Okay, don’t freak out. Going with the Spanish word ‘aventura’, i decided that a Spanish title for this post won’t be in any way incongruous. Hmmm, should we translate it for u? I guess we’ll be ‘lost in translation’. Wow, Whatte PJ!
For starters, AvvEntura’s two-day rock climbing camp saw a 50% increase in the turnout than its maiden outing. Success has been a shadow of AvvEntura since its inception. Witnesses? All AvvEnturites! duh!
The institute
There we were, at the gates of National Institute of Rock Climbing, utterly confused what we were doing here. Meet Mr. Uma Shankar, an athletic bearded man. Age: dunno. Life: An Adventurer!
The team for the camp
Mr. Uma Shankar welcomed us, asked us what we’d like to do in these two days. ‘Rock Climbing’, ‘Rappelling’, ‘Ghost Hunting’ (seriously vijay, did u see any?), ‘Night Trek’, ‘Rafting’, ‘River Crossing’ came in from the voices. After jotting down everything that had being said, Mr. Uma Shankar analyzed. “‘Rock Climbing’, ‘Rappelling’, ‘Night Trek’ –Yes, we can do it; ‘River Crossing’ –let’s see if time permits. Moreover, nature should co-operate with us. If nature turns its back to us, we’ll have no options! ‘Ghost hunting’-oh, I dunno. Hmmm, if I put up a torch under my beard and put some ash and twigs on my hair, well, I’d make a decent one!”
Mr. Umashankar and his ghostly beard
Bouldering-climbing boulders using only hands and feet and no other help was first in the itinerary. Some teaching about the natural ‘holds’ in the rocks went on and also a demo came through. Now, the time had arrived for us to do some real action. We pounced!
A daunting task!
Some were a cake-walk; some needed a decent amount of hard work. Hmmm, the rest were conquered by KK and the likes of him. Bouldering demands immense concentration on the part of the climber (and a spotter on the part of someone else…:P). Finding the right ‘holds’ where you can comfortably place your hands and feet is in no way comparable to riding on an escalator!
KK, and the likes of him...
Nail-tips ripped, cuts in fingers, bruises if someone misjudged a step, a torn pants-the rocks defended themselves in their own way. But then, one thing was for sure! Everybody had used all their senses, had put every effort and the guts they can muster to climb up and reach the top. At the top? “Hurrrayyyy! I’ve done it!”
"Woooohoooo!"
Saturday afternoon saw the best of ‘Mungaaru Male’, the monsoon rain. As they say ‘When it rains, it pours’. Well, somebody up above had really tanked up and took a giant pee in that place! But, oh yeah! Maybe this is inappropriate in an adventure memoir, but I admit. The atmosphere was damn too romantic! *Singing a romantic song*
Come evening, we were greeted with hot coffee and bhajjis. Seriously, it couldn’t have come in any better time! Then, twilight! On the cards-NIGHT TREK!
People say, ‘something’s are better left unsaid’. But, I’d also say ‘something’s can’t be said at all, it can only be felt inside our soul’. Night trek was one such experience; pardon me if I’m not upto the mark in describing it.
Nature has its own intricate ways of nurturing life. A forest is one such nursery where nature cares for everything which has taken birth in its womb. Watching this miracle of life during daytime is indeed splendid. But then, doing that in darkest of the darkness is a whole new paradigm altogether.
We walked through thickest of the bamboo bushes where the twilight couldn’t even penetrate. When it did, it shined like pearls through the water droplets on those leaves…
Shining droplets...
We had come to an open place, devoid of vegetation. Mr. Uma Shankar requested us to concentrate on the nature surrounding us; to listen to its voices; to listen to its music. But, at first we’d have to shut down our own thoughts, close our own world and pack it off…
Silence can unravel many things. The sounds which are unheard, which gets buried down come to focus. Mr. Uma Shankar had seen the forest around him in silence. He wanted us to do the same.
He talked in length about the human-wildlife conflict in Karnataka and how the forests flourished during the olden days. Darkness had been brought upon us by then. Time was ripe to move on…
The catch in this night trek was: strictly no torches! Theory behind this: our eyes are capable enough of seeing in the dark. All you need is to train it. Eventually, you can see an entirely different world.
A path of darkness...
Oh, what a blissful paradise it was. A paradise never seen before. We and the nature-darkness connecting both entities. Fireflies zoomed past us, reminding us that we were not alone but in the midst of teeming life! The only support one had in that night was the guy who was walking in the front. We just had to surrender ourselves and have faith, so we did! Result: we had an unforgettable and unique experience!
Owls chilling out!:P
This night trek really brought forth the unity and cooperativeness of our group. Helping each other out; warning other people behind in the line about the difficult path ahead. Night trek was a supreme example of the team work on our part. This trek bonded us; complete strangers became real good friends-all in the span of a few hours! AvvEntura’s principal objective had been accomplished!
End of an extraordinary day! Now was the time to put our senses and body to rest as it had toiled through all this, but had never failed to deliver. Well, one has to give heed to its needs.
Continuará …
The AvvEntura Chronicles 