| Sunday, 15 September 2024 |
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Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
(dum dum dum)
“A minute please,” I say.
(DUM DUM DUM)
We’re roughly 400–450 steps up the roughly 1,200 steps that take you to the top of Nandi Hills, located around 60 kilometres from Bengaluru.
Ahead of me is Dharmendra, who’s effortlessly bouncing up the steps, often two at a time. He’s a running coach with the soul of a mountain goat, I’m thinking. It’s around 6.15 am and we’re taking the scenic route up on a Friday morning. There’s no one else on the trail and we’re surrounded by mist and clouds.
(dum dum dum)
The sound of my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest has come down by a few decibels, so we start climbing again.
Bad idea to do this just four days after catching a bad viral flu that knocked you out for a few days, I tell myself.
“Did you know legend has it that Visvesvaraya could climb all the way to the top in 30 minutes, well into his 70s?” says Dharmendra.
(dum dum dum)
It would take us nearly 50 minutes that day. I intend to go back and aim for a better time soon.
Dharmendra and I had made the plan for the climb roughly two months ago, when we met after being introduced via the Fitness Quest edition. For no reason other than just doing it.
The wind is howling so loudly around us that I get a warning notification from my watch when it crosses 100 decibels.
Things ease up after the halfway mark, but we can’t see anything from the top. Because everything is draped in clouds.
On our way back, we have a bit of a “our own Mount Fuji” moment.
It’s festival time for us Malayalis today, and also that one day of the year when Youtube can reliably expect the exact same query from me.
“How to tie a Kerala-style mundu?”
I fail every year. And yet, my ego prevents me from just buying a Velcro mundu.
Thiruvonam Ashamsakal.
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