Vatta & Escape Artist - That's where I want to be

The idea of India is a timeless one and has long enticed travelers looking for something more out of their lives. In the recent past, India along with Nepal was the final destination for the Hippies. It was the land where the trail ran cold, the land you didn’t want to get away from. The last 15 years or so has seen a new kind of travelers (they are not tourists), escape artists of a different kind. If you’re an Israeli, have served your mandatory military tenure, and want to break free from your homeland, eastwards is where you look. They come in droves and have formed a parallel travel circuit of sorts. These are no Taj Mahal gawkers, their destinations are small, unknown villages in the Himalayas, obscure coastal villages around Goa, and Vattakanal, an unheard of village near Kodaikanal. 

-April 2012 Issue:  Fountain Ink magazine 

The mountains & oceans are everything I want to be –beautiful, mysterious & wild. 

Rightly said, I do love mountains and oceans unconditionally; exploring them has a perpetual feel and recharges my soul. This time I packed my bags to an unexplored rural destination- Vattakanal, popularly known as Vatta among backpackers.  It ranks among the top 25 biodiversity hotspots of the world owing to its vast array of rare and endangered flora and fauna. Vatta located in Dindigul District falls on the southern tip of the upper Palani hills in Tamil Nadu. It’s a very small village with less than 200 houses, a mere 7km away from Kodaikanal.

Vatta & the Valley

Thanks to that Fountain Ink article and tales of Vatta from those escape artists in Goa, Gokarna & Himachal Pradesh, a curiosity arose in me. If I were not exaggerating it a bit too much, I would share my loathing for Vatta as any seasoned addict does for his daily dose. This was my dose of exploration, constant yet exciting and I was eagerly waiting to have a perfect solitude break in Vatta. The plan got materialised very recently. Ticket to Kodai booked, got my back pack ready and started my trip from Chennai. I reached Kodai early in the morning; the weather was cold with temperature ranging around 10 deg centigrade. Hardly could I find people in the bus stand, the early hour and  non-tourist season to credit. I calculated a little about the 7 kms journey to Vatta and compared it with my treadmill jogging routine of 3 kms with in 25 minutes, I figured I could leisurely cover the 7 kms by walk. The Google maps had my job cut out as to getting the precise approach route to Vattakanal via Kodaikanal city. 

Serene & tranquil peaks

I was stopped in the police check post outside Vatta for an extensive interrogation.  The police men in duty checked my identity card, searched my back pack looking for shrooms, cannabis and liquors and followed it up by frisking.  They could not find any substance and instead found three books lying in my bag. The duty officer asked me the purpose of visit and in reply I outlined my plan, spending some days alone here in Vatta whilst completing these books. The officer gave a strange look and granted permission to enter the abode of clouds. The road to Vatta village was scenic in the mountainous terrain under the shades of canopy beside the deep valley with white fog covering the mountains. I was greeted by giant Indian guars outside the village; having enough wild-life experience from my native village I didn’t bother these majestic creatures and they extended the same courtesy: live and let live. 

Wilderness & sunlight

As I stepped into the village, it struck to me at once; I hadn’t made any arrangements for lodging here. Even still, I was certain, of finding a decent place, after all these escape artists wouldn’t have made it out in the wilderness, at least not all of them. I was in a dilemma for if I hadn’t found a roof over my head I was completely fine sleeping under the sky with stars and clouds to blanket me and a bon-fire as my night companion to the freezing cold.  There was something romantic about it, to be experienced not merely thought of mind you! With these thoughts brimming my mind, I marched forward through the deserted road of the village. 

Astounding view

I was amazed and stood astounded to the beauty of Vatta offering a mesmerising view of the circular valley (Vatta in Tamil means circle) surrounded by lush green mountains one after another. In the distance, rough jagged peaks rose above the midst of morning white clouds and the glittering sun rays piercing through only to leave me in awe. One, if not the most peaceful mornings I’ve lived through; I was fresh and rejuvenated now.

View from my room

As I navigated around the village (still in awe; mouth tightly closed now), an old man opened his tea shop for the day. I approached him to enquire about the remote possibility of acquiring an accommodation. He was very welcoming, introduced himself as Mr Antony and suggested some options including his house which has a provision of one single room to rent. I was impressed by his humble nature and made up my mind to reside there; the sleepover in the wilderness would have to wait. We climbed a few hundred meters into the village to reach his house. 

Picturesque location

The small house located in a picturesque location has the complete view of the village and valley. It has two portions – one in which Mr Antony resides with his family, another portion was divided into two separate rooms for rent. I chose the one in the front, which was basic; a cot with mattress, rugs, tube light, and glass window with eye-catching view of garden and magnificent view of the mountains complimenting it. The garden was beautifully landscaped with a huge variety of ornamental plants blooming with colorful flowers. The tin roof of the house had a plan of rain water harvesting system connected to plastic drums. I was informed that due to deficit monsoons the preceding year the village now suffered acute scarcity of water. With cool weather around, I pledged to conserve some water with the faith of a Park Avenue deodorant in my backpack. 

Blooms & Clicks in Vatta

I spent the rest of the morning reading in the beautiful garden, Sadhgurus book on Inner Engineering. By late noon, I went down to the village for lunch. I could see some foreigners roaming in the streets with typical bizarre dresses, tattoos and hair-styles. During my lunch, I happen to network with a bunch of guys from Bangalore who came on a road trip to Vatta to explore some fine shrooms so as to quench their thirst for euphoric and psychedelic experiences.  Our discussions were pretty interesting filled with exciting topics. (Guess the topic, young adults happen to discuss on a vacation) and fun-filled laughter’s;  an American couple joined too amid our conversation.  That’s what amazed me of Vatta – you befriend strangers easily and by the end of the day I was engrossed in their gang. The shroom trail however ended up in vain owing to strict police vigilance and monitoring.  

My new gang in Vatta

I went into the forest to collect some dry woods so as to light a small fire to keep myself warm in the chilling night. I went to Kodaikanal town along with my newly acquainted company to fetch some Russian water for keeping our bodies warm. The night was set in their resort with few shots of fine distilled Russian water. I can say these guys have plan-B in handy if plan-A flops. One guy pulled out a packet from his backpack and started loading and rolling the strained substances in a hemp paper with a crutch filter on one end. Rolling joints is an art and the guy gave us a fresher tutorial on rolling this unique mix of functional origami. All our eyes popped out; eagerly waiting to fag the mix to get high. The joints were lit, we took a hard drag, and I looked deep into the silhouetted night sky and mountains. The speakers boomed with some good collection of psychedelic & Shiva freak music adding to the trance. I bid adieu to the rest of Shiva freaks by 01.45 AM hoping I may catch a good night’s sleep before getting up to witness yet another magical sunrise.  Midnight strolling in Vatta is a unique experience with temperatures dipping to as low as 5 degrees; the nocturnal animals and dogs too scrambled for  shelters in warm hideouts. The mist and fog wrapped the entire valley; cold breeze now caressing through my ears and neck. I was the lone soul standing in the middle of Village having a glimpse of the valley in the night.

Bon-fire

I woke up early to practice my routine yoga and meditation out in the garden. The light in the nearby room gleamed in a little while. A guy in mid-30 came out of the room and wished me for the day. Our introductions were made in the midst of  making a fire in the open space just adjacent to the garden.  David from Germany is a Qigong / Qi gong / Chi Kung or Chi Gung master now on a spiritual trail exploring sacred Indian thoughts. My routine yoga and meditation session lasted for an hour in the tranquil atmosphere. The meditation techniques from Sadhguru were quite powerful; I started to feel the changes within me after few months of practice. Hence I made this as a routine to charge my body, mind and soul alike. 

Spectacular sunrise

Sunrise in Vatta is a spectacular phenomenon never to be missed. I went to the resort to wake up them Bangalore folks with a  sunrise trek in mind. The sky started to cheer up with golden orange hues in the east. The white clouds come floating from beneath the mountains to add more color to the sunrise sky. A beam of red started to spread across the horizon, implicating the sun was about to come up. The valleys were shrouded in fog and as the sun came up, it cast a warm, golden glow over the mountain tops and valley before us. It was a very spiritual moment and so amazing that I may never forget it.  We sat down for a special black coffee, special because it was brewed with herbs and freshly grounded coffee beans. It's aroma and taste in a picturesque location was perfect shooter to start my day. The guys then left Vatta and continued their trip in Kodai. 

I now returned to my room only to  read yet another book; I wasn’t wasting any second of my dream tour resting any more than my body squealed for, not for the world I was not. The book was titled Most and More authored by Mahatria Ra. It was a gift to me by a close friend / buddy Chandru from Chennai. The book started to enthrall me as I flipped through the introductory pages & infinitheism. Few hours later David; interrupted me for a short break. We head down to a small eatery in the village for our mid day snack. We settled with a local dish made from avocado grown in Kodai hills. Intrigued by the concept of Chi Gung, I was all ears to know more about it. David gave me a brief intro about it (synonym with movement meditation). It’s a traditional Chinese meditation technique consisting of integrating graceful postures, breathing techniques and focused intentions. Impressed by the concept, I requested him for demo session on Chi Gung; which he readily agreed upon.  

David practising Chi Gung

It was similar to a slow rhythmic dance with  gracious arm movements in random fashion with eyes closed. All these movements are integrated with synchronized breathing pattern along with conscious alignments & activation of basic seven chakras in our body.  The one hour session of Chi Gung was a different kind of bliss for me. I decided to trek the nearby attractions in Vatta; Dolphin Nose & Echo Point recommended in lonely planet.  The path was downhill, lined with a canopy of evergreen vegetation's, mostly eucalyptus, pear, pine, cypress, silver oak, acacia, mimosa, rhododendron, and magnolia—that inhabit the green gorges.  Giant trees stood tall touching the sky on either side, the roots of massive trees were seen on the terrains structured like a natural staircase.  

Dolphin Nose

Dolphin's Nose provided a panoramic view of the picturesque landscape of the surrounding valley and mountains at an elevation of 6600 feet above the mean sea level. It’s made of flat rocks jutting out of the mountain, overlooking the deep cliff, with its shape akin to the nose of a dolphin. I went a little further from dolphin nose crossing steep rocks to reach echo point. The echo point offered breath-taking view of the valley.  The rocks in echo point are very risky just like the sets of much viewed game show fear factor as they happen to be situated in the edges of the deep valley. One needs an unusual set of skills backed up by a brave heart  manoeuvring his way to reach the edge of the rock. There was no second thought in my mind; I decided to reach the edge to have a solitary time, even though I didn’t posses those unusual skills. Still, Within few minutes of trembling steps, I was there standing at the edge facing the wilderness, much bolder now.  It was “Sky above, Earth below & Peace within’ moment for me. I realised, mountains provide a powerful solace and with the addition of winds blowing their own freshness a sort of storm of silent energy awakens in our souls. I spent the rest of the day, lying on the rock only to day-dream of life. Maybe that’s why people call me crazy.

By the time I went back, David was already setting the fire for the night as the misty clouds now surpassed over our heads. The evening was freezing because of sudden change in the weather. We stayed in our rooms with David  writing his journal entry as I was engrossed in Mahatria Ra.  Mr Antony brought us homemade supper –rice and sambar with pickles.  I retired to bed early to compensate the previous night’s trance sleep (age too took it's toll on me, something I would never admit to but came to terms with all the same)

The next day; David and I happened to wake up just about the same time, to start our day. The same routine of fire and meditation followed. In addition to my Isha meditation, I tried Chi Gung for 30 minutes. I felt that I was performing solo romantic ballet in the background of a beautiful weather. David too was devoted to his meditation and  practised Chi Gung for a solid 3 hours.  

Black Coffee - Morning shooter

Centrally located Altaf café is quite popular for three things among the escape artists like myself – authentic world cuisines with special serving in Italian & Middle-Eastern dishes, amazing view of the valley and free wi-fi (a necessity these days). My smart phone was literally silent in Vatta with no reception of mobile signals. The wi-fi gave life to my mobile; whatsapp texts started flooding in as emergency medical reports. I put my mobile on silent mode and started relishing Sabich - Israeli breakfast with black coffee. The café plays a variety of non-stop music and has also a small library for book-lovers. I spent the rest of the day in the green meadow right in front of Altaf café. The gaurs, friendly-dogs, domestic cows, buffaloes and people passed me in the meadow. I however, was lost completely in my own-world-of-books-dreams-and-imaginations. 

The crazy guy & escape artist

Vatta has its share of early risers, escape artists and also the party creatures of night. Most of the houses in Vatta are rented to Israelis who throng India for a mythical detox after their mandatory military service in the Israeli Defense Forces. Unlike the other tourists who spend a lot of their time on sight-seeing and trekking, most Israelis prefer to stay in their temporary houses spending their time more leisurely. Life is a festival of indolence for them while in India. 

There was something magical, something mystical, a little known, a lot unknown – I am not sure what was the hinge – was it the magic of the Vatta – was it a perfect combination of time, place and people which had me explore yet another escape routes in India. I hope you do too!

Credits: 

Saif - Budding doctor & recent ramp model for his brilliant editing of my scrap

Chandru - Gifting me  Most & More

David - Chi-Gung sessions

Bangalore pals - The short but wonderful company