Trekking Days..

The Venues included on this Life Poster :

Gerusoppa valley - Sharavati waters , Jakkor stream Near kalleshwar , Unnamed fantastic falls near Burude Jog , and Places near Sirsi.

It used to be 6 Days a week and sometimes I used to make it 7 days week with my affinity for work back in my earlier days. From now one i will call it as Phase 1 . Our core trekking team used to comb the forest every week ( On Sundays ) for new trails or pathways made by wild streams. The forest as usual is not friendly. Its always punishing and demanding . The strain it puts on you is worth it , once you are out of the green canopy and relish on the memories of ur ordeal. The sheer joy of physical exertion used to bring us back to the wild chase after an unknown stream , Go after Peak after Peak or any place near to Nature. Many streams we used to chase after were known only to the locals and it was word of mouth propagation we used to get info about next ' Green Hunt '. The days of green are vivid and enchanting with each season offering its best.

Our core team had 'Harishpant Damodharpant Dattopant Krishnapant Haripant Devnawathe' - or shortly Harish Nawathe ( Taking only the first and the last name !. Its how a traditional old timer Hindu will tell his name.. The name will include the forefathers name .. as far as u can remember ! ) , Amit and Me. This Amit is a freelance photographer with a creative approach. I have seen his creativity on Photo film. He is doing wonderful things with his analog camera. He used to chase his dreams in forest alone during the early days. He used to go to bus stop and catch the bus to remote villages , get down at the last stop and used to start his unscheduled journey from there and usually he used to come back brimming with nice experience to share with. He had that sense of direction in forest and real hard core I can say. Contrary to Amit, Harish is organised and employee of LIC of India and he is the driving force - who made all our treks a reality by getting info required and planning. Some times when I couldn't get a bike for the weekly trek , we 3 used to ride on the single bike to our dream destination , in rain , in wind and in scorching sun. We never published our treks but I chronicled each one of them with photos and points I kept. The trek was purely personal like the exercise we do in a gym. Myself and Amit were capable of the dawn to dusk trekking without food and water. We were camels on the go ! And Harish was just the opposite. With our differences we grew stronger and richer.. richer with experience.

We used every mode of communication to reach our destination.. Yezdi (1972 model) which used to run comfortably with 50-50 petrol and kerosene mixture ! , 50 cc Luna TFR ( I will some time write about this Luna rides myself and Harish took - those are one our best days till date.I Personally equate that to journeys of Ernest 'Che' Guevara chronicled in his 'The Motorcycle Diaries' ) , Cycle , Bus , Truk and Walk. During some treks we had accompanying mates who had got cars to reach the starting points. Usually our starting points used to be 20kms to 50kms away from our houses. The number used to vary. The members used to change. But core remained the same for nearly 12 years.

Memoirs:

I have to thank my father for the inculcating the habit of walking. His normal walking gait was equal to brisk walking speed. As he hailed from a small , remote village and as was a old timer, the only way to town was walking. He made walking pleasurable exercise.

Tribute to my thoughts

Morning was gloomy and drizzling. The expected weather !

While commuting on the train , it was my own private world - Me , Myself and My weird thoughts. Most of the time what I think or rather churn out during the journey of nearly an hour is lost , the moment i step out of the Metro trains. Its the same routine of follow the crowd. I sometime feel , I am drifting in the Human Sea. Here , there and every where. Sometimes in Human sea the currents are so dense that I can call that its elbow to elbow sea of humanity !

I can see the tension , grimness , and also drowsiness in the fellow commuter's face. Be a male or fee-male , both the same. In the stations I can hear the bouncing and echoing sounds of high heeled foot gear made by running ladies. Its fee-males that run the running show !

I think I should remember all the things i thought of , or planed to do.Many times my good thoughts are lost forever due to my negligence. Or rather my slightly laid back nature ! For me its walking and Travelling on Car or Train or any moving objects that starts chain of thoughts.

Today I thought of writing about my Good old trekking days back in the place I worked and worshipped ( for its natural beauty ), stretching back to a decade. My active trekking days have ended for the time being , at least. I will be posting my thoughts on the weekly treks I did back in India in the future. ( Only problem here is my dedicated time to tap the keys and a little bit of me for some creative input ).
I will not disappoint myself !

Notes:
Writing on paper is simpler and creative - I can change between ಕನ್ನಡ , English and sketches .
I love to do sketches while writing. My notebook are filled with such weird sketches.
My creative side is not accepting the Tapping the keyboard as natural thing !

Dog's Eye View :

Its a dog's world and Dog's property rules are :

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If its in my mouth, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If I’m chewing something up, all the pieces are mine.
6. If its mine, it must never appear to be yours anyway.
7. If it just looks like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If its broken, it’s yours.

Memories :

Let me show you the world's ugliest dog . It got awarded also and it has died at the age of 14 years. I have seen such horrible looking ailing dogs but with deteriorating health conditions - But still struggling to live along. Good thing is they can not commit suicide ! . Let those loyal creatures have a peaceful life .

Let me write about dogs , good times and bad times and merciful times - in the near future. I have seen the death, tortures from a near quarters. Its a wild , wild world outside. And as usual its the survival of the fittest.

The Bird is Free :

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.1922 — 2007

It was back in 1995. The Sundays were best spent on roads , rather combing the activity filled roads of over crowded Bangalore. On such a stroll down the narrow roads of Chickpet , my self and frend Satish happended to peer in to a second hand bookstall as usual. Searching for priceless bootie among the discarded books. He happened to Pick a a book with no front cover but the rest of it intact. When I glanced over his shoulder, I could see some simple drawings filled the pages. It was queer and stood apart from the rest of the books. When the bargain was done , it was i, who pulled the money out of the wallet first and paid Rs.25 for it and still i have that novel with me, cosily lying in my library..The book was ' Breakfast of Champions' by Kurt vonnegut.jr.He is best known for such classic novels as Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle. But incidently I do not have these two novels. It was pretty interesting to read his ' Break fast of champions'

The satirical novelist Kurt vonnegut.jr who was 84 , died on 11.Apr.He was the kind of writer who made people _ young people, especially _ want to write. He wrote the kinds of books you pass around.He also filled the book with some of his own simple felt-tip pen drawings, intending to illustrate various aspects of life. It was real smile !

If you look at his works , For countless teenagers, reading Vonnegut was as much an entry into adult life as your first beer. The world became funnier, more dangerous, more exciting. If you were looking to send up authority, question life's meaning or face the worst and keep your sense of humor, Vonnegut was your teacher.

His writings are remembered for world-weary gentleness, warmth, and comedy. And he was pretty darned imaginative, too, with his funny looking , insightful drawings and the words that rolled out from him.

The Cage is empty and Bird has been set free. May his soul rest in peace .

Notes : The cage was drawn by dead author himself.