As I Walked Out One Evening

As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.

And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
'Love has no ending.

'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,

'I'll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.

'The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world.'

But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
'O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.

'In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.

'In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.

'Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver's brilliant bow.

'O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you've missed.

'The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.

'Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.

'O look, look in the mirror?
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.

'O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.'

It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.

- WH Auden

The Week of Diwali

Feels kind to weird to blog after such a long time. Bad time management skills and an overdose of socializing are the culprits. Hope, I'll find the time from now on to blog regularly.

Gone for a trip to Bhadrachalam and Vizag with the family junta.

Night 0: The night journey to Bhadrachalam was without much of a chaos which usually happens with me.

Day 1: Took a cottage in the banks of river Godavari in Bhadrachalam and the day went without much events. Went to the temple and had a good day's sleep.




Day 2: We had booked tickets for a day long boat ride in Godavari. After seeing the film Godavari, it has been one of my dreams to take this ride and had to coax people into it. The fact that I was even willing to get at four in the morning and push the family junta to get ready might help one to gauge the significance of the trip. We had to take a 60km trip at early morning five from Bhadrachalam to a place called Sri RamaGiri (Near Kunavaram) from where one can avail the cruiser services. The cruiser starts at 8 am in the morning and come back at around 4-5pm.


Greenery on either side of the river was amazing. The cruiser goes till a point called Papi Kondalu where the river races through a narrow gorge. It really was a sight to behold.



The ride was really good and I, for most part of the ride, was sitting/standing on the deck (at least for 6-8 hours) and still have a bit of tan on my face to remember that ride. Two days without me screwing up something is a bad omen. I sort of miscalculated the trip time and hence, we couldn't catch the train for Vizag and sort of totally screwed up the original plan. We had to stay at Bhadrachalam that night.

Day 3: Had to catch a bus to Vizag at 8 am and the travel time was supposed to be around 12-13 hours. But almost 80% of the entire trip was through the ghats and bus journey by itself was wonderful. The entire journey took some 16 hours because of some problem with the bus and the last 3-4 hours were the most frustrating part. We reached Vizag at around 11 pm and were done for the day.

Day 4: Again had to wake up at 5 in the morning to catch a passenger (yes!! not a typo) train called Kothavalasa-Kirandul express to go to Araku valley. This train journey is something that must not be missed by anyone who is visiting Araku. It has got some amazing scenaries on the way and the track passes through some 31 tunnels whose average length should be somewhere near 600-700 m.


The remaining time was spent on visiting a museum for the tribes and a waterfall sort of thing and me doing something weird.

The rest of the day was spent in the cottage savaging indian cuisines.

Day 5: One good take away from this trip for me was my sleeping habits. Waking up at 5.30/6 in the morning was really refreshing. FYI, I used to have my breakfast and lunch together. The next stop was at Borra caves. It is one of the largest stalagmite caves in India. The area of the cave spreads over 1 km square and one can find more info here or in wiki.


The next halt was at a place called Tyda. The place is nothing but a jungle with some amazing cottages built by aptdc.

The evening was spent watching the traditional dance performed by the local tribes.

Day 6: Went trekking to a near by waterfall. One had to go to Borra caves and hire a jeep to a place which is some 4-5 km away from the waterfall.


Btw, the name is Kadki waterfalls. After the jeep ride, one has to walk/climb for about 4 kms to reach to the fall. It is highly demanding and should be crossed off the checklist before a person reaches 40.







Day 7 : The journey back to vizag. Went to place called Kailashgiri in vizag very near the beach. It had more to offer for the kids(Nature's cruel way of reminding about aging). Got back to hyd that night. It was one of the more eventful trip that I have been on since the this one about 8 months ago. I had a tan on my face and people at work said I looked different after the trip. Heck!! Who cares? I had a great trip to remember.