Coffee Aroma revisited

At the homestay, where we chose to spent our nite, the weather looked much different from places we travelled through , to reach there. The skies , with stars shining did not show any sign of rain . The moon was shown bright as well with a large circle around it ( was it a sign that rain is near ? or was it the other way round or may be... . The weather however, was cold to our liking. We were at the seperate open(on the sides) dining place of the home stay checking through the dishes for dinner (pork, idi puttu ,rice ....). Sound of crickets and the occasional bark of the dog were the only other sounds we heard apart from our conversation. It was second time for 3 of us and it was much cooler and was drizzling all the time when we were here a year before. I have always noticed that past appeals more to us than the present, and the way present is less liked compared to "yesterdays present". Going back to old times is a great deal of fun, recreating those good moments which was instantaneous then and purposefully done now, probably there is a comfort level of doing things again rather than trying a new one like the way we opted for the same home stay even though it meant an additional 50 Km's of curling bumpy terrain for the fairly new swift and what was going back to coorg yep yet another comfortable repetition. The way our "Must do" list reflected what we did in the past, even though i have never asked whether that made things more enjoyable. It was getting colder, but no rain yet, even though it was in our wish list. The dog barked again against the sound of crickets, from somewhere inside the coffee plant, loud and bold . (doesn't seem to have sited a ghost). We had a discussion about the now past eventful day . The late start (as always) , The breakfast at kadu Mane, Cigarette breaks, Lunch at a "old house converted to a bar restaurant"
The drive through Nagarhole. The silver dagger which cut through us on sighting two elephants and a kid elephy about 50 metres away, blocking our road ( elephants was definitely on our wish list) .The surprise sight of a rock like wild Bison, Deer and peacock as Cherry topping. The road through the lush green deep forest at a maximum of 20 kmph which gave a "road less taken" feeling in itself would have been a great experience to take back home. Just in time to beg for an entrance to iruppu falls and the slight drizzle which did not manage to weaken our spirits to savour the site of milky white chunks of water hitting the slippery rocks beneath. Droplets racing against each other was it ?. Leech was more than a possibility at Iruppu and one of us did get hit but didnt notice in time to have a chance to be panicked. The drive for the next hour was tough with rain poring down at times depriving us off the view of the road completely and the occasional potholes
(which were rather frequent) added up to our worries. The tea break past Kutta was a welcome one and it had the feel of a village side tea shop back in kerala. Too pleased with the neyappam and one of it was asked to be packed to have it back during the drive ahead. By 8:00 PM we were having puffs,cake and coffeee at my cousins place who directed us to the home stay which was another 50 km's away. About 30 minutes past 10 we were at the homestay. We were on a trip to coorg. At the home stay we had, dinner, a cold silent nite and a part of the next morning to spent. I would have loved to sit there, dwelling endlessly in the past . But I have been longing to sleep for the last 32 hours and couldnt resist it anymore. Woke up early in the morning, as i always do when i sleep at a new place (thats something i realised recently). It was much colder outside compared to the night (or may be the warmth of the room made it feel so).I tried to extend my sleep a bit more but failed, salil woke up in a while and as we talked sitting at the verandah, we were served coffee. Jithu joined us in a while and instantly started the Swift vs U-va fight which i listened for the most part putting in a point or two now and then. More coffee was poured in and as we sat there, sunlight gave way to a brief shower and then came back again. too lazy to get going we pushed the breakfast further twice and then finally had it by 11-30 . Soon after it, weall packed up, ready to bid good bye to the homestay.

The first stop was Raja seat at Madikeri, a lovely garden with a breath taking view of the valley beneath. The weather was fine until we had time to pose for a few snaps and savour the view it offered for a while. then it rained forcing us to find a shelter nearby. We had to decide on not going to Abbey falls and Nisarghadhama for want of time. After a cup of hot coffee we headed to Kushal nagar where we would visit the golden temple. Enroute we had a bus splash muddy water into our car at a bad stretch of road where we had to slow down enough for the bus to get past us. Then the shock absorber of the swift was tested as we hit a big enough pothole trying to get past a speeding omni. The next break we took enroute was rite below the sign board which read "Beware of wild elephants Parking of Vehicles Dangerous " . Another stop for lunch and a 5 km drive took us to the Golden Temple. The distant view of the temple with paddy fields in the fore ground had a soothing effect which would inject enough curiosity to keep first timers excited. The way the Tibetan community established themselves at the place and becoming self sufficient by the art works they make and the various things they cultivate. The shopping mall where they sold the artworks were a recent addition and a symbol of modernisation of the community. At the big enough parking lot behind the mall we parked our vehicle hiding it out of the reach of a possibly mis hit (cricket) shot by a group of tourists. Golden temple was golden in every aspect of it. The echoing of the drums combined with the horn like sound which to me was a characteristic of the Tibetan monasteries was soon heard. A cup of hot tea at the mallu tea shop "choice" and we were back to the B'lore highway. The journey back was quiet except for the part were we thought we deviated a bit from the shortest route. At 11:30 we were dining at Empire Restaurant at Koramangala thinking of a nice nights sleep after dinner.