The Day The Hills Rustled Aloud

The day started early, and by "early" I meant much before dawn, say; we even beat the rooster at this one!  The office was scheduled for a head trip to a forest resort (date and place as mentioned above) to rekindle and joggle those rusty nerves. If I may—it was a much needed getaway that has been dangling before us like a ripe carrot—we just did not get to that carrot. Until now. 

        The excitement quotient overruled the sleep quotient—all that was running through my mind the previous night was that we ought to begin our course early to ensure we had ample time at the resort. 

I'm sure most of us would have set our alarms for 2:30 a.m. or so (scheduled departure was 4:00 a.m.). 

           It was chaotic that morning; woke up with a frantic jolt, few this and thats still to be pounded into that oversize knapsack, yet to have a shower, wake-up call to my ride to the central meeting point . . . Phew! Chaotic as it was, I finally did make it to the bus on time only to find that the rest were still snoring their noses off! All that excitement was crumbling down to a powdery paste! And when the late-lateefs did start trickling in, we had surpassed the hour of departure. The revised time could be anywhere from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m.! This only means we'd have lesser and lesser time in the resort; we were scheduled to return by late Monday evening. That barely gave us two days! Eventually, we hit the road by 6:00 a.m.

*A Quarter of a Gut Full*

None of us had a morsel of food in our stomachs, and the hunger pangs were sucking out the stored energy. However, that did not keep us from dancing and screaming to our wits end! Having exhausted all that vigor, it was obvious that we needed to replenish our growling tummies with a food source. It was decided that we halt for steaming idlis and a cup of coffee/tea at a roadside joint. This was an apt time to build up on calories, relieve our brimming bladders, and stretch our cramped muscles. We didn't quite accomplish the "emptying our bladders" then; the loos were downright filthy! 
             Post breakfast, we were back aboard, and our next hunt was for a decent loo; decent enough to squat and empty our bladders. As "Eew" as this may sound, it is a necessary evil! We did what we needed to; post which, the only halt would be the final destination—Forest Hills! There was more of dancing, swearing, screaming—the works! 

*The Throne of the Clouds*

As we drove through Mysore toward Masinagudi, set in Tamil Nadu, there was a vivid transformation in the flora and fauna—the grass seemed greener, the flowers seemed brighter; there was this extreme "wild" quality about them that is a welcome break from the usual. Oh, and did I mention that I have a fetish for wild flowers? We were gradually entering the forest reserve. The air smelt pure; though there were spurts of animal odor that filled the air-the stench of fresh dung; the ambiance was still,  and yet so alive! 
It is when we read the signposts along the roads, that we realized that we were encroaching the animal territory, and not the other way around. We ought to respect their space, and the cautions displayed for our safety. It was time to tone down the noise and relish the stunning view. From the corner of my eye, I could envision pockets of people clicking away greedily at their cameras—the view was such that one couldn't have enough of it. 

                 It was about 11:45 a.m. and we had about another half-an-hour to go. I felt my gut  wrenching; I was so hungry, I could eat an elephant! I could hear an uproar from the backseaters as well! Phew! I was not the only one who was craving for some good food after all! Misery always, and always loves company! A-ha! We were just moments away from the resort that we could barely hold our excitement within—it was too much to contain. Somebody from behind yelled "Food" and another was quick with a "Shut up!" 

*The Transporters*

Though we were dangerously low on energy levels, we were totally out there to explore, learn, and execute. The bus parked slightly short of the Forest Hills resort, alongside a temple.  I could sense a stampede; all we wanted to do was to clamber out of that darn bus, stretch some muscles, and sprint to the resort, which was set  a little deeper from where we were at. Some of us had heavy luggage that needed to be dropped off at the reception; carrying our baggage and staggering a kilometer didn't seem like something we wanted to do. The staff had our luggage transported via two jeeps. We, however, trudged, walked, even hopped our way till the reception and rested our tired selves on anything that even vaguely resembled a chair, awaiting further instructions. And there it was—the moment of truth—lunch was to be served at 1400 hours! Meanwhile, we needed to dump our baggage in the rooms allotted to us. 


KNOCK, KNOCK!
The rooms and the number of candidates allotted to each room was decided at our office, prior to the trip. It was a "know-your-neighbor" assignment, part of our team-building activity. We were to take time to get to know, understand, and respect our colleagues; accept them for who they are, being accommodating and sensitive to the interests of others. Though I'm not quite sure if we were honest to the agenda. 
          The cottages assigned varied—most men were huddled in the dorm; some paired with others in other cottages. The same with the women folk. However, three of us were the envy of the crowd—we were to stay in the watchtower (Machaan), set deeper into the resort, away from all other cottages, and overlooking the jungle. How cool is that! 

*Standing Tall*

The clock was ticking, and we had just enough time to stash our luggage and return for lunch. We made a run for it; it was going to be a busy afternoon, spattered with team activities and of the sorts! Hungrily we queued up for lunch—phulkas, chicken curry, aloo-matar sabzi, Biryani, pappad, curd rice, two varieties of pickle, curd, sugar, and salad! Either the food was great, or we just didn't know when to stop! We all felt like fattened cows; imagine having scheduled a personal training activity at this hour—we would burst from all sides! It was therefore decided to postpone the team activity to later. 


THE VIEW OF A LIFETIME!
We were granted some leisure time to make the most of.  We, the three Machaanites decided to head to our hideout and explore the safe zone of the Machaan premises. An inch outside the  wired premises was sure to land us under the hooves of an elephant, the paws of a bear; maybe right into the mouth of a starving leopard even! The watchtower was an awesome hangout—soulful, unpolluted air; pillows of clouds, a spread of heart-warming wild flowers, the enchanting hills dappled with clear-water streams gushing out enthusiastically. There was something extremely calming about the air in this jungle haunt.


P.S. I've been glancing through the know-hows of blogging, it is recommend that we keep blogs short and sweet for readability; mine, could exceed a mile. Keeping this is mind, perhaps, I should rest any further excerpts from my expedition. 

-Thank you for your patience, Samaritans-