“Enne Aara Vilichathu ?  …MASINAGUDI !!!

Hang over remains for the second day after the fun and frolic we enjoyed on 1st and 2nd of December 2012.I shared my feelings with my wife,Rajitha who responded spontaneously and reminded the gracious offer given to us by Mannil Vijayan at the last moment to include us in the tour group.He had done all the ground work for the tour and he stayed away with his wife Raji from the tour programme for obvious reasons.

The family of CEGOWAC consisting of 38 members took off  from Mananchira,Calicut at 7.15 AM toMasinagudi by an A/C Bus.Somasundaran took all pains to arrange the Break Fast items and Balasubramaniam made all other arrangements to get started the  journey on time. Started the journey with Prayer  and Geetha Balu with all her discomforts and body ailments never missed to take the initiative.My seat mate Sreedharan was seen taking video of  nature’s beauty all through the journey.

Dominic and Krishnan took charge of the mike and there after we felt that we were sitting in front of a stage and we consumed time till we reached Irattamozhi.Leaving the vehicle,we walked up to the shore of Chaliyar where sand mining is done. The joy knew no bounds when we shared the Break Fast with the loving family members of CEGOWAC.I never had such experience through out my life.We never wanted to harm the nature and set fired the waste materials then and there.

The vehicle moved again.Vijayakumar tried to auction the plantains he purchased locally,but all were cautious of their purse and the response was minimum.But when the the plantains were offered free,sharing was absolute.Music continued to flow from Dominic,Krishnan,Ramachandran,Geetha,Vijayaraghavan etc. and we never knew that we passed Edavanna,Edavannapara,Nilambur until we reached Sebastian’s sister in law’s house(George’s house) at Manimooly to ease the tension on journey.We graciously enjoyed the reception accorded to us.

The vehicle stopped at Vazhikadavu for checkpost clearances.There after we passed Gudalur and entered Masinagudi around 1.30 PM. All cameras and Videos opened their eyes to capture the beauty of nature and it’s inmates.Meanwhile Green Tax was paid for the vehicle for five years for entering the forest area for the first time.Is it necessary to pay tax for 5 years? We left the matter to the vehicle owner.We covered almost 200 KM to reach Blue Valley Resorts,Masinagudi(04232526244)at 2PM.

Occupied our allotted ,comfortable and independent, cottages after taking sumptuous meals and took rest for some time only to prepare for the next venture.At 5PM Suresh,guide came with 5 jeeps.He gave some tips to keep in mind while going to forest areas .He told us that it was always good to avoid  red dresses.Immediately some of our friends started changing dresses.Sreedharan was bold enough to keep the same over coat,but overturned the dress to get the desired colour.On that journey to jungle area ,we were fortunate to see elephants in hordes,scattered deers,lonely wild cock, peacocks,bison,monkeys and ofcourse no tiger.Most of us were carrying cameras and videos,but we could not do justice to cover all important scenes and spots as it was night.Returned to rooms by 7.30.PM

Instructions flow in galore and dinner time fixed at9PM . Some men wanted to fill the time gap and tried to ward off  the chillness at the cost of Mannil Vijayan..After

dinner all joined for Campfire arranged near the remote bungalow.The merriment and joy

lasted till the fire subsided.and all wished Good Night at 11.20.

As programmed ,all reported at restaurant at 7AM on 2.12.12 and tasted  tea and started trekking by batches to the near by Sri Muruka Temple situated in a hilly area almost 2 KM away from the Cottages.Raju,Guide was seen accompanying some of the batches.The first batch comprising Dominic,Jose and myself reached the top at 8.30AM.From top we could see the the Masinagudi town and the resorts of Mithun Chakravarthy .Prayed to Sri Muruka God for the good of all.The Priest  of the temple informed that the Temple was constructed by Mithun Chakravarthy and now it is maintained by one Shanmugam of Palghat.Some of our friends remained near the Sri Ganapathy Koil down the hill to release their body ailments.Reported back to restaurant at 9.30 to finish the B/F.

Some of us went to the near by Devi Temple  …(name of the place, ,Masinagudi derived from the name of Devi,Masina and Gudi means House/Temple)and prayed.We walked for half an hour to reach the temple and it was informed that lakhs of people visited the temple yearly and Matha Amrithanadamayi and other Saints used to visit the place and stay interior in the forest for weeks.It was really a blessing that we could pray the Goddess of Masinagudi.We were fortunate to see the “Jungle Hut” where Balu and family stayed on their visit  one month back.  We all returned to Cottages to join the next programme.

We all joined for a game introduced by T.C.Jose.He explained all rules and regulations of the game”  Enne Aara Vilichathu”.It was a game giving sharpness to brain and exercise to body.Most of us failed in the game miserably.Only the youngsters could withstand the pressure and Suresh’s family bagged all the prizes.There was little time   left to leave the Resort  after the free veg. meals offered by the Restaurent.It was with heavy heart we left the place by 3 P.M.

The bus started………Initially all were in a drowsy mood.Suddenly,the sight of  elephants and deers on the way aroused all from  our sleepy mood.There after  joy knew no bounds.Pooja,Anjali,Aparna,Darsana,…….and all came out of their shells and joined with ‘our youngsters’,Lakshmi,Meenakshy …..and all and danced to the tune of music and song.Some of ‘ our youngsters’ were seen going back to their childhood by singing ‘twinkle twinkle little stars’.Infact all joined the melee by forgetting their age and position.We achieved the desired results  of the tour and compliments galored from the youngsters to the seniors.

The poet in Dominic came out with a song on Krishnan and Krihnan in his own methods answered in the same coin.By about 5 P.M. we reached Gudalur.Then T.C.Jose came out with a new new subject.This time it was on Varkiey  biscuits and its uniqueness in taste and all.There was some doubt on it’s name-Whether the name is Varkiey or Birky.I verified from PMR Sweets,Gudalur (phone.no.8608714461)and confirmed  that the item is’Cake Varkiey ‘.After taking tea and Varkiey from Gudalur we proceeded to Calicut.

Krishnan came up with a question seeking clarification from all members on Why Ammayi  appam chuttathu only for Marumon? in the song ‘Ammayi chuttathu Marumonikayi…….Vattayipoyi’   The response came from different corners.

T.C.Jose:Rafeek Ahamed composed the song on his own way

Meenakshy: Please leave Ammayi alone.

Sebastian.Balu.Vijayakumar,Laksmi.Geetha and all supported the pavam Ammayi  Krishnan gave further details on the song sung by Markose and composed by Rafeeque Ahamed. Can I share my opinion now?

In my opinion this is a North Malabar song starting with’Ammayi Appam Chuttu’……but Rafeeque Ahamed  gave some colour to the song in his own way.There is no big issue in’ Marumonikkayi’.When we treat a person(here,Marumon) we normally say that the treat is for that person(here,Marumon).But the real beneficiary is all  the inmates of the house(here including Ammayi and family members).So nobody is neglected.’Vattayi poyi’ is southern slang and we Malabarees need not bother about that.The song has created a ‘tharangam’ like ‘Kolavari’Any how let us enjoy the rhythem of the song, and continue the arguments to get the momentum going on.Otherwise,it will have a natural death like ‘Kolavari’

The bus made an abrupt stop at Mananchira at 8.00 P.M and then only we felt that the joyous moments came to a halt.Three Cheers for all the members who made the journey a Memorable One.

M.K.Saseendran,IRS