To The Niagara of India

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After Completion of my Post graduation in 2009, I did join to an MNC in Bangalore itself and was having a honeymoon time in the company with a 'fresher' tag.

Most of my dear friends have chosen their own roadways of life by then. So they were spread across this tiny world, One of them was my childhood crony Shanid.

There was no plans as such, I was on call with Shanid one night and decided we would meet up some day, may be in Chennai[I did not tell you, He works there]

The very next Friday I just put one pair of extra dress in my bag while leaving to office and since it was a Friday, most colleagues left the office bit early.After coming out of company campus, I got into a TN registration bus that goes to Hosur from Electronic City. It hardly takes an hour to cross Karnataka border.

Once I got down, I had a tea, you know the glass he was serving tea can hardly contain 5 spoons of tea. I used to have an average 2glasses Of tea at least one full glass. But the funny thing was how I make at least three to four sips. Thank God I did not have a bun there. :)

I was getting welcoming from all Chennai bus conductors of the bus station in all the languages of south India. Finally I got into one of the Bus where I was welcomed in my own mother tongue. Took my ticket I slept immediately after catching a front row seat as it takes around 7 hrs. to reach.

6.00 am/Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus.

I called up my friend early in the morning and asked him the route to his residence there. I have got into a Volvo where in which morning bhajna played in high volume and after 45 minutes I reached his room and got to know that I had already left my sweat shirt in the bus. Actually I paid little more attention to the fight in the bus between a passenger and conductor, and I paid for it.

I slept for a while and he woke me up to have breakfast and I saw one guy preparing it in the dining hall, At least they had kept gas in kitchen.

All of his roomies were his colleagues, Wow!!! As a bachelor that time I did not get any surprise by seeing the "neatness" of those bachelor’s room. Things were kept in a fashion in every room. ;) You’ve got it right? If not, well, you were not worth of being a bachelor once. Hi girls , I appreciate your sense in these kind of stuff.

Then I and Shanid left the room just for feeling the heritage of the city. I felt the city too old, crowded, sweating hot, yet advanced and bit costly. Unlike in Bangalore, you find more local people in Chennai and they have a tamilian touch in everything they do.

I remember once we enquired something to one old man on the road, and all of his friends of the same age started ‘fighting’ each other to help us.

We went to Thousand light masjid, done the namaz and visited the darga over there as well. All the time there was an old person who was a kind of narrator with us in the masjid explaining about many things related to that old masjid and darga. We thought it was free of coast until we were about to leave the masjid. But it was not, he followed us scratching his head. Finally we gave him some money and he found some one else to tell stories.

My friend Shanid once told me, the local people over there are very rational, you know even people from other religions used to come to masjid to meet some 'Ustaad'/Scholar to get the water or thred or such stuff 'purified' so that they can use it for some treatment or for defending any misfortune happened to them. Those include rich ,poor ,educated and illiterate. The Scholar recite something to cure them.

After noon we went to Marina Beach, on the way he was pointing and telling the historic places from the bus. There is something else I noticed there in the bus as well, you know buses will be jam-packed but the conductor do not have to suffer, he will stand near the doorstep and collect the money by giving ticket with change. All the people standing in the bus should pass it to and fro and carry the information of the stop where he/she would like to step down from the bus.

I think Chennai is the rare city in India with a beach within. We went for a horse ride and played there for a while. The beach was not so clean. Most people comes in that beach are with family including small kids to grandparents and some comes to do the formalities of the dead and few for romance and of course few for drugs and counting the waves and watching what others do.

The best view in the beach, I would say when the sun leaves for the day… as it becomes darker the ships in the sea will become visible, you may find hundreds of ships landed in the sea glorified with the different lights they have. That was an awesome view. First it looks like a series of candles, the more darker the day gets the more closer the ship comes and it may look like floating palaces.

And thus, we finished one more evening in life. Came back to room with a load of sand in the shoes and the folding of pants as well. Shower, Food, Talk, Plan for next day.

Yes plan...within no time I came to know they have been planning for long on a trip. Finally I stepped in, told my philosophy that do not plan too much on a trip , just leave home, will find a way to go, And left the room in the night itself discussing all the way on where to go, and we reached main bus station started pointing the places in the map drawn on the big wall.

Finally, it was Hogenakkal majority voted.

We reached Dharmapuri Town early in the morning and looked for a place for refresh. I saw a masjid/mosque nearby attached to an orphanage. My non-Muslim friends were in doubt whether to get in or not as there are some restrictions used to have in some temples.

By that time, all the children in the orphanage had their breakfast and gone to school after morning prayer. A person greeted us and asked about us, then invited us for breakfast, we refused it politely and he showed inside and left us with the same Islamic greeting - Asslaamu alykm va rahmatullah!!! [May Peace,Mercy and blessings of Almighty be up on all of you].

After we left the masjid, had breakfast in the same town,got into the mini-bus going near the falls. Another 30km drive.

Hogenakkal Waterfalls often referred to as "Niagara' of India",in Dharmapuri Dt,Tamilnadu,Close to Karnataka,where it is situated. Since we set-off late ni8 from Chennai, took around 9Hrs to reach thre.Hogenakal is around 150km from Bangalore.[Drive through Hosur & Krishnagiri,turn left after Krishnagiri and reach Dharmapuri. It can get really sunny as the day goes. The route to Hogenakkal Falls is scenic, with lush mulberry fields and giant terracotta guardian deities ,as you approach ,the roar of the Cauvery river and the abundance of vegetation in the area is sure to catch your attention. You can see the Falls is not a single waterfall but a series of falls.

We have gone for a coracle ride, and it was spinning in 360 degree, that was such an amazing experience. Many people will go for body massage and stand under the mini-falls to cool down their body from the burning sensation of the oil they apply while massaging.

You will get the massage where ever you want, because there are people roaming with a bottle of oil telling " massaage,massaaaaage......body massage,saaaar[Sir] 250 rupee for a massage, siiiirr 150 rupee saar", because of these kind of massage some part of the water became very oily.

Since it was not in monsoon we reached there, we enjoyed a lot in the water, as you may not get permission to go everywhere in monsoon. You can feel how dangerous water can be if it comes in heavy force. We had our final water play in a corner of the fall since we got clear water.

Another notable thing we remember is, you can have hot fried fishes of different size right away , delicious!!! many of you might be knowing only the taste of sea fish, it’s a different taste altogether, I was not so ok with their cocking, still we had it, enjoyed the fullest.

We came back to Dharmapuri at evening and I caught the bus to Hosur then to Bangalore my friends to Chennai as well.

Though this happened few years back, all I could say is the trip was memorable and Hogenakkal , of course a beautiful place with lot of picturesque scenes.

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