A trek it is then...

In a recent telephonic interview which lasted for an hour, I was asked a whole lot of questions, I did quite alright but for these 'few' questions. While being grilled on subject matter is quite usual, being grilled on one's hobbies and interests is a little unusual or quite new for me. 

Interviewer(I): Why does your resume not have any information about your hobbies & interests ?

Me(M): Oh! Well....Seems I missed out.[Should i tell him that my placement officer asked me to reduce my resume from 3 pages to 2 pages]

I: So does that mean, you don't have any interests?

M: I certainly do. Trekking, Playing sports both Outdoor and Indoor, Compering, On-Stage performing etc.

I: Oh! Compering? Hmmm , I will give you a word and in the next 5 seconds, you'll have to speak about it for 30 seconds. And do keep in mind, you are supposed to speak something sensible.

M: Alright.

I: 'Real'

M: Ladies and Gentlemen, A very warm welcome to one and all present here, for a different evening. We are amidst real heroes who fought bravely in the face of crisis during the 26/11 terror attacks. 

A little more Blah Blah... and 30 seconds was over

I: 'Security'

M: Security is the most important aspect of today's environment. Be it internal security, external security, or security from an IT perspective. Country and companies are investing huge amounts of money on aspects of Security. 

Somewhere, guess I said something about cloud computing and he interrupted.

I:Good you know about cloud computing too?

M: [....I thought this was becoming a fun session.] Cloud computing is providing virtual computing resources on the internet by adopting a certain subscription model like pay per usage, or prepaid etc.

I: Is that cloud computing? Anyways, never mind.

M: [Shit, Did i just screw this interview?]

I: You mentioned trekking? Where all have you trekked? Are you a professional trekker?

M: Yes, I'm a pro. Have trekked to Sakleshpur, Kodachadri, and a few other spots in Karnataka. Have you heard of them?

I: I am a certified trekker from BMC. Have been to a lot many treks... 

M: [Was there a need to ask that]

I: So tell me, if you have to reach a destination within a stipulated time, What kind of trekking will you adopt? Like will you cover maximum distance at the beginning, or will you take adequate breaks in your stride.

M: Well it would depend, on the terrain and also the weather Sir.

I: Do you know the types of trekking?

M: Sir, Can i revise my answer to 'I am not a professional trekker, you can call me a hobby-based trekker'!

When I actually said that, that's exactly when I was sure that I had screwed the interview big time.

I: Good, we have clocked 50 mins and we are still going strong!

M: Sure Sir!!! [Oh yea.... My ears have turned black-er and are about to burn off.]

While the later details about the interview are irrelevant, the questions regarding trekking, actually reminded me it's been a while since I trekked and should hatch a plan to undertake one. And thus happened Tadiyandamol near Kakkabe, Coorg. Last friday we left Bangalore for Virajpet, to start our trek to the peak of Tadiyandamol on saturday morning.

In the quest of learning some technicalities, let me try to explain the route first and then the terrain. The route, is a mixture of Tar-road for close to 2.5 - 3 kms from the Kaikamba Bus stop till the Palace of Chikkaveeraraajendra. Basically walking on the ghat section roads.

A little further from the palace after walking for close to 1-2 kms, you'll find the trek track which leads you into the jungle. One could call this a jeep track again till a further distance until where the track is motorable. The terrain, is initially a mixture of steep and normal hilly roads, which I could term as easy, of course the perennial question that haunted us was that of 'how much luggage is judicious luggage on the backpacks'? The terrain seemed difficult due to the hot weather which might have gone upto 36 deg at the most. 60% in to the trek, u'll see quite a bit of jungles amidst valleys, on scaling which the peak seems around the corner.

Though our timing for the trek wasn't great in terms of the weather, the experience sure was worth it. After being fully soaked in our own sweat, we were almost at the top when we saw dark clouds engulfing the peak from both sides along with some breath taking views. 

What we also saw in the process was the formation of rain from the rain clouds which seemed to collide from opposite directions with the peak in the centre. The last climb to the peak was amidst rain drops that seemed like it had needles attached to them. As if each one of them had the mandate to treat us acupuncture therapy. 

Whilst all of us could have completed the ascent to the peak, only 4 of us seemed to find the reason to go the distance in the heavy rain. Although this hampered our photo-op, our minds sure got memories that wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry.

Do let me know as to how you liked the post.