It was a tour with a difference. The members were not from the same team. They were neither close friends, nor from the same State. Some had just joined HP. Some were married. There were 4 ladies. The unifying factor, if there was any need for one, was all of them worked in the same floor in HP!
KK, Sridhar, KNR and Chandar (not in any particular order) were the "champions" of the tour. Initially it started with a few (10 to 12) interested people. But this was before the discovery of several more entertainment and adventure - starved folks! Finally we ended up with 28 people (including a kid).
A 35-seater of Sathya Sai Tours was arranged and it was decided to start latest by 7.30 AM on Saturday, 22nd August, 1998. True to the "national tradition" of "impunctuality", we managed to get off by 8.10 AM (surprisingly, only 40 minutes late)!
Sanman were the official caterers for the tour and a couple of their boys came with us. We had breakfast on Kanakpura Road an hour after we started. Then it was a non-stop ride until our first destination - the Gaganchukki Falls at Sivasamudram.
En route, antakshari was played in full swing.
It was noon when we reached Gaganchukki which is a "collection" of (2-3) waterfalls. While most of us saw the falls from far, a few ventured closer to it (by walking down the hill), and in the process delayed our departure to 1 PM. It was hot though the sky was a little overcast.
The next stop was at Bharathchukki, another waterfall. This we reached by 1.30 PM. Actually both the falls are part of the "same family"! But this one had a bigger collection of falls. Here we decided to venture into the water. Most of the folks changed to bathing attire, while some plunged in without bothering to change.
It was really wonderful, crossing a rather wide stream, holding hands, taking snaps, going under the falls and standing, then sitting in groups under the fall, and generally enjoying the water falling on the back. The weather was pleasant too, it being hot, while the water was cool.
We overshot our departure time by more than an hour as we just couldn't come off the water. But finally we did, and had a belated lunch.
It was 4 PM, when we left the falls. Our next destination was Thalakkad. It is located on the banks of Cauvery (which other river?). The river bank is filled with sand, just like a sea-shore. (The place is protected by Archeological Society of India). There is a vast open space, where a few played frisbees while other played cricket.
We also went on a ride in the small circular "boat" (?) (remember the Roja song sequence - the same boat) in the river. Chandar discovered that he had a roaring, I mean, "rowing" talent!
The start of a drizzle signalled the end of our stay there. Also, it was 6.15 PM - time for our return journey. Though we had planned to cover Somnathpur temple, this was dropped due to time constraints. Moreover, it rained in our return journey, but we had had our fun!
Dumb charades and 20 questions were played in the bus to pass the time. A few enthusiasts danced to the music in the bus. It was 10.30 when we were back in HP, after an enjoyable tour.