Flyaway Mind

In a place far away from the maddening crowd, set in the tranquil interiors of a quaint little village in Kolar district, enclosed with hills on all sides and dotted with green fields of corn & vegetables.. This is the place where we packed off for an outward bound training program from office. There were no proper roads connecting this place & during the last half an hour of the bumpy, jerky journey , we didn't even come across a single bmtc bus. Muddy tracks led us to the camp where we stayed, in the tents..it seemed to be so far away from civilization...

It was a unique experience living in the tent & having campfire dinner every night. In the nights, we had friendly visitors inside our tent in the forms of beetles & centipedes, who found their way inside our cozy blankets for a nap.. Once in the middle of night, it rained very heavily & our tent got almost flooded.Well, but as usual nothing could hinder my beauty sleep.

In the evenings after the training, we were free birds. And the team was out in fields playing football, cricket & volley ball. I tried my hands at playing cricket. The word 'tried playing' will be an understatement, considering the way I excelled. Because the only time my bat hit the ball, it went for a direct catch :( I guess, it's time to start our all girls team :D One evening, a few of us enthusiasts, decided to explore the wild country side. We trekked to a nearby hill. While trekking up, at a high altitude, we were taken up by surprise when we hit upon a plain, which was segmented into cultivated vegetable fields . Yes, a farm right in the middle of the hill, in the middle of nowhere. I guess it is the concept of 'step-farming'. And when we hit the top, the sun had almost set at the horizon.The panoramic view of the fields & hills was breathtaking in the mellowing evening light. Next day,we went for yet another expedition. We conquered another adjacent hill & hoisted our flag there (ok..not flag, but our office logoed cap propped up on a stick).

And the best part of camping was saved up for the last. It was rafting. We had to build our own rafts using bamboo poles, ropes & lifebuoys. Yes, and we built our dilapidated looking Noah's Ark , by tying the bamboo poles together using figure-of-eight-knot & appropriately fitting the lifebuoys to keep the raft afloat. Phew.. So I mastered the art of tying the figure-of-eight-knot so well that, now I can even tie a ferocious bull safely to the pole. So here is our hard work...