The Monsoon Drive

It was the second week of July, the month I was born. Out of the blue, I felt like going out of town to the serene western ghats on a monsoon drive. It was my long standing dream to go out on a drive to the region of western ghats during the wet monsoon season. I’d always heard from friends about how beautiful the Malnad region is during the rains. I’d seen photographs on the internet which concurred my friends views. Travelling to malnad during monsoon was definitely on my bucket list. My mind was set and I announced to my parents about my plan to go there. My mom was even more excited, she was longing to go to a temple there and without a moment’s hesitation she announced lets go, my dad who was listening to all this while reading the paper knew that “ Majority always wins”.  So there we were all set to travel.

Time was a constraint, we had to leave on a Sunday afternoon and return to Bangalore on Tuesday night. It would be two and a half days and about a 1000kms. Our plan was to go to sringeri and then head to Sirsi and back to Bangalore.

So D-day it was, Sunday afternoon, it was raining continuously in Bangalore.  My dad was skeptical about the trip. His skepticism became evident when he asked me “ Shall we leave tomorrow morning instead of today ?”. I was undeterred. My mind was set, nothing could turn me back. I announced let’s leave at 2.30. After that, I rested for half an hour. The clock indicated half past two that’s when I took the keys and put all the luggage in the boot and set sail to what would be an amazing two and a half days.

Our plan was to reach Belur by dusk. Crash there for the night, leave early morning to Sringeri, reach sringeri by 8.30. Then finish off the work at sringeri and then head to Sirsi and reach there by dusk again. Then head to Sonda the next morning and after the temple visit and lunch there, head back to Bangalore.

All along it rained mildly and intensely. For a city-dweller like me, cloaked in pollution and soot, embedded in the concrete jungle; nature had dressed itself in an amazing grandeur. It was ready to show me its finesse. The green cover of over the mountains allured me to stay there forever and the tantalizing romance between the clouds and the mountains was mesmerizing to watch. It was hard for me to concentrate on the road. Nature always distracted me. 

The highlight of the drive was the stretch between Belur and Sringeri. The drive was nothing short of breathtaking.  Throughout the drive green pastures just accompanied the road, it was as if the road and green pastures were romantic lovers who could never leave each other. The green pastures were undulating just like humps on a camel. The drive on those roads gave us a feeling of going on a roller-coaster, giving us the occasional adrenalin rush.  After a few miles of the road-pasture companionship, there came the mountains on one side. They were gargantuan. The slight drizzle added to the austerity of the already scenic environment. The clouds this time had decided to create a hazy atmosphere, blinding us of the view of the road. It was scary in a good way.  When this stretch ended, I was both happy and sad. Happy that my long standing dream of monsoon drive actually came true, sad cause this alluring journey had come to an end.  

All things come to an end, so did this journey. the journey was comparable to a mouthwatering chocolate sundae which had the right amount of ice cream in the form of scenic nature marinated with just the right amount of nuts and chocolate sauce in the form rain. 

In the midst of all this happiness, I just saw the trip meter which showed the digits 1000 in white against a blue background.  

This is Vattam signing off!

Potentiality redefined!

It was a long day at work, I returned home at 8.15. Though I was a little tired, I told myself, “Come on, you can't miss your Jog”. My feet were aching badly, despite that I put on my running shoe and hitchhiked to KrishnaRao park, platform for my workout, four days a week. Usually, I run about five to six rounds around the park, which is approximately 5-6 Kms. But that day, my body said enough for the day after two rounds. Disappointed with myself, I headed to a concrete bench and settled down there, unplugged my earphones and became one with the serene environment. As the sounds of the hustling of leaves reverberated through my ears, I noticed a girl probably in her early teens. She had a certain strangeness associated with her. Her style of walking was strange, it looked as though she had strain every muscle in her body to walk. It appeared to me as if for her to walk was to battle. Her face told me a different story. She seemed disconnected from the outside, a subtle smile that reiterated the folks who watched her that she cared about nothing around her. 

I sat there on the concrete bench with my eyes pinned on her and my mind wondering what would she grow up to become. While i was engrossed in this, she walked past me, tripped and fell. It took me a couple of seconds to realise she fell and I have to get up and help her. finally after a moment of lull, I snapped out of the temporary paralysis jumped up and rushed to her. I helped her get back to her feet and made her sit down on the concrete bench. Another gentleman too rushed to the spot and before we could realise there were atleast dozen folks around her. A lady in her mid forties asked her the details of her family, she told us her father's name and told us that her father was just sitting a few paces away. I started running shouting her father's name. The father who was sitting in a nearby corner in the park came upto me and told me that the girl was her daughter and headed to straight to the spot where she sat. On arriving there, the girl's father admonished her daughter for causing anxiety to so many people, though his tone was not abrasive.

The father daughter duo left and so did I, while I walked past her, I asked her dad what's unusual about her. His answer shocked and surprised me at the same time, "My daughter was born with disability, she is physically challenged and mentally challenged. She was unable to walk till four years and the doctors had told that she would never be able to walk. They even told her brain wouldn't develop and advised me to put her to an orphanage. However, I decided to give her the Ancient Ayurvedic treatment. After about three years of treatment, she is now able to walk around the whole park. Life has changed for her, she is a real fighter. She has taught me so many lessons".

After this heartrending conversation, I bid goodbye to that girl, to which she sweetly replied, Goodbye!!

I went home elated, I'd heard about the story of Wilma Rudolph who was one of the greatest woman sprinter in Olympic history. She was polio stricken at a tender age, but later on became an Olympic Gold medalist. I felt as though I met a Wilma Rudolph in the making.

"My Doctor told me I would never walk again,
 my mother told me I would.
  I believed my mother, "

                         - Wilma Rudolph


I have nothing to conclude, she is an inspiration to me and I shall remember her for many years to come. Most of all when I am running and my body says no more, I would think of this girl, tell myself that when a girl who couldn't walk could today walk miles together, I can definitely do more. I just felt lucky to be there at that precise moment.

This is Vattam signing off