Attapadi Diaries Part 2

This has been long overdue so let me get down to it.In the evening, during our first day in Attapady,we were all taken to Thunduur ,A hamlet of the Mudugar tribes who live in Attapady.The trek to the hamlet was a lovely one.It started with all of us walking on an extremely narrow concrete path which led to a small bridge over a stream.That led into this grove with really tall trees and plants.The path after that was a beautiful one, A stone path that was above the flowing waters of the waterfall with thick shrubs and plants around it.All through our walk to the hamlet , we could hear the gurgling of the stream beneath us and the loud calls of birds.(If this resembled a Wordsworth or Keats poem , It just goes on to show how beautiful it was and how it inspired me!)

When asked what were our notions about tribals , Most of us vehemently stated that we did not think of them in the stereotypical notions, but all of us sure were bluffing.We were in for a big surprise.The people we met were the warmest ,politest and of the most friendly kind.They did not hesitate to answer any of our questions about their living or culture.We spent our whole evening there and when darkness fell,A huge bonfire was lit and The Mudugars danced and sang for us,giving us a peek into their styles of art.We were on top of a small mountain and the stars above us shone like never before.However the rains had made most paths slippery and I had a small mishap of my own when i slipped down a path and landed straight on my backside.Sigh,Im still being given a hard time for it.Since It was pitch dark by the time we left the hamlets,Our trek back to the bus was a rather interesting one.2 fire torches were all the source of light we had and balancing on all those narrow paths in the dark was not easy though very exciting.My friends were not amused when amidst all the wilderness,balancing on the narrow path with the sounds of the waterfall in the background I exclaimed "This feels just like an episode of LOST".

We went back to the hamlets the next day to complete our projects and interact with them even more.We learnt a lot and spoke to many of them.They chopped a huge Jackfruit right of a tree of theirs , peeled and gave us all pieces to eat and believe me , it was the sweetest Jackfruit I have ever tasted.You simply cannot find ones like those in Chennai.We bade them a rather loud Good-bye with a farewell song we sang much to the amusement of many there.We visited a bridge built on the beautiful kunti river.It was one of the most picturesque spots we saw.Apart from that,we climbed a small hill which was a really beautiful place coupled with the green grass and mountains and stretching for miles around you and the continuous blowing of a strong breeze.We indulged in many activities such as trying to roll down a hill and climbing on top of our bus-activities that kind of had to be stopped after our teacher threatened to disown us.(Lillian Maam you rock anyways for putting up with a bunch of girls like us!)

When we see people living as one with nature,We actually begin to realize what has been happening to the planet where nature has been exploited ruthlessly and we are forcing our dominance.The trip did make all of us think about what we have been doing to contribute to it and we made small silent vows within ourselves to try and do something about it.Experiencing nature in its untouched and very pristine form can change you for the good!