Here i was one evening casually looking through my inbox ,when i see this email screaming "Adventure" .I had joined an Adventure's club a month ago but never went for any Trips.. The email -subject read Kayaking and Trekking around Anantagiri hills and Nagasamundram lake and the Content said If U love Impromptu things in life this is for you.. This is where it all began for me ..an experience which changed my life and made me look at things in a very different perspective..
I knew if i took this trip it would change my life forever, i would come back a totally different person. Every Experience has something to teach us and something that we have to learn from. Here i was on the brink of it all... i felt like i was climbing a hill even before i started .. i was to meet 14 strangers who i had never met before .An ex colleague of mine was already a part of the Adventures club , he had been on treks before , but this was going to be my first time and i was apprehensive of meeting so many faces i had never crossed paths with .. i called my friend and decided that i would want to be a part of the Trek and Kayaking .It was decided within a span of a few minutes that i was going to be a part of it . It was a late night and going to be a Early Morning as i was all excited and looked forward to the" Tommorow "which i did not wanna miss while i was asleep......i was thrilled and looking forward to Dawn.. It was literally DAWNING in my life ...something had changed when i woke up in the morning , it felt so good and different , it was as if life was opening doors for me and giving me opportunities and saying "Go and Grab before it is all over"...
Adventures are to the Adventurous..
The True Adventurer goes forth Aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet Unknown Fate.... O Henry
The itenary read start at 6.00 Am and return to the city by 6-7Pm. i was to meet a fellow trekker named Ranjan Sood who lived in the vicnity of 4-5 kms and travel with him to meet the rest of the Trekkers at a common place from where we all would leave together for trekking and kayaking
The kayaking was a fall out of Rama's effort to explore kayaking in and around Hyderabad.. This is not Lord Rama of the Treta Yuga we are talking about,who with the help of the Army of monkeys built the Ramsethu bridge..now which remains amidst Controversy..
well its our own Rama of the HAC, whose desire to kayak in and around Hyderabad got the Army of HAC to organize and snowball it into a fullfledged kayaking trip,which was certainly a wholesome treat for the first timers. If it wasnt for this Rama all of us wouldnt have kayaked the Nagasamundram lake...as HAC members we certainly did not build a bridge but laid foundations for friendships to blossom and not to forget climbed trees......... should I say "Evolution hasnt changed some things yet"....
In all there were 15 of us 12 men and 3 women, literally strangers to each other meeting at the common place , there was a round of introduction informally among ourselves, decided how many cars we were taking and who was leading the path..we grouped ourselves into 4 in each car , and we had one trekker drive his motorbike.. There was chitter chatter in each car , the initial apprehensions gave way to humour and laughter, we let our guard down and started interacting with our fellow trekkers... it was a long drive , abt 70-80 kms.. the road leading upto Vikarabad had beautiful grasslands, fields of corn , cotton etc.. on our way we stopped at some fields to take pics and goof around in the corn fields..It was all pure fun and spontaneity.
All of us had breakfast which consisted of dosa's , idli's, upma and coffee at a small little Udupi restaurant in Vikarabad before we headed towards our destination which was the Anantagiri Hills for our trek..
Anantagiri hills is a Hill station, which is surrounded by lush green vegetation , small waterfalls running through the valleys and rocks of the Hills.. it is perched at an altitude which gives a breathtaking sight of the Vegetation, scenic spots and viewpoints. It is an Ideal place to camp and Trek
We reached Anantagiri hills at 9Am , parked the cars decided which hill to trek, along with a set of instructions for all.. then had a formal round of Introductions . we decided we all would trek for 3 to 4 hours and each one was free to take their own path but make sure no one is left behind..Of the trekkers a lady decided she did not want to trek so another lady decided to give her company well since both these women could not be left alone on a hill ,lest some modern day Ravana's appear and decide to make trouble for them.. one of the trekkers decided to forgo his trek and stay behind with them. ...it was our very own Rama who stayed behind.... thats what Team Spirit is all about . being there for each other when needed..
Small steps to testing Terrain 
The plan was to trek for 3-4 hours and meet at the hill top.. everyone was to take the less traveled path and free to go whichever way they wanted.. we all started out together, then started branching off , each in groups of 2-3 chattering away to glory ,getting to know our fellow trekkers and mingling conversation with our adventure..for a few trekke
rs like myself ,it was a first time experience so we made it on their own pace.. enthusiastic to the core even though it was a new experience. we made our way through the valley of the hill , the rocky region and the thorny trees.. Being the Monsoon season that it was ,every now and then as we were climbing we could hear the peacocks crying out for their mates.. we could not spot them dancing though , it is the nature of the National bird it dances only when the rains arrive...signalling the onset of rains..
we reached the top of the hill at 10.30 Am rested there for a short while.. took some pics ,had water to drink and then set off on our journey again..while we set off yet again on our trek we started mingling with other fellow trekkers , that way making sure we got to know each and every one..As we were planning to descend we spotted a huge tree and lo below.. we had all the trekkers wanting to climb the tree.. well methinks we have some bit of our ancestors in us..
Suddenly there was one person climbing , then another and then another followed suit.. in all we had 5 monkeys oops trekkers monkeying on the trees for a while and of course we had the everyready Papparazi taking pics below.....had some amazing fun there even though i wasnt party to climbing ,it was worthwhile watching too...
Around 10.45 it was ,when we decided that we will descend the hill and get back as we had plans to go to the Anantha Padmanabha temple ,visit ruins of caves around and then go kayaking. so we all set out again , taking less travelled paths downhill..turning here and there to make sure it wasnt a easy track back .. A first time trekker that i was ,by now i started identifying the thorny trees and plants using strategy to dodge and avoid being torn to pieces..lol....the way back was a lot more fun ,as it wasnt easy as climbing .. one had to be careful about not missing their foot while stepping on slippery and rocky surfaces..if one would notice there were various kinds of insects feeding on leaves etc .. it would have been a treat to an Entomologist..to find different if not rare species.. which is otherwise not visible to the eye in the city..each of us took our own time looking around taking in the beauty of the surroundings and living each moment as it came.. helping each other when needed by either waiting for a fellow trekker or making path or warning them about thorny plants.. One of our fellow trekkers suddenly realized that an insect had taken a fancy to him and decided to cling on to him .The insect am referring to is a caterpillar which i suppose liked Anup of all the trekkers (some Fatal Attraction it was if i could say so) ..so he wasnt willing to let go of Anup so easily... then with the help of Milind the caterpillar was shaken off Anup's arm.. well he did certainly leave his mark behind as Anup was all itchy and Hives ..we stopped a couple of times on our way lingered around and then finally made our way back to the spot where the cars had been parked... we rested for a short while ,replenished ourselves and then set out to visit the temple..
Anantha Padmanabha temple is a small temple built by a Muslim king centuries ago.. we visited the temple , prayed and evoked the blessings of the gods before we set out for our last destination of the day which was kayaking . we needed the gods to be with us so that it didn't "Rain on the Parade" as they say... There was a huge statue of Lord Hanuman outside the temple where we spent a mini miniscule of our time posing f
or snapshots.. The photosession was lot of fun..we had the passerby's take pictures of us which made us feel like we were celebrities being shot at ..
It was post Noon when we headed for our destination the Kotepally lake, which was around 8-10 kms from Anantagiri hills the place where we would finally loose ourselves and kayak on the lake..
On our way we stopped a few times to ask for directions to the lake and then found this beautiful lake hidden amidst the greenery... it looked like a very beautiful painting .. but wake up.. it was real..this was the lake on which we were going to kayak for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Kayaking on Silent waters
All the 15 of us couldn't contain our excitement ...we go to work immediatley .. got the kayak's out of the cars , some of us started posing for pictures against the beautiful backdrop.. while some of us were waiting to just start kayaking.. even before the inflatable double seater kayaks were ready to kayak ,we had most of us wanting to kayak on the sublime waters..there was activity galore.. Thanks to Milind , Rama and Danika who brought along their respective kayaks so that all the others would get to indulge in kayaking , learn and enjoy the sport..
whether we knew how to kayak or not ,we all we ready to start testing the waters.. Milind was the first one to set sail with his single seater kayak and test waters , figuring out where the Shallows and the Depths were ...and lo below we were watching him kayak and maneuver himself on the waters...he did the wet exit to show us ,how to manage ourselves we any of us did overturn while kayaking .. everyone was watching him with rapt attention...
The double seater Kayaks were inflated by then.. two seats and so many eager trekkers for kayaking ..well Rajan made sure that while we set out kayaking , that either of the pair knew to swim or either knew kayaking already, that way the risk factor was lowered ...Am sure when the first time kayakers set sail they had their fears and apprehensions but as they learnt to navigate through the waters they realized it was a lot of fun , all one has to do is paddle in the opposite direction and get im
pelled by the wind to move further into the water..One gets so mesmerised by the water and the propelling of the paddling that one dsnt realize the distance one has covered.. kayaking has a soothing effect on the senses..the silent yet sublime waters beneath the kayak incite and thrill one to explore the secrets of the water..One is so in sync while kayaking that it feels like the merging of humans and Nature .. Perfect synchrony i could say...For the many of us who hadnt heard the word kayak before this was a awesome experience ..watching , learning and enjoying .. it was a wholesome experience ...something that words cant do justice to.. The excitement to kayak was so evident that all of us had forgotten to have lunch ...we were so taken in by kayaking that ,as one pair of kayakers would return .. the others would set sail.. there wasnt a minute when the kayaks were lying empty ..... kayakers were all the while out on the waters going to the end and breath of the lake...exploring different latitudes and longitudes of the lake...it almost seemed to me that i was transported to the backwaters of kerala and witness to those boat races that they have annually..such was the spirit of our kayakers.. I am scared of water.. even though i swim and have tried Surfing in a created environment ..i wasnt sure i would try to kayak .. but as i saw the gusto with which people were kayaking it got to me.. and there i was out kayaking with Mr Ranjan..i was a li'll apprehensive at first but then learnt to navigate almost immediately .. thanks to Mr Sood i got over my fears and was enjoying every minute of kayaking .. it was a smooth sail ... we spotted a crane on the other end of the lake ,, it was sight to see but we dint have the camera to take a snapshot as we were paddling.. as we neared the crane it flew away.. then we navigated back along the waters and there was this gush of breeze.. cool and exihilarating.. we stopped paddling and let the kayak take its own course...it was a stimulating experience for me..
The funniest episode of the entire kayaking was of Rajan and Raman ...who went kayaking to one end of the lake and weren't coming back ... few of us were having our lunch while we were witness to this feat of .. Rajan and Raman trying to maneuvre the kayak and come back but due to the breeze they were circling around in the same place for more than half hour...whatever they were up to .. they did not seem to make any progress ...
Around 4.30 pm it started getting cloudy and dark.. but the weather was awesome .. one or two of us were sitting on the ground and watching our fellow kayakers..lest they needed any help .. that was when Ranga and Naman decided to take advantage of the lovely weather conditions and kayak along the entire length of the lake ....it was a very beautiful evening and the perfect weather for kayaking .. .. it was more than an hour later that Ranga and Naman returned huffing and puffing ,they had gone far away into the waters and were circling in the depths .. at one point they were so far away ,they appeared as an one Orange speck on the Horizon.. that was the distance they covered.. the winds were playing havoc with them so it was an effort to get back to the shore...Meanwhile the others had a great time swimming and having fun...it was a crazy time for all of us where we let down our guard and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.....
It was a very beautiful evening , sky was filled with all shades and hues of nature at its best .
What more coul
d one ask for ,,than to take pictures .. so we had Ranga who obliged us and put us in Frame .. ...we all were a part of the Picture ....the one above had created ... a perfect Painting i'd like to say...It was around 6.30 when we left for the city .... thought we would stopped by in the corn fields and take come pics but dusk had fallen by then .. few of us had taken different roads to get back to the city .. the car i was in.. i thought we were lost .. we took some godforsaken route ,which added to our adventure .. ....finally all of us did catch up at vikarabad and then exchanged numbers ...it was around 7.30 i guess by the time we all reached city and then went our respective paths..
Am sure each one of us have experienced something new and different on our kayaking Trip which we have brought back with us ,which has Enriched our lives in a certain manner..I have had the pleasure of meeting 14 very Unique people , each of whom has added a different colour and dimension to my experience and made my journey unforgetable... Thank you all for being a part and sharing the wonderful experience ,without whom it wouldn't have been a Memorable one ...
