The first trek of the year 2008 was set for Ballala Rayana Durga(BRD) 30 odd kms from Dharmastala. We were longing to visit this place as it was dubbed as a sunrise and a sunset point. They say, it has its own unique features. I being a photo freak decided to go there the day I came to know about the place. A wait of 3 months fructified. The second week of January, 18 of us along with the organizer set out on our journey to BRD. We reached the bus stand and from there we hopped on an open top jeep. The ride on a jeep track was simply superb. I loved it. We were often thrown up in the air, thanks to the uneven track. Balancing on one’s feet was indeed an art which many of us happened to master after a while. We stopped near a house, freshened up, finished our breakfast (courtesy- the villager in the house) and then started on foot towards BRD. A walk of around a kilometer further on the jeep track was a warm up to our body. We couldn’t see much on either side as the track was covered with thick canopy of trees. Blindly we followed the people in the front.
A while later, we were stopped, the organizer, Mr. Shastri asked me to come along as I was the only one who was carrying a camera. The sight in front of my eyes kept me dumbstruck for a while. The scenic beauty of the entire range in front of me was simply outstanding. I just sat there, lost in thoughts until Mr. Shastri touched me to bring me back to the reality. The advantage of a digital camera was fully utilized, I just clicked and clicked. The rest of the team came in and all faces had the same expression as mine initially. We went around for sometime and then headed towards the top of the hill.The ridge on which we were walking had a slope on the left side and a deep cut which goes into the valley on the right side. Standing in the middle of the ridge we turned around to look at the ridge which formed a concave curve. The right end of it resembled a rock wall, almost 90 degree slope. It was a good pitch for rock climbing. We proceeded further and reached the top of the hill little after noon time. The rest of the evening we loitered around waiting for the sunset.
The weather started changing, it started turning chill. The view of the sunset was breathtaking. It was simply superb. Never had I seen such a beautiful sunset till then. With the sky turning entirely red and a glowing sun at the horizon, it was indeed a scene to watch. Till the sun was floating in the sky it took its own time to come down, but as he approached the horizon, he just went down in seconds leaving lasting impressions in our minds. I was starring at the horizon till I found it difficult to locate it. It turned completely dark. With only the dim light provided by the stars we started our fire to cook dinner. The light of the fire reached long distances as it was the only source of light (other than our torches) helping us to walk around. They say that the night life changes entirely in the jungle. All creepy creatures start coming out. It’s a kind of a different world in itself. We all geared up to meet the challenges if any aroused.
We continued to keep the fire lit as that was the only source of light. A team of 3 people were to stay awake for 2 hours as the others slept in order to stay alert, and this was to be done on rotational basis (in army style they call it sentry duty). When my turn came, I was woken up, I didn’t find it difficult as I had hardly caught any sleep. We were feeding the fire with dry wood and was simply looking at the fire. The fire danced around, with each flame trying to do something different. While one flame tried to reach as high as it could, one more tried to reach as wide as it could, another one twisted itself completely and tried to showcase its unique capability. Probably a little music would have made them compete even more effectively. I tried to capture the competition in a frame. I was trying out with different features in my camera. In one of the shots which I took I was taken aback looking at the picture of the fire. I could see a shape of a man dancing. This only proved the uniqueness of the fire.
It was time for dawn, the second part of the purpose of the trek was about to unbound. We all woke up before the sky was lit up with the sunshine.
As the dawn approached, the horizon slowly started resurfacing out of the darkness. It became more and more evident as time passed. The sky in the East started glowing even more than the rest of the sky. It was time for the king to rise. The sky rolled out a red carpet, the birds hailed the king singing in chorus, the wind gave the background music as the trees bowed in uniform. With that the creepy creatures which ruled the world till then went into hiding. We all stood silent and watched the sun rise up from the horizon. The Sun rose with pride filling light all around us. The first sun rays are always the best. We two bowed looking at the scene which unfolded in front of our eyes.
We removed the tents, packed our bags and started our descent. We hardly took time, in an hour or so we were down. We freshened up in the same house where we had been the previous day. A relishing breakfast later, we hoped on in the jeep which was waiting. Amba Theertha was the next stop. An hour of travelling took us there. We all jumped into the water as soon as we saw it. The bath was very refreshing.
From here our next stop was at Horanadu which is a few kilometers away. We visited the temple of Goddess Annapoorneshwari and sought her blessings. Our programme ended there and we set out on our return to BLR.
A while later, we were stopped, the organizer, Mr. Shastri asked me to come along as I was the only one who was carrying a camera. The sight in front of my eyes kept me dumbstruck for a while. The scenic beauty of the entire range in front of me was simply outstanding. I just sat there, lost in thoughts until Mr. Shastri touched me to bring me back to the reality. The advantage of a digital camera was fully utilized, I just clicked and clicked. The rest of the team came in and all faces had the same expression as mine initially. We went around for sometime and then headed towards the top of the hill.The ridge on which we were walking had a slope on the left side and a deep cut which goes into the valley on the right side. Standing in the middle of the ridge we turned around to look at the ridge which formed a concave curve. The right end of it resembled a rock wall, almost 90 degree slope. It was a good pitch for rock climbing. We proceeded further and reached the top of the hill little after noon time. The rest of the evening we loitered around waiting for the sunset.
The weather started changing, it started turning chill. The view of the sunset was breathtaking. It was simply superb. Never had I seen such a beautiful sunset till then. With the sky turning entirely red and a glowing sun at the horizon, it was indeed a scene to watch. Till the sun was floating in the sky it took its own time to come down, but as he approached the horizon, he just went down in seconds leaving lasting impressions in our minds. I was starring at the horizon till I found it difficult to locate it. It turned completely dark. With only the dim light provided by the stars we started our fire to cook dinner. The light of the fire reached long distances as it was the only source of light (other than our torches) helping us to walk around. They say that the night life changes entirely in the jungle. All creepy creatures start coming out. It’s a kind of a different world in itself. We all geared up to meet the challenges if any aroused.We continued to keep the fire lit as that was the only source of light. A team of 3 people were to stay awake for 2 hours as the others slept in order to stay alert, and this was to be done on rotational basis (in army style they call it sentry duty). When my turn came, I was woken up, I didn’t find it difficult as I had hardly caught any sleep. We were feeding the fire with dry wood and was simply looking at the fire. The fire danced around, with each flame trying to do something different. While one flame tried to reach as high as it could, one more tried to reach as wide as it could, another one twisted itself completely and tried to showcase its unique capability. Probably a little music would have made them compete even more effectively. I tried to capture the competition in a frame. I was trying out with different features in my camera. In one of the shots which I took I was taken aback looking at the picture of the fire. I could see a shape of a man dancing. This only proved the uniqueness of the fire.
It was time for dawn, the second part of the purpose of the trek was about to unbound. We all woke up before the sky was lit up with the sunshine.
As the dawn approached, the horizon slowly started resurfacing out of the darkness. It became more and more evident as time passed. The sky in the East started glowing even more than the rest of the sky. It was time for the king to rise. The sky rolled out a red carpet, the birds hailed the king singing in chorus, the wind gave the background music as the trees bowed in uniform. With that the creepy creatures which ruled the world till then went into hiding. We all stood silent and watched the sun rise up from the horizon. The Sun rose with pride filling light all around us. The first sun rays are always the best. We two bowed looking at the scene which unfolded in front of our eyes.We removed the tents, packed our bags and started our descent. We hardly took time, in an hour or so we were down. We freshened up in the same house where we had been the previous day. A relishing breakfast later, we hoped on in the jeep which was waiting. Amba Theertha was the next stop. An hour of travelling took us there. We all jumped into the water as soon as we saw it. The bath was very refreshing.
From here our next stop was at Horanadu which is a few kilometers away. We visited the temple of Goddess Annapoorneshwari and sought her blessings. Our programme ended there and we set out on our return to BLR.
