My short vacation in 2003 lead me towards journeying to my inner self. Read how...
It started with a negative feeling where I felt once again I was trading off on my wishes for my mom's religious obsession. While I was contemplating between a trip to Goa or the Golgumbas at Bijapur, she wanted to leave on a religious pilgrimage. My trip to Kadachadri mountain only ended taking me a step closer towards the beautiful nature.
Kadachadri mountain is a beautiful place situated in Kollur, Mangalore. The uphill stretch is almost 66 kms. The only vehicle that is able to make itself up the road is a Mahindra Jeep (applause to Mahindra's for manufacturing such robust vehicles!!). The uphill stretch is steep, curvy and unlevelled. The vehicle takes you on a stretch of about 56 kms; the rest is a journey is to be done by foot.
It's this part of the journey thats the most beautiful part where the concrete roads give way to nature's creation. The path to the destination which is a Adi Shankaracharya cave is amidst a dense thicket that is full of wild plantations and a vast expanse of trees. Wild animals seem to be frequent visitors out here and we happened to see a few of them. Strange it may sound now but then there was no fear at all!! We also had company in the form of friendly monkeys who were eager to eat out of your hands and hold onto our clothes and walk along with us as if we were their long lost companions!!
Nature made great steps out of stepping boulders and roots of trees and it was a beauty to watch how well they were entwined and interlaced. Our minds were sensitised with every movement, sound and sight. The never ending stretch of spirited colors just blended in each other forming a lovely meadow. It just reminded me of a quote by an author unknown which says ..
"The colors that the meadows holds,
Is something which no painters brush has told."
Never realised how easily we walked across a stretch of 8 kms (which would be a near impossible task in the roads of Bombay)!! There was yet another milestone at a distance of another 2 kms but we females were unequipped courtesy our traditional attire and slip ons. The journey certainly called for the trekking dress code with the steep, sharp edges & wilderness. The males in our group continued the blissful journey which ended with a beautiful water fall and a pious 'Shiv-ling'. We saw the visuals captured in their handy cameras. The journey downhill was as intriguing as the uphill one!!
One just lost oneself in a trance unfurling the ravels of the mysterious nature that gave you a sense of peace within and tranquility in sharp contrast to rustic concrete jungle that we all live in; filled with deep urges for achievement, politics, never ending deadlines and a mad rush for money, power et al. One might word it more aptly but the bottom line is that they are all the same!!
Ain't it...???
Are we not trading off a simple livelihood & such pleasantries which are immaterial in nature for something which is materialistic and in our rush for a better life we have all become emotionless thick skinned souls who don't seem to get affected by just about anything!!
Being a part of this melee, I, too the other day just walked aside a partly eaten dead body of a woman lying on the road by just casting my glance away as I was late for an official meeting that mattered more to me.
Strange are the different facets of life for there amidst the beauties of nature I was sensistive to every vibration and here on the road I was an insensitive soul. There is certainly no denying the fact that it is in this very vicious world, I work to earn my bread and butter that feeds my family as against the mesmerizing surroundings of Kadachadri where I sought peace at an elevated level.
As my mind continues to thrive in a conflicted state, I leave here...
It started with a negative feeling where I felt once again I was trading off on my wishes for my mom's religious obsession. While I was contemplating between a trip to Goa or the Golgumbas at Bijapur, she wanted to leave on a religious pilgrimage. My trip to Kadachadri mountain only ended taking me a step closer towards the beautiful nature.
Kadachadri mountain is a beautiful place situated in Kollur, Mangalore. The uphill stretch is almost 66 kms. The only vehicle that is able to make itself up the road is a Mahindra Jeep (applause to Mahindra's for manufacturing such robust vehicles!!). The uphill stretch is steep, curvy and unlevelled. The vehicle takes you on a stretch of about 56 kms; the rest is a journey is to be done by foot.
It's this part of the journey thats the most beautiful part where the concrete roads give way to nature's creation. The path to the destination which is a Adi Shankaracharya cave is amidst a dense thicket that is full of wild plantations and a vast expanse of trees. Wild animals seem to be frequent visitors out here and we happened to see a few of them. Strange it may sound now but then there was no fear at all!! We also had company in the form of friendly monkeys who were eager to eat out of your hands and hold onto our clothes and walk along with us as if we were their long lost companions!!
Nature made great steps out of stepping boulders and roots of trees and it was a beauty to watch how well they were entwined and interlaced. Our minds were sensitised with every movement, sound and sight. The never ending stretch of spirited colors just blended in each other forming a lovely meadow. It just reminded me of a quote by an author unknown which says ..
"The colors that the meadows holds,
Is something which no painters brush has told."
Never realised how easily we walked across a stretch of 8 kms (which would be a near impossible task in the roads of Bombay)!! There was yet another milestone at a distance of another 2 kms but we females were unequipped courtesy our traditional attire and slip ons. The journey certainly called for the trekking dress code with the steep, sharp edges & wilderness. The males in our group continued the blissful journey which ended with a beautiful water fall and a pious 'Shiv-ling'. We saw the visuals captured in their handy cameras. The journey downhill was as intriguing as the uphill one!!
One just lost oneself in a trance unfurling the ravels of the mysterious nature that gave you a sense of peace within and tranquility in sharp contrast to rustic concrete jungle that we all live in; filled with deep urges for achievement, politics, never ending deadlines and a mad rush for money, power et al. One might word it more aptly but the bottom line is that they are all the same!!
Ain't it...???
Are we not trading off a simple livelihood & such pleasantries which are immaterial in nature for something which is materialistic and in our rush for a better life we have all become emotionless thick skinned souls who don't seem to get affected by just about anything!!
Being a part of this melee, I, too the other day just walked aside a partly eaten dead body of a woman lying on the road by just casting my glance away as I was late for an official meeting that mattered more to me.
Strange are the different facets of life for there amidst the beauties of nature I was sensistive to every vibration and here on the road I was an insensitive soul. There is certainly no denying the fact that it is in this very vicious world, I work to earn my bread and butter that feeds my family as against the mesmerizing surroundings of Kadachadri where I sought peace at an elevated level.
As my mind continues to thrive in a conflicted state, I leave here...
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