The Cruise. The Cold and The Chicanes - Kudremukha Trip - Part 02

And we settled into our seats. Pramath gleefully announced himself as the navigator. And after picking up Kumar on the way, we hit the highway. Our driver Umesh was just waiting to cross onto the Hassan State Highway from the Tumkur road. It was no stopping him after the Hassan road toll gate. He definitely proved his skills. Although a bit rash, the skills were clearly visible. After personally having met with three accidents in one year myself, I understand the importance of the balance between control and pace on the road. There, definitely was pace and he seemed to have control, but for some hard brakes. 

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the van was gradually getting lighter. It had to happen eventually; how light could it go was the question? Anyway, with two new additions to the group, it took time for us to start a chat. We were looking for a common platform. With a good music system inside and a television it was not very difficult to find a platform. Also it did not take much time to divert our focus from the movie and start. 

What happened next can only be looked back and laughed at. It was one mad, crazy time inside. It is quite difficult to understand how some legs are so easy to pull. Man! I enjoyed it. With our good friend Paluru taking all the hits, he became a superstar overnight on the move. And by the time we reached our destination in the morning, our story had a new superstar, Ananthu. 

While all this and more was happening, Umesh drove like a racer and was shifting us smooth. Just imagine some good music; the windows’ open a bit, the winds hitting you and you are cruising at more than 100kmph; sure bliss. The pace had to die down a bit when we reached koTTigehaara. We stopped here for rest and of course a hot cup of coffee.  

Getting down from the van, did not stay a pleasant experience, until we found a bonfire. The weather was extremely chill. You had no option but to control your breath and let your body loose or get into the van and sleep tight. It was one brilliant experience for sure. The coffee which was prepared with 80% hot water and 20% coffee powder was surely spiritual.

Getting into the Ghat section after this small pit stop, the journey was to get more exciting. And it did, brilliantly. The way the chicanes were countered at considerably high speeds accounts for an appreciation. This feeling was not the same with all of us though. Anusha definitely didn’t enjoy the chicanes. It was just a matter of time before she threw up; the tasty Sev Puri of Srinivasa Cool Corner was now on the roads of Western Ghats half digested.

 With Anusha helping others out by giving them time to stretch, it was a good opportunity to get out and gaze at the clear night sky. What we are missing in Bangalore rather Bengaluru we will know, once we go out. It is pretty sad that here in Bangalore we do not have such a roof to sleep under.  The purity in it is enough to clear ourselves from all the unwanted thoughts and cuddle up like a baby. And after cleaning the koTTigehaara roads with our colony Sev Puri, we reached Kalasa. 

Took directions to our destination here; Kudremukha is around 20 kilometres from Kalasa. We reached Kudremukha Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) Gate at 6:15 in the morning.  Driving slowly into the fog after getting Forest Department’s permission at the check post, we slowly hurdled ourselves to a point where Lakshmi was eagerly waiting for us. She then hopped onto our van for a big Hello, and took over from Pramath as the navigator. Pramath did an excellent job. He cleared all our apprehensions and brought us safe to the destination without a single detour.

Kudremukha, in the face of Lakshmi gave us a big welcome to warm us up amidst the chilling weather of the Kudremukha Forest.