The path for the next four to five km was straight out of a jungle portrait.
My favourite picture, when I was in primary school, was of a
school with a big field, a mountain as the backdrop, a river flowing by,
birds flying above and fields all around.
And that was the setting we
came across when we approached Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shala, a
government higher primary school on our trekking route.
We stopped a local to ask the distance to Kodachadri. He wanted to
impress us and show off his command of English.
"One and a half years," came the answer back promptly. Perhaps he was looking at
Deepak's huge rucksack when he made that slip.
Our first stop was a malyali eatery -- lots of Keralites live around
here as they consider Kodachadri and Kollur sacred. For breakfast we had a
simple Kerala dish called puttu.
Text: Shivaram
Photographs: Deepak Nagarajchary
Also read: On top of Kudremukh
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