We were sitting on Althaf's Maruti omni,listening to music.It was the middle of a class bunk.We were planning a drive to Punjabi dabha (Punjabi Restaurant ) in Angamaly .We started from Muvattupuzha Ilahia college of engineering and on the way ,we picked Areeb.
Just before reaching the dabha ,we saw a sign board which shows the direction and distance to Madurai.Everyone got a view of the sign board .But to me, it made a scratch on my mind.
We reached dabha and ordered our food .We were waiting for the food,at that time I broke the silence and asked " Shall we go to Madurai ..?" (നമുക്ക് മധുരക്ക് വിട്ടാലോ..??)
Althaf replied spontaneously that he was ready .But because of the money shortage and due to the college attendance others opposed. So we dropped the Idea .After a wonderful punjabi dinner we drove back.During the drive, we sung some beautiful songs even though we are people with poor music skills.
Even though we dropped the plan,Madurai the land of temples remained as a crush in my mind.I don't know why I am fascinated to old cities and old temples. May be because of the old culture and architecture style or because of the old fantasy stories that I heard from my grand parents.
Few days later, in the middle of a boring lecture in my classroom ,I started dreaming about road trips.The sound of hour bell bring me to the classroom from my day dream.I told my friends about the road trip. We planned our Madurai bike ride.Like every people's trip planning, our ride also has a lot members at the time of planning.Later the numbers forced me to count in descending order and finally it reached at 2 .That was me and Chunkghi.We decided to ride to Madurai via Bodimettu.
That was August 14 ,we started our ride in the morning.But the day before the ride, chunkghi called me in the phone and said that his family captured his bike's key and hid it from him.Dramatically he started his bike without the key by watching some YouTube stuffs.Also we unlocked the petrol tank lock with the help of a blacksmith.
We accelerated our machines through the highway.In few hours we lost the smell of city and entered the Neriamangalam forest .We followed the road which was crossing the forest.Green colour was reflected on either sides.There were only some monkeys as natives. We stopped near the famous Valara waterfalls in Neriamangalam and enjoyed the beauty with the help of a tea from the local tea stall.
The road continued through Adimali town,Kallarkutty dam,Rajakkad, Pooppara and reached Bodimettu.
Bodimettu is one of the beatiful place I have ever seen.It must be a favourite place for bikers atleast. It is 10 km from Pooppara on the way to Bodynayakkanur by the side of national highway 85, which runs from Kochi to Danushkodi. Bodimettu is the main cardamom-growing area of Tamil Nadu. It is close to the famous tourist destination Munnar.Bodimettu pass comprises of 17 hairpins.From the top one will get a beautiful view of the valley and can see the hairpins.We stopped our bikes and clicked some photographs.Most of the pics taken from Bodimettu are lost.You will get some nice pictures from the internet.After the photograph session we kick started our bikes and moved on.It was little hard to ride because of the heavy wind.Even though Chunkghi was about 200-300 meters far from me,I can identify him by his orange helmet .
I never before made such a beautiful ride through the hairpins.It's not only about the hairpins but also the beautiful view on the sides of the road.I had seen a mountain covered with clouds.It might be a part of Munnar.I don't have words to describe the view ,the smell of the wind , and the climate .
We continued our ride through Theni. Suddenly bike started showing some troubles. It was for the first time, I rode my bike over 200 kms. There were no alterations,bike was in stock condition. We took a break for cooling down the engine.Some old fashioned stores were there and we bought some cool drinks. Children in that rural area came close to us, smiled and waved their hands.I took some photographs of them but unfortunately I lost those.
We reached Madurai around 7 o'clock.We found a room near Madurai Meenakshi temple.After we find an auto driver and roamed in the city for finding shop which makes duplicate key for Chunkghi's bullet.He helped us to find one .The guy in the shop easily set up a key and worked fine in the bullet.It took just one or two hours.At first I thought about his skill,but later I started worrying about the safety of our bikes.The street were crowded with a number of stalls, shops, merchants,tourists and some people with their scooters.Those people don't have any common sense of driving.They will hit the pedestrians, if the pedestrians will not care about their safety. After the fooding session and a street walk we went back to the room.
MADURAI
Madurai is an energetic, ancient city on the Vaigai River in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Its skyline is dominated by the 14 colorful gopurams (gateway towers) of Meenakshi Amman Temple. Covered in bright carvings of Hindu gods, the Dravidian-style temple is a major pilgrimage site. Millions attend the processions and ceremonies of April's Chithirai Festival celebrating Meenakshi and Lord Vishnu.
Flower vendors near Meenakshi Amman sell fragrant heaps of jasmine and marigolds used as devotional offerings. Sound and light shows dramatize the history of Thirumalai Nayak Mahal, a colonnaded 1636 palace with Dravidian and Islamic architectural features. The Gandhi Memorial Museum, in a domed 17th-century palace, documents the Indian struggle for independence. Beyond the old city lies Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam, a vast temple tank filled by the Vaigai River. Every January or February it hosts Madurai's Float Festival, in which Hindu icons are placed into the tank on ornamental rafts.
After the temple visit ,we had our breakfast from the street,roamed in the steet and decided to depart.I don't remember the actual time of departure.On the way we joined with a team of 30 bullet riders.One of them was a friend of Chunkghi.They were riding back to Kochi from Dhanushkodi.We were moving like a pack but It was hard to be with pack with my bike. Their machines were heavier and Powerful than mine.It was hard to ride through the windy road.I was a beginner for long rides.It was for the first time I am experiencing such a road and also a road outside Kerala.Inorder to reduce my effort ,Chunkghi asked me to move on when the bulleters was taking a small break and they will catch me on the road.
To compete with the bullet,I got some extra time.So I moved on my maximum.After some time I reduced my pace and looked on my mirror for them.I can’t find any of them.So I moved in a low speed.
I entered the Bodhimettu pass.I was not able to see any other riders in the team and So I stopped near the shades of a tree.It is a beautiful spot in the pass . Approximately it is the mid portion of the pass.I was able to see the road which i have come along and also the beauty of the nature.I took my phone to call Chunkghi, unfortunately my phone got switched off because of insufficient battery charge.Following the bad luck ,the money left with me was 15 rupees.I climbed on rock nearby.The roots of the tree was hugging the rock.I sat on the rock under the shades of the tree. The view from there was superb. I felt like a monk who meditates on the top of a lonely mountain.
I realized that I am little far from them because I was moving at my maximum when they are taking a break.I was not able to find them even from that height.I was curious about the upcoming road and I did not want to kill my mood.I decided to floak solo. All I left with me was 15 rupees, a bike with full tank petrol and a mindset to enjoy the road.
