i had a very exciting journey which started on saturday 1st mar which culminated yesterday at 6 pm.
though it was the para festival at our temple this was a journey i had much looked out for. i was travelling with my cousin brother vinay and sister-in-law harsha, aka edathiyamma. the day started wonderfully . bright sunny morning, and a rare thing happened too!!! i woke up before 8am IST!!!
and to make matters even more joyous, i woke up and bathed just in time to watch the lord crossing the river in the boat, one of the most beautiful sights around. but unfortunately as i was watching the crossing i had an unexpected spraining of neck that was horribly painful. i also had a series of errands to run before the departure.and like a mole atop a hump my toe was cut by my scooter's stand.
finally after a patching up i left on the journey with my bro in his wagon r car at around 11 am. we left via trichur to coimbatore via nh 47. the roads were far better than i anticipated although the existence of gutters in large numbers did save the trip from being "too" comfortable. and the fact that vinay considered himself to be an amateur rally driver did make the trip extremely hair raising!!!
we had lunch at the indian coffee house at mannuthi agricultural college. contrary to the standards of indian coffee houses in india the food at this joint was deplorable at best. maybe that is why indian coffee house is a dying brand name nowadays.
we crossed into the state of tamil nadu via the walayar check post and the amazing line of trucks waiting to cross over into kerala amazed me!!!! the line was almost 4 kms long. it drove the point home that every thing we keralites consume has to be trucked in from other states!!! a total consumer and the ultimate market economy. it also gave me a career aim to be a police or customs officer here!! service here for a month could set me up for a lifetime of luxury!!!!
the crossing over into tamil nadu territory was a breath taking experience. it seemed like all greenery too ceased existence beyond the border. while it was all lush green with lots of grass and trees at the kerala side, yonder it was all barren brown terrain.
the roads too took a turn for the worse and potholes becoming a norm and firm tarmac a rarity. finally around dusk we reached the home of vinay's in- laws. it was a breezy , cute apartment that was quite charming.
next day we were on our final leg to bangalore, the IT centre and garden city, which in a few years will be recognizable by the name "bengaluru". god help that city then!!!
the trip which was supposed to start at 8 finally took off at 11. we travelled in the sathymangalam, kollegal route.
what started out to be a pleasant drive through lush forests and winding hair pin turns at the sathyamangalam pass, a tricky route with 29 hair pin curves, finally took an boring and exasperating turn. from the forests once dominated by the notorious and legendary forest brigand veerappan we got trapped in the horrendous road system of karnataka. what normally takes 2 hours of driving in decently paved roads took us an exasperating 5 hours through the worst roads we had ever seen!!! these roads which apparently has not seen asphalt ever since british left the country 60 years ago are only motored by bullock carts and all terrain tractors. due to the prevalent practices of drying food grains on the road surface, the absence of tarmac has even caused some sections of the road to have flourishing flora growing on them!!! it was a sea change from the comparatively magnificent roads of kerala and the decently paved roads of tamil nadu. i almost felt nostalgic about kerala roads which normally i will start cursing every 93 minutes!!!!
finally i reached bangalore at about 6 pm, a complete wreck!!!! my neck and left shoulders were screaming!!!! even liberal doses of pain easing sprays did no good to the torment. finally after and excruciatingly cold bath and a sumptuous dinner, i embraced lady sleep.
thus i reached the garden city!!!!!!
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