Nagala - A Haven in Your Backyard

chillibreeze writer — Sunitha Anupkumar

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"Change of scene and absence of the necessity for thought" they say will restore mental equilibrium. Not that any of the participants who were part of the ladies trek to Nagalapuram (organized by the Chennai Trekking Club) were enroute to insanity. All that they looked for was a change. And a change it definitely was! What a contrast the lush green wilderness was to the prim and proper lackluster environs of an office cubicle.

So in the early hours of a nice Sunday morning, 43 beautiful ladies (most of them first time trekkers) assembled at their respective pickup points to board the bus that was to take them to the welcoming hills of the Nagala Forest Reserve. The bus rumbled to a stop at a rustic hamlet at the foothills of nagala. The trekkers, most of whom had had a shuteye during the bus ride, woke up to the smiles of the curious villagers. The village dogs greeted them with their enthusiastic barks (or were they surreptitiously eyeing the food packets of the trekking group?). The ladies set out on their first trek ever with butterflies in their stomach and hearts thumping in anticipation of what lay ahead.

Nagalapuram is a reserve forest nestled snugly in between Chennai and the Thirupathi Hills. Situated at some 90 km from Chennai, it is a haven of greenery and soothing water pools, just a stone’s throw away from the city. So led by a couple of able organizers from CTC, the ladies marched forward with all the enthusiasm of a little child undeterred by the sudden change in the landscape. So much so that “Yes We Can” was the much chanted mantra of the day!

And march they did, for the about two kilometers until they reached a dam. One had to cross this dam to enter the forest area. Crossing here implied walking down the walls of the dam which is built in a mind boggling dangerously slanting angle. Or so it seemed to all the newbie trekkers. So when the group leader said “This way please” and easily walked down, the ladies felt their jaws hit the ground. Where he saw a way they failed to see any. But then they did slide down. Slowly. Carefully. And yes! Within no time they were ready to plunge in to the wilderness.

From then on, it was a game of follow the leader. And so the ladies puffed and panted and followed the leader into the dense forest, when an almost musical sound was heard. It came like a breath of fresh air. The sound of the water gushing and gurgling down the hillside. The stream hitherto hidden behind the thick bushes slowly emerged. This gave a fresh boost of energy to the Chennai girls whose only experience in the “hearing-water-gushing-out” department was in the so called rainy season, and that too through the taps. The coterie parked there for a drink of the elixir of life aka water and a modest breakfast of bread and jam.

Thus rejuvenated, they walked uphill to reach the haven of the trip! A magnificent pool. Pristine crystal clear water surrounded by beautiful rocks and lush greenery. Feels like heaven doesn’t it? Much fun and frolicking in water followed. The sleeping mats acted as floaters for the non-swimmers and in the true spirit of sportsmanship, swimmers even assisted non-swimmers to dive down from ten foot high rocks! It was nature in all its glory. Even the fish made sure the ladies had a good time. How? By giving them a fish pedicure free of cost.

It was soon time to move on and uphill and downhill they went. Wading through the little rivulets and jumping up and down the rocks en route, often panting for breath. Often giving a helping hand to others and cracking silly jokes about anything and everything under the sun. And then came the lunch point. As is the popular belief among trekkers and adventure enthusiasts, hunger is the best seasoning one could add to food. And so it was. A humble lunch of tamarind rice and potato curry was devoured with much relish both by the trekkers and the dogs (which had followed the trekkers up from the village). Talks about packing some pet food during the future treks for their canine friends brought in the much needed mirth and laughter among the ladies.

A few mandatory snaps were taken and the ladies were relaxing near the water falls when a growl was heard in the background. Suggestions of wild animals of the fiercest kinds started circulating all around the place when one of the organizers kindly washed away all the fears. But then the growl came again and this time it was louder and clearer and then it dawned that it was thunder! Now that woke them up out the self imposed stupor and had them running behind the group leader in full vigour. By then the drizzle slowly graduated to a rain and that still didn’t prevent the group from enjoying the locales of a couple of more pools. Finally, a much need reprieve from the rain came in form of a cave where one and all gathered for shelter.

From then on, it was just beating a retreat. The gang made their way back to the bus by around six in the evening. Back to the buzz and humdrum of the concrete jungle. Wet and tired and worn out but with a very happy contentment of a weekend spent well. A whole new dimension added to the ladies’ answer to the “why should boys have all the fun?” question!

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in April, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Sunitha is an aspiring writer currently working with a multinational company based in Chennai. As a Senior Associate, she has worked in projects for companies such as Metlife Insurance and United HealthCare. Armed with a post graduate degree in physics from IIT-Madras and a passion for writing, she aims at working on projects that would involve technical writing, content writing and editing. She also has a keen interest in writing for children and blogging.

Nagala - A Haven in Your Backyard

chillibreeze writer — Sunitha Anupkumar

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