A Night Without Lights
When I wrote about taking some time off from writing the usual travel-logs and asked my readers what else they would to read on this page, Mridula and Mouna asked for little things interesting that happened during the journeys. Here is one to start with.
A few months ago, I made a trip to Thadiyandamol with a friend. We deliberately planned it on a weekday to avoid crowds. When we were there we figured it was indeed empty and there was just us in the peak and the forest surrounding it.
Also read – other small incidences when travelling
* An encounter with a hermit
* An encounter on the ghats
* I thought you are going to fall..
* A Struggle between fear and love
* Encounter with the pachyderms
* Ask for directions and have some coffee
We were equipped well for camping for a night, and had carried tent, food and other things we needed, and shared them between us. My friend had carried food for all the days, I had picked up the tent, etc… Previous evening, we had discussed and checked that we had everything we needed.
Come evening, we pitched our tent and were ready for the night.
My friend said: Keep the torch outside, it will be needed once it is dark.
Me: Yeah, need to keep the torch out.
Suddenly something flashed in my head.
Me: Me keep the torch out? Haven’t you got the torch?
He: No, you were supposed to get it right? You don’t have it?
Me: umm.. I thought I heard you say you have picked up the torch.
Obviously there was some mis-communication and now we had to spend a night in complete darkness. We did not see the moon anywhere in the sky either. Anyway it did not worry me much, as comforts and assurances are usually something that I don’t look for. Pretty much same with my friend. An hour or so later, we figured that both our cell phones had all the battery drained, and the last source of light is also lost! brilliant!!
Come nightfall, we were there without any light but for what is granted from the celestial sources. And it so turned out it was one of the most beautiful night I have seen in the skies and wilderness. Stars were appearing all over the place and soon they were denser than the city lights seen from an airplane. Moon’s absence added to the resplendence of the stars. Complete silence but the for gentle and pleasant breeze and the silhouette of the hills complemented the glory of the sky.
We kept conversation to the minimum, managed to eat in darkness and wondered how do we wake up early in the morning with our cell phones out of action. Lucky for us, I managed to wake up and little before six and walked out of the tent. Nature had a lot more to offer to us beyond the beauty of the starry night. The scenic beauty of Thadiyandamol in that clear weather has few parallels. It was my fourth attempt in search of this clear weather in Thadi, and I had found what I had been craving for.
Views from Thadiyandamol in the morning