The Vagrants and The Pilgrims
"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each
other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Our previous night's trekking had a similar effect on us and we were now a closely bound group. We woke up the next morning, fully
refreshed and ready for our tryst with sea. The bad news was that the sea was
still rough and we could not do most of the sea activities and the Jet ski
scheduled for the morning would be manned by a professional with us as the
pillion. The resort usually allows us to ride the jet ski ourselves. Kayaking and Banana Boat Ride
also had to be cancelled.
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| I wanna play rough! |
The Good News was that the SEA WAS STILL ROUGH.
The Wet and Foamy Blue mistress is a lot more fun when she is angry. We spent the morning flirting with
the waves, jumping and dipping to take the crests up or down based on her whim
and our fancy . One of us celebrated our birthday the previous day. Too tired
after the trek, we had to let the birthday bums pass. Having passed our chance,
we gave the sea her's. With a lot of enthusiasm, she gave him a good whack
on the prescribed region as we held the B'day boy in place.
Even as we were fooling
around, the Jet Ski like an idol of its own right was brought in a chariot of
rubber tyres. We took our turns and one
by one understood the mathematics behind the sinusoidal motion and at one
particular location the negative exponential function. [;)]
Our metamorphosis from beach loitering vagrants to devout pilgrims
was phenomenal. Within a span of half an hour we had all had our baths and were
dressed for our trip to the famous Kollur Mookambika Temple. The Panchaloha (an alloy of 5 metals) idol of the Goddess on Shree Chakra is believed to have been consecrated by Sri Adi Shankaracharya during his pilgrimage to Kollur.
Before entering the Sanctum Sanctorum, we
were fortunate to witness the procession
of the golden idol around the temple and into the palanquin. The deity in the main altar is in the form of Jyotir Linga, in the Shiva Shakthi fashion. After the darshan for
some reason we got split up and where circumambulating the temples on our own
when I came across a enclosure for Partheshwara, Surprised to find a lingam named after our Bhagawan's abode, I stood there transfixed when the priest called me frantically and stuffed some
prasadam into my hand. Immediately after he started interacting with a child
asking him what his name was and where he came from. In a state of grateful bemusement I thanked
Bhagawan for showing his presence everywhere and left the temple to meet the
rest of the group. We had some refreshing Lemon Soda which is a specialty of
the place. (Strange! I know.)
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| God, the show-off! |
On the way back we took our time and
enjoyed the scenery of this most beautiful western coast. We came across a
place of such breathtaking beauty that we had to stop our vehicle and take
photographs. Pale yellow grass flowed in a silken motion in front of hills
covered in exquisite shades of green stretching into a velvety blue sky interspersed with fluffy white clouds. God! You exhibitionist.
We came back to Sai Vishram where some lip smacking stuff awaited our eager palates. After our lunch while some of us took a nap, three of us headed towards the carrom board in the enclosure next to the dining hall. Amateurs all, we probably introduced the concept of a carrom game lasting longer than a timeless test. Only the match between England and South Africa at Durban in 1939 could come close. However the game did feature some unbelivable shots where the coin stunned by the concept of actually falling into a hole leaped up and flew all the way across to find itself falling into another. This happened not once, not twice but three times earning the player the sobriquet Killer Mookambika. [:P]
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| Playing Ball with the Sea even as the Ball of Fire sets! |
The evening was spent once again with a massage session with our Arabian Masseuse, The Sea. Our guides there assured us that getting hit by the
waves is the most natural and holistic form of massage. Guess even the
anger of the sea is therapeutic! We sat there after playing around to watch the sun set while sitting on the sea. It was breath-takingly beautiful. The Orange Hue showered an unique blessing.
The resort had arranged a bonfire session for us after dinner. I insisted that we should share ghost stories during the session for that is the traditional way of sharing a bonfire, apart from the obvious part when we get killed one by one by a guy in a mask when we decide to take a break alone to either drink or release water. The latter part either did not happen or it did and our ghosts recaptured our bodies. Either way, the latter does not matter.
We did share Ghost Stories - True Ones [Boo!]. The geek that I am, I shared my experience with amuku pisasu (demons which sit on the chests of sleepers) and its scientific explanation. The discussion became more grave after stories of Ghost Possessions and Black Magic started making the rounds. However, such was the kind of our gathering that it was impossible to speak of evil without speaking of our most unique protection. We just ended up sharing experiences with Bhagawan. Even as warm tears started flowing down our cheeks, a cold drizzle showered down bringing to an end our unique Bond-Fire.
Rushing back to our tent, we played some Ligretto and UNO [with many interesting house rule variations] making enough noise to scare away any ghosts which might have got attracted by our stories.
Our last night in the resort (we were starting the next afternoon) was so peaceful that it formed a wonderful precursor to the Day of Relaxation and Contemplation that was to follow.
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