The Journey of Life
The third semester at IISc is usually a very good time of your life, if you are an undergrad. You had figured out how to live on campus, made a friend group, adjusted to the course load and are finally set to explore. The first year had not been easy, and things are now back in cycle again after the long summer vacation. Bangalore’s weather is nice, and people are out trekking or roaming. It was in this setting that a guy pitched a friend of mine for a road trip.
“Where?”- I asked him when we assembled for planning in his room. There were four of us – me, Devak, Datta and Ritik. This was the first time the four of us were in the same room, and excitement was through the roof. I had previously discussed some travel experiences individually and finally decided that we would agree upon the mode of transport based on the final plan and budget. Mind you, we didn’t have a plan yet. He replied - “You tell”.
Back in the second semester, Prof. Ramananda had mentioned a ‘Grand Canyon of India’ in his course, accompanied by its picture. It is situated in Andhra Pradesh, a neighbouring state, and he encouraged us to visit, if we find the time. It was just a random slide in a random course, but boy, was it beautiful! My friend looked at me and smiled wistfully, muttering how we should go there. I checked the distance and smiled back; I had thought the same thing. And off we went on with our lives. Fast forward to when I pitched the idea in the meeting, and the acceptance was unanimous. Awesome. The target seemed doable. We started brainstorming. A master plan materialized after hours of talking, and finally, we settled on a bike trip that would take us to 5 destinations around Andhra Pradesh in 5 days. I know high standards with questionable assumptions. We decided to go with it after the midterms, as there is a three-day gap in the semester. We laid out the accompanying logistics and feasibility. Oh, and about the total distance – 1500 kilometres.
On 30th September 2023 at 8:30 am, we readied the bags, rounded up the bikes and took a group photo. Ritik had some experience biking in the mountains, so he helped tie the bags behind the bikes. There were two bikes in total and four of us, so we agreed on rotation when we were tired. We ran the plan for the day and set off for our epic ride, a brain full of ideas and a heart full of yearning. Horseley Hills was the initial destination, and we reached there the same day without much trouble. The energy was still on. Datta chipped off a mirror on the climb, but eh, the view was good. We observed clouds of rain floating towards us till it rained on us! That was a first for me. We settled under a rock and eventually in a nearby hotel for the day. Onwards we went.
The second day was special – we would be reaching Gandikota, where the Grand Canyon was situated. We did run into some hassles regarding the availability of North Indian food, but overall, the day was just picturesque. The Andhra government seemed to have done a good job with their roads, as our eyes were never on it! It was 180 kms of vast fields and Western Ghats with clear blue skies accompanied by milky clouds. Poetry. We cruised along wide roads with little traffic and a cool breeze. Interestingly, no one seemed to be wearing helmets. Even the police weren’t wearing any! After 6 hours of a long, continuous stretch of riding, we finally reached the place. The target. One and only. Magnificent. As we climbed onto the ledge and sat overlooking the canyon, my friend and I remembered our little smile in that class.
We snapped pictures and observed monkeys as the river flowed by. The canyon was a geological formation created by erosion of sedimentary rocks characteristic of the region, by the Pennar River. As we looked down on it, we wondered about getting down and touching the river. All the tourists were flocked above the canyon, and a small, empty bank could be observed directly below. We could make out a path that could potentially reach there, but no one seemed to be going that way. A few moments later, we were climbing down the same path, hoping to reach the bottom. It took some time, but eventually we figured out a way and revelled as we touched the river, looking up at the same tourists looking below. We carved our names onto the rock overlooking the bank, spent some time booing the onlookers and finally made our way up. It was exhausting. But it was worth it. Night had settled in. While leaving, Ritik pulled us to a stop at the viewpoint and asked us to lie down and look up. Best. Decision. Ever.
The next morning began with a bang as we found a Punjabi dhaba for breakfast, where Ritik had a blast. The previous night was hell as the road from Gandikota to Tadipatri (where we spent the night) was under repair. Even though the full moon provided some solace, the heavy traffic, coupled with intense dust, made this the worst and hardest stretch of this trip. One of the bikes had lost its charge in phones and had to eyeball its way to the lodge. Nevertheless, it was a new day with new destinations. Belum caves, a large cave system and Ahobilam, where a group of 9 temples were sprawled close to each other, were to be done. Roads were average with mid traffic and long fields. Belum was hot. The stalagmites, stalactites, an underground river and tree roots were cool, but we were sweating so profusely that it was a relief to get out. For a moment, we couldn’t believe in global warming! All the tourists were locked in warm breaths inside the cave, resulting in the intense heating.
We ran into groups of goats and stretches of carpets filled with salt out for drying, on the way to Ahobilam. As we visited the first temple, it rained in the second temple unbeknownst to us. Slight carelessness of the wet road, and one of our bikes skidded at 70 km/h. Thankfully, we were thrown out to the grass and sustained minimal injuries. But both the bike and the two of us were beaten up badly. We decided to abort the trip and took a bus to Kurnool, where Datta’s relatives stayed. Datta and Devak brought the bikes there, and we crashed there that night. Fun fact – We rode injured to the bus stand, after checkpost timings through a reserve forest at night to catch the bus. There was barely any visibility!
The next day, we were taken to the hospital, and fortunately, nothing serious was observed. We decided to parcel the bikes back and go back to campus by train. Initially, we had planned Srisailam next, which had beautiful forest roads, but the injuries prevented us from continuing any further. We had the bike checked, which showed some patchwork but nothing major. Our injuries didn’t allow us to walk properly, but by evening, we could make do. Datta booked tickets back, and we went roaming in Kurnool. At night, I made the proposition that we ride back. “We could bend our legs and keep it in place until we reach back,” – I said. “We’ll see the next day,” – said Datta.
Thankfully, we could bend our legs even more the next day and decided to complete the trip. It would be a shame not to do so. So once again we packed the bags and set out – back to campus. It was long and tiresome, but we were out for a mission this time. As we neared Bangalore, we realized we had some time, and so we took a detour to Lepakshi. It was soothing and filled with gratitude.
On 4th October, around 8:30 pm, we finally returned to campus. 1234 kilometers. At this point in time, we were done with the trip and achieved mostly everything we had set out for. Sure, we couldn’t complete the plan. But that’s the thing with life – it is never boring. It is never pre-planned. It has its own ways of conduct - a challenge and some fun here and there, giving it some flavour. You pave your way through the hardships and do not lose sight of the target in the fun times. It may end well, it may not. But we did try our level best with whatever we could, whenever we could. For all I believe, that’s what matters in the end, and yes, we did complete our journey. Each of us in our own way. Were we all satisfied? We sure did. We never looked back. And we didn’t need to. We know we did our best.