The ring

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I have never worn a ring
before she put one on me.
It felt strangely new.
Intrusive, at times irritating,
like someone barging into my privacy
like someone shadowing me everywhere
like someone's just been glued to me.
Strange
because this is not how it should be.
What clause did I miss reading
while signing up for it?

Its presence was loud and big
in my conscience,
blocking my view of the world. 

In less than a week
it has become a part of me,
like someone
who I share my privacy with
who accompanies me everywhere
who has just become inseparable.

When I part with it for a brief while
I feel something is missing.
Now I understand.
I see the world through the ring,
like I see the world through my glasses
for clear vision!

I guess marriages will be like this!

-GS

The world's most beautiful game of chess

Very recently I got to be part of what is to me the world's most beautiful game of chess. Yes, beautiful. Not the most intelligent, not the most brainy but the most beautiful and perhaps the most poetic! The players of this game were me and my four-year old niece.

So on a lazy weekend afternoon, she picked up the chess board and suggested that we play chess. I was curious. I did not even know that she knew this game. For my age, I am nothing more than a novice in chess. I know only the names of the coins and the rules of the game. But for a child's play, this is far sufficient and so I too agreed to play chess.

But to quench my curiosity, I asked her if she knew to play chess. She said yes. I asked who taught her to play chess. She said she had learnt it herself by watching cartoon characters play chess. Wow! Is my niece that brilliant? Should I take her to an IQ test just in case she is the next girl wonder whiz-kid? As my thoughts were spinning in this direction, she asked me which colour I wanted.

I gave her the option to pick herself and she took white. I asked her if she knew the names of the coins. She said yes and that her mother - yes, my sister - had taught her the names of the coins. Then I asked her if she knew how to move the coins. By this time, she lost her patience and gave me a 'Ellam theriyum.. Nee moodu' look and went on with the game. The game began thus!

She took one of the white coins from the box and placed it on a random square on her side and asked me to make my move. Wait a minute! What? I did not get what was happening. I asked her aren't we supposed to arrange all coins in the starting position before making the first move. She looked at me as if I knew nothing and then volunteered to teach me the game. Here is how the game should be played.

Chess is a two-player game. Each player plays with a set of coins of one colour. The players have to place their coins on their side of the chess board on alternate turns and play the game. While they are placing the coin on the board, they have to correctly tell the name of the coin. And most importantly, the players have to place coins in the board, one at a time from the box outside. And whenever a player feels like doing it, he/she can take a coin and attack one of the opponent coins and push it out of the box. Simple!

So I got a hang of the game's rules and thus we began playing the world's most beautiful game of chess. In response to her first move, I took one black bishop and placed it in the board on my side. Her move. She took out another white coin and introduced that coin as the elephant to me and placed it on her side of the board. A few moves went thus. The board was half filled with coins and suddenly she went on attack mode. She took one of her horses and the horse came flying to attack a poor soldier of mine and the soldier was pushed out of the board.

I responded by taking an elephant of mine and I attacked her bishop. She did not expect my move and this time she came back with a vengeance. She took the other bishop and took out my elephant. Then I resorted to the white flag. I suggested that we play normally and not attack each other. She thought for a moment and accepted my peace offer. In an amazingly magnanimous gesture, she even brought the attacked coins from both sides back into play because of the ceasefire. When I asked her why she is putting those coins back on the board, she said 'pavam la.. let them also play'. I was grinning ear to ear by that time. Then came her masterstroke.

She took another coin from her box and placed it outside the box on the floor and asked me to make my move. Is this the out-of-the-box way of playing chess? I was no more asking questions. I should not expect her to teach me everything. I should also pick up the game by seeing it. So I took a coin from the box and placed it closer to where she placed her last coin on the floor. She gave me an acknowledging smile and took a coin from the board now and placed it in the floor. Ah, the game began interesting here! We both knew the rules of the game perfectly and were playing in sync.

I took another coin from the board and placed it on a chair nearby. She took another coin from the floor and started running to the next room and placed it on the floor there. Thus we played chess all around the home for the next thirty minutes and when both of us felt it was time for a draw, we called the game off and put all the coins back into the box and kept the box carefully in its place. Well, that's her habit. She is so particular about the place of each thing. Every toy of hers has a place in the home and after playing, she makes sure that the toy is put in its right place.

So that is the story of the world's most beautiful game of chess, of which I am one of the proud players too. And it is thoroughly my privilege to have played this game with its inventor herself. Bliss.

Cheers,
GS


Image courtesy : Doug Butchy

Shelfie - A selfie on my bookshelf - part 2

This post is a continuation to the part 1 of this thread initiated by Penguin India's #BookADayIndia event in the social media. This is a compilation of the answers to the questions posed by Penguin in the second half of this December.

Dec 16 : Your favourite Jane Austen character? It is Jane Austen's birthday. 

How absurd will I sound if I said I have not read any Jane Austen book so far? Nevertheless, on her birthday, prompted by Penguin, I looked her up on Google and found some of her quotes very interesting. Here is the one that I liked the most. Maybe I should read Jane Austen to understand some of the interesting women that I never quite understood well enough in my life.

Dec 17 : A book that made you hungry? 

My Business Law lecturer gifted this book to me during my MBA. I never knew that this book would change my life at that point of time. This book planted the idea of entrepreneurship in my mind and made me hungry. When the first opportunity presented itself, I grabbed it and today my life is defined by that single move I made. Think of the butterfly effect!

Dec 18 : Favourite autobiography ? 

I have only read two autobiographies so far - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's and Sachin Tendulkar's. Sachin's autobiography will be my pick because reading Sachin's autobiography was also like visualizing my own autobiography. I was able to relive the moments of watching all the matches and the innings that Sachin narrated in the book. Only now, I became a little bit more wiser by knowing what was in the master's mind at that point of time too.

Dec 19 : A book to read when homesick ? 

'Thaayaar Sannadhi' by Sugaa. (Tamil) I am a simple small-town boy from Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu. If you know Tirunelveli, then I am from Ambasamudram. If you know Ambasamudram too, then I am from Vickramasingapuram. If you know Vickramasingapuram too, bloody hell, you might as well have seen me spending summer vacations eating Adhirasam all day there. This particular book strongly made me feel the flavour of Tirunelveli with its intricate dialect and amazing familiarity with the town. Tirunelveli is a way of life! This book made me visit my place mentally. 

Dec 20 : Favourite fairy-tale character ? 

I have not read much of fairy tales. Only 'Snow white and the seven dwarfs', that which I received as the first prize in an elocution competition in primary school. Otherwise, this is the first character that comes to my mind when I think of fairy tales. Really enjoyed watching this movie. Feel-good :-)

Dec 21 : A book to gift around Christmas ?

Let me turn the tables here. This is a book that I have added to my wishlist. The blurb appealed a lot to me and I want to read this book. Who is going to turn Santa to me? (Link to buy the book) If you are still serious, drop me a comment. I will give logistics details ;-)

Dec 22 : A book that makes you cry ? 

 The last time I had tears in my eyes while reading a book was when I finished 'Ayesha'- an extremely short Tamil novel about a curious young school girl. The book raised several questions on how we treat children in our schools and how childhood is seen by our society. Try reading this book if possible. Not more than 60 pages but I guarantee that it won't let you sleep for at least a week.

Dec 23 : Best book you ever received as a gift ? 

Surprisingly, as I think of an answer to this question, I just realize that I have received only just a handful of books as gifts. All my reading has either been bought or borrowed. Not gifted enough, perhaps (pun intended) :-) Nevertheless, there is one book that came in recently which holds a special place because of the circumstances. Strangely, I am yet to even read the book. But still, the moment I received this book as a gift is simply unforgettable. 

Dec 24 : Favourite family read ? 

My father is an avid reader and is an inspiration for me to turn to reading from a very young age. We have vastly different tastes in reading but still we discuss books that each other reads and prescribe books to each other. Very rarely do we both read the same book with interest. One such book that we both read with equal interest and curiosity was also one of the oldest tales mankind has ever known. 
A version of The Mahabharatha in Tamil.

Dec 25 : Favourite Christmas book ? 

Again, I will rephrase this question as the favourite Christmas story. This is the first story that comes to my mind. 'The Gift of Magi' - O. Henry. A masterpiece. I am a great fan of O. Henry.

Dec 26 : A book on your shelf which you haven't read yet ?

'Introduction to psychoanalysis' - Sigmund Freud. My long term dream is to complete this book. I have made two attempts so far and have crossed more than half the book. I have made notes in the book all along like a text book so that whenever I restart, I can get a quick preview of what has been completed so far. Very fascinating thoughts! May be sooner I will complete this book.

Dec 27 : A book you couldn't put down ? 

'Ponniyin Selvan' (in Tamil) - 2000 odd pages. 3 days!

Dec 28 : An author you discovered this year? 

Made quite a few new additions to this list this year. Got to know some authors even better. Mostly in Tamil but also in English. One particular author draws a special mention because of his strong influence in my reading habit. He is the only author whom I wanted to dive deep into this year. Jeyamohan! One of my blog posts about a book of his was shared by him on his website. Proud moment.

Dec 29 : Your best read of 2014 ? 

Quite a few contentions for this prize. But one book stands tall amidst the rest because of a peculiar sync with my real life as I was reading the book. More than the book itself, some books become very very special because of the time in which you read them in your life. This timing almost seems like destiny in hindsight. As I was reading this book, I could relate the central character of this book to a dear friend in real life. The book helped me understand the friend better and vice versa. Couldn't have asked for a better timing.

Dec 30 : Happy birthday Rudyard Kipling! Your favourite Rudyard Kipling character?

Well, it was Jane Austen in the first half of this month. Rudyard Kipling now. Again, how absurd would I look if I said I have not read Kipling before? Again, I googled for famous Kipling quotes and fond this one which connected with me quite well. The same belief that I have most times too.

Dec 31 : Most awaited book of 2015? 

'Kanavu Pattarai' (Tamil) - a collection of short stories on many inspiring children who are living now in north Madras and are studying in schools run by the Chennai Corporation. They all attended a residential camp called 'Kanavu Pattarai', run by an NGO (Nalandaway Foundation) sometime in 2013 or 2014. One facilitator of the camps was so moved by the stories of these children and the camps that he began to document them for all world to read. He definitely believes that in their stories lies a key for adults to understand the world of children. He strives to show the different hues of child personalities that fascinated him. He hopes that this book will tell the importance of self-esteem in shaping a child's personality. He wishes that the adults who read the book pick up a trick or two about how to treat the society's children. He is working hard to bring this book out in 2015 through a good publisher. He is yours truly!

Cheers

GS

Shelfie - A selfie on my bookshelf - part 1

This December, I came across an interesting social media trend initiated by Penguin India. That is the #BookADayIndia Event. The questions posed for each day are so intriguing and prompting me to look back into all the pages that I have read so far to find the answer. As an account of this month-long voyage, I register this blog with all answers compiled into one post. Of course, I started a bit late. So there was some catch up to do. Here we go. Part 1 of this post compiles all my answers in the first half of this December.

Dec 1 : Ideal december read ?

I am not a seasonal reader. My reading patterns vary hugely. One month I will be reading about the famines in the last century. The next month I may be reading about a bird that tries to fly higher than its species. Generally, I don't plan my reading. I chance upon books. And absorb all experiences that books give me. This december, I chanced upon two interesting Tamil books. One is a translation (originally written in Malayalam). Both are fiction but of completely different genres. One book is about a middle-aged Malayali woman's life and the other is a fascinating story of many stories told by three story-tellers who go on a long journey in a single story :-)

Dec 2 : Most beautiful cover ?

This is the first cover that came to my mind when I searched my memory for an answer. Undoubtedly the best cover from all books that I have read.

Dec 3 : A book you identify with ? 

Several. In multiple dimensions. But I choose this book above all because in addition to me, a friend of mine had also pointed out that I resembled the Jonathan Livingston Seagull from this book to him. In fact, I came to know about this book only through this remark and read it smitten by a curiosity. I would be grateful to him forever for introducing me to this book. The seagull remains an inspiration to me till date.

Dec 4 : A book character you'd like to meet?

Henry Maxwell, a busy broker in one of O. Henry's short stories 'The Romance of a Busy Broker'. His absent-mindedness and the twist in the story have made him a very interesting character. In reality, I will be curious to see such an absent minded man. Some well-read Tamil movie maker had already created a character inspired by him in a Tamil movie. If you watch the Tamil comedy channels often, you might have seen Janagaraj acting as the absent minded guy with an unbeatable BGM.

Dec 5 : Wisest book you've ever read?

Usually, I do not re-read books. This is the only book that I have read twice so far. 'The Alchemist' - the book that inspired me to chase my dreams, that helped me to understand the grand design and that which helped me to connect with nature. I have a yearning to travel to a desert to experience the journey in this book.

Dec 6 : A book you keep going back to ?

Like I said, I do not typically read books again after the first read. But there is one author I keep going back to again and again. And each time I go to him with a question, he points me in the direction of the answer and challenges me to find the answer myself. Paulo Coelho!

Dec 7 : Your perfect winter read ?

Ah, I am not a season-specific reader. In fact, I don't even recollect a book where the winter played a major part in the setting. One distinct scene I remember from Paulo Coelho's Zahir where the hero has to face the cold desert all alone as a challenge. His master instructs him to let the chill enter into him and feel it and let his body embrace the chillness. He does so. Once his body and mind embrace the freezing chillness, he does not shiver any more. Whenever I have been in harsh winter conditions, this scene comes to my mind and I try to embrace the chill. Here is one such picture of me trying to embrace the chillness in Gurudongmar Lake, Sikkim at an altitude of around 18,000 ft. 

Dec 8 : First book you ever remember reading ? 

Tom Sawyer. Pocket sized book. With big sized fonts. Read it when I was in 3rd grade or 4th grade. I felt good when I completed reading the book. It was the feeling of completing the first novel! I still remember the fence paint bluff that Tom Sawyer pulled on his friends. Clever fellow :-)

Dec 9 : A book that gives you the chills ?

If 'The Alchemist' is the book that showed me the best of sunshines, there is one book which almost made me a pessimist. The book was so powerful and dark that I felt like I could murder someone and walk away without being caught and more importantly, not feeling guilty at all. Arvind Adiga. 'The White Tiger'. 

Dec 10 : Favourite mythological tale ? 

I was reminded of this tale last saturday on watching the famous Adelaide Test match. This is the story of Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna, who bravely fought the war and impressed everybody in the senior ranks with his skill and aggression. Unfortunately, he would not settle for a draw and wanted an outright win even at the cost of a defeat. So he walked into the Chakra vyugam knowing that is tough to break out of it. He was pumped up to try and find his way out of the trap. He lost his partners one by one but still fought valiantly and gave shivers to the opposition before falling by the sword. If Abhimanyu had watched that match, he would have said 'Virat played like me'!

Dec 11 : A book that makes you want to write ? 

Almost every book that I read inspires me to write something. Sometimes I write about my experience reading the book. Sometimes I get a spark from some random sentence in a book and build on that lead to write some original piece of imagination. Sigmund Freud to Paulo Coelho - many books have inspired me to write. My blogs (both in Tamil and English) have a section dedicated to posts inspired by books. 

Dec 12 : A book character you want to marry ?

Poonguzhali. Ponniyin Selvan. What a woman! I fell in love with her even as I was reading the book. Such wit and charm. Such courage. Such individuality. Such sincerity and such emotional stability. Poonguzhali, will you marry me?

Dec 13 : A book that you have pretended to have read ? 

Joseph Murphy's 'The Power of your subconscious mind'. My dad gifted this book to me to read. I am never a fan of self-help but started this book for my dad. Of course I found the book interesting and I am still practising some learnings I took from the book with a significant impact in my life. But after the first 60 odd pages, the book went on a redundancy mode (like most self-help books) and hence I did not bother to finish the book. But whenever someone brings up this book, I have shamelessly claimed that I have read the book. 

Dec 14 : Your curl-up read? 

401 காதல் கவிதைகள் - குறுந்தொகை - ஓர் எளிய அறிமுகம் - சுஜாதா (தமிழ்) - For about 40 odd days, I read this book at the rate of 10 poems each day. Sangam literature and love! Truly loved that feeling. Love remains the same even after all these centuries. Sujatha's simple and easy adaptations to the book made the read even more interesting.

Dec 15 : Your favourite book series ?

There are a few contentions to this answer. Harry Potter. Ponniyin Selvan. Shiva Trilogy. All excellent series but Harry Potter makes it to this list because of it's magic. Yes, pun intended! Shiva Trilogy failed expectations in the climax. Otherwise, it was one brilliant piece. Ponniyin Selvan is a flawless series with people discussing about certain open ended portions in the book even now. That is the writer's power. But Potter scores above all because of the distinct connect that Hogwarts gave to me. In fact, I have even written a post explaining how reading the Harry Potter series helped me personally in my entrepreneurial life. 

-Cheers

GS

(To be continued)

Images sourced from Google images. 

Being nobody to anybody - a ride to Pondicherry seeking inspiration for art

I had an item on my bucket list ever since college. I wanted a solo vacation to some place where I have never been before, all in solitude. Being nobody to anybody. If possible, living a whole new life for a few days in that place. What if I had only enough money for travelling one way to that place and had to earn the money to come back? I can wait tables, work as salesman in bookshops or do whatever that I must/can do to earn my return ticket. Well, that grand plan is still in the bucket list. But very recently, I managed to draw a dotted line on this item in the bucket list.

Back in college, I discussed this plan with friends and a few were actually curious about the idea. One such friend who even contemplated this escape into anonymity is now lined up for a wedding and I am skeptical if he would ever get to take this vacation. Quite recently, a few rounds of routine overdose in life was pushing me for an escape to recharge and come back. Plus, I can just wake up one morning and pick up my bike's keys and go. Thus, I started riding three days back. Pondicherry was in my mind. Not a very long ride to boast for a biker from Chennai but a scenic ride along the ECR and definitely in the list for an unwinding ride. Of course, I had enough money to return back. I am not taking that adventure yet :-)

In solitude, I started riding to Pondicherry. Whenever I go on long rides like this, I imagine myself as playing a long Test match innings like Rahul Dravid. Patience and focus and enjoying the ride. I ride at a steady pace, always focussing on only the next turn and covering short stretches mentally. You need to pace your ride just like you pace an innings. I was curious about Auroville for some time and I had it in the back of my mind. I even crossed sign boards to Auroville even before reaching Pondicherry. Nevertheless, I entered Pondicherry. I rode around the streets aimlessly wondering where to go and what to do. This is where a crazy idea stuck me. Remember the part about living a new life, just for a fleeting few days?

I entered a stationery shop and bought a few chart papers and basic painting kit. I rolled the charts and kept them in my bag but still visible outside. I decided to call myself an artist. Disclaimer: Prior experience with art for me is limited to drawing the mountains and sea and the house with the adjacent coconut tree in third standard. Still, in a stroke of imagination, I became an artist in Pondicherry seeking inspiration for his art in solitude. I decided to reduce conversations with people as much as possible and experience peace. I rode around the beach and sat on the beach for a good hour. A group of youngsters asked me to take a pic of them. Looking at my bag they asked if I was an architect since I was carrying charts and all. I told them I am an artist looking for inspiration for my art. "Paathaale theriyudu boss" - they replied and went along. See? It is simple. Go to a new place. Tell them that you are a rocket scientist. They will believe. Who bothers? (By the way, as I sat there in the beach staring into the horizon, a poem bubbled inside me. I penned it in Tamil later. It might be an interesting read if you are into Tamil and poetry.)

As I was strolling, I spotted a boutique run by Auroville and I walked in to check for any accommodation. Fortunately, the man there suggested an irresistible place for me - a guest house in the middle of a quiet jungle at Kuilapalayam village en route Auroville. A few calls were made and my halt was finalized. The guest house, I must say is a step closer to bliss compared to any other place I have ever been to. That much silence! That much peace. I stayed in the first floor portion with a huge balcony, surrounded by trees and birds with one hanging rope chair tied to a tree. Wow! Of course, I introduced myself as the artist in solitude there too.

For two days I stayed in that guest house conversing mostly with trees, birds, flowers, my bike, sea and very limitedly to humans. In all, I would have spoken around fifty sentences in total. I did not switch off my phone. I wondered if I should do that, lest people spoil the adventure. I just chose to let it go and observe. In total, six people called me and just one person texted me. That's all! Two whole days. Only we think we are always busy and we will get hundred phone calls a day. Slip out of the routine silently for a short while and nobody will observe.

Living up to my new identity, I even tried my hand at art. I just enjoyed playing with colours and tried something new without bothering anything about the results with a child-like curiosity. I managed to do three abstract pieces of art - that's how I would like to call them. Art in a language that only I and the paper will understand; a language through colours and direct thoughts. It was an amazing indulgence.

The ride to Pondicherry - Art by GS

Thrice a day, for food I came out of the jungle to the nearby village and there I enquired the locals about Pichavaram Mangrove forests, a place I have only heard of. I fancied a ride to Pichavaram as a crescendo for this trip. It sounded like a short ride from there. So the next morning, I bade farewell to the guest house and the trees and started riding. Rahul Dravid mode again. Pondicherry to Pichavaram (closer to Chidambaram). I reached the boat house as early as 8 30 AM in a Kadai epo saar thorapeenga style. Boats were just beginning to go into the backwaters and I joined with two interesting men from Bangalore who were very jovial conversationalists. Our boat's driver, a strong man who rowed the boat with his hands, explained to us about the forests and the place and took us on a two hour boat ride. We spotted a few characteristic animals and birds of the mangrove forests and spent the two hours in a very interesting casual conversation with strangers. I needed this conversation to come out of the enforced silence of the past two days to fit back into the society.

By noon today, I started the ride back to Chennai with the road and my bike for company. In a decent ride of around 250 km, I reached Chennai by evening. Photo stoppages were here and there of course. Tomorrow is a monday morning and I hope this little escape will put me in good shape back into the routine. It all looks like a dream for me to recollect the trip now from my study room. The artist may perhaps emerge sometime later again in another escape into anonymity.

As I narrated all this to the room mates this evening - the silence, anonymity, artist bluff, Pichavaram, solo ride - a friend gave me a long stare and said that I need to go and visit some psychiatrist. Of course I am crazy. I am proud of that :-)

Cheers
GS 

This is how people reacted at a real accident scene

A couple of days back in an unforgettable midnight, I witnessed a road accident. What moved me greatly was that I could do more than being a mere witness. I could be of real help in saving a few lives. What inspired me greatly was that I was not alone. I had company. In a godforsaken highway lane at midnight, I had company to help injured people and calm them at their moment of panic. I was part of a crowd. I am proud to be part of this crowd.

Quite recently, several videos on apparent 'social experiments' which capture the reactions of people to emergencies and distress calls were doing the rounds on social media. Most of them were hard-hitting and showing the cold side of human negligence. A friend of mine recently wrote on his wall that the society in stead needed a lot of positive examples showing displays of empathy and humanity coming out of such 'social experiments', because deep inside, constant exposure to videos of negligence and apathy may slowly make the mind numb to situations and trick it into believing that it is okay not to act when a person is dying in front of you. This kept me thinking. Positive examples. Real examples. Reactions of real people in a real situation where people need help.

I believe that what inspired me will inspire several minds. I believe that what reinforced my faith in humanity will also touch several hearts and reassure them that humanity prevails. Hence I write this today.

I was travelling by a bus from Madurai to Chennai on a Sunday night and I was fast asleep. I was woken up when my bus halted roughly and for a few minutes I could not realize what is happening. In a few crucial minutes, I saw people getting down from the bus and running out and I could make out from broken words and conversations that an accident had just happened in front of us. Quite unsure of the happenings, I stepped out of the bus, still a bit sleepy. Once I was out of the silence and darkness inside my bus, I quickly realized adrenalin shooting up inside me.

Just a few metres ahead, I saw a tumbled mini bus. People were running here and there. Along with my bus, another bus had also stopped and passengers from both these buses were already rescuing the injured people out of the damned mini bus. The bus was lying on its side and people were being pulled out of the windows. The front windshield of the bus was cracked into pieces and some of the passengers entered the mini bus through the windshield and were lifting people out of it. Glass pieces were all around. Blood was all around. Panic cries were all around. It was horrible.

You are stronger than what you think - CTC Nagalapuram - Moderate trek experience

I spent the two hardest days of my life over the last weekend, trekking up the Nagalapuram hill, guided by the Chennai Trekking Club (CTC) with a group of around 80 explorers. Sitting in my couch now and thinking back about it, I can safely claim that I survived it, but only just! My body was pushed to its limits like never before and to a good extent, so was my mind. They both remained strong and sane till the finish line was crossed but the satisfaction I feel now is worth all the pain I endured.

This trek was labelled a 'moderate trek' on difficulty levels by CTC and we had to go through a fitness test to be shortlisted for this trek. It involved climbing the Pallavaram hill opposite Chennai Airport in a rough terrain with around a 10 kg backpack in under 10 minutes. I managed to do that in 8 mins and with the experience of a few treks prior to this (treks to Tada and Kumara Parvatha are the ones I have written about earlier), I had a good impression about my fitness and endurance. But this trek eventually turned out to be a great reality check for me. 

We started around 5 AM from Chennai on saturday, carpooling to the parking zone at the foothills. Two sub-groups were set to explore the same hills with two different objectives. There were several boot campers whose objectives were to navigate the mountain and reach pre-determined points assigned to them in teams of three. They had undergone training sessions earlier about topography, map creation, trail planning and analysis, compass, geographic latitude and longitude, GPS, navigation and positioning. Ours was the trekking group and our objective was pretty simple and straight forward: 

Climb up till you meet your forefathers. Get down alive if you want to meet your family and friends. 

*Minor terms and conditions like minimal food and water; steep,risky rock-climbing and the unmerciful April sun also apply. 

The trek started with a fairly long walk from the parking to a dried dam across which the mountain started. Not only was it dry but the trees supposed to be under water in the dam were all charred and the place gave a fair glimpse of what lay ahead. Not knowing those implications, we happily took pictures for Facebook uploads there. Should have read those signs properly!

We proceed to the base camp from there which was set up along a stream where the two groups diverged. Peter, the founder of CTC, joined us with the trekking group. The boot campers had their tasks assigned to them. From the base camp we started a challenging trek upwards. Water was a rarity in most places and wherever we saw water, we had to fill our stomachs and bottles as much as possible. The highlight of the trek came just a few minutes later, where we reached a crevice where water was flowing down from the top. Peter asked us to climb up the crevice to proceed forward. What is so tough in this climb? 

Water flowing down the crevice falls at a very deep pool down down. One can't climb up the crevice in normal mode. You have to switch on the 'Spiderman' mode and push on your feet and hands from left to right in an almost vertical crevice. Between your legs, there flows the silvery stream ready to take you down to the deep end the moment you place a foot on it. I don't know the actual name of that point but I propose it to be called 'Spiderman crevice'. 

Climbing the spiderman crevice

Then we continued the trek through terrains that got more and more challenging till we reached a near dead-end. Peter and another veteran trekker decided to halt there for lunch and we unpacked the sweet bolis and bread that we had packed for lunch. There were some home made chocolates too. I was wondering how we would proceed forward from that place since it was covered on three sides with very steep rocks and the trail from where we came up there ended behind us. The last thing I wanted was Peter telling us all to return in the same route to some other point. He had other surprises for me! A few minutes after lunch, he effortlessly climbed one of those rocks that was inclined at almost 70-80 degrees and asked us to follow. He seemed to walk on those steep rocks as if he were walking in the Marina beach in the early morning. 

Every now and then, he would do that. He would become invisible suddenly and while we all think that he has stayed behind for some reason and get some happiness that there will be time to rest till he comes, he jumps from some rock ahead of us with his unique base voice, egging us on 'Up.. Up.. Up'! And whenever we start after a break, he would give us an estimate of time to reach the next halting point. Very soon, we learnt to multiply the time he mentions into three for our understanding. We were in the ratio of 1:3 to Peter. 

After an arduous trek, we reached a point where Peter decided to halt. There was no trace of water and teasingly small amounts of shade. He asked for a smaller team to volunteer to go on a detour and fetch water for everybody. According to him, the water team was supposed to go around 1.2 kilometres from there to fetch water. While we happily stayed behind, one of my friends joined the water warriors. And we stayed and waited for them to come back and resurrect us from the dead. After an hour, they came back with water. Apparently, they had almost walked 3-4 km for water since water had dried up in the place where it was expected to be. I told my friend that we would all have been dead there if they had not come with water for 10 more minutes. And he replied quickly that they would all have been dead there if they had not found water for ten more minutes! Life's like that in Nagala in April. 

After water and rest for a while, we did a single stretch descent via a trail that took us close to the base camp. Close to the base camp, we went to a pool and took a refreshing dip and ended the day. Or at least I thought that was the end of the day! After the pool, we had to trek upstream for nearly 2 hours in the dark, equipped with our torches, slipping into the stream every now and then, to reach a place where there was sufficient flat space for us all to bunk for the night. Maggi Noodles was prepared for everyone and after eating up to recharge ourselves for the next day, we slept there. What a night it was! With the sound of flowing water nearby and the beautiful stars above us and two steep hills to the either side of us, it was one of the best places where I have slept. 

Our bunking spot by the stream

Day 2 started early with tea and Aval for breakfast. Peter informed us that we will do a mini easy trek to a level 1 and then those who wish can join him on a challenging trek to a level 2. I and my friends had almost made up our minds to stop at level 1. We had already neared our limits and considering the 1:3 ratio, Peter's proposal did sound intimidating. On the way to level 1, we paused briefly for a dip in an amazing sliding pool. Non-swimmers like me could also enjoy it with the help of the rescue team. The pool was deep where the water fell and a few feet ahead, it was shallow enough for us to stand. You just have to trust the swimmers down there and slide and fall into the water. They will pull you to safety in a few seconds. Complete surrender! 

Slide pool

Level 1 was truly a mini trek from the sliding pool and Peter said that those who wanted to stay back can play at the sliding pool till the others returned. It was a very tempting offer and I was almost leaning 70:30 to stay. Then casually Peter uttered the words I will never forget, "Level 2 will differentiate the men from the boys. Those who have balls join me for level 2". That's how my misery started! In spite of all the campaigning done by a few friends to stay back with them, for the sake of my ego, I joined the level 2 group. 

The trek to level 2 was risky, exhausting and highly demanding. Angles of the climbs became even steeper, rock edges became even narrower and slippery, thorns adorned the routes all the way and the sun was sucking every drop from the body. Two legs would not suffice and you had to put all four limbs to good use in this route. This is the stretch where I almost lost my will to continue further. From my experience in this trek - one needs to have two of the following three to complete this moderate trek. 

1. Extremely strong physical fitness and stamina
2. Experience/ habit of highly regular physical activities like jogging, sport etc.
3. Extremely strong mental resolve

'Extremely' is a key word above and 'decent' is not an acceptable word there. I have decent stamina and no regular physical activity and hence my mental resolve had to work more than its share to make me complete the trek.It required great effort to climb without any luggage for myself and there were people carrying food and water in small backpacks in front of me. Every now and then I could not help but stand still and admire their fitness. Unfortunately, the others misunderstood that I was gasping for breath whenever I took those admiration stoppages :-)

The level 2 group

No, but honestly I was the last person to reach level 2 in the group and I had almost given up on the way once or twice. I owe a lot to the support and motivation by the kind hearts who stayed with me at the tail of the group and pushed me on inch by inch. I remember giving Peter a smiling thumbs-up when I reached the top in one piece and that moment was my certificate! There were a lot of kind souls at the top who shared some of their precious food and water supplies to refill my energy. 

The view from the top was breathtaking. We headed on to the next destination where we expected water to quench our thirst. A big surprise awaited us there. There was water but it was just flowing as a thin oily layer on the rocks. It required some ingenious thinking to get water there. A fellow trekker tied a kerchief to a root and channelised the water thread to fall into a bottle and we would get 1 litre of water every 15 minutes this way. To quench the thirst of 20 odd trekkers!

Flowrate  : 1 litre/ 15 mins

We waited for the sun's severity to come down a bit and started the descent after a 2-hour break at that point. It was a mini climb up and then a fairly long descent all along rough rocks to finally catch a trail that would take us down in a relatively easier route. From there it was only a matter of time till we joined the wiser ones who stayed at level 1 and then to the dam and then to the car park and then to home. 

The trek gave me a lot of revelations and a few moments to swallow my pride. I am very thankful to my body and mind for staying with me till the end. I owe a lot to the mutual support and motivation exhibited among the whole trekking group, egging each other on and finding a lot of happy moments to share a joke and spread smiles. I admire and respect Peter and his team for their superior fitness first and then to the initiatives in organizing and leading us as a group. 

As I said, I was the last person to reach level 2. But to those who stayed back in level 1, I was part of a group that accomplished a monumental feet. To those who watched cricket in the comfort of their homes this weekend, I was part of a group that challenged itself to scale a peak and live with nature in its true form. That is all that matters!

I hear that there is a common phrase used in military training which goes like 'You are stronger than what you think you are'! Very true. New benchmarks have been set this weekend for my mind and body. Let's see how far I can push them further!

Cheers,

GS

Kumara Parvatha - how Jack and Jill went up the hill

Signs of triumph

((To read a Tamil version of this post, please click here))

Pushpagiri aka Kumara Parvatha. A breath-taking challenge of 5617-ft. height in the Western ghats of Karnataka. One of the toughest treks of South India. A total distance of 22 km by foot up and down the peak. Two days and a night at the top. Thirteen men. What a start it was to 2014!

The most-debated topic in our terrace conversations over the last few months was where to celebrate the coming new year. Several options from Besant Nagar to Andaman were contemplated and pushed aside in cycles for want of better ideas. We looked for something fresh and challenging. That is when a friend first floated the idea of Kumara Parvatha. He had tried in vain earlier in December 2012 with another social circle to ascend this peak. Unfortunately, their cool adventure turned soggy in incessant rains and irritating leech-bites, forcing them to return midway. The idea tickled our taste and then we actively marketed the trek among the extended circle of friends. You convince A by saying that B comes to the trek and convince B by saying the vice-versa and in a matter of days, the trip was scheduled and all arrangements were finalized. Not all of us are trek enthusiasts or hunks-by-physique. It was to be a story of amateur Jack and Jill trekkers going up the hill, risking a few falls, rolls and trolls. Nevertheless, we were ready!

The internet blessed us with more than adequate information for prompt planning. People approach the hill from two directions. Somwarpete and Kukke are two towns at either end of the peak. The distance by road going around the hill to connect the towns is about 60 km. If you take a casual stroll on the peak and get down at the other side, it is just 22 km! Kukke is a reasonably livelier town that Somwarpete. It has a famous Subramanya temple to add to its portfolio too. Trekkers can choose to start from Somwarpete and get down at the Kukke side or to do a to-and-fro from Kukke. We chose the former. For later, it should never bother us that we did not experience the other side of the mountain.

The 6-word challenge

This post has been published as a part of Chennai Bloggers Club's (CBC) 6-word memoir tag initiative. It is an interesting challenge to sum up one's life in 6 words. It also adds up as a superb relay of introductions to more interesting and exciting people around us.

I thank Somu - the erstwhile poet - for introducing me through his memoir yesterday and passing the baton to me. His blog is a collection of random thoughts and poems in a chronicle mode. Of late, he has shifted his interest from carving words to carving wood and he writes about it in his blog.

Now, to my challenge. As I think of six words to sum up myself, I can come up with this. Two of these six words are positions that I have spent a considerable part of my productive life to achieve. The rest of the four words define my character that made me achieve the first two words.

Entrepreneur. Author. An eternal incorrigible optimist.

I co-founded a creativity hotspot - Spark n' Beyond - with a bunch of equally crazy and passionate creators in 2010 and since then I am living the life of an entrepreneur. It is a life filled with its own ups and downs, joys and pressures, pride and frustrations, a sense of freedom and a standing risk of nobody willing to offer me a bride. It has been a great journey in my life so far and I have invested a lot of my life for this one word. 

The other major half of my life is invested for the second word perhaps. I am a 1-book old author now. I have released a collection of short stories in Tamil- named முதல் போணி. Books fascinate me big-time and I also developed an aspiration to become a writer. Thanks to a few lab-rats who read and reviewed my earliest writings, I can claim confidently that I am no mug with words now. 

The other four words in the memoir define me. I firmly believe that this trait has enabled to me continue in the miles-to-go-before-I-sleep journey with energy and enthusiasm. 

Thanks for expressing interest in knowing me. As is my duty, I pass on the baton to Santhosh Kumar, who is most likely scratching his head for his 6-words now!

Cheers,

GS

Image courtesy: mariachily

The bloody red thing

Hi folks, this post is about my personal experiences with a bloody red thing. It is the fluid of life... but, not water. It is that magic potion which helps us to breathe... but, not oxygen. It treats each and every one of us equally regardless of our religion, race, class, caste, sex, belief or IPL team prefrences. The world has produced hundreds and thousands of scientists and millions of new inventions have been made. There are artificial kidneys, artificial lungs, artificial legs and there is even a substitute for Mother’s milk. But till date this red bloody thing has no worthy substitute.

My very first experience with this thing is the curious doubt I had when I learnt how to spell it in elementary school. My teacher wrote this word on the black board – B .. L.. O.. O.. D – and asked us all to pronounce it as ‘blood’. I was confused. With my English knowledge, I could only justify pronouncing B L O O D as ‘blued’ but it is not even blue to be named that. Of course, the bloody red thing I am talking about all this while is the blood itself and this post intends to tell how B.. L.. O.. O.. D can spell L.. I.. F.. E  to many in the world today through a process that is spelt D.. O.. N.. A.. T.. I.. O.. N!

A must-see place in Chennai and a must-introduce man to our kids

I am going to start this article with a little anecdote. It is about the fashionable Che Guerra t-shirt. We all have seen it and of course I met a cousin of mine who was flaunting it one fine day. Out of curiosity, I asked him, “Brother do you know who this man on your vest is?” He said , “Ya they've written his name there – Che Guerra”.. “Ok.. Who is Che Guerra?” "He is a revolutionary” "Well, what kind of revolution did he do?” That became tough for him it seemed.. “Hmm.. he fought for communism.. Against USA perhaps” Perhaps! "You know where he fought for communism?” “Well,that should be one among Russia, China or Cuba”.. O Ernesto Che Guerra, if you are up there and listening, better rest in peace! Well, I don't have any regrets with my brother's notion of Che. We live in an age where we have revolutionised the very act of revolution. True, we get involved in many revolutions against corruption, against injustice to women etc. We raise our voice vehemently and fervently against social injustices! We change our facebook profile pictures! And update status messages and say ‘I am a champion for this cause’

With this context, I am going to tell you about an old-school revolutionary whom I adore and salute. This man is a lunatic, a visionary, an outcast, and a poet – he lived amidst our forefathers in this very own city and his name is Mr. Subramanya Bharathi! I came to know that the home in which he lived has been converted to a memorial and it is still in Chennai. And I went there recently with some of my friends.

Learning a different language of the body

I am going to write today about how I learnt a different language of the body recently. Please note I am not using the phrase ‘body language’. It should aptly be the ‘language of the body’. Is there a difference? There should be in the context I am going to speak. Language is a form of expression and general perception typically confines it to the limits of linguistics. When we explore beyond the conventional, we shall be amazed to know how many languages are out there around us – that which we never consciously take notice of ever in our lives. There are languages of the tongue, which we all are familiar with. There are languages of the eyes, which people in love know to speak. There are languages of computers, which coders and programmers manipulate for a living. There are languages of the soul, which philosophers tend to. And then there are languages of the body, which the human body learns to express. 

Dancers, Gymnasts, Actors and even martial arts experts will tell you what this language of the body thing is. It is an expression of the body, with a meaning, structure and grammar on its own. It has to be learned like any other language. It can be used to communicate to and fro with people who know the same language. The language of the body that I am going to talk about today is that of swimming and my terrain is a swimming pool in the summer vacations where I signed up for a swimming course at the age of 21.