Out of the City

Had a eight day holiday and went to Coimbatore. The weather was inviting. I made two trips, one to the Isha Yoga center near the Velliangiri foothills and another to the Thirumoorthi dam and waterfalls near Udumalpet. The bike ride to and fro was enjoyable and the scenery enroute was simply great. To cap it all, my return to Ahmedabad was through Konkan railways and the greenery all through the route was amazing.

The worst thing that can happen on such trips is to be accompanied by another person who is more enthusiastic about the scenery than you are. My friend Ranga would announce the sighting of each and every rivulet, waterfall and stream on the route from within the train. My another friend killed my appreciation of the scenic beauty near Velliangiri hills by stopping the bike every ten feet to take snaps of far-off waterfalls, farm houses, washerwomen washing clothes, a tractor and an ant hill, to name a few.

Only when I moved out of the city limits did I fully realise the imposing presence of civil administration. The things we take for granted within the city premises seem prominent and self assuring in rural areas. I avoided the highway and took a route through small villages and was surprised to see the governmental yellow-and-black colors adorning Primary Health Centers, veterinary hospitals or some revenue offices in even very small hamlets. It may be the pre-assembly election year symptoms, but road laying was going on in a major way in many small village roads. Very assuring to see the wheels and cogs of the Govt. machinery going around.

Gokulakrishnan S