Story by Ankan Mukherjee Rated : 4.0 2016-05-08

It’s been nearly 2 months in Bangalore and no place was explored yet.Please don’t talk about Malls and artificial places to visit. They satisfy pockets not heart. I am a passionate traveler and adventure enthusiast from inside which I definitely feel. Even though never been to hectic or too many treks or trips till date, yet I keep that music booming within me that “Yes, I love places, I love hills, I love to travel and I will keep on travelling”. Someday I will cover many parts of India or if fate favors might be few nations ranging from Hills, Terrains, Coasts, Jungles. Oh ! Love these senses. Commenced Nevertheless there has to be a start. Last Saturday I was reading few travel blogs where I read “You are not born to only work and pay bills, and die”. It is quite a simple trick I thought. When I grow old I will have memories or pieces of writing regarding my experiences in travelling, not the Outlook email or MS Excel sheets. I asked my brother in law which website does he follow because he and Didi is a travel freak. So I was given the idea to check Thrillophilia. I spoke with my roomies and it struck me why don’t we travel for 2 days to any places near Bangalore as Karnataka boasts of mesmerizing and heart melting places be it green hills or grey stoned architectures of history pages. My love is always for hills or nerve wrecking treks. To start my exploration I thought of visiting Coorg. Sadly it did not take place as we were 3 and without 4 we were not able to book. After lots of browsing and incurring Kilobytes, I came across the Trek to Anthargange. The most astonishing factor was it’s gonna be a night trek and Oh!boy it does increase the level of excitement. Just imagine you are walking down the trails and terrains hopping over the rocks with only the torch as the helping hand for light, not the sun. The thought of exploring the granite rocks and the abundant caves under the night sky and stars watching us down was the reason enough to hit “Book”. I couldn’t wait the week to pass by because the maiden night adventure is awaiting. The Night We were to start our journey on friday night. The bus was to pick us at 10.10 PM. I hurried out from office by 7.30 so that I can be there on time without any hullabaloo. The bus was a little late because of the almighty blessing of traffic. Initially I was shocked to see only 3 of us …What !!! Only 3 people trekking at night on the hills of Anthargange. But no, slowly groups started pouring in and finally started the journey through pick ups from Marathalli, Tin Factory and thus entered the expressway all the way to Kolar. It was a pleasant journey with cool breeze swarming my face swiping down the tiredness of my day at work. We reached the place at 1.30 a.m amidst the curves all the way to the hills of Anthargange. When I boarded down the bus, I was surprised to see 55 trekkers to march all the way till the top through the huge boulders staring at us as if they are going to pounce. It seemed at first things would be easy. But, when you have only one little device throwing light to show you the way it makes you feel what it is to trek at night. Still it was an experience which I would like to carry on anytime again. We reached the cave after 1 km of trek and already there were other group finding their way inside the cave. Dhiraj told it’s gonna take at-least an hour and half for them to complete. So we decided to reach our camping point again finding our way through the thorny plants and trees with slippery rocks all over. It was a tough path because of less grip in those rocks, still all the guys managed to reach the plain land safe. We collected all our sticks and decided to light a campfire. Dhiraj our guide planned for a game until we start our most extravagant and thrill penetrating cave exploration. The game was to shout any name in choir so that the opponent team has to work their ears hard to hear the right name and tell to which category it belongs. Funnily enough it was nice way to spend the time and I was ready to explore the cave which was my main interest. I last went into a cave way back in 1997 in Shillong. At that time I was restricted by my mom, but now I am all on my own. The Cave The entry point at the cave was very narrow and pretty tough to fit in. The gap between the two gigantic chunk of rocks were very less and one had to struggle hard with the belly in and out to keep the journey on inside the cave. One had to climb down the rocks, crawl among the small holes between the rocks and then jump at your own risk so that you can balance and don’t fall down to meet your ends. It was an exciting affair as I was doing this for the first time where I had to clear my way out squeezing through a gap of of one arm. It was a brilliant experience. It took our group an hour to complete the journey inside the cave and reach the open air successfully with scratches all over my palms and arm. Once the cave exploration was over we reached our base camp where the others were settled and ready for their turn. trekkers energised trekkers energised, energised trekkers the gap through which we had to pass the gap through which we had to pass The Sunrise After cave exploration, the legs and hands were tired enough to settle own. I took out my sleeping bag and sneaked in. Honestly ! how many times do we get to sleep under the stars with cool breeze whistling in your ears with peace and serenity. I could smell the wet earth and it was a sense of fulfillment. Nothing can be better than this. I was fast asleep amidst other trekkers who were enjoying their own way, some were dancing, some singing in group and few inside sleeping kits like me. At 4 am I was all ready for the sunrise. We climbed the rocks to reach the best spot so that the rising of the giant helium ball can be well captured. I tell you, the only time you will enjoy the sun is when it rises and when it sets and never when it troubles during day time. anthargange Thus with the sunrise and few captures of the vivid moment my first ever visit outside the hustle and bustle of the city ended in good note with an appetizing breakfast at a roadside restaurant chomping and munching the crisp dosas and vadas. By 11 am I was back in my abode to my surprise with no electricity and thereby I returned back to my daily dose of struggle. Hope to return back soon….Till then let me work and earn for my next rendezvous with nature…