Freshers Party III @ Nagala West - 13 November 2011

Freshers Party 3 @ Nagala West

13 November, 2011

Freshers Party III completed - 35 members  team and 30 freshers made it till Mini Kutralam Falls... 

Thanks to Vicky and Vinodh for helping me in leading and sweeping the team in times

Thanks to all the car owners (drivers :P) who made our journey comfortable and safe

Special thanks to Krishna, Nandeesh and Simon bringing their cars at the last minute to compensate the cab which didnt turnup in time at the first pickup point

Thanks to all the participants who made this trek memorable

Few words by fellow trekkers

Write up by M V J Simon (Poet Bittersweet) 

Nagala – a tribute.

Walking up that treacherous trail

Along that dry river bed

Rocks and pebbles crunched by boots

As I swing my arms in a rhythmic sway

Thorny bushes in clumps

Dwarfed by the hills around

A full moon in broad daylight

A cool sun that surprised me

Into the bower of jungle trees

A welcome shade that beckons me

I amble along at my own gentle pace

Along that dry river bed

Across the bend a stream appears

Crystal clear waters bubbling away

Sparkling in the sunshine

So clean and pure

As I tread gingerly through

Slippery pebbles slip… and slide away

And I stretch my arms apart

As I take the next careful step

Along the way I reach a refreshing green pool

And a nymph walking along dived smoothly in

In a flash, she clambered up the rocks across

A faint hint of a smile flitting on her lips

Into those waters I plunge quickly in

And emerge shivering in the icy cold

Warm rays of sunshine engulf me

As I float on the water without a care

Lost in the lap of nature

Time loses its grip on man

Isn’t this the way we were meant to be?

Wild and free, just the way she is

M V J Simon 2011

Write up by Devanand

First on behalf of all the participants I would like to appreciate and thank the organisers headed by Saravanan . Cheers to them for their planning, guidance and execution to make this trip memorable one and making us come back for more with high expectations on CTC. Special thanks to all the smiling and caring new friends. I would also like to thank each one of the participants for their high energy levels and not having a single drop out in the entire trip.

Reaching the pickup points much before the scheduled time, wondering if we have reached the right spot. Finally an SMS from coordinators confirmed we are at the right spot and the members started trickling in. After initial indemnity forms were signed off, the trip started off. Off we went in our designated cars, with new faces near us.

The final few mins reaching the so called base camp, our parking lot is sure to be a "path" to be remembered for its beautiful pebbled paved rocky path. Yes finally the vehicles came to a halt and it was then we reached the spot. After disembarking from our cars, Saravanan and team opened up the breakfast pack. Three extra large cream buns with three bananas(not many of us would ever take 

that much for breakfast) was shared with all and many were happy to finish two of the three provided cream buns. After the breakfast is over, all were moved closer to Saravanan for a big announcement " 2 Apples, 1 pear , 1 chappati packet, tango packs, tomato ketchup packs" were placed on top of car and all were requested to get one of each set. Initial list seemed so big , how ever some "caring" individuals distributed them evenly to all the folks making the task easy for all of us :) 

Foods over, backpacks done , what next ? Final instructions from Saravanan ! Safety instructions on swimming, lead and sweepers was updated to all and yes.. we started the march. Looked simple and easy ! Yes illusions never last long . Within few mins of trek we started entering the lush green and the bright light turned dim. Jubilant crowd cheering up fellow mates and marching on, not knowing what to expect, still moving on positively :) We came across a small stream which needed to be crossed to continue the trail and the team seeing first water slowed down and entered the 

water, voila we had the first hit . A big woodlands couldnt bear the load and tripped off fellow mate and he touched water. That made the team to be more vigilant on the upcoming dangers ahead. 

Yes we had enough ;) Grabbing all the small shrubs and tree stumps we reached to a cheering crowd who have already reached Pool 1. Looked good, green water, reflecting the surrounding, cheering crowd, sore legs, sweaty backs. Most of the members immediately started moving in the water after throwing off their backpacks on the hard nearby rocks. Non swimmers(including me) started the 

long process of inflating our swim tubes and found to our dismay it cant be easily done. Luckily for us our good organisers have already brought in their "pumps" to help us. Yay ! . Never knew a swim tube could make this trip enjoyable for all the non-swimmers. Ropes were tied across the pool and an "express" pathway was made for us. Happily yet slowly most of the folks moved inside water and 

entered the chill water. To all the folks who take shower only in "hot water" it would sure be a new experience. Yes we still liked it a lot than our regular showers :p Floating on the swim tube , moving across the pool made me realise that the organisers knew why they were stressing on the tubes a lot ! Thanks to them again. Nearby slippery rocks closer to the inflow made few to climb on them , 

oh yea slippery rocks had their fun too. The first one to hit water slipping through the hard rock in front of our eyes made it look like an accident , how ever the jubilant person popping out of water " I am still alive “ made us realise the help and immediate assistance provided by the nearby swimmers and organisers is to be cherished. Not long another good friend also followed the same path , 

popping in and out of water , wow .. is this a trend .. ! no ... yet it happened... Luckily both of them suffered no injury giving relief to all the "watchers" . With time running out , we had to pack our tubes and rushed off to Pool 2, which is said to be even more interesting. 

Second pool , yes the path got more denser, our legs got more heavy , yet we strived to move forward. Reaching pool two , spend enough time on the cool water. Relaxing , playing , getting to know more people , smiling faces, helping hands . The second pool brought more people together. Bonds grew stronger. After enough time we were pushed forward for the third and deepest pool. Energetic 

crowd moved forward under the able guidance of the leads. Reaching the third pool, Saravanan took the first dive from a high point provoking all the guys to take the dip and enjoi the moment. Awesome is all we can say in one word. Seen such things only in movies ( certainly not Vijaykanth :p), though we can say he has some resemblance to "big anna". Swimmers took the cue and dived in 

and then came the turn for the non-swimmers, no easy path down other than dive . Wow . Never in my life have I ever attempted anything like that , yet we moved on. We had the confidence , we will sure see the sun next day. Close to 10 folks stayed closer to pool three while the rest moved up to get the taste of the final falls which is awaiting.After an hour later all of the trekkers moved up on the rocky hill and finished off the waiting chapatis with tomato sause and oorugai. Almost all non-swimmers took dives with proper instruction from leads and safety guards down below to protect us. Even the delicate darlings took the dive . Way to go all !

Close to 4 PM, the march back instructions were given. All junk and waste was collected religiously by the volunteers, checked in person by Saravanan himself. One thing we have to sure take from this trip is never to spoil the natural beauty with man-made junk/non-bio degradable waste. Sure it was new to me and few more. Journey back was a harrowing experience for most of the newbies(including me :D) and yes we reached our base camp with new friends, new bonds, new learnings and a new meaning to wild life and trekking. Darkness crept on us and yet introductions were made sure to be completed as part of the trek. Oh yea forgot to mention " is he really a doctor ????" question during introduction made us all laugh and it felt we are in good company and time well spent.

High lights of the trip includes the "good" free fall , infamous "doctor" and "dives of non-swimmers" and last but not the least “ new friends “ .

Writeup by Kavipriya Moorthy

Trekking is definitely a must-go experience for anybody in their lifetime. When we received call from ctc that we are shortlisted, the feel was amazing. all the pics that we received through mails and google images of nagala added much fuel to the excitement. We were all ready with the "Lets-go" attitude. Minutes before the start was terrifying but people around were so cool to make us feel better. Though the place was filled with rocks and stones, it was not the same with people who accompanied, there were so many hands to help. "come on go for it" attitude was ensconced by the organisers and energizers. An impeccable experience in our lives. A melange of fear, excitement and thrill. It was so tempting such than the non-swimmers took courage to jump into the pool. over all a wonderful trip, we were introduced to each other with their names and returned with new pet-name coined for each.Feels so good that we got new set of wonderful friends.

Writeup by Vijayapriya

My trekking experience:

The Beginning:

It was 4.30 in the morning we assembled near Nathan’s café. We were given forms to be signed and then everyone got into their respective cars. There were totally eight five seat cars arranged for all 38 members of our trek team. Suddenly there was shortage of car, saravanan anna and his team managed the situation and arranged for it.

Journey began around 5.30AM from koyambedu. People started to introduce themselves and had fun. We were taking photographs of sceneries and all our vehicles on moving. We reached Nagalapuram around 7.30AM.

Kick Off:

Saravanan anna’s team took the lead and sweeps to giude our trek team, swimmers and non-swimmers were also identified. We were given breakfast and moved towards the hills. 

Having sun overhead was little difficult to walk but when we entered the dense forest it was like whole new world. All our trek members were helping each other in climbing. We enjoyed all the slopes, steep rocks, trees, mountains, streams and the most pure air.

1st pool:

We reached our first pool and started filling air in our swim tubes. Swimmers jumped into the pool first and then non-swimmers. Some climbed into the rock and had a great free fall experience and some were having fun under water itself.

Moving towards 2nd pool:

We were heading towards the second pool from first. Our path was getting tougher, as all the members were helping each other we made it. They tied ropes across the pool which was very helpful for non-swimmers and all together we enjoyed ultimately.

3rd and 4th pool experience:

Experiencing and feeling the gifts of dense forest we headed towards the third pool. It was nearly 35 feet deep. Most experienced people were diving into water from greater heights and then slowly others moved in. 

After some time few people started their journey towards the fourth pool, the path was very steep and dangerous. Some stayed in the third pool and continued diving and were having their fun.

Return Journey:

It was time, we had our food(chapatti with pickle) and started. It was getting darker and the sky was filled with most beautiful stars. All the fire flies around gave us an awesome feeling.

With the torch lights ON we were talking and walking and finally reached the end of beautiful forest. We sat in a circle and shared the experiences of our great trek.

Au revoir:

It was time to bid goodbye. Everyone thanked each other and left with the wonderful memories, making new friends and having great time altogether.

Loads and loads of thanks to Saravanan anna and his team for giving us this wonderful opportunity.