Everything started with the decision of a class trip(NIT CSE batch). Everyone is busy finding where exactly to go for class trip. Our class oraganisers shortlisted some places and had polls and its finally decided as Hogenakkal and kodaikanal.
Its my bad luck, I have been there very recently just 3 months back. I backed off but im very much interested in going out with all other classmates so im still in dilemma.
Meantime as my state-mates yash and srikanth agreed for a trip to Goa. So, I decided to go to Goa during the same days for which class trip is planned, as the number of holidays we get will be less and so I want to finish off places near my clg asap.
Its very sad that non-malayalis dint show any interest in going for the trip(with their own reasons) and so organizers planned to cancel the trip but as the travels in which they booked a 49 seater bus dint give back the advance so they booked a mini bus 30-seater for a mini class trip.
As usual, Yash dropped in the eleventh hour(the day before-feb 12) citing attendance problem. So, now we are left with only 3 (me,srikanth&paresh) but as srikanth is not willing to go with 3 so we have to drop the goa plan. I was very sad as I even dropped class trip and now as its a small bus and there is less chance for a place.
The day of start of the class trip(feb 12th)(supposedly the day of start of our goa trip too) afternoon I again got an offer for the trip as one seat is left. But as even shompy is interested in going, I dropped(but even shompy dropped as sonia is interested). Its sonia who finally got the chance to go on class trip.
They left for Hogenakkal by bus around 10pm on feb 13th and I am left back in college. As exams are just over and not much work is there these 3 days would have been terrible. The same day night as yash' saturday class is cancelled he is again back with a plan to ooty by train but I have been there already recently so Im not interested so suggested alternate as Sabarimala. As he said he is interested so we checked for details in net and decided. But this time I dint keep any hopes as noone knows when yash changes. Srikanth is also interested and so we planned for sabarimala on 14th and veegaland(water park), kochi on 15th. With all this planning I slept late in the night around 2am.
Keshav woke me up at 6.15am itself to play tennis and as I told him I will accompany him, so I dint have good sleep. The next day, feb 13th even in the afternoon yash again said he is dropping and I thought so. I started watching all new movies pending and then at 7:15pm in the night when I just again asked his opinion he said ok and then we started packing immediately.
As we know very less about the way to go to Sabarimala, I called Mahesh(M.tech friend) for more details. Luckily as even three other M.techs are going to sabarimala on the same day he helped us in getting the details of them and talked to them and fixed everything for us. He even told us train timings (11pm from calicut station) and so we started by bus from clg at 9:15pm. Reached station at 10:15pm and met the three m.techs(Subba rao, Lakshman rao, ravi) and even as we came to know that 2 of them have been to sabarimala already we are happy that we wont be lost somewhere and lose time.
Boarded train at 11pm(General). Horrifying fact is that we dint get enough place to stand in the train. We somehow adjusted and after 1hr managed to sit on the floor itself. We met an 88yr old man in the train, who is still healthy enough(he is an ex-army man). As he knows english we managed to have some conversation with him. We wondered how about imagining us at 88yrs (with such a irregular routine everyday).
1hr to get down we got berths to sleep(upper berths in general) but I dint get one so I dint sleep again. We got down in kottayam at 5.15am, refreshed ourselves in the waiting rooms and looked for a taxi to sabrimala. But as none is there and even so as we are 6 they are not willing us to adjust in one taxi and a sumo will cost more(but even thats not available). We tried in some other taxi stand even but no use, so we went to ksrtc bus-stand at 615am. But to add to all the bus to pampa is at 7.30am. So thats it as the journey takes around 4hrs+ and the uphill walk will not get us to temple b4re 1pm(temple closing timings 1pm-5pm).
We are very much disgusted at the kind of facilities in kottayam. It being a most visited place by many devotees often, they dint have any basic facilities and none is able to help us properly. The enquiry guy doesnt even know the details of the last return bus back to kottayam. All the boards are in malayalam, noone is able to help us find the bus. They dont know what we speak and whoever we speak to again finally asks us go to enwuiry. So we are late in catching the bus and again we have to stand in bus. I managed to get a seat after 1hr.
We reached Pampa at 11.15am.
Devotees have to take bath in Pampa river before visiting lord ayappa. The river is completely dead, without any flow and not much water even(onyl 2 ft high waterlevel). The water is very dirty as the water is completely stagnant and everyone take bath in the same water. So, we have to search for some better place along the river with less dirt to take bath.
Slowly we got ready, put luggage in cloak room and then had food.
The hotel staff there use some good management techniques.. as the number of devotees from AP are very high, every hotel shows the signs of being a hotel set up by an andhrite. They are all malayalis and then just cheat people, the food is also malli food with coconut oil. Its was very difficult for us. But adjusted and then started our walk uphill at 1.30pm(6kms walk uphill).
I heard from many that the way uphill to sabarimala temple is very difficult, but dint care. Only when I saw that and experienced I really came to know how difficult it is to climb the hill. We started in mid-noon and its very sunny, the way is completely rocky and very steep, i really mean it its very steep and then the rocks are just like a burning pyre. We had a tough time climbing up. There arent many trees also on the way. We had to run between tree shades otherwise our legs would have been burnt, its very hot.
We are really amazed that there are many small kids(5-10yrs) who are coming for the temple and are climbing the hill without any effort.
Sabarimala temple has some restrictions for women. All men are allowed to get into temple. But women in the age group(10-50yrs) are not allowed. Even there is no restriction on the religion also. Anyone from other religions can worhsip god.
Finally we reached temple at 3.30pm, took some photos and stood in line for darshan at 4pm but that day they opened it late at 5.00pm.
As Dec-Jan is peak time for Sabarimala with all those who follow the rituals of the lord and visit temple for the makara jyothi darhsan. I expected the temple would be free in Feb and we can have better darshan, but even in Feb, the number of devotees is very very high. So we couldnt have darshan twice.
We started back downhill at 6:15pm and as its not sunny and climate is good, me and yash ran down and came down in 45mts itself. But we have to very careful downhill, a small mistake will get us rolling down till the bottom of the hill as its that steep.
We started back to kottayam at 7.30pm but there are no buses so we have to take a jeep for Rs1000/- to kottayam for 6 of us.
Srikanth got his leg injured while climbing uphill and so dropped from coming to Veegaland, so he and lakshman went back to clg by train from kottayam.
Me, yash and the two other mtechs took a room for Rs350/- in a hotel infront of Railway station and stayed in Kottayam that night.
We dint plan anything for the next day, as we dint have proper sleep we immediately slept off and leisurely got up next day at 7.30am. We made a mistake we should have travelled to Kochin night itself. Morning we started at 8.30am and went to bus stand but as it tak
(to be continued..)
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