I did not have a sleep whole night ..no currents till 2.20 am ..
mosquitoes didn’t allow me to sleep and ..

when the currents came back our server backup was down …

waited hopelessly till morning 5 am ..
but nothing happened ..

then i strolled out in my terrace ..
one thing about our hostels are it’s pitch dark everywhere ..
phew …
it was like this since i started staying in the hostel ..

and then till 7 am i was reading the book HALF A LIFE by V.S Naipaul ..
till 8 am i was ready for the outing …

went to main building to find no one there ..
came back to hostel 1 to see if audi himself has got up ..
well certainly he was up ..and so were others too Rajesh, Bhartu,Joel..
and Miresh ..

I told them i shall be waiting near main building ..
so off i went now ..
i sat alone till 8.15 when Rajat , Franklin and one more fellow came ..i dont remember his name

but i know him face to face …

By this time our dear George sir also was present near ..
i greeted him Good Morning ..
and soon we got into a small discussion as we usually do often ..

Then came Abhay and Prabhav ( also my project team members …[:-)] )
so slowly students started to gather ..

my classmates boarded in from the new bus-stand ..

at 8.50 am we halted at main bus stand for breakfast ..

Then soon we were on our way to Tambdi Surla …
I have visited this place three times before this ..
but didn’t know we could also trek here ..

Bus mein halla- gulla toh tha ..

around 10.40 am we reached TAMBDI SURLA ..

We got down ..stretched ourselves to loosen up ..
and there we all were standing ..

soon Parle-G buiscuits were distributed to each one ..
hehe ..Glucose ki shakti ..

There was a stream of fresh water flowing infront .. A small bridge over the stream ..we crossed

..
and the smooth stone studded path led us to the vicinity of LORD MAHADEVA temple ..

Surrounded by grass the temple stood right at the centre ..

The temple was leaking inside from the ceiling ..since it was built of stones completely ..

There was small nandi idol in the middle too ..
but it was headless ..
the part was broken ..

It was very dark inside and I could see the LINGAM of Lord Shiva ..
two lamps were burning to spread light over the small area in the vicinity of Lingam ..

I could see some small white flowers strewn on top of Lingam ..
then the usual three white stripes on the body of Lingam ..
and flowers neatly kept around the circumference of the Lingam ..

how peaceful it was to see this view ..
i remembered one verse from a poem which i studied in my schooldays ..
it was a hindi poem ..

the verse ….

” deep shanta-tha ka pratik hai ….. “
how true …
and i echo this phrase in my mind everytime i see a soft lamp glowing near GOD …

i was more deeply moved when i saw the nandi’s head broken ..
right on top of nandi in the ceiling was eight small stars surrounded with a single big star ..
i wonder the significance of this …the pujari was nowhere in sight by now …

i also saw 12 small pillars in the small outside hall which had the nandi, with intricate small

carvings on it ..just like the olden times …

what struck me was two stone sculptures kept ,
one on the right side ..which had two snakes intertwined sculptured on it ..and
one on the left side ..which had a single snake sculptured on it …
well i was craving for an answer to this one too ..
but who should tell me …i was helpless .. left to figure out myself …

the story behind the temple also is more amazing .. it had survived amidst ravages and is

preserved intact under the Monuments Act 1958, with a fine of Rs,5000/- to whoever does any damage to this heritage site …

Templw was surrounded with huge trees, just opposite the entrance was a series of small steps

leading to the free flowing stream …

We walked out the same way we came in ..
while we were walking out ,the pujari was sweeping the leaves out from the way ..
then we took another route to the right into the jungle …
it begins now …
i thought …. what we had actually come here for … a long trek ..
as i walked into the greenery .. on a nearby hill i saw mist surrounding it ..
and as we distanced further I saw a beautiful waterfall , making it’s way down ..

It split somewhere near the middle ..and this added to the existing beauty of the fall ..
As we went deep into ..
by now the students had started shouting ” JANGAL MEIN MANGAL ” .. hehehe .. :-)

We had a little walk ahead and then encountered a small stream of water ..it was the same stream

of water i guess and we were just walking thru’ it ..

As we forayed into deep pockets of jungle , frequent blasts of chilly,moist breeze welcomed us ..
it was a refreshing feeling too ..

We could hear the sound of water flowing …
then came another big crossing thru the stream …
this time it was time for some masti ..
and we all were waiting to splash handfull of water on each other ..
and it was not long before everybody was wet from top to bottom ..

those who were not ready to come in and were waiting aside ,thinking that they could be dry, were

wrong in their thinking ..they were dragged into and made wet ..
well ahem …
it included me too ..hehe .. :-) time for a snap ..
click …
click …

another stream crossing ..

One warning we had been given was there could be every possibility that leeches would climb on us

and have a feast on our body ..sucking blood …and when it sucks blood we cannot feel anything

..that’s the most dangerous part ..

We encountered stream for the fourth time now ..
One thing i noticed was that there was abundant twigs and logs of wood strewn across the jungle

..
fifth crossing …

chalte gaye ..chalte gaye …

we were crossing for the sixth time now ..this current was stronger ..

little ahead and we encounter the seventh crossing ..
We were guided by arrows painted on trees and occasionally on stones ..
but was visible thru’out the way was the thick mat of grass and also huge trees along both sides

of the way ..

Well , i know you all might not be interested to know this, but then came the eight crossing now

.. it was fun to cross the stream of water now ..again and again ..hehe ..

The whole valley echoed with the constant sound of flowing water makiing its way over and aside

the stones …

On the way ,my classmate Pavan slipped over a stone and regained balance ..
By now , all students who had come to trek with me ,knew i was jotting down the small small

experiences we had here ..

So my classmates enthusiastically screamed at me and told me to write this incident in my blog too

..i said why not ?? :-) ..

For some more time we all were just treading the path along side the stream …
Ocaasionally I would look at the stream and awe in wonder, the vigorous flow with which it was

flowing …

I remembered Lucky Ali’s soul tapping song at that moment ..

” Behti nadi ka rukh ,kal yahaan, kal wahaan ,kya pata kya pata ..
kyun chal diya karke yun bekarar ,ye dil ab mera manenaaaaaaa ..
kisssi bhi bahane tum tak aate the ,
tumhe ye batane ki kitna chahte the,
aisse baat thi,
(flute)
samajhe nahi to hum samjhate the,
keh jaate the aankh churate the ,
aissi baat thi,

raat bhar soye nahi,
hai sawaal ye,
jaage reh gaye hum to,
tere khayal mein,

humsa deewana tumne dekha hai kahin,
gumsum rehke teri saari baatein sahin,
dil mein basi hai bas teri tasveer,
mujhe kya pata kya hai meri takdeer,
ki mein rahoon paas tere roobaroo,

raahoon mein kabhi tum humko mil jaate ,
hoth kabhi bhi shayad sil jaate,
aisse baat thi…
(flute)

jab se tere hum havaale hue raasta najar aane laga,
pyare jo vafaa hum tumse karte hein,
pyare aisa lagta hai hum darte hein,

dil ne nahi jo kaha tha kabhi
vakth kehne laga ab jaraaaaa …..

pyar ka tarana hai ye suno to jaraa
tej raftaar hai kya
thehro to jaraa
aisa naseeba hum dil waaloon ka hai ye
mil ke na mil payein kya fasala hai ye
sacchi vafaoon ka shayd sila hai ye
paaye ye phir bhi tujhko hosla hai ye …………
“

At this very moment Akshar pointed me to a huge boulder on the path of the stream water on which

there was a bunch of wild purple flowers …they were so fresh …

Now the slope was getting steeper and steeper , and the verve of reaching at the place where the

falls was present made us more enthusiastic ..
we could hear the gushing of water now ..
loud ..loud..louder …

and there we were..
i could see water falling from a considerable height.. well water droplets filled the entire area

..
wind was splitting the water falling into small droplets ..
asa result of which we could feel slight drizzle on us when we stood nearby ..

it was absolute beauty ,to watch the water in its milky color making its way down to the ground..
and then turning colorless … :-)

Never in my life ,had i been so closer near the waterfall ..
the splash of water from such a height onto the boulders made a roar…
our screams were overpowered by this source of sound …

There is some term which is used to indicate low power signal overpowered by a high powered signal ..

I am not getting the term exactly .. is it called ” Masking “?
Maybe some ETC students could verify that for me…

I positioned myself to see the tip of the waterfall ..from where water made its way down ..
it was another beauty for the eyes ..

Well all this time, I was still in hold of this captivating beauty , in front of me …
and by now , I could hear some hooplah made by students who were already having a merry time in

the water …

What was I waiting for then ??
It’s my time folks … here I go …
splash ..
splash ..
splash ..

ahh ..cold water ..

I saw George sir with child like enthusiasm playing in the water and splashing water over others

..
One thing I certainly am observing since my earlier treks with him ..

I went a little ahead ..
then a little more ..

and in few moments i reached a place nearest than anyone was ..
straight near the place where huge voluminous amount of water was hitting down ..
I couldn’t see anything at all ..

yohooooooo .. :-)

i made it ..

yipeeeee .. :-)

i reached absolutely near the place ..

by now ex-BE Ranjan and our dear George sir were calling me back ..a few steps behind ..

but the zeal to witness the fall from as near as possible , did not make me move from the place..
I wanted to challenge the defenses of the my body ..
I could see absolutely nothing … so much droplets were falling straight into our eyes ..
also they were huge droplets ..
i had to keep a hand on my ears too .. it was hitting on the ears hard ..

other side i could see myresh and his other friends audi,joel,rajesh etc …they were just as far

as i was but I was deep in ..

Such a huge volume of water fell with great ferocity … that i could see absolute huge ripples

formed .. and in turn this ripples came to greet us with great velocity …
it was as if someone was patting hardly on my legs …

Sometime later Arun came near me to the right and we were talking about how amazing it was ,and

how much fun it was to be here ..

After an hour or so I, was signalled by George sir to come out now …
It was time for lunch ..

After lunch we departed this place ..

I had a last look at the whole extravaganza nature had exhibited here ..
and back we treaded along the same path we had come here ..

Frequently i could see bamboo shoots on the way ..quite long ones..
It was 2.10 when we left from here ..
the walkdown was not so problematic now..
all the places and stream crossings that we came across earlier while climbing were visible one

more time now …

thankx to Rajat, Manguirish from mech who came along me ,we had some nice time too ..

On the way our friend lost one pair of his chappals.. strange it might seem but he had lost it ..
hehehe ..
we had a nice laugh when we heard that ..
and who should this person be ??
It’s ABHAY BHAT … :-)

By 3.20 we walked down the hill, and were near the bus..

In the bus Krishanu ,realised there was a leech on his leg, and it had become so fat …god ..
we had some fun in the bus while our way back ..
I was a bit tired and set off to thinking some other things ..

In the night I saw some blood clot on my leg …it had become dry ….only to realise that i too had been a victim to a leech ..why it had to me,

also in the night i had been a feast to mosquitos .. i already have so little blood left in me ..[:-(]

Arun was victim three times to leeches ..
he has enough blood in him ..builder hai …so no probs…hehehe :-)

Readers, I tell you ,you wouldn’t want to miss such a splendour ..
it’s good to hear today that ETC students have finalised to go for a picnic to the same place

TAMBDI SURLA on thursday..
Trust me you wont regret visiting this place friends…

How i wish my friends nags,abhi,zameer,achal,vicky were here too to enjoy ..

Finally a big thankx to George sir who arranged college bus for us, having spent some moments of

fun with us ….

It shall be the one of the unforgettable moments of my life ..
the times i spent here with my friends and specially my dear George Sir …