.m and 6 p.m. So, we thought that we would halt for the night at Chengalpet, and so I also took a blanket and mosquito repellant. As a part of our accoutrements, there was also a cycle pump. So with this much preparation, we set out on Saturday morning, at 5:30 a.m from IIT, and took the road to Tambaram via a very bumpy Taramani. Naresh was on a BSA Mach, Avinash on my brothers Hero Hawk, and myself on my own Hawk. I am specifically mentioning this because we owe a lot to these cycles, but for which, we would have never been able to complete the trip in one day.
Having left before sunrise, we had to encounter stretches of unlit pot-hole ridden roads. Soon the light of dawn brought us some relief, as we cycled the first 20 kms non-stop (not really non-stop, as Naresh had a phone call, but it was more or less so), till we reached a point where the NH45 meets the Chennai bypass road. This is about 2 kms after Tambaram. Standing on top of the bridge, we had a good view of the morning sun. We went a little further, and had our breakfast at Perungalathur. It was about 7 o'clock.
We resumed at 7:15. From here it was a nearly non-stop exercise, except for a brief halt at a petrol bunk for answering calls of nature, and a few more to take snaps of the places around (snap 1, 2, 3), and sometimes to adjust my bag which always kept falling off. At about 9, we reached the Chengalpet bypass. As we were cycling a train passed on the nearby track with a hill on the backdrop - a perfect example of a kindergarten child's drawing. Sadly we could not capture it on our camera. It was near Chengalpet that we found cycling a little more tedious, thanks to the many ups. Thankfully we were energetic, and there wasn't any sign of tiredness, except the numbness that you feel in your hands.
As we went further, I suddenly saw a board which said Vedanthangal was 12 kms. The board was in Tamil, which only I can read. So I cycled a little fast to catch up with Naresh, who mostly remained ahead to tell him this good news, since till then we had no idea how much more we had to go. Naresh then told me that if that was the case, we had to take a right turn at the next intersection. I had totally missed this direction. So, I enquired with a shopkeeper near the intersection who confirmed what Naresh said. This was around 9:40.
As soon as we took a turn we stopped to have the first round of emptying bottles....yes we too were surprised that we had travelled so far without drinking any water. Here we took a few snaps (1,2) of ourselves, ate some biscuits that Avinash had brought and rested a while. A little further we saw a few ducks quacking and swimming in a canal. As we went further, we saw a temple atop a hill. Avinash wanted to go, Naresh and I didn't. Finally we agreed that we would put the cycles below, and walk upto the temple. So we stopped near a tree, one similar to those that we see in movies under which a village meeting usually takes place. These two guys went up, while I stayed back as I was in no mood to climb up. After some time they came back, and we continued. Soon we reached Vedanthangal. By now, my right knee, which had caused me a lot of trouble during and after the Mahabs trip had begun to ache badly. The others too began to have pains in the hand or back or the butt. It was about 11:30.
We were hajjaar hungry by this time, and all that was there for us to eat was a few cold idlis and hot vadas at a small stall, which usually city-bred people don't visit. But we had no choice. When hunger strikes, nothing matters except food. What was great about it was its price. We ate 22 items, and paid 25 rupees. We bought a two packets of biscuits and a half a dozen guavas before going into the sanctuary. The ticket is Rs.5 for and adult, and Rs.25 for a camera.
The place is basically a marsh with a lot of bushes standing out of the water. It is on these bushes that the birds build their nests, and obviously, the fish is their food. A kind of elevated walkway is built on the fringes of the marsh, the elevation is necessary to make it a ticketed area. A few watch towers are built along the walkway. Soon we realised that we were the only people there without binoculars.
Here we took a few snaps, and owing to our tiredness, sat on a bench. Soon, Naresh and Avinash took their afternoon siesta, as I sat there taking care of the belongings, and musing about the whole trip so far.
After a while, we walked around, sighted many birds, and captured a few on the camera. OUr original plan was to stay till the evening, and stay for the night at Chengalpet. Some good fortune helped us decide that we better make our way back home the same day. So after spending close to 4 hours there, we left at 3:15.
The return journey was one of the most painful I have had. We stopped almost every 6 to 7 kms for water or glucose or toilet or otherwise, simply to rest ourselves. This time, we could not cycle up the slopes. We would get off the cycle and push them up. The pain in my right knee began to increase little by little, and the worst thing was that I had no pain-killer. So I took a paracetamol, hoping it would help. May be it helped. It was 5:45 when we reached Chengalpet. Hand paining, butt hurting, head aching, and of course, my right knee. We went on.
At about 6:30 we were at GUduvancheri, 10 kms to Tambaram still. It was here that my pain became unbearable. All the power came from my left leg. I stopped at a medical store and bought brufen. Took a pill. A little further, we also had glucose. It was here, while getting off from the cycle, I pulled the muscle in my left thigh. So now, I had a pulled muscle and a hurting knee. And we still had nearly 25 kms to go. This was the lowest point in our trip. We rested for a while here. I knew that there was only one way out of this - get back home. I closed my eyes, caled myself, and told myself that I can do it. "God is with me. He is riding the cycle. I will make it." Soon, we were back and at about 7:45 reached Tamabaram. What was indeed amazing was that my pain began to reduce, and what was funny was that the pain came back if I stopped cycling, but disappeared if I continued to cycle. I have earlier written about the power of positive thinking. This was a great example to prove it yet again.
We had dinner at Tambaram and left there at 8:15. Soon we were cycling fastest in the whole of the return journey, probably the home-coming put enthu into us. Without many more halts, we reached IIT at 9:30. Went to Dabbha and had a lassi each to refresh ourselves. My body seemed to be aching much less than what I expected. The right knee was hurting just a little. Miraculously, I would say. Soon we were on the bed. My whole body is still aching. It hasn't completely recovered from the onslaught it received a couple of days back.
I have a few thoughts to share on this whole trip. They are a bit philosophical. First of all, I think we stretched ourselves a little too much. The body has its limitations. None of us were sportspersons. Naresh never plays any sport, I play rarely. Avinash is the only one who plays quite often. With no physical preparation, we certainly did not have the fitness levels of Lance Armstrong, or for that matter even the most injury prone Indian cricketer. Yet, we went on. This, on hindsight was very foolish. The fact that it doesn't matter doesn't make it any less foolish than if it mattered. What if I did not have the mental strength to go on? It would have been a terrible situation for all the three of us. They would have had the burden to get me and my cycle back. So lesson 1 is "Be prepared completely".
Next, on the way back, my mind, as usual, was not quiet. It began to think about the whole purpose of the trip. What were we trying to prove? I could not come up with any convincing answer. The best answer was that it was our boyish enthusiasm for adventure that made us undertake this trip. It all seemed to me so empty. Is human life to be wasted on such adventures? I say human life, because I have no idea how many times God saved us from sure disaster. I know there was atleast one instance where He saved me from a certain trip to either the hospital or heaven. What if in the risk we took, something unpleasant had happened? This might look a very pessimistic view, but the fact remains that for you to meet with an accident, only a second is needed, but to be accident-free, you need to be so throughout the journey. This shows the need for wisdom in deciding what to do and what not to. In hidsight, I would say this was rather unnecessary by which we probably gain nothing. Ok, at least, I have gained nothing out of this. In the end I would say this: Do not be stupid. Life is not worth taking such risks, no matter what thrills they give. There is a much greater purpose to life. It is not to be wasted in silly thrills like these, or for that matter, any adventure sport.
2 Comments:
While the first half of the blog is all right (like the first half of the trip), I have serious differences with Ram Subs on the latter half.
What were we trying to prove? To me, it is quite clear: I wanted an ego boost. Now, I believe that is really important - to have a sense of self esteem. Is life to be wasted on such adventures? I say, life is enriched by such adventures! Sure, I wasn't in as much pain as R-man was, and therefore have a more optimistic outlook. So what if something had gone wrong? I believe we would have come out of it the stronger. If one of us had serious physical problems, we would have learnt how to survive in the wilderness (so to speak) without any preparation. Every experience we go through in life is a learning opportunity, and it is foolish to discount any of these.
It is also woth noting that (a scary thought) crossing Sardar Patel Road every evening is as much a random event as a trip to Vedanthangal. In fact, cycling on the highway, your senses are on full alert - while they may not be when you are running across the road to catch the 21G.
What would we much rather waste life on? Music? Physics? Listening to music also gives me a thrill - perhaps of a different kind. Or is human life to be wasted on blogging and sending e-mails?
What you said is absolutely true Naresh....might seem contradicting but i am saying this when i am in a different state of mind altogether, and i said that when i was in another state.
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