Kruthi - The Diamond That Could Never Be Cut!

Fiction # 4 -- Strong Is The New Beautiful!

Anthara was scrolling through her phone gallery, pausing here and there and smiling occasionally. She could close her eyes to reality but not memories. Memories for that matter are very insane and drive you crazy at times. After a good 20 minutes, she stopped at a picture and stared at one distinct picture for a long time. A picture of a couple of weeks fetus in a scan. A picture of a soon to be arriving niece/nephew. That very thought of another member coming into the family is exciting. Meantime, Anthara looked back to the days when Krisha was about to be born and how excited Kruthi, her best friend was. Having a best friend is the best thing ever.That was the coolest thing that befell, only if the storm had not hit their life, she thought.

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Kruthi was a very pretty and innocent girl. She was overly pampered by her parents and extended family. She was an apple of their eye. Kruthi was a lively and joyous girl among her friends. She was known for her impeccable dressing style and the food she carried from home. Kruthi was adored by her friends for the girl she was. Sooner than the family thought she was into her bachelor's degree. Every other family member made sure she was at her utmost ease when she stepped into her college. Although Kruthi was from a very sound and affluent family, her behavior had inherited no influence from the family status. She spent her time with friends from every walk of life.

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For Kruthi was a beautiful girl, she had gotten more alliances than any of her friends did during her college. However, there was no rush until she graduated but her soulmate arrived sooner than expected. For she had a very beautiful soul too she had agreed to marry a business man who was an average looking man. The very first proposal and she agreed to her parents' choice for her. Anthara was happy for Kruthi. For Kruthi always spoke about Varun, her fiancé and what a great guy he was. Every single time Kruthi told everyone how Varun never forgets to make it a point to surprise her, for he lived on another continent across the oceans. The love never found any excuses. It blossomed to be a beautiful flower by the time it was the wedding time.

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Anthara was enjoying every bit of how Kruthi had turned out to be a responsible woman who is just about to be graduated. While everyone else including Anthara was just the college going irresponsible and about to be graduated chicks. Immediately after graduation, Anthara moved out of her city for a job and Kruthi stayed home preparing for her big event.  As Anthara joined a new job, undergoing a training and was writing her exit exams, she couldn't be part of the big day. But she was very excited for Kruthi and made sure her family attended the event.

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After the wedding, Kruthi flew away with Varun. She called up Anthara and told how a great city she was living in and what was it to be married to Varun and living with him and making her new home. Anthara always hoped and prayed that Kruthi is this happy now and forever. Days passed by and months too. Anthara could only look back to the memories of college and could no longer live there. However, she was getting accustomed to new life and new people and same were the cases with Kruthi in the States. They moved on with their lives happily, one was building the career and another a family.

Life seemed like a garden of roses, until one day when the storm hit their life hard. Anthara was on a lunch table with her colleagues when she received a message. The message was from Kruthi that clearly stated - "I'm very sorry to leave this earth rather soon. I cannot live like this anymore. I am very sorry Mom, Dad and you all. Good Bye".  Anthara dropped her phone and started weeping inconsolably. Her colleagues read the message and tried to console her. Her Boss even asked her to leave ASAP and check on her friend. It was only a few days that Kruthi had moved to Bangalore. She was living all alone in a PG in spite of having a big family and house. The depression had made its way into her life.  Anthara made innumerable calls to her, to no avail. She then started calling Kruthi's mother, casually enquired how was everything. Her mother started crying and informed about the message they had received and then there was no conversation with her anymore.

Anthara lost no hope, she hired a vehicle and made her way to the place where Kruthi lived. Her mother gave some idea about the place. And then there is a trouble of searching the PG, where Kruthi lived. She informed her brother and a friend to start and search for her until she reached. The boys went searching in every possible direction, however, there were many Kruthis who lived in every area and the boys were not allowed to enter and check. This made it only impossible to reach on time and make sure things were fine. Anthara called for the (n-1) times, this time the phone was picked and she was only hoping it was Kruthi and none else. The tension that had built up over the last hour was beyond the imagination unless you have gone through it. Kruthi broke down the minute she received the call and only said she doesn't want to live and disconnected the call. This made it even worse to imagine the unimaginable by the time they could trace her. The minute Anthara entered the room, she was almost surrendering herself to the worst.

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Kruthi had surrendered to depression after a whole year of domestic violence. Kruthi's mother-in-law had made her life much worse than she could ever imagine, husband did not stand by her.  On the day of her 1st anniversary, she was in the courtroom for the divorce hearing. Every single day had been a hell to witness. For the girl just out of college, who was always being pampered by family this situation was unacceptable. She went on telling Anthara what had she been put into.
Anthara cried all night after hearing the trauma her friend was into.

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Kruthi was later sent to her husband's place. Things slowly started changing, for good. But however, mother-in-law did not surrender herself to any kind of changes. She once even left the entire house to get packed with LPG. It was only by luck, Varun entered the house from outside and got Kruthi out of the danger. That's when they decided to stay without Varun's mother. Eventually, after a year or so Kruthi conceived with Krisha.

Things were so different all of a sudden, just like the days when Kruthi was just married. Krisha's arrival had changed everything in everyone's life. The first time Kruthi smiled in a while was when Krisha's arrival was confirmed. Anthara could still remember when Kruthi's mother informed her of the news. Everything first that happened because of the baby was special. Every time Anthara spoke to her friend, she was never tired of the little baby's rantings by mumma. Anthara enjoyed hearing Peppa pig more than any other song now. Baby's first snow, her first walk, her little ramps, her first Krishna avatar everything appeared to be so special. Then on there was no looking back for Kruthi.

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Today Krisha is almost 3.5 years old and she knows there is a baby in mumma's tummy. Anthara keeps looking at Krisha's pictures now and then. It's no longer only Krisha now, there is another niece/nephew to arrive soon. Anthara who is now a successful working woman only looks at Kruthi and feels proud of her best friend of how courageous a girl she was. Anthara looks at Kruthi every time and realizes how to bounce back after the storm. Definitely, when the storm rips her into pieces, she had to decide how to put herself back together again. Being tested makes you much stronger than you ever were.

Part of Kruthi's life's mystery is how was she so calm in the storm. It was what she chose to become when she was walking through the fire. Every time a window closed, she ran to the next one and possibly broke open a few doors. As Buddha said, Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. Today Kruthi makes a house of a 3 with the 4th one coming soon and stands much taller than what she was with all the pride. Varun is now a doting father to Krisha and keeps Kruthi very happy.

"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings." says Lao Tzu. All's well that ends well.

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Kruthi: Hello, hey we had a scan and I'm sending you the pictures.
Anthara: Really?? Waiting.
Kruthi: Maasi we miss you.
Anthara: Maasi loves you guys!


Love,
V
(Nutty Wordsmith)

Destination : Kodagu (Coorg)

Monsoon is the season that wide opens its arms to welcome you into Nature's habitat. There are places that owe to its weather all throughout the year. And Kodagu is one such place. An affluent hills stations of Karnataka. It occupies an area of 4,102 square kilometers (1,584 sq. mi) in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka.

I always wanted to visit Kodagu for the past 6-7 years and had never gotten an opportunity. For Kodagu (Coorg) is known as the Scotland of India. If you are a nature lover, then Coorg is the place to be to enjoy the exotic scenery and lush greenery. For this was my yet another summer trip, I chose to write about it only during the rainy season. Early February was not the very pleasant season to enjoy the place and weather as it could have been now.
Kodagu is girdled by Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Mysore districts of Karnataka and Kannur, Wayanad, Kasargod districts of Kerala. The weather and nature are substantially close to that of Wayanad. Kodagu has always been a topic of talk for its coffee, spices, nature and its people. Kodava culture, heritage, and tradition are very rich. Kodavas are the predominant people here.

Coffee Blossoms

In every walk of life, I have had a diverse set of weirdos as my friends. I once read, "Become friends with people who aren't your age. Hang out with people whose first language isn't the same as yours. Get to know someone who doesn't come from your social class. This is how you see the world and this is how you grow." This was a complete check. All the criteria met. All the weirdos in closest vicinity caught. It’s a different feeling to be with a set of people younger than you. You can be extra demanding, extra dominating, you can take undue advantage of being older, you can shhh shhh them and act like a wise person even if you are not.

My Weirdos!

This was one such trip where I could act like old and wise in spite of being young and stupid. My friends call it as an instant plan and a successful one. However, every single time the planned trips were a real flop except for this. We started our way to Kodagu from Bangalore on a Friday night. On a chilled weather night, eight of us went to Kodagu. On our way, we halted for an hour or two at a Café. Had a midnight supper, played Uno and started again. Leaving moderately late from here, we still endured reaching Kodagu by early morning 6'o clock. The most pleasant weather to welcome us. The aroma of coffee that spreads across miles is something that makes your heart dance in joy.

Coffee Beans

We stayed at a Homestay near Kushal Nagar. A single house encompassed by acres of coffee estates on one side and a highway on the other. It looked merely surreal. So close to nature and so close to the heart. After a quick walk around the homestay, we got ready and started our excursion. Food is not a problem here at all. The non-vegetarians get a plentiful amount of varieties to have, while the vegetarians can still manage with a decent and good food.

At the Homestay

Kodagu is packed with ample of tourist attractions like Namdroling Monastery, Abbey Falls, Iruppu Falls, Dubare, Nisargadhama, Talakaveri, Bhagamandala, Tadiandamol peak, Raja seat, Omkareshwara temple, Brahmagiri, Honnammana kere, Nagarahole etc. Depends on every individual as to what is their primary preference to pick up the places, as 2-3 days aren't just enough to cover all the places. We covered a bunch of them and below are from my basket of memories.

Namdroling Monastery, Bylekuppe: It is situated just 6 Kms from the town of Kushal Nagar and around 35 Kms from the Madikeri. It belongs to the Sangha community. The temple is termed "golden" because of the golden work done on every painting. It is yet another beautiful Tibetan monastery. The monastery is presided over by an 18m-high gold-plated Buddha. Children are also taught outside the temple. The paintings inside the temple describe the gods, demons, culture and some of the phases of Buddha's life.

Monastery Entrance

The Big Bell

Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihar

Buddha Vihar

Kids These Days!

Abbey Falls: It is a very beautiful and well-known waterfall in Coorg. It is very close from the city like around 5km. For any waterfall, the monsoon is the season and right now, I feel this falls looks much more beautiful than any other time of the year.

Abbey Falls

Cauvery Nisargadhama: Nisargadhama is a manmade island and it looks beautiful. It takes a small bridge to cross over the Cauvery river flowing to go on the other side of the nisargadhama. There are animals that look calm, there are lush groves of bamboo, sandalwood and teak trees. This also consists of a Deer Park and a Children's park. This has some cottages alongside the Kaveri river.  This is located just 2-3 km away from Kushal Nagar. Yet another tourist pull that cannot be a miss.

Rabbits in the Nisargadhama

Never too tired for a picture

Tiny Bridge across the river

Dubare reserve forest and elephant camp: For if my fate wasn't really a bad one, I could have enjoyed this place much much more. There is an elephant training camp where one can actually go for rides. Also, the elephants come across the other sides of the forest to drink water at the Cauvery banks. I'm sure this looks great now with many more elephants than then. Definitely, a must visit. Pay a few bucks and you get a chance to feed and bathe the elephant along with rides. It is also said that the Mysore Dasara elephants are trained in this camp.

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Dubare

Elephant Camp

There is a river rafting facility available during the heavy outflow of river Kaveri. The place is beyond beautiful. Amazing weather and a beautiful place are all it takes for an escapade into nature.

River Rafting

Shopping: After the day-long visit we stopped at various places for shopping. My pick was the spices. Stop anywhere in Coorg and you find shops for spices. These shops have a lot of spices, medicinal herbs, coffee, honey, homemade chocolates, varieties of Wines and what not. Pick the store wisely, do not just go by the look of them. They cheat you if you don't know the prices already. Check in a couple of places before you make huge purchases. 

The Spices all over the city

                       

Shopping options around the monastery

End of Day 1: Campfire at the home-stay. 

As the sun set on the west, the chirping birds return to the nest. We returned to the home-stay. Just so that you know it was in the middle of estates. Where there is none around except us. Perfect conditions for narrating horror stories. That’s what I do perfectly when given a chance. But even before that, we had a campfire arranged by the home-stay. Celebrated KB Bhai's birthday and then some music.

Campfire

You must be special to me if you can only get me to dance with you!

Before everyone could hit the bed, we played a few rounds of UNO. A few games and when everyone wanted to go to bed, there was this cool breeze. Once a while the sound of a passing by vehicle from the nearby highway and it faded away sooner than expected. That only pulled me into narrating some cool horror stories. The problem raised only after that. The fading away vehicles, the noises from the jungle kept the girls awake. The boys quietly made way to their floor. Overall everyone so afraid of everything, none even dared to walk to the washrooms. Nish stayed awake all night and felt there was someone staring at her all night. And the next morning I had a baby sleep until 09:00 am.

How to narrate a story? May be!

Day 2: Talacauvery

Our first visit for the day was Brahmagiri hills. On the slopes of the Brahmagiri hills is the birthplace of River Cauvery(Kaveri). It is located amidst the lush greenery and on a mountain side. The drive to Talacauvery is a beautiful one. On a morning visit, when it is still not very sunny the clouds are right on top of you. Misty weather with dark fog that makes it worth the visit. Talacauvery has a religious importance with temples in it. There is a worship place where the Cauvery originates, along with temples of Lord Ganesha and Agasthya Muni.

Talacauvery Entrance 

Anytime for a picture

The river originates from here and is worshiped dearly.

Talacauvery as seen from the stairways

After the 300th step, we still smile!

After visiting the temples some of us chose to climb the 300 steps to have a look at the serene beauty while others chose to meditate at the temple shelter. On top of the mountain is the peace all that your inner-self endures enjoying the nature. Slight drizzles would make it even more beautiful.

The serenity! 

The Batman left behind his daughter, may be!

Because there is some inner peace here that heals the soul!

Raja Seat:

Raja's seat or the King's Seat is yet another attraction in Madikeri, Coorg. It is basically a sunset point. A garden with seasonal flowers and fountains. The view from here is amazing. The view offers the breathtaking experience when one watches the towering hills, valleys, and fields amidst which runs the highways. There is a 4-pillared structure which is said to be the place where the Rajas of Coorg sat and watched the glorious sunsets.

Raja's Seat

Just outside the Raja seat is the toy train station. Just remember, you are never too old for some crazy toy train rides. It is okay to be a child at heart. Grab that ticket of 10 bucks and get into the train. For if nothing, at least for the child in you will enjoy the ride.

And the toy train!

Post the day long moving around we went for another round of shopping. This time it was another round of spices fo my mother. All the varieties of spices of a better quality and a better price. A passion fruit flavored wine for Octopus. Chocolates for people at the office. And loads of memories.

You name it and you get it

For there is a Scotland of our own here in our land why crave for another land? The right weather and the right place to go to. Pack your bags and tie the shoe laces. Escape into the serenity. For this time go to Coorg may be with a better plan than ours which was rather very random as it was a last minute escapade. Pick your choice of places and then get set goooo!

With a promise to return with another story!

Love,

V

(Nutty Wordsmith)