RAO GOES BACK IN TIME!!!
December 10th. 6:00 am. Almost the entire city was still dozing hoping for a late sunrise as it was a sunday. A misty morning with visibility less than 15 mts. We were all assembled near our school grounds waiting for the bus. We were in a delirious mood. The most awaited day had finally come. The departure was scheduled for 6.15 am, but it was past that time. Our excitement took the form of frown on our faces and curse on our tongue. We were cursing the driver incessantly until we could hear the loud honk of the foghorn. There was a deafening HURRAY!!!! by all of us which marked the start of the most exciteful day.
As soon as the bus stopped, we all sprinted towards the bus without even bothering to bid goodbye to our parents who had come to see us off. But the limited window seats were our primary concern. In a jiffy, the entire class was in the bus busy fighting for the window seats when the vociferous voice silenced us and averted the possible petty fights. It was the last trip of our school life. We started for shivanasamudra at 7:00 am.
It is around 100 kms from our school which roughly took 2.5 hrs to reach. In due time we were busy playing antakshari and more so between boys and girls. Owing to my little interest in songs, I slowly descended in my seat and remained incognito for the entire duration. I was always reserved in large groups and expansive in smaller ones. The engine died with a shrill cry. We were in shivanasamudra. It was around 9:45 am. We all got down the bus and were wonderstruck with the bountiful beauty of the resplendent nature. I felt the scenery was straight from greeting card photo. I was awestruck when I saw the perennial downfall of the milky cauvery from the peril with such virile and vigour. We had our breakfast amidst such beauty. It was a thrilling experience. My eyes were feasting more than my stomach. Finally it was time to leave the place as we had to cover 2 more places and return on the same day. Our next destination was talakadu which was in close proximity. It took us less than an hour to reach talakadu.
It was almost 12 noon. Sun was straight above us. The warmth was a very welcoming one and we slowly shred all our extra woolen which we wore in the morning. Talakadu was a totally different experience. It had fine sand all over the place and a slow and a peaceful cauvery flowing by the side. This place has a historic significance which is unfolded by a legendary story which says that the sandy ground was due to the curse laid out to the reigning king of that place. Stories apart, I thoroughly enjoyed walking on the sand as the whole of the sole feels the ground unlike when we walk on hard surface. We visited some temples which were uncovered by Archeological Survey of India. There were numerous stories on each of the temples to which we gave our deaf ears. Then it was time for lunch. The cook who had accompanied us from Bangalore had prepared a recipe for a disaster. Disaster is the finished product of bad ingredients and processes. In a mood of gay, we didn’t really give a damn to it and filled our tummies with some available junkies. After enjoying for a while near the river bank, it was time to proceed further. We were already running behind schedule. It was 3 pm. A loud and a familiar voice commanded to board the bus. Our next destination was the famous somanathpura which was hardly an hour's drive from talakadu.
4 pm. Somanathpura. It was famous for the star-shaped Hoysala temple built in the 13th century. The temple was of great architectural beauty, surrounded by the stone carved idols and pillars, and as all other historical monuments, it reflected the culture, tradition, political and social life of that time. We spent an hour and a half at this place listening to some boring details of the stone carvings which I could hardly comprehend and appreciate. The dusk was setting in, the day was slowly drawing the curtains down. We started our return journey at around 6 pm. We were all jaded out, still the enthusiasm kept our spirits high. It was more of an exhilarating than exhausting.
As soon as the bus stopped, we all sprinted towards the bus without even bothering to bid goodbye to our parents who had come to see us off. But the limited window seats were our primary concern. In a jiffy, the entire class was in the bus busy fighting for the window seats when the vociferous voice silenced us and averted the possible petty fights. It was the last trip of our school life. We started for shivanasamudra at 7:00 am.
It is around 100 kms from our school which roughly took 2.5 hrs to reach. In due time we were busy playing antakshari and more so between boys and girls. Owing to my little interest in songs, I slowly descended in my seat and remained incognito for the entire duration. I was always reserved in large groups and expansive in smaller ones. The engine died with a shrill cry. We were in shivanasamudra. It was around 9:45 am. We all got down the bus and were wonderstruck with the bountiful beauty of the resplendent nature. I felt the scenery was straight from greeting card photo. I was awestruck when I saw the perennial downfall of the milky cauvery from the peril with such virile and vigour. We had our breakfast amidst such beauty. It was a thrilling experience. My eyes were feasting more than my stomach. Finally it was time to leave the place as we had to cover 2 more places and return on the same day. Our next destination was talakadu which was in close proximity. It took us less than an hour to reach talakadu.
It was almost 12 noon. Sun was straight above us. The warmth was a very welcoming one and we slowly shred all our extra woolen which we wore in the morning. Talakadu was a totally different experience. It had fine sand all over the place and a slow and a peaceful cauvery flowing by the side. This place has a historic significance which is unfolded by a legendary story which says that the sandy ground was due to the curse laid out to the reigning king of that place. Stories apart, I thoroughly enjoyed walking on the sand as the whole of the sole feels the ground unlike when we walk on hard surface. We visited some temples which were uncovered by Archeological Survey of India. There were numerous stories on each of the temples to which we gave our deaf ears. Then it was time for lunch. The cook who had accompanied us from Bangalore had prepared a recipe for a disaster. Disaster is the finished product of bad ingredients and processes. In a mood of gay, we didn’t really give a damn to it and filled our tummies with some available junkies. After enjoying for a while near the river bank, it was time to proceed further. We were already running behind schedule. It was 3 pm. A loud and a familiar voice commanded to board the bus. Our next destination was the famous somanathpura which was hardly an hour's drive from talakadu.
4 pm. Somanathpura. It was famous for the star-shaped Hoysala temple built in the 13th century. The temple was of great architectural beauty, surrounded by the stone carved idols and pillars, and as all other historical monuments, it reflected the culture, tradition, political and social life of that time. We spent an hour and a half at this place listening to some boring details of the stone carvings which I could hardly comprehend and appreciate. The dusk was setting in, the day was slowly drawing the curtains down. We started our return journey at around 6 pm. We were all jaded out, still the enthusiasm kept our spirits high. It was more of an exhilarating than exhausting.
On the way back, we slept like logs. Not a single soul was awake. Within no time the engine let out a shrill cry which sounded familiar to us now. We knew that the day was over and we were back to the starting point. It was 9 pm. Our parents were eagerly waiting our arrivals. They let a sigh of relief when we got down safe and sound. Before we dispersed, we all planned for a celebrated dispersal. All of us formed a man circle like the men-of-blues and let out a deafening HURRAY!!!! for 3 consecutive times with regular intervals. We gave a bear hug to all guys and a warm handshake to the reminder of the class. The odyssey had come to an end. The curtains were drawn. But it was permanently embedded in all our cerebral muscles.
Memories are always sweet and so are mine.
RAO
Memories are always sweet and so are mine.
RAO
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