If an opportunity knocks your door you must say YES…..
So I said YES to Shilpa, when she requested me to be the
lady faculty in charge for an industrial visit of 6 days.
About the tourists
There were 36
students from ECE-B batch, Jobin Sir and his Family (wife and sweet daughter),
3 drivers and me.
About the Bus
Our bus was a 45 seated luxurious bus with smokers, LEDs,
floor Light effects, Sub woofer stereo speakers, Mike and a plasma TV. A big
bus from ernakulam arranged by Sachin and party which is Comfortable,
economical and classy. Adnan was in charge of music settings. His collections
of music was great.
When we started….
I came from Kannur to Pallikkunnu via Parasuram express and
then to MBC College by auto. We departed from college around 8 p.m on 15
December 2013. Students lighted the crackers to mark the beginning of journey.
From Ponkunnam Jobin Sir and his family also entered the bus.
About the destinations….
Students planned to visit Coorg, Golden temple, Nisargathma
forest, Dubare rafting, Harigini dam, Mysore- zoo, Brindavan gardens, Mysore
Palace, Summer Palace, Triveni Sangamam, Gum Bazz, Bangalore, Lal Bagh, Vidhan
Soudha & Hognekkal. Destinations were planned in such a way that none of
the routes overlapped and had a comfortable journey.
Our first destination
We reached Waynad around 7:30 am, freshed up and went to
Coorg. By 10:30 am we reached Dubare rafting. Here we spent one hour in
boating, swimming and playing. We really got rejuvenated by the cool water of
the lake. It was an amazing start. We also had the opportunity to visit the
guides kitchen, to our surprise they were cooking deer. Unbelievable….
Then we went to bamboo gardens which was 10 Km away from
Dubare rafting. It was wonderful. The journey through hanging bridge was really
amazing. Below the bridge we can clearly see a shawl of fishes. Bamboo gardens
were wonderfully designed, it is a perfect hangout area. Here also there is
spot for bathing in the cool river Cauvery.
Our next destination was
Golden Temple. This was my second visit. It is said that when Tibet was
in war China, some of the Tibetan refugees were given home in India and that
was at Coorg. Here they builted their golden temple and flourished once again. This became one of the
tourist places in Karnataka.
Harigini Dam visit was cancelled as our time schedule lagged
behind the first schedule. We stayed at Hotel Castle at Coorg which is owned by
Malayalees.
Next day we departed to Mysore. St joseph Cathedral was our
first destination, it was a very huge cathedral. Near about 5000 people were
buried under the cathedral and their names were carved on the walls of
cathedral. We stayed here and had camp fire in the hotel premises. All students
danced and rocked that evening. Even I couldn’t resist the vibe of the crowd.
Then we went to Mysore Palace, a very distinguished,
luxurious Palace of Mysore Maharaja. We also visited the Mysore residential
palace- here large collection of family photos of Maharaj was displayed. We
also visited Mysore art gallery. The oil paintings of Ravi Varma was displayed
here along with 1000 other paintings. There was a special clock in which
soldiers marched every hour and ever
drum beat was in tune with each seconds in the clock and also it had a special
chime. We saw this wonderful moment exactly at 3 ‘0’ clock.
We also visited Colonel’s dungeon where British prisoners of
Tippu Sultan were chained. This dungeon is named after a Colonel who died in
the prison. Near to the prison there was River Cauvery and the guide told us
that the prison would drown if a special portal was opened. 2 Km away from here
Tippu Sultan died in his final Battle. We also went to Gum Buzz where Tippu
Sultan built a Tomb as memoir for his Father Hyder Ali. In the same Tomb
several relatives of Tippu Sultan were buried. Near to the Tomb, there is a
mosque. The architecture and the interior of the tomb were marvelous.
We also found different sets made by KSTDC to attract
tourists. The sets include fort, masjid, temple and Tippu Sultan’s Palace. We
then went to Brindhavan Gardens. Priya was companion there. She is a very
interesting person who has lots and lots to say. As I was a very good listener
I enjoyed her company. We also saw the light show in Brindavan garden. It was
not so marvelous as I expected, an okay type show.
We also went to Triveni sangaman, Lal bagh and had wonderful
shopping at Bengaluru. Next day we went to Hognekkal, had boating in the
traditional round water transport J
we spented 3 hours here and tasted the fresh fish fry from the lake which was
made by local people. Also many students including me had their first swimming lessons here… Sachin
and Somy were my trainers. Sheethal became the first to hold her breath under
water for a long time. She even beated the boys. I enjoyed every moment here
We returned to college same day and reached college by 5:30
a.m next day (21 December 2013)
My experience
I was a bit shy to travel with a whole lot of strangers, I
knew only 2 people in the bus. But by the end of the journey all 36 students
became my dear friends. We danced, sang and played. In bus it was full fun,
every student was made to sing and dance and also narrated their experiences.
Somy was the master of ceremony in the bus. He was great at that. No one in the
bus would forget the songs and dialogues of Sijoppan.
Sijjopan said: “1947 mein Jawahar lal Nehru ne bola…..
Sijoppan tum bharat ke veer putra ho”
Sijjoppan sang a wonderful song which won a great applause.
The songs by Steve, Yedhu etc were really great. There are many names to be
mentioned here, they were truly great.
I sang and I danced
and I got many fans. I got to know many students more closely, I was glad I was
a part of this tour. This batch truly rocked and I loved every moment with
them.
