Day 1 – The journey
The ignition
On the wee hours of a Saturday morning when most of the
people find themselves tugged in their cozy beds, our journey started with
smiles and laughter all around. Shutter parted away while the cameras clicked
at ease. Despite the delay, journey started with aplomb. Thrill of an
adventure, bonding of the people and unique sense of excitement glued together
into a single emotion to kick start our trip.
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Initial vibes
No sooner the bus set into motion, euphoria contagiously crept
into everyone and we drifted gradually into a world of our own completely aloof
from the outside world. With people still settling in their seats, few started
trying their luck in game of cards. When Chennai traffic still in incessant
stages at early hours, we sped up towards our destination and snaps were taken
at random capturing all the emotions that floated around. As we shuffled seats
and cracked jokes, bus came to a refreshing halt at ‘Murugan idly’ for our
breakfast. Sumptuousness of the food and togetherness of our team made the
occasion even more special.
Shift change gear
As our ride shifted into another gear, it was our turn to up
the ante and pump up the volume. Though we didn’t raise hell, everyone was on
their toes singing and dancing. Music had a big part to play in this transition
with various chartbusters of different languages were sung. Singing talent was
on display as the excitement sunk in. From the classics of M.S.Subulakshmi to
the local folklore of ‘suragani’ people plied their trade in their own voices. Not
very often you get to hear diverse songs across so many different languages
like Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Bengali songs in a same team unless you are
working in our office. Real meaning of the popular saying ‘unity in diversity’ was
realized at that moment.
Journey continued via National highway 4 and first sign of
tiredness emerged. After travelling for four hours, Intensity of the music had
subsided and few heads started drooping. As we entered the outskirts of
Vellore, history dawned on us. Natives of Vellore shared their experiences
about the city and provided glimpses about historical places and days of
British invasion.
With quite some distance to travel, we decided to pass time
by watching a movie. More heads dropped lower and more seats were pushed back as
the movie started. Time seemed to have slowed down as we crossed the borders of
TN into AP. Striking difference in culture between two states was evident
though they are neighbors. Region’s
ethnicity stood out more than anything else. Heads began to rise and eyelids
parted away slowly.
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| Road to adventure |
Finally!
As our ride started it’s ascend up the hills, clicks of the
camera started doing rounds. One thing that caught the eye of everyone
unanimously was the ‘road’. Yes! Don’t get me wrong. Though it was not one of
the most exquisite of roads, view was simply magnificent. Scenery had changed
by the time curves of the hills were reached. It was as if a green blanket was
thrown over the entirety. It took 270km and more than 6 hours to reach our
destination, Horsley, but we knew very little that it was the start of the real
adventure.
Day 1 – The start
As we disembarked from the bus, the sudden change of
atmosphere had its instant impact on our mood. Stretching of the limbs
accompanied by the big wide yawns were prevalent everywhere. ‘Freak outs’ team was
already awaiting our arrival with welcoming drink and room keys of our cottages.
Each cottage was assigned for two members chosen at random and were given brief
instructions on further schedule of activities.
Half an hour had elapsed before we assembled at the designated place for
lunch. Due credits should be given to the coordinators of our PISPL team for making
arrangements in advance without missing even a tiny detail. Everything was
planned and executed immaculately, without any hindrances. Delicious dal makhani, crispy chicken and
spicy south Indian cuisines were doing the rounds in everyone’s plate. It was
indeed a timely lunch as we were sapped of energy after a tiring journey.
Breaking of the shelves
Now and then it’s important to come out of our comfort zone
and do things we normally feel awkward or childish. Shell we build around ourselves need
constant rebuilding so as we give enough room for expansion. ‘Freak outs’ team had arranged one
such activity involving all of us to begin with. We formed a circle with
touching distance between each one of us. Demo was given in elaborate and rules
were clearly explained in the beginning providing no room for confusion. Game
was all about passing of ‘one’s energy’ to
the next person, either be it to our right/left/opposite. Three different actions
were used for three different phrases; ‘hoo-ha’, ‘dontalkeydowndown’, ‘shift
change gear1, 2, 3, 4’. As game sped up, circle became smaller and smaller
making it all more interesting. Unpredictable nature of the game prompted quick
thinking and split second decisions to ensure the survival which quite often is
the 'irony
of life'. At last three persons
were selected as winner out of the group of 30 which was no mean feat.
A walk in the water
Once our shell was broken, we were split into teams of two
and each team was assigned an individual activity. The phrase ‘water
walking’ may sound absurd for many who are hearing it for first time,
but believe me or not we were excited more than anything. One of our PISPL member hilariously quipped ‘Are
we going to walk as Jesus did?’ We couldn’t
help but wonder how it was going to be made possible. Discussions led our way
to the swimming pool where members of ‘Freak outs’ were already waiting
for us with all the required measures. Once we reached the pool, it was evident
that we were not going to walk as Jesus did or anywhere near it. Whole thing
was made possible by physics which we were all ware of even as a kid.
Encapsulated inside the balloon filled by enormous amount of
air, concerned person has to walk and keep the balloon moving. This activity
was a classic example of ‘easier said than done’. As we saw our fellow team members struggle
even to get on their feet, we started devising various theories to accomplish
the task. Our theories were taken to
cleaners one by one as soon as we were pushed into the water. Some crawled, some
somersaulted and some even laid flat on their back but seldom had they walked.
It was one of those ‘topsy-turvy’ experiences we encounter once in a blue
moon. Having said all that, few did manage to walk though it was for few seconds.
Once we finished all our exploits we requested one of the ‘Freak outs’ member to demonstrate
and he was more than happy to show us how it should be done. As the famous saying goes ‘Rolling
stone gathers no masses’; He made simultaneous motion of hands and legs
to keep the balloon rolling and hence walked with ease. Though we can’t completely fathom his doing,
we acknowledged his ingenuity.
Feeling light as a feather, we crunched some pagodas and
drank a soothing ‘tea’ before moving on with more assuredness.
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| A Stroll before the roll |
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| Balancing act |
‘A touch’, A Stick and the marble
Experiences of the respective team’s activities were shared
prior hand before we switched over. It was a transition of sorts as we moved
from a chaotic falls in the balloon to the more stable and balanced team
activity. Our team was once again divided
into two teams with 7 members each led by a representative. Rep’s were given individual
lessons about the game by the instructor who then passed it on to their
respective teams. Game was played as follows ‘Members of each team should be facing in opposite direction in line to
their each representatives with their backs to one other and the last man
standing should say the outcome of the coin toss aloud. First one to say it
aloud wins the game and there will be best out of three to decide the winner.’ A catch in the game was that we have to
communicate only by a slight touch which shouldn’t draw attention to the
instructor. Virtually no sound should emerge, yet the representative has to
pass on the outcome of coin toss to the last person in the line. We decided to
have two gestures of touch; touch of hand for heads and poke in the leg for
tails; Once we won the game and revealed our ‘little secret’ there were cries
of laughter stating our ploy as ‘rocket science’.
Team of 7 was dissolved once again and two new
representatives were again selected for altogether new event and the exception
being they were given the power to form their own team one at a time in alternate
fashion. The same procedure of instructing the representatives beforehand took
place while we were dancing ‘dhandiya’ with the sticks provided to us. Once the
debriefing was over, representatives took up the mantle and put on their ‘explaining’
hats to give a clear idea about the game. It took more than ten minutes to
understand the game itself before we had any luck in playing it.
‘Each team was
provided with two marbles, one of smaller size with weight age of ten points
and another of larger magnitude that accounted for five points. Every member of
a team was given a stick to carry out the task which was to carry the marble
from point A to point B without dropping it in the ground. Person receiving the
marble shouldn’t move his/her foot, also should be careful enough not to
backtrack the marble in the stick. Once the person transfers the marble to the
next person, he is free to move forward to take advanced position. Failing to
meet any of the above criteria, team should start their quest again from point
A. Team with most points at the end of allocated ten minutes would be the winner’.
Balance, team work and bonding shone
right through the entire event. Winning or losing didn’t matter as it was the experience
that mattered most.
As the dusk prepared its onset, darkness crept in
steadfastly. Given a break of 20 minutes to get ready for a surprise commotion,
some left for the cottage to refresh while few of us remained in the ground
chewing and sharing our experiences till then. By the time clock ticked 18.30,
we were well on our course with torches in hand to light the path of our
expedition. To venture into the forest at night with no idea of whatsoever
about the expedition, experience was surreal. Discussion of ‘snake, milk and
the egg’ was going on and timing couldn’t be better as a creepy feeling crawled
into us noiselessly. Story was more biting and weird than the real snake would
be. Despite the brightness that had emanated
from the houses below the hills, our administrator had plans of his own to
light up the night sky, which very few of us knew about. Sparklers, fountains and others painted the
sky bright with varied colors. Celebrations took a new dimension every time a
new cracker was tried. Joy unbound, we made our way back colorfully without any
memories of creepy story or the slithery creature.
Just when we thought that everything for the day was done and
dusted, little did we know that crackers was just a start up for something even
more crackling.
....More fun to flow
