Run Maadi in the Sunfeast Marathon

Ever since I took part in the Mumbai Marathon in 2006 and failed to complete it, I have been waiting to take part in another marathon and complete the experience. The Sunfeast Marathon which is going to be held in Bangalore this May 18th will give me just the chance and I am so looking forward to it (my body is up in arms and would write something different, given a chance)

To me, the word marathon means something which is going to involve a lot of effort, oohs and aahs and a pain in the butt. The dictionary however defines it as

1. a foot race over a course measuring 26 miles, 385 yd = 42 km, 195 m

2. any long-distance race

3. any contest, event, or the like, of great, or greater than normal, length or duration or requiring exceptional endurance

The Sunfeast World 10K Marathon is being held on May 18th 2008 at Bangalore. It is not a marathon in the true sense as the longest distance is 10 kms. The good part is that only international and national elite athletes can take part in this category so I can always pretend that - 'I wanted to do the 10k run yaar but they wouldn't let me'. For atheletes (ahem) like me, there is a another category called Majja Run which is a distance of 5.7 kms. Couple of things struck me as comical - do the organisers really think we are going to have a lot of majja (fun) while running this distance? Also, the qualifying criteria is 12 years. Man, it is going to be pissing off if a bunch of kids run past me waving and shouting 'Uncle, Uncle'. There is also a Sr. Citizens’ Run and Wheelchair Event. Overall, I am getting good vibes about it as they have a pretty decent website - http://sunfeastworld10k.indiatimes.com/. They have online registration and once I registered they have sent me a couple of mails updating me on the event.

The Mumbai Marathon had an awesome turnout. One of the main attractions was and continues to be the celebrities who come to support the event. Also, the sheer number of people makes you feel great, like you are one big city and all about to do something. There are people stretching, chatting, nervously wondering if they are gonna complete the race, giving each other fundas of what to do and what not to do. I was alone and hence spent my time people watching. The race kicked off and immediately my shoes began giving me problems. The laces kept getting unknotted and I had to constantly stop to tie them up. After about 2 kms, my legs started paining unbearably and I stopped running. After walking about two minutes, I cam upon a pocket of residents cheering on the sidelines. I felt so ashamed that these people were out there cheering each and everybody on and I WAS WALKING!! I started running again but my legs gave out. So after that, whenever I came to a pocket of supporters, I would start running. I saw the same spirit of Bombay folks when the big rains happened in Jul 06. The city people were out there providing food and help, sometimes standing waist high in water. What a city, man!!!

Coming back to the Sunfeast Marathon, the Majja run category starts at 9.45 a.m. The weather has been pretty hot over the past two weeks and that will make it tougher to run. The good thing is part of it will be through Cubbon Park. Most of the info is available on the site but there are a couple of cool things such as
Timing Chip - This is a high-tech internationally recognized timing device. It is a miniature transponder in a specially designed housing. It comes with a refundable deposit of Rs 500 on return. Alas, the Majja Rum guys cannot avail of this

www.marathon-photos.com - these guys stand around and take your photo while running. Later, you can click on the event you raced in and enter your race number. Any photos identified with your race number will be displayed. Woo-hoo.

Best Costume Award - It is being given by Kingfisher. The best individual costume gets Rs 30000 and the best group gets Rs 75000.
For some interesting trivia, please check out http://scmm.indiatimes.com/trivia.html. Be warned, some of the trivia might put you off from ever taking part or at the least, agree that my definition is more apt.

So, I have started training. I have gone 5 times and have done the Majja run distance once. I feel I will complete it this time except for an Act of God. The downside is people have started telling me that I am looking thinner than ever. Jealousy rears its ugly head heh. Who da chicks gonna be looking at eh? Also, Gatorade has run out of stock in my part of town. I think someone is plotting against me. So if you can grab a case and you are in Bangalore, do come and be a part of this. It will be fun, for sure.

Doddamakali - On the banks of River Cauvery

I went to a place called Doddamakali over the weekend. Ever heard of it before this? Nyet, nada, zip, zero. I never knew it existed till I walked into the office of Jungle Lodges & Resorts and I was forced to do the booking in a matter of minutes. Till then, I had only heard of the Bheemeshwari Fishing Camp and was told that two more existed very close to it. Since I have mentioned quick reasoning and decisioning abilities on my resume, I went ahead and booked it and I turned out to be a very good decision (like I can ever go wrong, come on, I mean PLEASE). After I booked it and went on to the net to look up some reviews, I didn't find any well-written reviews. I was pretty apprehensive till I got there so all those fears have inspired me to write this article. So here I am, lighting the lamp for the rest of the world.

Doddamakali is about 130 kms from Bangalore. The car we took was a Maruti Alto and I was pretty worried as I was told that the last 8-10 kms was rough and that I would need to drive very slowly. Also a couple of articles on the net had mentioned that a 4WD was required and that cars could get scratched or damaged. We left at about 8.45 am on Saturday. The route we took was through Maddur on Mysore Road, which is about 80 kms from Bangalore. As usual, the perennial jams took their toll on our tempers and the State Transport buses made it even worse. On nearing Maddur, there was a board displaying 'Maddur Town'. On asking, some friendly locals told us to go 2 kms ahead and then take a left to Malavalli. From then on, there were yellow signboards placed by Karnataka Tourism, which indicated a couple of tourist spots including Doddamakali. The road was a bit bumpy in stretches and we had to slow down to between 20 – 40 kms per hour. I almost ran over a big rat snake and spent a few minutes working out if it could have actually executed a super jump onto the car, till good sense prevailed. It was also one of the three sightings of wildlife we had, the other two being a wild hen and a lone deer. After about 30 kms, there was a board indicating left to Doddamakali and a huge arc displaying ‘Welcome to Shimsa Hydro Electric Project’. From here on, it was a decently tarred road for about 10 kms after which we came to a dead end and a signboard indicating right to Doddamakali. The dirt road began here and continued till the camp, for about 8 – 10 kms. It was downhill all the way, gradually getting steeper and we didn’t need to slow down too much till we came really close to the camp. Here, it started getting pretty steep and very very stony and it was first gear all the way. There are about 10 hairpin bends that we had to negotiate and finally the camp was in sight. The Alto was perfectly capable of handling the road, so unless you are planning to go during the rainy season, please don’t get your Mahindra 4WD out from the estate. The time we reached was just after 12.00 o’clock, a journey time of 3 and half hours. The camp is right on the banks of the river and the first look told me that I had made a good decision, as the place was very picturesque. The river looked very green and peaceful with short sandy banks flanking it on either side. On the other side, there were towering green hills against a backdrop of clear blue skies. The river stretched on, dotted with rocks and ripples.

The staff took our booking slip and guided us to the tents. In all, there are 8 tents, each of which faces the river. It is placed on a wide concrete platform. There is asbestos roofing, which keeps it protected and a toilet cum bathroom at the back. The toilet is clean and functional. It has a shower as well but no hot water facility. The tent has a double bed and a cot. There is a fan and a small electric lamp, powered by the camp generator. Overall, it was very clean.

As we had reached in the afternoon, it was pretty hot in the tent and we headed out for lunch. The food was served buffet style and was decent. Nothing fancy but quite tasty especially the chicken curry. After eating, we headed back to the tent and sat outside on the chairs provided, chatting and reading. A word of caution, please ensure that the doors are kept closed at all times to ensure that spiders and other insects do not get in. We headed back to the dining area for tea and biscuits at around 4 o’clock. After tea, we were urged to get on to the coracle boats. The boats are small and round and look very flimsy. Once you get in, you realize that with all the bodies piled in, the edge of the boat is almost on level with river, which is not reassuring. However, the river was very calm and the boatman very . He took us a kilometer downstream and bought us back. Overall, it was not exciting but something you must do at-least once so you can tell all – ‘Yeah yeah I have done coracle riding’.

Once we got back, there was a group of Wiproites playing volleyball and I joined them. I was glad to know that the old skills were there and we had two good games. By then, it was sundown and I quickly took a shower with what remaining light was there. Again, we sat outside our tent and opened a bottle of wine (no alcohol is served there and you have to carry your own). It became pitch dark and the mosquitoes really started to get bothersome. I had to light up a coil to get rid of them so people, please carry a torch and mosquito repellant to brave the wilds. At around 8 o’clock, the bonfire was lit and we took our place there with a plate of barbequed chicken and onion pakoras. It was very tasty and we stuffed ourselves, which was a good thing as the dinner that followed was just a variation of lunch. After dinner, we went to sleep by about 10.30 pm as there were none of the usual distractions. Thankfully, the generator was on throughout and it was pretty cool. We didn’t sleep too well though, either due to the unusual surroundings or the bites and itches. We were woken up at 6 o’clock in the morning, as we had asked to be a part of the morning trek. After freshening up and a cup of coffee, we headed out just after 7 o’clock. We began a climb of the hills behind the camp, which was pretty steep and took our breath away. I have a suspicion that the camp guys have designed the trek with the toughest part first so that the weakling drop away and don’t hold up the rest. After all, in the jungle, it is survival of the fittest, baby. The trek was essentially over the hill that doubled back to the river and provided some lovely patches of trees as well as great views of the river. We didn’t spot any wildlife though. On reaching the river, we took a break for about 15 minutes and then headed back. On the way back, we crossed a spot where rapids were formed but couldn’t get a close look as we were a bit far and there was tree cover. It took us a total of 90 minutes to get back and boy, was I hungry.

Breakfast was pretty good with a spread of idli, vada, poha, toast and eggs. After we ate our fill, we headed back to the tent and rested a bit. Checkout was scheduled at 11 but we left a bit earlier to beat the traffic back.

We passed a few cars on our way back. As Jungle Lodges also offers day packages, I am not sure if these guys were staying over. I think it would be rather tiring for a day-trip as driving back and forth and negotiating traffic would be pretty straining. However, it is a perfect one-day trip and the place really soothes you. The staff is polite and non-interfering. Nobody was fishing so I can’t really comment on that. I guess Nov and Dec would be a great time to go there, as the weather will be very cool. Of course, August to Feb is season time for fishing.

So if you need a weekend break,
Doddamakali is the route to take,
Make a lot of merry
And swalpa enjoy maadi

Rain Rain - Go Away or Come Again?

What does the rain mean to you? I am instantly reminded of the song 'Raindrops keep falling on my head'. The problem is I don't know the reminder of the lyrics so I have to go na na na na and everyone else gets irritated. Anyway, I like the rain. Not in a 'its good for the earth and the farmers' way but because of the memories associated with it.

One of the best memories I have is of my college campus in the rains. The campus was huge and had abundant greenery. All the roads had huge trees on either side of the road forming a leafy rooftop. When it would rain, the whole place would smell so earthy and rich and it was like the entire campus was cleaned up after the rain paused. Of course, we would be cribbing as we were stuck indoors. That's when Table Tennis matches really became fun as it was the only sport indulged in (gym was an absolute no-no). Also, everyone would linger over tea and snacks yarning away time. At least once during the season, somebody would suggest a campus walk. That meant we would don shorts, t-shirt and rubber slippers and head out to get drenched for two-three hours. It was really refreshing and if we were lucky, we would spot something exciting like a snake or an 'udumbu' (monitor lizard, I think).

All my experiences with rain haven't been very soothing. Worst one - Bombay on 26 July 2005. Man, it was crazy. I was out for nearly eight hours. I left office around 3 o clock with two colleagues. One of them was a girl who stayed close by and we decide to drop her first (who says chivalry is dead?) That took us a good two hours wading through nearly chest high water some of the time. If you know Bombay, you don't want to guess the stuff that must have got mixed up with the water. After reaching her place, she asked us to stay over but we decided to go home. So she fed us and sent us on our way. I have never seen so many people on the streets when it rained. Everyone was walking home with typical Bombay attitude. At times, the force of the water was so strong that we had to hold hands to avoid been swept off. Finally, we reached near my colleague's house and he asked me to stay over. I decided to head home but a little way down and I gave up due to sheer physical exhaustion and went back to his place. There was no water to bathe so I just towelled off, got into some clean clothes and crashed out. Phone lines were down and so I had no idea where my friends and colleagues were or how they were faring. My poor parents were worried sick. I could only give them a message the next night when utility services came back in our part of town. Though I am not in Bombay anymore, whenever it rains there I still shiver. The city bounced back in no time though, within a few days. Go figure.

I think every city has it's own quirks once the rains starts. Goa shuts down completely. The locals are literally hibernating or running on extreme power-down mode. Bombay is messy and bad-tempered. Traffic jams up and trains are a nightmare, where you have to contend with people wearing wet clothes or hauling dripping umbrellas. Everyone is especially intent on reaching home and you better not be in the way. Chennai gets flooded at the drop of a hat. It may rain for half a day but the puddle outside your house will be there for three weeks minimum. The humidity hits the roof and if you are thinking of putting the A/C on to control it, you better have backup because the lines have been knocked down. Bangalore rains are short-lived and fairly peaceful. Unless of course, you are stuck in traffic. You can leave your car, hop into the nearest restaurant, have a bisi beli bath and chai and come back cause you ain't going nowhere, sonny.

So next time its going to rain, try and get home asap. I am sure you noticed how food tastes better when it rains. A cup of coffee, some fried food, a good book and the rains. That is coziness, baby. Another plan is to get together with a few friends, bring out cards or scrabble or whatever and have a great time. There is another plan which I can think about but not mention here as. Whatever it is, enjoy it. Not because 'rain gives life to everything on this planet' but 'since you can't control it might as well enjoy it'.

Now that it's raining more than ever,

Know that we still have each other,

You can stand under my Umbrella,

You can stand under my Umbrella,

(Ella ella eh eh eh)
- Rihanna (Umbrella)