Travel StoriesThis trip is still one of the most memorable trips which I made as a child. The period was 2000-2001. I was in fifth grade or sixth grade. During vacations, I used to go to my grandmother’s sister’s place. A small trip on the K.S.R.T.C bus followed by short walk with my grandma. From Vellanad in Thiruvananthapuram district to Venjaramoodu. My uncle was there to give me more encouragement than I needed for my travels and readings.
On one such day, Uncle and I decided to go to Ponmudi. He had a Rajdoot bike in those times. But we went by bus. He might have avoided the bike because of the difficulty in the ride through hill roads. So we got down in the morning and got into the K.S.R.T.C and got down at Kallar. The valley of Ponmudi hills. Kallar was not as crowded as it is today. The first plan was to go to Ponmudi. But when uncle told me that there was a Meenmutty waterfall, the plan got changed. We just had to walk through the jungle for a while and that was okay for both of us.
Today, some portion of the road upto Meenmutty can be covered using vehicles. It was not the case those times.There was not even a signboard then. We just knew that there is a waterfall somewhere in the woods. Anyway, we just entered the forest. It was a 1 -2 feet wide single track. It was a thick bamboo forest. When we went little inside, we saw someone cutting twigs. We asked him the way to the waterfalls. He was immediately ready to come with us but we had to pay 50 rupees. Uncle said no to him and just asked him the route. The man said that we just had to walk about one and a half kilometers on the same road. So we both started walking again. It feels a little scary when I think about it now. The two of us, searching for a waterfall in that forest. No one would even hear us if we scream.
There was no room for two people to walk. Uncle was in front and I was behind. Somehow we managed to jump through the fallen trees and without falling down by stepping on the rotten leaves. Going a little further, we doubted that we lost the way. The route still looks the same as the route when we started. No one can be seen anywhere in that area. Anyway, that’s it. We thought we’d walk a little further.
After walking a very short distance we started to hear the sound of the waterfall. The joy that came then, can’t be described by words. It added excitement to the walk and finally, we reached the waterfall. The two of us and the waterfall. No one else was there. We sat there for a while enjoying the beauty. Liquor bottles were all around. Those who come to destroy the forest are the same then and now. After spending some time there hearing the mesmerizing sound of the waterfalls and seeing the beauty, we started our return journey. By the time we reached Kallar, the hunger had reached its peak. We sat on a flat rock at the beginning of the path to Meenmutti and ate the Dosa and Chatni wrapped in leaves. Along with that had “Sambharam”[1] too.
We sat down and rested for a while after the meal.
When the Ponmudi bus came, we got in it. There were very few people. For the first time in my life, I climbed hairpin bends and saw the forest in amazement. Our K.S.R.T.C climbed the 22 hairpins quite easily. We climbed down from the bus and walked some distance. Enjoyed the snow and cold of Ponmudi to the fullest. We climbed the meadows and bald hills. We then had rest of our food. When we finished seeing the sights, we thought we would go back.
The bus was not immediately available when we enquired. “shall we walk back to Kallar?” Uncle’s question. I agreed to that the very next moment without a second thought. So we began to walk. Walking down 22 hairpin bends was not wise. There is a good distance. So we went down through the woods and the tea estates. We saved a good distance by doing so. It was a good descent. We sat down and crawled in some places. There were workers’ places. It was indeed a pleasure to see them all look astomished by seeing us walking all the way down. We talked to a lot of people. We bought flower stalks and seedlings from their house. Then finally we reached Kallar.
I remember that it was getting dark. We got back to Venjaramood by bus. I still remember telling the story of walking from Ponmudi to Kallar to my friends and seeing their wonder.
This trip is still one of my favourite trips. In a way, the first forest trip in life, and the first adventure trip ………
[1] – Sambaram is Kerala style spicy buttermilk which is spiced with curry leaves, green chillies, and ginger
