It was Monday, 28th September, 1998. It was raining cats and dogs in Bangalore from the previous night. It was 8.45 AM, when CSY Networking Team embarked on the self-sponsored picnic to Mekedatu, only an hour and a quarter behind schedule!

There were 19 of us, including the sole lady, Shirin. We were in a Swaraj Mazda van. We got food from the nearby Sanman Hotel, before starting. The rains had stopped, finally!

As soon as our vehicle cleared the city, "antakshari" began. This lasted for an hour, before we stopped en route, for breakfast. This was on the banks of a stream. The weather was pleasant. The route to Kanakapura was decent, but from there, it became bad.

The scenery was beautiful, though the travellers had other things in mind, playing "mime". We negotiated puddles, muddy paths, narrow curves, as we neared our destination - Sangam.

We were there finally at 11.45 AM. This was Sangam, the place where River Cauvery merged with River Arkavathi. It was around 100 metres wide. The river was calm and previous visitors to the place told that, the river bed was filled with sand. Visitors generally crossed the river to the other side, where Mekedatu was.

Full of enthusiasm, we changed dresses, to make the river crossing. A few were reluctant, at first, seeing the huge expanse of water. But all were convinced to cross, but one (Ganesh, who was going abroad in 2 days). A few of the villagers there warned some of us from crossing, telling it was dangerous, but we scarcely paid heed to their warnings.

The crossing was a thrilling experience, as the water, which was, on an average thigh deep, rose to chest height in the middle. There was also a small current, which made it a little frightening. But the crossing was made, without a hitch by all 18 of us.

A bus (which makes BTS buses look like luxury buses) stood on the other side, to take us 4 km to Mekedatu. We boarded the bus. The bus-ride was an altogether different experience, as the driver negotiated narrow curves, ups and downs, and rocky paths, at breakneck speed!

But we were at last, at Mekedatu. The word stands for "goat crossing". It is the place where goats were supposed to be able to cross the river Cauvery, by making a leap.

The place is wonderful. The water has turned huge rocks into beautiful shapes. Through a break in the rocks, the river gushes at a terrific pace. We were warned of crocodiles, and seeing one, there were some fears. Soon, we discovered it was a dead one. We took a snap of the creature, just the same, from close quarters. We climbed on the rocks (which were rather slippery, as the water had smoothened them) and enjoyed the terrific view of the water, and the scenery. We took a few snaps of the place.

It was 1.30 PM, and we decided to get back. This time, we thought, we will walk back, rather than take the bus. A few of us, however, took the easy way out too, but most of us undertook the 4 km "trek" back to where we started.

The trek was rather uneventful, though we did see lots of greenery, and the stream flowing on one side. The weather was pleasant throughout. The background sound of gushing water was incessant.

We reached the place, where we had crossed the river, and what do we see - the river was flooded - the water had risen by 6 ft or so, huge logs and trees were being washed away with disdain by the swift-flowing water. It was a shocking sight, as the only way out of the place, was to cross the river.

All our clothes, belongings, and more importantly, food, was on the otherside, and here we were, 18 of us, tired, hungry and at the mercy of nature!

We thought, this must be the rain water, from the rains which were lashing Bangalore and other places, the previous night. We asked a few guys who were staying on the other side. They differed on when water would recede - one told, it would do so, by 5 PM, while another said, it could not be told!

After a few minutes of discussion, we decided that we ought to get some food from some place. There were a few huts, a few metres from where we were. However, it was not fair to expect them to provide food for so many of us.

In the meanwhile, three guys went with the driver of the bus, who had taken us to Mekedatu, to find out if he could get some food, or find some way out of the place.

We waited in a shady spot, under a tree for them to return. To pass time, we played "mime", cracked jokes. Once in a while, one of us took a look at the river, said, "I think it is lessing", the others seemed to concur, though in everyone's mind, there was the underlying fear of uncertainty.

After an hour or so, the three brave"hearts" returned telling we could cross to the other side, in a "theppa" (the round basket-shaped boat - made familiar by the "Roja" song). To do so, we have to walk a kilometre further.

It was time for action, and we started the walk - now with some hope. Though there was a narrow trail, in many places, water from the river had encroached and we had to wade knee deep (often thigh deep) through them. Finally, we reached the place where the "theppa" was supposed to come. We now saw, people on the other bank. We tried waving to them, and asking them to send a "theppa".

The sun had come out now, and there was no shade in the place we stood. It was 4.30 PM now. Though we saw no logs floating in the river now, the current was still very strong, and we suspected that the boatmen were not confident of making the crossing.

In the meanwhile, we saw a couple of guys, who were in the same predicament as us. They suggested, taking a walk to the "nearby" road. On further questioning, we discovered that they were unsure about where and how far the "road" was. We realised it was a risky attempt to take a walk to the unknown!

As we were wondering what to do, we saw a few people on the other side waving to us, to go back to the place we had come. Through sign language, we realised that a theppa had been sent, with some food in it!

The prospect of food, and the chance of making a crossing spurred all of us to walk the whole way back the way we had come - wading through the encroached stream at places.

We found the food, and a "theppa". The food had been sent by Ganesh, the sole member of our gang on the other side. Soon two more "theppas" came.

It was time for the crossing. No one was very confident of reaching the other side, after having seen the way the theppas were carried by the current. The theppas which started from the other side of the river towards us, didnot reach the direct opposite side. It was carried much further beyond us by the current.

This fear was compounded after seeing the way the theppa which had the first batch of people (none of our folks were in that), was carried by the current way down the stream, that too, at a swift pace.

But there was no other way out. It was getting dark too. Without thinking too much, we stepped into a theppa. Reji, myself, and Prakash were the first batch to leave for the other side. The boatman looked confident (especially as he seemed to have had a strong drink or two!) The theppa set off. Initially there was not much current, and the boatman didn't have much work.

As the theppa reached midstream, we could feel the pull of the current. The boatman tried to row along with the current, while at the same time, trying to manoeuvre the boat to the other bank. At times, we felt, the current was too much for him, at other times, we thought he was managing to do well.

This feeling lasted for about 40 seconds, after which we saw the river curved. We realised that we were going to make it to the other side after all. This we did, in a few more seconds (the total trip would have lasted 3 minutes, that's all!) and were subject to a torrid reception on the other side.

The whole village were in a state of extreme tension. A young cop seemed to be in charge of affairs, directing the boatmen. Our vehicle was being used to carry the theppas from where they landed, to where they had to "take off" for the next trip.

It was getting very dark now. There were 12 of us left on the other side and there were 3 theppas. Each of it carried 4 of us and made the trip back - much to everyone's relief.

Ganesh, who had persuaded the boatmen to make the rescue attempt, appeared tired and weary. He iterated that we should considered ourselves lucky to have survived. He said, a few minutes after he had crossed to the other bank, the river had risen. It was miraculous that we had not been washed away in our initial crossing!

After this, our return journey back was very pedestrian indeed! We were back in HP at 9.30 PM, having taken a coffee break in Kanakpura.

Most of us felt, as though we had had a rebirth of sorts!