The Wild in Me.
It was six in the morning when i woke up and realized I had to be at Chandini Chowk in an hour’s time. The guys who were supposed to come along dropped out.
So I took a public transport bus to a place called Deccan. From where I took an autorikshaw to Chandni Chowk.My adventure group members were waiting. I boarded a bus at 7.15 and by 8.30 we were at a small motel. We had breakfast and chai. From there I rode on the bike with Devdutta Mullay to the waterfalls. There were several falls on the way.
A scenic beauty of the misty mountains draped with pasture and trickling stream here and there. The view of the Mulshi Dam from different angles as we took a small trail through the forest was serene.
The Forest trail: We were a group of 25, split in two groups. As one group went of the mountain to start the waterfall rappelling. The other group including me went for a forest trail. We saw a very old tree supporting itself with buttress.
Saw a small Bamboo thicket. There is a superstition that when bamboos bloom it is considered a bad omen. Because after the bamboo blooms, the village near by is generally affected by famine or plaque. Wonder why?
The seeds that are produced during the flowering of bamboos attract rats and rodents. When the rodent population increases they invade the grains in the store house. Hence causing famine due to loss of grains. Most rats carry infectious germs on their body which could cause plague.
In many forests, the plant and ecology are being conserved through a system called "Devarai".
A sacred stone is identified and is treated heavenly. People living in the nearby village pray to the Devarai God. No ecosystem around the Devarai is affected as it is considered to be part of God. But these days, people are encouraging the Devarai to be brought into mainstream religion. Thereby a lot of crowd is attracted to the places where Devarai’s are instilled, causing damages to the ecosystem and ultimately the concept of Devarai's too.
Mrs.Jyanthi Krishnamurthy and Devdutta Mullay from the organizing committee were equally excited as the group; they noticed everything on the trail and explained the significance to the minute detail.
Like the Fish tail Palm that we saw, called so because the leaves of the palm appear to be like the tail of a fish. The flowers of this tree looked like a hanging chandelier. Jyanthi explained that when this flower was completely bloom, there would be a narrow hole in the center, and often Bats roost in the central pith of this flower. And during the nights one could notice them flying out of the center of the flower in search of food.
Another interesting thing I noticed on the way was a particular variety of plant. I'm yet to get the botanical name. It was earlier used in Ayuredic treatments for dental problems. When the juice from these leaves was applied on the gums, they go numb for over 2 days. Hence for tooth extraction these leaves were extensively used. On the lighter side when campers unknowing used the stem of this plant to stir their food their gums went numb too.
When we came back it was time for lunch. The group shared whatever food they had brought. After a good meal, we set out to walk up the mountain to watch the pervious group rappel down the waterfall.
Most of them had a pleasant rappel. As they were slow or really slow like most amateurs. The problem with others was, after a couple of minutes, they just wanted to come down quickly. This would have been possible if not for the extra safety rope reef knotted around their waist and let down only at a constant pace. Anyway it was thrilling in every sense to just watch them come down with the rhythmic force of the waterfall. Nature so obviously powerful! I could not wait to go up there.
Jyanthi and I were the last to go up the mountain to the spot where the rappelling starts. The trail was scary, the mountain was steep and the rocks were not aiding easily under our feet, some slippery and some just not at a comfortable distance from others. Finally we did it. After coming up that trail, no one would want to go back down the same way. Everyone would decide to just rappel down come what may. So you can understand how bad the trail up was!
It was cold up there, with the waterfall around and the chill breeze. 10 minutes later it started to rain, by the time I was belted with the harness and locked with the figure of eight I was ssshiiiverrrring. Within minutes I was on my own hanging on ropes.
I was rappelling, oh boy! and suddenly I felt the urge to come back up, I didn't want to do it. But I could hear my instructor screaming "Come on chennai u can do it" Yeah I was the only chennaite out there. He clicked my snap :D
Rappelling - one wrong step you lose your limb or your life.
Well that suits only for "Waterfall" rappelling. Man! every step is a wrong step. The rocks have been underwater for quite a few weeks now and it was bloody slippery. And you don't get a proper view because the water is showering overhead. It was thrilling, I was gritting my teeth. The simple rule was to maintain oneself perpendicular to the mountain.
I've done rock climbing and rappelling before but never under a waterfall. Half way through, there was a long broad cave like structure on the rocks; my left leg had gone through it. And wow! I noticed a small nest damn! Wish I had a waterproof camera attached to my helmet.
Finally after say 50 feet, one has to come down vertically, that's were the trick starts, an amateur would do it damn slowly but an experienced would know how to let more rope through and slide down quickly. But things worked out better for amateurs. As I had written earlier about the safety rope which is released only at a particular speed, I should have tried not to release my rope quickly and held it until I felt the safety rope was long enough to come down. Well I did get strangled in between and screamed my throat out. But all this is part of adventure!
If your blood is wild,
And limbs ready to be tried.Never miss adventure like this. Thrills every nerve in the body!
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