Why should boys have all the fun?

At a very early age I knew I was wired differently from most of my friends around me. Those days we did not have television. The radio itself was quite a novelty. The Indian print media did not boast of an auto-based magazine to the best of my knowledge and even if one did exist, I am sure it must have been way above my financial stratosphere. Our only access to “foreign magazines” which would host photographs of motorcycles and cars would be at British Council Library or some old magazine shops. Even then, when my friends would excitedly pore over glossy images of Ferraris and Lamborghinis, I would be frantically searching for images of brawny stripped-down Land Rovers, Pajero’s or Land Cruisers. This unique area of interest extended to naked bikes and cruisers as against classy fully faired sports bikes. This however is a story for another day. 

The bare truth was that ever since I set my eyes on an automobile, I always favoured brawny Jeeps or SUV’s as they are more popularly known now over sleek classy sports cars and sedans. Actually, SUV is the most abused word in automobile terminology these days. However, let’s not go down that road today. This tendency to prefer “jeeps” may have been reinforced by the fact that my father did travel in one quite frequently. (this must be the Freud in me.)  Nevertheless, whatever the reason, this preference not only stayed with me but actually strengthened over time. The first Indian Jeep / SUV that fascinated me was the Mahindra Armada. I remember when I saw the first ad of that in the pages of the newspaper I was blown away and eagerly tried to read up everything about it. I remember seeing one at a restaurant. I spent so much time staring at it at close quarters that the owner actually came over to check who I was and what I was up to.

I then travelled abroad in search of a better life (read as a better salary). I ended up in Africa where I first set my eyes on as I call the trinity of SUV’s – the Land Rover, the Mitsubishi Pajero and the Toyota Landcruiser. I did drive a Pajero and boy did that make my day. I returned back at the turn of the century and by that time Mahindra and India had progressed to the Bolero. I did an extensive study on it and just as I decided to book the vehicle, the lure of the green bill beckoned and I went abroad again.

I returned finally in 2005 and once again I was met with a newer more advanced SUV from Mahindra the Scorpio. Now this was what I called a fully thoroughbred SUV. A true Ladder on frame which could take anything you could throw at it. Of course, it was a 2 wheel drive vehicle only, therefore, full off-roading was out of the purview. I immediately lined up and booked my first Mahindra Scorpio in my life.

It was not a very popular choice with the family. No one had heard of anyone in the family owning a “Jeep”. In the extended family, extend it till the horizon but still no name sprang to mind.  Arguments like “How can your family go to a function in a vehicle like this? What would people think? Why can’t you buy a Maruthi or a Hyundai car like everyone else? Why do you have to try to be different always? Now in normal circumstances holding my ground is not my forte, especially considering the class of opposition here. However, this was anything but normal circumstances, this was a test of my unique preference. I did the unthinkable. I stood my ground.

The red beast entered my life in the August of 2005 and boy did she have a presence. The family slowly got around to liking and then loving her. Over the next five years she took us all around South India. Yes, it was not the smoothest of rides. Yes, the diesel engine was noisy. Yes, the leaf springs made the ride bouncy. Yes, there was a lot of roll to the extent that I had banged my head on the side window more than once. Yes, the gear lever had to be forced into the slot. All true, but she never let you down.  When the asphalted road ends and it does quite aften in India, that’s when life begins for Mahindra SUV’s. During the floods in Chennai, when lesser mortals like hatchbacks and sedans were floating around helplessly, I could drive around smugly, with a smile on my lips and a look of disdain at all the drowning cars around me. She served me for more than 5 years until with great reluctance a new mystic purple CRDE Scorpio replaced her and served me loyally for more than 6 years.

Which brings us to my current vehicle of choice the Mahindra TUV 300 which has already served me for 4 years plus.

There is something about brand loyalty and me especially when it comes to bikes and cars. Mahindra’s have given me a lot of concern and heartache. More often than not having purchased a model as soon as it was launched well against my better judgement, I have been swamped by problems and issues, most of which ought not to occur in a new vehicle especially from the Mahindra stable. but they do, time and again. Something which Mahindra does not seem to have learnt from. You cannot treat your new customers as guinea pigs. You cannot launch a vehicle unless you have ironed out all the niggles however minor they maybe.

The only thing going in Mahindra’s favour is that whenever I have reached their authorised service centre aggrieved, they have attended to the issue promptly, courteously and defused a potentially tricky situation. In the few cases, where I was not satisfied and did escalate the matter, the response from Mahindra was prompt and favourable. Mahindra listens to its customers, No doubt about that.

Despite all the issues, and some were not minor enough to be termed as niggles, I have been a faithful and loyal customer of Mahindra’s all along and will continue to do so. Some relationships are just meant to be and whenever it is time for a new vehicle, I may read up about all the new options in town, but eventually, I just head to the nearest Mahindra showroom.

Which now rather belatedly, brings us to the reason as to why I was reminiscing about Life and SUV’s in general. It was one of those Saturday mornings, when I was cleaning up an old cupboard of mine, as the house was being repainted.  I chanced upon an old photograph of a mine, actually a group of friends on a trip. An old tattered black and white photograph its edges all peeling away (that must have given you a fair idea as to how many times the rains have come and gone in my life). As I glanced at the photograph a smile played out on my lips as I recalled the occasion with nostalgia.

It is indeed one of Life’s cruel tragedies that the closest friends that you grew up with , the guys ( in my day and age you were not lucky enough to have girls as friends ) who played cricket with you on the roads, who stood by you bravely when the aunty down the road hurled the choicest abuses in Tamil  at you for breaking her window pane for the umpteenth time ,the guys who were very much a part of all your adventures ( and misadventures as well ) during college days , all these guys just disappear from your life later on . Life happens, guys get married and many of them disappear yonder in search of greener pastures, in search of a more lucrative livelihood. As long as they have some roots in the neighbourhood, they do visit, on holidays, on happy and in some cases tragic occasions. However gradually these visits dwindle, become few and far between and then cease altogether.

The advent of the Internet and Face book meant that we got in touch again, exchanged notes on how each one was doing and then got down once again to what we did best all along, cribbing about our lives. My search of greener pastures took me to the dark continent. I guess, I was always the guy who always took the road less travelled. After a decade or so in Africa, my yearning for India and Chennai in particular dragged me home. Since then luckily my assignment included quite a bit of travelling. I did catch up with one of my friends in the Middle East and another in South Asia. On all these trips our evenings were filled with reminiscing about those good old days. Another of my friends was plying his trade in Chennai itself. We had the luxury of having these discussions more often in the teashops in and around our area.

Having inhabited planet earth for close to six decades and having reached a stage wherein very shortly we would all become eligible to travel at subsidised tariffs, all my friends were slowly returning home after long arduous and rewarding (though they claim otherwise) careers. Contacts were re-established and we did meet once in a while, spouse’s, children’s schedule permitting to reminiscence and crib again

As soon as you reach a certain stage in Life, you suddenly realize that the basic premise on which your entire life philosophy was based on, was grievously flawed. Unfortunately, life’s wisdom dawns slowly and a major portion of life has flown past until this eureka moment strikes us. For many of us (and I am guilty of making a major assumption here that there are a lot more people out there who are wired like me) who live life in pursuit of self-inflicted material goals , An apartment , a car , ………so on and so forth and  keep on postponing the little joys and pleasures of life till it is achieved are sadly mistaken for once they reach their material target they more often than not realize that the proverbial goal post has shifted , it is now a larger apartment or maybe a villa,  a SUV .

Having been guilty of all of the above and much more, I and my friend here in Chennai (Vicha)  had recently embarked on a journey of self- actualisation (if you can call it that) and had been planning a road trip for some time. The fact that our old gang was more or less complete did serve as added inspiration. A zillion discussions, arguments later, the destination was finalized. We would drive down first to Kabini for a couple of days and then to Coorg before returning back to Chennai.  Travel sites were pored over and accommodation booked. Our partner in crime would my Mahindra TUV 300 (the Red Beast as I called it). However, all those out there, who are married would understand that to take off with friends at short notice does not just happen. The afore mentioned spouse’s /children’s calendar / schedule had to be referred to. Hard negotiations ensued (of the WTO type), Quid pro co trade-offs made and then it all slowly fell in place. Dates were finalised.

Sometimes, ever so rarely lady luck does smile at you, It so happened that another of our friends, the missing link in our Gang of five (The fabulous Five – Oh my God that sound like that Enid Blyton book) could also make it to the trip. Initial concerns were raised as to the wisdom of five people embarking on a trip in a TUV 300 with luggage. However, these were soon dispelled with the famous TINA argument (There is no alternative).

There was a lot of excitement in the air, notes were exchanged. It was decided that we would start early. I was supposed to pick up the others and we planned to depart Chennai by 5.00 am so that we could avoid the early morning traffic at Sriperumpudur. We hoped to restrict scheduled halts to a minimum, as we had to reach Kabini by evening. We had also received a note from our resort that the gates at the entry to the Nagarahole National park would be shut by 6.00 pm and since our resort was at the other end of the forest, we had to reach that gate prior to 6.00 pm.

Despite the fact that I packed late into the night and could hardly sleep I woke up very early and tossed and turned till the alarm rang. I was up and ready much earlier than planned and was concerned a bit as it was raining cats and dogs. However, the rain gods finally relented and it settled down a steady drizzle. I set off ahead of schedule. All my friends were ready and the pick up went off smoothly. Luggage was piled on to the back of the TUV and we realised that we were ahead of schedule as we crossed Poonamalee and hit NH 48 enroute to Bangalore.

 The slight drizzle continued on the way but as we crossed the Rajiv Gandhi memorial, dawn broke and the guys were in full flow as we hit the road.

We halted at Aryaas at Pallikondan at about 8.30 am for a rather sumptuous breakfast and after taking some photos, we set off again. Just prior to Hosur, we were taken off the highway by Google maps and unfortunately by the time we realized that the roads were narrow and bad, it was too late. We decided to rough it through and the TUV’s suspension was tested to the limits.

The scenery was awesome as we traversed narrow roads lined with trees on either side. The greenery and vegetation on either side of the road were soothing to the city bred eyes exposed predominately to concrete structures.

We also could not get a decent place to have lunch and by the time we stopped for lunch it was well past 2.00 pm we were all starving. It was a lovely place where we had lunch and all our initial misgivings about the quality of food was dispelled and we all enjoyed a rather leisurely meal. We were confident that we would reach by 6.00.  Despite having provided for bad roads in the final leg we just about made it.

We crossed the Nagarhole forest  reserve at dusk and reached Kabini resort which is situated at the border of Wayanad Kerala.  

The place was well maintained and virtually empty as it was not peak season yet. The rooms were clean and the service reasonably good. The guys had a game of badminton. Since it had been a long day, we were all tired. We opted to stay back in the rooms and had a quiet dinner in the restaurant and called it a day early.

Early in the morning, we had a cup of Coffee in the balcony overlooking the Kabini river. We had breakfast leisurely in the restaurant and then decided to drive down to Irupu falls. Irupu Falls is located in the Brahmagiri Forest range in Kodagu district of Karnatake bordering Waynad district of Kerala. It has a hanging bridge and a water fall.

We reached around noon and it was a challenging climb for us. The hanging bridge was nothing to write home about. The falls were decent. Unfortunately, it started raining and there was no shelter in sight, so we cut short our stay and got down.

 The drizzle persisted. All this climbing and getting wet in the rain had stimulated our appetite and all of us were hungry.

We decided to have lunch in a small restaurant (more of an eatery) at the entrance. The seating and atmosphere were basic. However much to our delight we were served steaming hot delicious food and all of us really enjoyed our meal. Sometimes in life, your best experiences occur at the most unexpected times and place and this meal at one small restaurant, being served with great personal attention and care by a lady a who I think owned the place was one of the highlights of our trip.

After a sumptuous meal, we decided to drive back to our resort and the scenery enroute was amazing. Sometimes I feel that the people of Kerala and Karnatake are a blessed lot. they are indeed God’s favoured children. I say this with no malicious intent or an attempt to malign or belittle any other state or people. Throughout, our travel in Karnatake we were met with breath taking scenery all around. Most of the roads we traversed were lined with majestic trees. Every village pond that we drove past and I remember driving past quite a few was brimming with water. It was indeed a sight to behold and we got literally tired of clicking photographs.

We stopped at a quaint little tea shop on our way back to have a cup of coffee, After, a lot of deliberation, we decided to have a quiet dinner at the resort and retire early. The guys played some cards while waiting for dinner and we had arranged to drive out early the next day morning for the water safari at Kabini. Since we had to be there by 6.00 am we had a 5.00 am start.

There had been a lot of debate as to whether we should take the land safari or the water version, In the end we chose the water safari. We had to leave by 5.00 am as we had to drive through the forest area to get to the water safari launch area which was at the other end. Normally, we were given to understand, that, vehicles are not allowed through the forest area between 6.00pm and 6.00 am but for visitors taking the safari an exception was made.

Driving through the forest at that time when it was pitch dark was a surreal experience. My friends were on the look - out for wild animal sightings and we did spot herds of deer and wild bison. Unfortunately, since I was driving, I was not able to enjoy the sightings as much as my friends did, as I had to pay attention to the road. We had a lot of speed breakers and rumblers which sprang up on you unannounced. The darkness , coupled with the silence and the way the eyes of the animals glowed in the dark, the startled look on their faces as the headlight of the TUV swept on them, all made for a memorable experience We crossed the forest and reached the boat safari launch sight at the break of dawn. There were a few occupants already in the boat and as soon as we arrived the boat started.

 It was a cold chilly morning and there was rain in the air.  The captain of the boat took us around and we were stunned to see a tree in the middle of the water. Actually, it was just the trunk and a few dry branches totally devoid of any leaves and on that sat a few birds in a nest and they were hatching their eggs. As a matter of fact, we saw a few young ones in the nest. It is indeed amazing how some species survive in the harshest of habitats. Here were young birds, at their most vulnerable stage in their lives, totally exposed to the elements, struggling and managing to survive. It is truly, an amazing world that we live in.

While our captain was taking the boat close to the shores in an attempt to catch some wild life, it all seemed to be in vain and he explained saying that since it was raining the animals would be reluctant to leave the dryness of their habitat and come out in the rain even to drink water. We saw what seemed an innocuous scene of a large herd of deer ambling towards the shore. Suddenly we saw a few of them starting to run helter skelter and the rest of the herd panicked as well. At first it was difficult to see what was causing this panic among them, until we could see a pack of wild dogs / wolves attacking them. The deer were jumping into the water in desperation and trying to get across to the shore at the other end. What probably saved the day for the deer and skewed things up for the wild dogs / wolves was the arrival of a few wild bison at the scene. This made the wild dogs / wolves pause a bit to try and comprehend what the arrival of this new actor in the scene meant. This gave the deer the time to escape. The wild dogs / wolves did regroup and make another attempt but this was too little too late. The prey had fled successfully by then.

This was indeed a great scene to witness and it made our day. We did see a few Bison and other birds. However, despite the best efforts of the captain of our boat, elephants were not to be seen. That did seem a bit strange to me as on an earlier personal visit to Kabini with my family, we had seen plenty of them. They obviously were staying put, wherever they were and were not venturing out in wet weather. Considering how cold and windy it was now, it made proper sense and I wished we had followed the same advice as them. The rest of the boat journey was cold and uncomfortable and on reaching shore, my friends who had befriended the other visitors on the boat stopped by to have a cup of coffee with them.  I, in my eagerness to get away from the wet weather and reach the comfort of the TUV had rushed ahead and sadly missed out on a a chance to have a steaming cup of filter coffee. Missed chances .... the story of my life.

We drove back to the resort and on the way back we did see a few herds of deer and some bison as well. We had a hearty breakfast and then checked out of the resort.  We were on our way to the resort in Coorg. The drive was pleasant as we passed through the forest area. The scenery was awesome as usual. We stopped enroute to check with the resort, that we had booked in Coorg and we were advised to have lunch and come as their kitchen had closed. Unfortunately, no good hotel was in sight and we stopped at a bakery and had some soft drinks and puffs and cakes. This forced menu did not go down well with all the members. We continued on our way and reached Evergreen county in Coorg.

We were briefed and told that this was a theme based resort.  We were being given a chance to explore nature close up. The whole resort was based amidst thick vegetation and all the cottages were constructed of bamboo. They had two levels and the climb up the staircase to reach the upper deck level was not confidence inspiring especially considering that none of us were spring chicken any more. Despite the fact that the boys sportingly laughed it off, I was a bit concerned as I was the person who had booked this facility.

The person who was to be our host was a young boy and he was indeed a very efficient host. On the same evening we drove down to a hill point where we had an almost aerial view of the entire town. The drive up was frighteningly challenging, with some extremely steep hair pin bends especially with a TUV 300 totally laden with 6 people (including our host) which is not the nimblest of vehicles around.  However, the TUV took it all in its stride and did perform efficiently.

We came back in the evening and had some great time over a bonfire. We listened to the music of our times and generally chilled out.  We retired for the day late. Sleeping on foam beds on the floor at the second level was a very different experience to say the least. With so much of dense vegetation all around, the presence of a few insects in the room was a cause for concern.

Nevertheless, among all this excitement we still managed to fall asleep. The next day we had a rather disappointing breakfast and set off to seek the blessings of the Almighty at the Thala Cauvery, Thala Cauvery, one of the popular tourist spots is located in the Brahmagiri hill. The hill is situated 8 km away from Bhagamandala and is 48 km away from Madikeri. We first halted at Shri Bhagandeshwara temple Bhagamandala. Bhagamandala is a pilgrimage site situated in the scenic foothills of Talacauvery, at a distance of only 39 kms from Madikeri. We reached just a few minutes before the temple closed for the mid-day break and we rushed and sought the blessings of the gods and Goddesses. Since I was wearing shorts, the person concerned very politely informed me that there was a dress code and I had to rent out a dhoti from them. I apologised profusely for my misdemeanour.  After prayers when we were on our way out, the same person insisted that we stay back for anna dhanam or free food. We acceded to his request and had a very hearty, simple but delicious meal. A very humbling experience as we sat down among all other devotees and were served simple homely food. One of the highlights of the trip in my opinion.

We then visited the Triveni Sangam just across the road. Bhagamandala is also popularly called the 'Triveni Sangam'. Tri means three and Veni mean stream - and thus named Triveni Sangam is a sacred confluence of the three rivers- the Kaveri, the Kannike and the mythical river Sujyoti. It’s called a mythical river because legend says that the river Sujuyoti flows underground until it meets the sangam, and then it expands into its merry flow.

We then rushed to the Thala Cauvery Temple. Located at a height of 1276m above sea level, there is a small spring called as a Tirtha kundike or Brahma kundike here in Talacauvery. It is said that this is the source of River Cauvery. Although the source of water is mostly invisible, It is believed that the spring flows underground and emerges after a short distance.

There is a shrine located quite close to the kundike. There is a huge tank as well where devotees take bath before offering their prayers to the deities. There are two temples as well. One temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva with an ancient Shiva Linga while another temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Prayers were done, blessings of the almighty were sought.

We were on our way again to Abbey falls. The climb was daunting but despite our tired legs, we did manage to make it and the obligatory photo session followed. It was getting late and we caught the sunset on our way back and reached the resort quite late. A quiet dinner and we planned an early start the next day to head back to Chennai.

Once again, every one was up and about and we left before 6.00 am. We had planned to visit the Monastery on the way but since we had left very early the Monastery was not open by the time, we crossed it and we initially decided to head back to Chennai and reach early. However, when we stopped for a Coffee break, a discussion with some locals resulted in a change of plans. It was decided that we would visit Belur, Halabedu and Shravanabelagole.

We first visited the Chennakeshava temple Belur dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Hoysala Architecture at its best. Hoysaleshwara temple or the Halabedu temple as it is more commonly referred to is a Shiva temple with its majestic Nandi’s. The grandeur and majesty of the architecture on display at both these temples was awe inspiring.

We reached Shravanabelagole late in the afternoon. One look at the steps we needed to climb and every one backed out. We, unanimously decided to give this a miss (One of the few times that I can remember that we all agreed on a decision) and proceeded onwards to Chennai.

 Despite breaking for Lunch and Dinner we reached Chennai by 11.00 pm. By the time I dropped everyone and reached home it was close to midnight.

A great shout out to the magnificent Mahindra TUV 300. A flawless performance. As always, it did not let us down at any time. It just kept going on and on. A true friend, totally dependable.

When a major portion of your life has passed, or just about getting there , when you have just retired from active corporate life , the lack of the daily mad rush, abundance of time to contemplate, the sudden absence of the trapping of power that you enjoyed during your corporate life creates just a wee bit, if not more, feeling of insecurity even amongst the most hard headed person. Retirement, I have just come to realize like zillions before me is not an easy transition to make, financial security not with-standing.  When you are feeling just a bit down and vulnerable, nothing like a good old friend to ridicule you over some grossly exaggerated misadventure a few decades ago to bring a smile to your face.

These few days were some of the best times I have had recently. More often than not, we get caught in the meaningless drudgery of day to day life and forget the simple joys and pleasures of life.  It is only among childhood friends that you can be yourself 

without any fear of being judged. It does not matter if you were a top Banker or a top shot CEO, you will still be addressed by your nickname, which more often than not is a wee bit derogatory, You will be laughed at and ridiculed bordering on insulting with absolutely no malicious intent, just pure fun . We had plenty of that in the few days we spent together. It is only towards the end of the trip, I realized how lucky we were to have shared our entire lives together, not many get to do it with the same friends.

Adieu Guys, There is a beautiful world out there! so pack your backpacks, a few friends as well, put on your seat belts and just step on the pedal.