I woke up as the bus rumbled into a halt. I had reached. I grabbed my bag and got down the bus. It was cold outside. A small shiver ran from my neck down my spine. It felt great. I looked up to see the sun shining brightly behind the eucalyptus trees. Sending beams of rays splattering on to the lush green hillside. It felt good to be back in the land of magic.
I called for a jeep and headed to a village 6~7 km away from the town. The town is crowded these days with traffic, people, animals, and noise. This small village I am heading to was far from the hustle and bustle of the daily commute. After a couple of twists, turns and bumpy jumps we came to the end of asphalt. It was a rocky way up from there. The man behind the wheel shifted the gear to first and released the clutch, making the jeep leap up the hill. Though the path was rugged, the jeep kept climbing steadily across the rocky path. Finally, we reached a gate; the way up from there seemed to be leading to heaven as I could see only the white sky at the end. On either side of the road, there were white and yellow flowers. Beautiful! Finally, the Jeep came to a halt at flat grassy land. I got down into the grass and saw (barely) a house at a distance covered in mist. The house was on a cliff. I couldn't see much beyond the cliff as it was fully covered in mist. There were just white sheets wherever I looked.
I went inside the house, started unpacking to get refreshed from the previous night's bus journey. Luckily the shower consisted of steaming hot water. After a quick shower, I walked to the balcony. Couldn't see much as everything was still covered in white. I sat down for a smoke as I was feeling cold. Slowly I started seeing patches of green between the white. Suddenly a drop of water fell on me. As I let my palm flat in front of me, I could feel the drizzle. The small patches of green had disappeared making everything completely soaked in white.
"When would I see what is in front of me", I was wondering as I walked along the balcony.
The rain stopped after 5 minutes and then I could see the green patches again. This time, to my surprise, the green patches kept on growing bigger and bigger till all the white was gone! I just fell in love with the sight! Mountains, hills, valleys, trees, villages, etc. There was hell lot to look around for. I was clearly on the tallest mountain. I was mesmerized by how much I could see. I could see all the way down to the planes (Palani, which was 70kms away) by just standing there. On to my right-hand side, from the balcony, for the first time in my life, I saw a rainbow below me.
I always thought rainbows came above us. Today nature had disproved my beliefs. A clear rainbow with an almost 180-degree span below me. Delighted to be there, I decided to take a walk around the place. With the rainbow below, I felt like I had reached the pinnacle of nature.
Across the field, I saw a sheep grazing the grass. She had colored horns. Green and red colored on either horn. White hair on the forehead, rest of the body covered in brown. She was peacefully grazing the grass. One thing we learn from nature is to enjoy the small things in life. Awareness of oneself and the whole. Life is not a race to be won, but a journey to be experienced. I walked to the sheep, she seemed very friendly and joyful. She even smiled for the camera.
After clicking some pics and pampering the sheep, I headed back for some food. Taking another stroll around the place, after food, was unwinding. I walked, sat, simply observing and being enfolded by nature. Finally, I decided to head back to the room and call it a day.
Day 2
It was 4 'o clock! I jumped up from the bed and looked out to the balcony,
"Phew! It is still dark". I was glad that I didn't miss the sunrise. I opened the balcony and stepped outside. The cold breeze made my entire body to shiver. I stretched and enjoyed the cool wind for a while.
I looked upon the sky to find a clear view of the twinkling stars. The sky was crowded with them! I really couldn't differentiate between the sky and the land underneath as it was pitch black. The lights on the mountains in front made it look like a couple of stars have fallen on the land. I stood there and wondered on what I would be seeing when the light comes. I strolled on the balcony with my teeth chattering though I was covered in a hoodie and a jacket. A cold breeze ran through every strand of hair on my body. Due to the break of the dawn, I was able to see a small patch of plain land beside the balcony I was standing. I exited the building through the main door and walked to the grassy patch of land.
The wind was strong. It brushed against my hair and my face. I could see the long silhouette of the mountains forming a border of land from the sky. I walked to the tip of the land. One step forward and I would be lost amidst the darkness of the valley. I took a deep breath; the freshness, the rawness, the wilderness - nature at its pure form, without any adulteration from the so-called civilization. It was pure ecstasy to the soul wounded by mankind's industrial evolution altering the purity and positivity around us. Lack of nature has started driving mankind into depression and despair. Taking a minute, to experience an ounce of pure nature, healed the scars wounded over a decade. This is what I needed, more of this rawness in life. Coming from a place covered in concrete blocks had my balance of life twisted. The fast-paced life in the city had me going crazy. Well, now nature was trying to restore the balance in me by calming my senses, making them more aware of the surroundings, to observe, to realize and to re-align. After all, we are all children of nature.
I sat down on the grass. It was wet from the morning dew. It didn't matter. Not all conditions are to soothe the body and mind. The changes have to be embraced and enjoyed. That is the vibrance of life. The breaking of dawn brought more light. The long range of mountains started showing more details. I was sitting facing east with a full view of the valley. The valley went all the way down and then rose to the mountain range opposite to me. On the mountain, crimson rose from the peak. It appeared as if a volcano was erupting. It was spectacular! The color changed from Purple to red, to orange. The volcano had erupted and molten lava was flowing all over the sky. The sun started appearing from behind the mountain. I was awestruck! No matter how many times you have seen the sunrise, mother nature would never fail to mesmerize you again. Green and brown around me started being more and more evident. The breeze kept whistling and passed through each pore on my face and hands, causing goosebumps. One could sit there for hours - enjoying, experiencing or decoding the mysteries of life.
I spent the next couple of hours soaking in the sunlight which kept my body warm in the cold climate. I had missed being in synchronization with nature. Being stuck in the rat-race to make a living had an adverse effect on me. It was hiatus like these which kept me going. It gave me new possibilities and new outlooks on life. Before going back to sophisticated routine life, I needed to soak some more of nature into me. Keep it stored for the times I am away in the city. I had time only till afternoon before I board the bus back to civilization.
Nature has a funny way of making us realize the value of life. Only if you pursue, you shall discover.
For those who are bored of the mediocrity of life and seek magic, nature brings it to you in different forms. It may be in sunrise, wind, beauty or even in the form of fungi.
