From my childhood days I have always heard that boys can do anything, can visit any places at any time with whomever they want. But for girls, a huge wall of restrictions prevents them from enjoying their happiness. I found always difficult to adjust with this illiterate old fashioned ideologies. I used to always argue with my elders about this. But they used to state several instances to support their points. Whenever I accompany my cousin brothers for trekking, rock climbing and etc. My family used to ask me to stay out of such activities. As I am a girl I am supposed to be engaged in household activities like stitching, cooking embroidery works and many more. Even though I was born as a girl all my ideologies and thoughts tasted like a boy’s. My mother always used to tell me that I was supposed to born as a boy. But it was god’s mistake that I became a girl. Years passed I secured good scores in my 12th board exams. It was my dream to do graduation somewhere far from my house as I really wanted to enjoy hostel life. But this time also my parents were against my wish. Therefore as I had no other option I was forced to obey their commands. I joined one of the best colleges near my hometown.
Things were going smoothly. Within a couple of months, I made a good friendship with boys and girls in my college. I really enjoyed their company. We used to bunk classes and go for a movie, shopping. On holidays we used to gather in any of our friend’s house. I enjoyed my college life. Two rainy seasons passed and only one more year left. We became so close and to think about departing has become crucial for us. After graduation, we all will be in different places and hence we wanted to make the final year wonderful. Many ideas came into our minds. But one idea struck our hearts. It was nothing but trekking to high ranges. I was thrilled as it was my childhood dream to trek. Before anyone said yes I voluntarily stood and loudly said yes. All the people in the canteen were looking at me. Only that moment I realized that this not the classroom but the college canteen. All smiled at me and quickly grabbed my seat. Rahul my good friend showed me some amusing pictures of prominent hill stations in south India. Considering the cost of transportation and accommodation we decided to explore the hilltops in Kerala as tour packages to the state from Hyderabad are always cheap and intriguing. Kerala is blessed with mesmerizing hill stations such as Meesapulimala, Agasthyarkoodam, Kodanad, Paithalmala and many more. Considering the budget we decided to select Paithalmala. Even though I was very excited I was afraid to present the matter to my family. As I very well knew my parents will never allow me to go trekking I asked my friends to excuse me from the trip. They scolded me and threatened me if I do not join them they will cancel the trip. They showed me some awesome images of trekking and also Paithalmala. I was ignited by the pictures and decided to talk about the trip to them. That evening I presented the matter to my family. I was dam sure they will reject it as usual. My dad called me and said ''it is high time for me to change my thinking. I know you are grown up now and imposing restrictions is of no use, therefore, I am allowing you to go for trekking''. I was so excited that tears rolled from my eyes. I was very happy. That moment itself I messaged this happy news to them.
Within one week we made necessary arrangements for the trip. By Friday noon we started our journey. We friends had a wonderful time on the train. On Saturday morning we reached the Kannur railway station. From there our tour coordinators took us to Paithalmala. On the way to the destination the alluring scenery, cascading waterfalls hitting the rocks and emerald forest lured our hearts. By noon we reached the famous Paithalmala. Our guide took us to the resort for refreshing and followed to it we moved to the base station. On the registration counter we met many travelers hailing from Coimbatore, Surat and Pune came there to explore the hill station by making use of the tour packages to Kerala of Lelagoon Holidays. With an elevation of 4500 ft Paithalmal is the tallest hill in Kannur district. It is also called as ‘Vaithalmaal’. After completing the formalities we got ready for the trek. While availing of the tour packages our guide had informed us to carry warm clothes as it is extremely warm on the top. We followed his instructions and wore warm clothes. We started our trekking we were supposed to cover 6 km to reach the top.
Trekking was not as easy as I thought. Several times I fell down and had minor injuries on hands and legs. But those injuries were fuel to my determination. On our trekking, we covered grasslands and dense forests. Before starting the trekking we had applied salt on our feet to prevent the bites from leeches. And it really helped throughout our trip. Eventually, by mid of the evening, we reached the top of the hill station. It was a pride moment for us especially for me. I asked my friends to capture my beautiful images in the camera so that I could upload it on social media and tell the world that nothing is impossible for girls. On top of the hill, a watchtower is situated. By climbing the tower we caught a magnificent glimpse of nearby localities like Coorg, Koadaku and the spectacular environment of Paithalmala. The warm garments really helped us to withstand the cool temperature. Gradually the mist started to cover the serene environment, indicating us that it is time to say goodbye to the hill and we then returned to the base station. Thereafter we unwind ourselves in the resort. The next day we did sightseeing and by the evening we departed in our hometown. We are really thankful to Lelagoon Holidays for making our trip wonderful and exciting and more above I am very happy for my parents for granting me permission for the trekking.
No comments:
Post a Comment