Hiding with the Pandavas!

‘Ah silence at last!  Poor things! They must be really tired after that long trek to the waterfall and back.’   Ayush walks back to join his friends at the Bey Stadium after checking that it was lights off in all the rooms.  If you thought an active day out was a good summer vacation idea to keep your kids engaged, take that risk only if you think you can outlast their energy levels! While parents nursed weary limbs and aching backs, for the little ones it was just another ‘regular day’.  So, for once the kids had a peaceful night just doing what they pleased while the parents slipped to silent and not-so-silent slumber.

When Ecologin (http://www.ecologin.org) helped organize a holiday for us, we never imagined it would be a test of endurance, but it turned out to be heaps of fun too.  For someone who has tried to steer clear of conducted tours and preferred to use my vacation more as a retreat, it was not with a little trepidation that I had agreed to go along.  However, much to my delight, it turned out to be a whole lot more fun than I could even imagine.  Having missed the earlier outings with this group (the parents and children of my daughter’s class), this was the first time that my schedule allowed me to join this group.  While the previous trips had been short ones to locations not very far from Chennai, this was the first time, the group had ventured into something a little more adventurous.  And it was also the first time that an external team had also been included for organizing this trekking holiday.

Marayoor was the destination http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marayur).  And nearly 30 of us in the group (adults and children in almost equal number).  We got down at Erode and the folks from Ecologin were there to receive us.  After a meandering drive which took us past the Tamilnadu border and into Kerala’s Idukki district, we stopped for what would be our first trekking adventure on this trip – to a waterfall, which was about 3 km, as the crow flies; however, not being crows, it seemed more like 30 as the bunch of mostly 30+ (and some 40+) trudged heavily through a narrow trail carrying backpacks that suddenly seemed to weigh a lot more than when originally packed!  Lunch on the way helped transfer the weight from the backpack a little closer to our center of gravity, but I don’t think that helped much.  By the time we saw the waterfalls, there were at least a few people who were already worrying about the trek back!  It is peak summer in Kerala with the mercury touching 40⁰C, but feeling more like 45⁰C.  And so to see a waterfall at this time of the year was indeed a welcome surprise.  Except for a minor mishap when one of the parents slipped and hurt his head, having the water beat down our backs was like a Kalari massage to loosen up the stiff muscles.

The next couple of days too were spent walking with backpacks up and down hills and through gravelly narrow trails.  Marayur is famous for its dolmens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmen) a portal tomb that apparently dates back to the stone age.  Marayur itself is a small hamlet, part of five tribal villages in the area (also called anju nadu).  From an educational standpoint, this was very significant from two aspects:

·         A lot of us learned the existence of muscles we didn’t know we had – and the more it hurt the more acutely aware we became of it.

·         If you want to go on a trekking holiday, head to the gym first – at least a month in advance!

While the visit to the dolmens was interesting, it was also sad to see that what can possibly be considered historical evidence that connects people across several countries has been so neglected.  It was also interesting to see mud-houses in the tribal village.  Arul also managed to teach the kids a couple of rope tricks. 

The food was light on the stomach, the living quarters Spartan but comfortable.  The folks from ecologin were friendly and quite well-informed; perhaps a little too fussy about maintaining order – you can’t expect that from 10 year-olds. Or from tired and weary 40-year olds either! Especially when you have come with the intention of enjoying a break!

Certainly a fantastic break! I do look forward to doing something like this again.   And oh yes! The kids enjoyed it too…for all the wrong reasons!  I could hear five-year old Kaveri complaining “What is this walking walking…why can’t we go in the bus (I know at least one other person who would have loved to say that) ! I don’t want to see the birds..it is so boring”.  And yet, she was perhaps the one who didn’t seem tired at the end of it all!!! J