The roads are choc-a-block and we're crawling our way through the illogically confused body of buses, cars, trucks, auto rickshaws, motorcycles and bicycles occupying the road sprinkled with a good number of pedestrians trying to cross through the spaces in between all these. Well, it's hardly an unusual aspect of travelling in Hyderabad that I need to write about. Commuting in Hyderabad is no less than a Herculean task, and if you think, ‘oh, a little patience will surely get me through the traffic to my destination’, hold on! Did I mention that the heat radiated from the black tar roads, the exhaust of vehicles, the smoke filled air and the sun beating down on you will make you feel like you’re being cooked in an oven and leave you with no remembrance of your destination? In fact, it has quite the effect of turning commuters into warriors who are only determined to fight their way out of this obstacle –laden course.
It’s a big surprise, when, just a turn into a small lane off the main road and a small driving distance later I emerge onto this seemingly endless tract of muddy land with patches of green every here and there, rocks of all shapes and sizes jutting out of the land at various heights meeting a sapphire blue sky in the distance. It’s an hour away from sunset and the sun is already low in the horizon. Birds are flying in the calm sky against a backdrop of golden-yellow lined scattered clouds. Who would have thought that you’d get to see such scenic natural beauty in a concrete jungle!
The group is assembled and all ready for the ‘rock walk’. We make our way through a ‘kuchha road’, wild greens bordering us on either side. I can see a large number of millipedes on the ground. And termite hills. There are the ubiquitous ants too, so many that it almost makes you discount their presence. Now we walk over almost flat rock surfaces, now we climb over a few higher ones even as we brush our way through the nettle branches. The ‘walk’ is long and a little arduous but I can see the exhilaration on every group member’s face. We’re surrounded by an awesomely beautiful panorama being revealed by every step we take.
There’s been a cool breeze blowing all the while. It’s sweet and uplifting and energizing. However, the best parts of our ‘walk’ are the mammoth boulders we keep encountering. They’re millions of years old and are absolutely magnificent. I can’t help being in awe of them because they inspire a feeling of regality. Here is an overwhelmingly beautiful form of nature which makes us sit up and truly admire her beauty. Curious, because an odd indoor plant or a smattering of trees in the cityscape hardly evoke any feelings. As a few members of the group are pointing out, some of the rocks are perched one of top of the other in precarious looking formations yet they are perfectly balanced, and what’s more they’ve stood like that for thousand of years.
Walking, climbing, gushing about the landscape together, we are just making our way over a narrow strip of what looks like a bund wall when we see a swatch of pale blue on the ground in the distance. It’s a lake! It almost seems like some secret lake being revealed to us ecstatic bunch of ‘rock walkers’ lapping up every ounce of nature we’re encountering. I wonder at the serenity of the place – there are a few locals by the shore washing their clothes, four buffaloes lounging in the cool water and some children happily flying kites – and the whole scene is tranquil and the quietude induces a soothing calmness of the mind.
After a while of resting amidst the rocks and greenery, some sketching and painting by some members we start to make our way back. The sky has turned a darker shade of blue and the clouds are now glowing orange. We assemble back at our designated meeting point exchanging notes and talking. There are beads of sweat on most of the group members’ foreheads. Everyone’s breathing harder – the kind that always accompanies strenuous physical activity. Only, in a strange way the fast breath is cleansing and invigorating. Keats’s ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’ is running through my mind. I can hardly wait for our next ‘rock walk’ now.
That piece of writing was written by me as a part of an essay for a graduate school application. I like the descriptive imagery I used although I rarely use such a writing style. And, I've described one of 'a few of my favourite things' ala Maria of The Sound of Music. Rockscapes can lift my mood instantly :)
...and here's a picture (clicked by me) of some of what I've been describing...
