TADA Falls

November 6, 2009
Saturday
0300 hrs
Alarm ringing

You must be wondering "What the… f*** made him to set an alarm at 3 AM on a Saturday morning???"
Well the answer is CTC!!!
It was my first trek with these crazy people who call themselves The Chennai Trekking Club.
Thanks to my Canadian friends Alex and Deborah who talked me into Mountain Biking in Sikkim and my amateur photographic skills I had developed an interest in nature's beauty and some adventure.
It came to this when I came across a poster put up by CTC in the college about "Save Tada" I was wondering what was TADA? After a few hits on the keyboard and a few clicks with the mouse I came to know that Tada is a popular picnic and trekking location just 2 hrs from Chennai.
The CTC was planning to clean up the place from the pollution and restore the beauty of the place. After going through the group's website and their really super photographs I couldn’t resist myself from joining their group.
2 weeks later I got a mail from Peter, one of the founders of the group that he is planning a 2 day Moderate + trek to Tada on Nov 6-7 and promised it would be fun.
So I registered for the trek which was to start on a Saturday morning at 3 AM.

I woke up to find that many guys in the hostel were still awake..music was loud.. I could hear the taunts of Age of Empires.. after all it was a weekend. After packing my Gear for the trek I started off towards Tidel park. 15 mins on the road and it started raining. Peter picked us up at Tidel park in his Scorpio and we headed off towards Koyambedu, Nathans café. The rain had increased and the state of the roads in the city was awful. 10 of us decided to dump our stuff in Peter's Scorpio and take a bus to Tada.

The fun started even before we reached Tada. The bus had given up on us.. after a few failed attempts by us and the driver to get it running we shifted to another bus. Upon reaching Varadaiyah Palayam we took a shared auto to the base camp and met the other guys with Peter.Food and other stuff were distributed. With our back packs really packed with noodles, rusk, jams squeezes, ketchup, cookies and water we started off along the jeep trail which the British had laid to reach the source of the Tada Falls.

The trail was rocky initially and as we gained altitude the vegetation had taken over it and the path became slippery. After some time we reached the cliff top from where we could get the first view of the falls. But the morning fog and the mist rising from the falls blocked the view. We could just hear the water falling on the rocks. Then we climber higher and reached a fortification of the British.. a wall built by stones.. here we had breakfast.. Rusk and Jam.. and before we could even think of some rest we could here Peter saying Hop Hop.. Lets move.. We climbed.




Then we reached another view point...a rock at the edge of the 200m cliff.. the fog and the rain were a bit merciful and allowed us a magnificent view of the Tada falls.. We could clearly see the majestic falls.. its white waters falling down and flowing through the valley. There was more water in the falls than usual due to the rains.



Then we moved onto the source of the falls which was about 10 mins away. First we took photographs, then washed our feet and then one by one we jumped into the cold water.



The stream formed a few small falls of about 5-10 feet before the 200 m fall.
It was at the top of these small falls that we dived, swam, posed for photographs, relaxed and stayed at peace with the world for about an hour. Lunch followed… Apple, rusk, energy bars and orange flavoured glucose in mountain water…

After a break like that everyone was just ready for the next part of the trek. We crossed the stream and then climbed up the other mountain where we found another fortified stone wall. We had another complete view of the Tada falls from a rock protruding out of the cliff, but this time on the opposite side of the valley. The rain had picked up full pace and even the wind was strong now. Peter told us that we will be climbing down the hill.. but it was not so easy..


We were at the top of a cliff with a vertical drop of 100 m.. not knowing this we were going around in circles at the same place trying to find a way down… Peter's GPS tracker said the destination was right ahead.. but we couldn’t figure out a way down.. we then walked … not down .. not up.. but forward.. along the circumference of the steep hill.. and after about 30 min we could recognise the trail which was usually taken by trekkers..

The journey down was quite bumpy.. every now and then we could hear someone from the group slipping, stones rolling down. Peter, Baskar and me were at the front of the group and after some time couldn’t hear the others. We then waited, shouted, kept quiet to hear the rest of the group.. but there was no other sound other than the falls and the monkeys. Peter went back to find the others while me and baskar waited. Time passed and the light was fading.. Peter returned with the group and told us that a guy had cramps in his legs and couldn’t walk. After we regrouped we climbed further down and reached flat surface.

The GPS said the temple which was where the road started was 500 m right ahead of us. But we could not get to it as there was a stream in between. It was dark and after some failed attempts to get to the temple we realised we were lost. Then Peter crossed the stream and we followed. The water was cold and was hip high with a strong current. We had to hold hands to balance ourselves. By the time we reached the other end Peter was gone and we had no idea where he went. We shouted and waited.. the flashlights helped us and we were looking for a signal from him. Afetr 5 mins he flashed his light and shouted that he had found the way out.. he was right in front of us but we dint know how he got there.. the vegetation was thick.. and there were thorns.. we fought our way through the thorny bushes.. and finally came onto the jeep trail with cuts and bruises..

We reached the temple and few of us took a bath in the stream there. Then we walked back to the place where Peter had parked his Scorpio. We ate some more apples and changed to dry clothes. The rain had reduced. We agreed that we should get back to the city as we cannot camp in the night there due to lack of firewood…. But there was one small problem… we were a group of 16.. and the village where we could get transport was about 15 km away. It was pitch dark. As usual Peter came up with a very good in fact a crazy solution.. 16 people..one Scorpio… Don’t think its possible?? Well it is.. atleast for CTCians…. 3 in the front.. 4 in the back.. 2 guys with their torsos popping out of the windows.. remaining were hanging onto the roof rails of the Scorpio with their feet on the footboard. Half way through and the rain hit back.. with people hanging from the car and their shirts off.. the villagers thought it was some movie scene as we entered Varadaiyah Palayam..

We had dinner in a small hotel..8 egg dosas, 120 idlis and 8 double omelettes. The hotel guy ran out of chutney and sambhar.. Then we started the journey back to Chennai. 6 guys with Peter started off in his Scorpio while the others took the bus back to Koyambedu. A hot water bath and a good night sleep was a perfect ending for a more than a perfect weekend… Will remember my first fun filled adventurous trek and the crazy CTCians for a very long time…

Photograph...

Look at this photograph
Everytime I do it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red
And what the hell is on Joey's head

And this is where I grew up
I think the present owner fixed it up
I never knew we'd ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneaking out

And this is where I went to school
Most of the time had better things to do
Criminal record says I broke in twice
I must have done it half a dozen times

I wonder if it's too late
Should i go back and try to graduate
Life's better now than it was back then
If I was them I wouldn't let me in

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, god, I

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.

Remember the old arcade
Blew every dollar that we ever made
The cops hated us hangin' out
They say somebody went and burned it down

We used to listen to the radio
And sing along with every song we know
We said someday we'd find out how it feels
To sing to more than just the steering wheel

Kim's the first girl I kissed
I was so nervous that I nearly missed
She's had a couple of kids since then
I haven't seen her since god knows when

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, god, I

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.

I miss that town
I miss the faces
You can't erase
You can't replace it
I miss it now
I can't believe it
So hard to stay
Too hard to leave it

If I could I relive those days
I know the one thing that would never change

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.

Look at this photograph
Everytime I do it makes me laugh
Everytime I do it makes me...

Sunscreen.....

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’07
Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…
I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Brother and sister together we'll make it through Someday your spirit will take you and guide you there I know you've been hurting, and I know I've been waiting to be there for you. And I'll be there, just tell me now, whenever I can. Everybody's free.