So what is it special abt Kodaikanal to brag about ?
It was 7 of us (school friends) in this car, the 8th one was the driver. And the car started off to k o d a i k a n a l.
If u don't start a good conversation soon, someone will start asking "how is your projects going in ur office" ? any salary hikes in ur sector ? all of us were over 25 years of age.
I had an 8gb pen drive with random fav song collections , when everything goes bad , it can still be a good trip if u have a good music collection. i thought of using the pen drive after going some distance , till then the driver had a pen drive and his song collection was playing.
It was 7 of us (school friends) in this car, the 8th one was the driver. And the car started off to k o d a i k a n a l.
If u don't start a good conversation soon, someone will start asking "how is your projects going in ur office" ? any salary hikes in ur sector ? all of us were over 25 years of age.
I had an 8gb pen drive with random fav song collections , when everything goes bad , it can still be a good trip if u have a good music collection. i thought of using the pen drive after going some distance , till then the driver had a pen drive and his song collection was playing.
Then someone opened a packet of gooseberries ,
we met the other car ( 5 more friends ARE ALSO JOINING) somewhere between vellalore and singanallur, we exchanged signals to stop somewhere nearby to have a few words. 😉
we met the other car ( 5 more friends ARE ALSO JOINING) somewhere between vellalore and singanallur, we exchanged signals to stop somewhere nearby to have a few words. 😉
CAR 1 (7 of us+ driver)
CAR 2 ( prabhu + his 4 other friends)
I wanted to stop near the wind mills on the way. Arun did not want to waste any time .. so we stopped immediately on the road side to elevate our mood with some fresh air 😉. The driver was saying "feel free to enjoy", I'm ok with anything.
CAR 2 ( prabhu + his 4 other friends)
I wanted to stop near the wind mills on the way. Arun did not want to waste any time .. so we stopped immediately on the road side to elevate our mood with some fresh air 😉. The driver was saying "feel free to enjoy", I'm ok with anything.
We had "coffee" (slang word for something I cant mention directly) got Chinese eyes, all our faces were smiling and we had the gear changed in our heads, we know for sure now the trip has really started ..
I asked the driver to remove his pen drive and connect mine. We waited for the songs to flow in.. the pen drive was not readable . I couldn't understand what was wrong, The others dint have time to bring their music and the only pen drive we had is not fucking readable..
I convinced myself, songs doesn't matter but my left brain was constantly planning to get down at some internet browsing center and find what's wrong with my pen drive. May be the songs are inside a sub folder and the device couldn't read it. Prasath was feeling weird, wiping sweat from his face and neck. He said it feels like he is going alone somewhere.
We stopped again somewhere for a small break, the conversations were crazy and siddiq confirmed that all of us where in some other dimension.
The trip continues . . .
we started going up the mountain path , temperature starts to drop . It was the month of may . . . so we cant expect Himalayan climate but anything is better than the Chennai climate .
The other car, (red swift) was coming behind us . quietly following .
Me and madhu were in the back , perfectly accommodated . I forgot to say . . we borrowed a decent music collection from the other car . They had two pen drives full of songs.
We were excited about clicking photos but we had a schedule to keep up so we kept moving .
Our plan was to reach a place called perumal peak at 2pm .. climb up and come back before 5pm , then kodaikanal is just half an hour from there , we could reach before 6 .
But it started raining a little and we were in doubt if we would make it or not .
Then we stopped at a place for tea , i like these small tea shops in such nice locations .
We were not planning to visit the popular tourist attractions in kodai like the Guna caves , pillar rock , dolphin nose , boating in the lake , cycling around , and the flower show in the park etc, our main motive was to avoid the crowd . it was the summer holidays.
The trip continues . . .
we started going up the mountain path , temperature starts to drop . It was the month of may . . . so we cant expect Himalayan climate but anything is better than the Chennai climate .
The other car, (red swift) was coming behind us . quietly following .
Me and madhu were in the back , perfectly accommodated . I forgot to say . . we borrowed a decent music collection from the other car . They had two pen drives full of songs.
We were excited about clicking photos but we had a schedule to keep up so we kept moving .
Our plan was to reach a place called perumal peak at 2pm .. climb up and come back before 5pm , then kodaikanal is just half an hour from there , we could reach before 6 .
But it started raining a little and we were in doubt if we would make it or not .
Then we stopped at a place for tea , i like these small tea shops in such nice locations .
We were not planning to visit the popular tourist attractions in kodai like the Guna caves , pillar rock , dolphin nose , boating in the lake , cycling around , and the flower show in the park etc, our main motive was to avoid the crowd . it was the summer holidays.
It was the first day of the flower show in kodaikanal . After having tea , we quickly continued the travel , we decided to avoid the perumal peak climb , trekking on the first day will burn all energy and moreover when we enquired an officer about climbing it , he said it is not allowed these days and i have to acquire permission from the DFO office which is 10 kms away into the town .
it was 3pm when we reached kodaikanal . we parked the cars and walked down to a tibetian restaurant .
This was run by a tibetian lady , the menu was interesting . we ordered a feast.
The area we stayed was the most interesting aspect of the trip . It was arranged by Dinesh and he had it done perfectly .We stayed in vattakanal" which is a hotspot for the hippies all around the world , especially the Israelis.
you should definitely read this blog to know the legend of vattakanal
The hippies movement of the 70's had so many people hitch hiking and travelling to Goa for spirituality and marijuana . Goa was a paradise in the 70's and its not bad even now.
we started moving to vattaikanal to the place of stay, the owner of the place met us on the way and hopped into our car . we stopped at the la salette church around 5 in the evening.
The owner was friendly and i asked him about trekking in that area , he pointed his finger at the valley and said the place is all yours , trek wherever u want .
I had a print out of a trekking route in that area, It was supposed to be a 2 hrs trek.
Our stay was a 20 mins ride away from the church. We were excited , prabhu and his friends preferred the ground floor of the guest house and some of us took the top floor.
Ours had a balcony and was painted with cool pics of mushrooms , weed and some scribblings in israeli letters . Some hippies must have stayed in there before us .
it was 3pm when we reached kodaikanal . we parked the cars and walked down to a tibetian restaurant .
This was run by a tibetian lady , the menu was interesting . we ordered a feast.
The area we stayed was the most interesting aspect of the trip . It was arranged by Dinesh and he had it done perfectly .We stayed in vattakanal" which is a hotspot for the hippies all around the world , especially the Israelis.
you should definitely read this blog to know the legend of vattakanal
The hippies movement of the 70's had so many people hitch hiking and travelling to Goa for spirituality and marijuana . Goa was a paradise in the 70's and its not bad even now.
we started moving to vattaikanal to the place of stay, the owner of the place met us on the way and hopped into our car . we stopped at the la salette church around 5 in the evening.
The owner was friendly and i asked him about trekking in that area , he pointed his finger at the valley and said the place is all yours , trek wherever u want .
I had a print out of a trekking route in that area, It was supposed to be a 2 hrs trek.
Our stay was a 20 mins ride away from the church. We were excited , prabhu and his friends preferred the ground floor of the guest house and some of us took the top floor.
Ours had a balcony and was painted with cool pics of mushrooms , weed and some scribblings in israeli letters . Some hippies must have stayed in there before us .
The place was on a steep slope and we were curious whats its like in the top of the hill .We dint wait for anything , we had a coffee 😉 and planned to have the next coffee 😉at the top of the hill. The time was 5:30 and the light was going down ... some of us. . . were busy unpacking their things which reminded me of the George Carlin's Stuff comedy
It was a tough climb actually . . . wet and slippery. I was thinking if this was tough , then how tough the perumal peak climb would have been if we had tried it in the afternoon. It was surprising to find houses n small huts on our climb up . We found it hard to climb for one day but the people who live with children on top of this hill must be climbing up and down daily . We reached a green pasture on the hill , it was finally the top and there was a house there too . We dint want to disturb anyone who lives there , we had climbed for at least half an hour so we sat down calmly . Time for another coffee, the last time i did this was in Goa , me and my friend had coffee and climbed a hill near anjuna beach , reached the top and had another coffee 😉 , the Heavenly feeling .
Here in this vattakanal hill .. we already felt the trip was worth it . I asked the people in the house how they live in such a place .. they said " what can we do , we can stay only where they give us a place " i dint know whether to feel pity or to be jealous . such a beautiful place but it had its practical disadvantages .
after that .. a miracle happened , well..im exaggerating it but how many times in life do we see something like this . the mist was rising up from down the hill ... it was like children returning home from school , the mist was coming home to the clouds.
The mist was closing the view and we knew it was high time we get down to the cottagem some of our friends who were busy unpacking their things back at the cottage had decided to join us. They were shouting from somewhere .. we are coming up!! , we were shouting , dont come , we are coming down !!! , then we met in a terrace land full of beautiful flowers and ganged up there . now what do we do ? another coffee 😉
It got dark . The rest of the way down .. there was no light for our eyes to do its thing , and we reached the cottage by merely predicting the route .
We had previously ordered Chappathi and curry for the night and were waiting for it .We had the refreshments acquired 😉 on the way in the afternoon as we knew there would be no shops around the place where we stay.
I was telling siddiq about the area that there are many house parties going on , even in the guest house right beside us, there are some hippies staying and they are definitely having a psychedelic party .
Madhu was admiring the light coming from the roof of a hut below .and he was saying .. did you see that , did u see that , chanceless , that was just a roof actually .Time went by .. Everyone was in the mood , it was a laughter riot and suddenly we heard something in the bush , i realised it must be siddiq falling down into the bush , we dint see him for sometime and siddiq came running from the dark and told us he saw someone through the window in the guest house above us . We laughed again .. more than ever , , we dint expect he will go chk out some house like that , on what intentions i dont know but he was the comedy of that night . chappathi's came , we ate.
We were sleepy but walked in search of tea shop that night .. there is nothing for a mile up the road. It was after 10pm, only God knows how much i love walking in a new place in the dark searching for something . Siddiq jumped over a gate and knocked a door , he gave a postive sign( Evano light poatrukkaan , tea irukku . He told us to come around , it was the back door of a tea shop , it was closing time and we were lucky to have a ginger tea at that hour . we slept around 11pm and we had a trekking to do the next morning . someone even took a photo of me sleeping which usually doesn't happen as I'm always the last guy to sleep.
Day 2
Sabha's prime motive of the trip was to trek. I promised him we would start in the morning as early as possible for the trek and he had set the alarm for 5:30 , he woke us up the nxt morning and we were ready before 6 :30 for the trekking . Prahu's friends in the ground floor were not in a condition to be disturbed . We were expecting a waterfall in the trekking route, i had the print outs of the trek route and we went in car till a place called crockers walk . We've heard the sunrise will be amazing in crockers walk but the sun was already up. Crockers walk was a common tourist spot and the flower show was starting that day in Bryant park which was just opposite to crockers walk. So we were sure there will be massive crowd after 8am , There was a nice bread omelette shop nearby and all of us got busy for the next 15 mins .
(The insects dancing like the brownian motion of particles in the beautiful sun beam).
Then we bought tickets at the crockers walk entry gate and the whole place was explored completely in 15 mins . awesome place .. the sunrise would have been really great if we had seen it from here.
Then we reached the church we saw yesterday and asked a local shop keeper where the TV tower was .
The TV tower is where the trek begins in my print out . Then we walked till the TV tower and from there we dint see any trekking routes, already the boys started doubting my plan and the print outs but all of us were enjoying the walk. We were worried for the other boys who were sleeping back in the cottage , they definitely missed this ..
Our idea was to have a coffee after the trek gets into full Swing , Arun's idea was to have the coffee first to and get the trek into full swing . whatever .., we shifted to Bob Marley vibes soon enough.
Spiritually speaking .. Man has three centers in the body . head center , heart center and navel center .
People who rely on thinking , contemplating , calculating , planning , rationalising and judging are at their head center .
People who are more into Feeling , empathising , connecting with nature , feeling of oneness , equality , kindness , instincts , hope , belief n faith ..are heart centered .
Being in the source , knowing life is an illusion , seeing beyond maya , being in control of our thoughts and mind , being blissful out of nothing , being enlightened ... this is navel center .
when we are born .. we are in the navel center , that is our source but our sociocultural life teaches us over thinking and separates us from the source, makes us selfish and to always judge between right and wrong. we movefrom navel to head center . Most of us cant even empathise with the poor and the suppressed and thus we are also far from the heart center .
I learned from Osho that this is why we feel so much alive and blissful when we are on a trip , the moment we reach the top of the hill .. we outstretch our hands and take a deep breath , we break from the routine mechanical life , from cell phones and office files .
Actually this special feeling , the bliss comes from the source withn us . not from the climate or the mountain . The deep breath takes the fresh air to our navel and we feel our source .
I was taking deep breaths and feeling wonderful , in cities we dont know if we are breathing or not , air keeps circulating in the surface of the wind pipe and 3/4 of the lungs never see air , even if we breathe deeply ..the pollution could be harmful .
The wonderful walk took us to a place where a small path seperated from the main path and it went straight down into the forest , so we found it, the trekking path.
It took us to the small river called pambar . two or three women n children were taking bath, We crossed them and walked along the river , a beautiful trek route guided us inside the forest . The mud path was slippery at few places but it was so beautiful .. we walked watching the river running along our way.
The time was around 8 or 8:30 am and we reached a fantastic location , it was a small water fall ,The vattakanal falls was at its lowest water level which made it possible for trekking down the rocks of the river .
(All of the trekking photos from the camera got lost while transferring the files but luckily we had a few taken in our mobile phones.)
Then we moved to a big rock nearby to dry the wet clothes and get dressed. By the time ..
We all slowly climbed down and the trekking route was becoming tougher and tougher as we moved down . Then we reached another amazing spot , there was a cave and light was coming inside it through a small hole .
Some Israeli guys were steadily climbing up with their backpacks and sticks in hand. I was wondering what their plan was... and a little further down .. we knew there is no route , some of us were convinced of going back.
Prabhu was feeling adventurous , he said we have to find our own way .
Then at a specific place everyone settled their mind ... ok this is it , we will get lost if we go any further. I was telling them the route will take us to dolphin nose and from there were can go to our cottage easily . That was the plan but even i dint have hope that we will see dolphin nose in our trek, there was absolutely no sense of direction at all for any of us . It was a dangerously steep valley .
We took many dangerous leaps of faith and were going strong , some of us disappeared from sight , they shouted from above that they are going out of the forest to the main road, good luck to them.
We have to take an alternate route through the jungle . The time must be close to 10 am, three of us were continuing our trek ... sabha was a little slow because of his shoes which got wet , he slipped at many death zones and we were luckily going forward .He removed those shoes at one point and was very determined in going as far as we could . There was a big rock where prabhu lost his balance and fell down (somersaulting into the rock below him), luckily the wild grass slowed down his fall and he dint know what happened, he asked me if he was alive . We couldn't control laughing, Sabha was threatened by what he saw .. he chose the swampy way on the corner of the big rock as it was less dangerous and it took another ten minutes for him to get himself down from the rock. Now we were sure its our funeral two days later if we continued the trek . There seemed to be no way of getting out the jungle . We heard no sound from the others , they promised to keep shouting as they move so that we could catch up with them at some junction.
Fear starts creeping in . We three were tired and i know kodaikanal is a dangerous forest . It is called the shola forests .. I couldn't avoid imagining a bear or a python . The slope was never ending , We climbed for at least 45 mins and we were not even sure if it was the right way out. We finally reached a place where we saw a big wall , human construction .we were close to the road and that wall was there to prevent land slides, we found a way around the wall and we reached the road . The other guys were eating bread omelette in the shop below our cottage . The way from the shop to our cottage was itself a tough climb .
Fear starts creeping in . We three were tired and i know kodaikanal is a dangerous forest . It is called the shola forests .. I couldn't avoid imagining a bear or a python . The slope was never ending , We climbed for at least 45 mins and we were not even sure if it was the right way out. We finally reached a place where we saw a big wall , human construction .we were close to the road and that wall was there to prevent land slides, we found a way around the wall and we reached the road . The other guys were eating bread omelette in the shop below our cottage . The way from the shop to our cottage was itself a tough climb .
Me and
Arun knew it was time for the next coffee 😉 . .we also wanted something proper for lunch ..
so we went near dolphins nose to a nice place . We realised its the same place where we had ginger tea the last night . It was so different in the daytime. Madhu was immersed in the hippy music that was playing. He was telling the same thing again n again .. listen to the music , did ya listen to the music .. , Prasath was followed by office tension everywhere so he made use of the system in the cafe, to chk some mails but the connection was not proper .
The famous Dolphins nose was just a 15 mins climb down from the cafe . Huge crowd was going down and coming up in a rush , we had time to see it but The first rule of the trip was not to get mixed with the tourist crowd .
Siddiq was a total food freak , it was great fun having him with us . There were some dread locked spiritually inclined hippies walking around .Even the menu card had israeli names along with english .
The Israeli and the magic mushroom connection predates Judaism . The Israeli head priest goes every morning to collect mushrooms which they called Manna . They said it comes from the sky and it connects them with the gods . Its there in the old testament of the bible . This manna of israel is the Soma of ancient india and haoma of ancient Iran . These hippies come here in large numbers , they feel they have a connection with vattakanal . The story of Billy the hippie is very well known in kodaikanal. He came and settled here doing small jobs like selling accessories in the tourist areas and he doesn't care about money . He earns only what he needs for survival and had no passport or visa problems . He became one with the local people and everyone understood why he was here . kodaikanal is a heaven for nature lovers and its the only place they the get psilocybin mushrooms in Asia . Marijuana keeps coming from the idukki district of kerala nearby and many israelis come here. The locals rent their small huts and cottages to these hippies and its a good source of income for them .The hippies like to cook their own food , so they dont stay in the usual tourist lodges . They are spiritual and when its too hot in kodaikanal .. they move to places near the himalayas . Some hippies even know to make psychedelic juices from tree saps and barks and the leaves of certain plants . Many plants have DMT and extracting it properly is the science .
You should check out some articles and videos from people like Graham Hancock , Alan watts , Bill Hicks , Terrence Mckenna , Carl sagan , George carlin n others to know the truth about these psychedelic substances .
I learned about israeli bakeries and tea shops where they make marijuana cookies. I already planned to visit the place again in november or december when its the most happening .
I learned about israeli bakeries and tea shops where they make marijuana cookies. I already planned to visit the place again in november or december when its the most happening .
This is Billy the hippie, he has a facebook page from which i got the news of his death . He died 2 yrs back and i also saw the israeli's mentioning a place called #**@## akka kadai (shop) Name censored. I thought may be if i find that akka ..i can get some crucial details about the magic mushrooms for a PhD thesis
The driver was ready , We were all set to find out the mushrooms just out of curiosity.
So we left vattakanal and the map i had was guiding us to mannavanur via poombarai . Prabhu's friends who missed the trekking in the morning were now fresh and ready, following us behind in the red swift . I forgot to say .. we solved the issue with my pen drive, one of the prabhu's friends had a laptop and we checked the pen drive in it and did the necessary steps to get it working again . So we were all in happy mood especially madhu and arun in the back seats . Siddiq and prasath in the front seat were as usual getting tortured by the continuous speech of the driver .
Me , dinesh and sabha in the middle seat were looking down the road sides as we travelled in the car. There were a lot of mushrooms on the ground various types , wild ones . We were searching for the "magic " one and after some 45 minutes of good music in the car ...we stopped at Poombarai for tea . I always insisted on stopping at simple tea shops in serene locations . Drinking tea is a meditating experience . Im a tea addict , of course Indians and chinese are theobromine addicts . Thanks to Bodhi dharma .
This place was absolutely stunning . It was like a brilliantly designed plot of land in the farmville game. The terrains , houses and smoke coming from one of the chimneys ... like a moment from a Hayao Miyazaki's film . We were mesmerised and after tea we took few snaps and started moving down . The guys in the other car dint join us for the snaps , we tried waiting for them but they were too slow.., they stopped somewhere for food i think .We dint see their car for sometime .The main poombarai village had a few shops , some local families going to a marriage were waiting for the bus . The bus comes only once or twice a day i guess , I have lived in a hill station called Manjoor for two years in my childhood , its near ooty and i knew hill stations dont have many bus facilities . Its nice to live in such places anyways .
The entire travel from poombarai to mannavanur was a gifted experience . One who wishes to escape the tourist crowd in main kodaikanal can go to these outskirts . Again we stopped at one more place called the Green valley view or something i dont remember , a small route away from the main road and it was like a gateway to switzerland . I had a serious urge to run down into that scenery like Heidi in the Alps and never come back .
I dint expect such a beautiful place in this trip , seriously i have underestimated Kodaikanal . We took a few snaps but the place was definitely better than in these pics .
This is Prasath for a solo snap in MGR style .
We could actually see the sheep grazing in the pastures , cows , mist crawling on the land and what not . A real treat for the eyes and soul . Next time i should carry a DSLR .
All our heads were outside the car windows throughout the way , The scenery was available for quite some time along the route.
Its not advisable to taste the mushrooms without the knowledge of differentiating the different species of it . One should have a good guide in these matters . We were searching for the right mushroom , The psilocybin species like Mario and the adventure continues ..
We reached Mannavanur in few minutes and sat in a tea shop , an old man in his 70's was running the shop we ordered tea.
All of a sudden we witnessed a minor storm pushing the trees to one side and entering the village like a ghost . It was a wild rain and it continued for half an hour or 40 mins . We were locked in that place and the tea was not worth drinking twice in that shop . So we were occupied by the sound of rain and also the smell of it . Prasath n the driver were smoking cigarettes enjoying the rain .
We also had a plan to visit the mannavanur lake , it closes by 5:30pm .So we decided to check that first after the rain and then ask someone for mushrooms ( as i said already i was just collecting some data about it for a PhD thesis)
We had some locations scheduled for the next day also, we had to get permission from the DFO office to see those places and we have to be there in the office early morning before 9 .
There were many restrictions to climb peaks and everything . I was thinking why we dont have the freedom to enjoy nature . Its the government which deforested the lands and formed cities in the name of development and employment programs . They allow people to enjoy nature only if we buy tickets . Many places are not allowed to be seen no matter however we seek permission .You are simply denied the access . Of course money can break all doors but that would be the most disgusting way to reach the natures lap . It 's the same thing as buying special tokens and VIP tickets to see God in tirupathi devasthanam . God cant be approached through short cuts , God can only be accessed by a child's faith and total surrender to the magnificent isn't it ?
I accept the government is preserving some places , they can restrict poaching , mining and pollution but why restrict the feeling of those who want to simply sit and feel nature ??
They sold 90% of the biological reserves to corporates and now they preserve the left outs for name sake . I was ranting inside my mind ITS ME WHO SHOULD PRESERVE THE FOREST FROM YOU , YOU ARE THE ONE DESTROYING IT . YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS TO DENY NATURE LOVERS FROM MOTHER NATURE !! !!
The lake was inside the premises of the forest department , was protected by a big gate and we will be pissed off if they don't allow us . Our driver went and asked kindly .He knows the way around in these matters and luckily the gate keeper allowed us to go in and come back asap . All government employees are " officers" . They demand that respect because they work for the government and they say the government works for the people . Now who wants to believe that ?
Anyways we were in .
The lake was another awesome part of the trip . The soil was touched by rain and the air was chill. we have to walk through the meadows on a mud path, a 15 to 20 mins walk and we will reach the lake. . Especially Prasath and siddiq .. they loved the lake a lot . It was so silent and a perfect break from the routine career oriented life for them .
while at the lake .. no one had much to talk, we were all silent and were just breathing the beauty of the place . We all agreed that the human life is so fucked up in this generation . We were talking abt how beautiful it would be if we had a chance to live in this place . I was telling them about my plans to settle in some hill station sooner or later in life . It would definitely be better to live as a shepherd in the grassy mountains than as a software engineer in some big city . Atleast at that philosphical level through the discussion i should have decided to shut my mouth but i was enjoying the talk with them, there were some buffaloes grazing near the lake . I expressed my pity for the cows and buffaloes in cities, roaming on roads and being chased away by someone all the time . But these buffaloes in kodai are simply awesome . They were standing in a weird funny alignment and did nothing but grazing for hours .
I said if there's an another life , we should be born as buffaloes in kodaikanal . No permissions needed to go anywhere , can stand for as long as we want in mannavanur lake and no one will ask questions about our future , career plans , no responsibilities , no nothing . Now that would be a meditating experience to be there and do nothing in this awesome nature . Prasath and siddiq were laughing crazy , i was laughing too but i really meant it and they know it . So that was the serious talk we had and we left the lake as it was getting dark . By the time we left the lake it was too late to enquire for mushrooms , people might think of us as anti social elements.
The way back was occupied by music and we had to go somewhere for Dinner that night. Yesterday the chappathis in our cottage was not upto everyone's appetite and we thought it was not worth the money too. So we were back at the tibetian restaurant because we had to cross the main town anyway to go to our cottage. The soups and momos were hard to resist for my taste buds. I wanted to ask the waiter about magic mushrooms ( just needed some data about it for a PhD thesis). We were sitting near the billing area ,So i thought its better to ask the tibetian lady . I turned back and asked do u have any idea about magic mushrooms ? she said : i dont personally use it but you can get it from somewhere.
I asked if its available this month , she said yes . i dint want to bother her anymore ( even though i needed some data about it for a PhD thesis 😉).I also met one of my favourite seniors from my college in coimbatore "Vishnu anna" after a long time in that restaurant with his wife and family . That was a happy moment .
Now some of us went to shop some refreshments for the night 😉. In the meanwhile me and Prasath asked a man running a tea Bajji shop about the shrooms. He was hearing the word magic mushroom for the first time in his life . He was telling me an address of a wholesale dealer for normal mushrooms in the market area . Embarrassed and tired .. we said ok and i went to ask some jeep drivers .one of the drivers in the area understood what i asked but was angry . He said How can you come and ask someone like this ? as if i asked him something disrespectful or dirty . I said sorry and tried to leave . He tried to show more bad attitude but I was already gone from his sight.
We were on the way to our cottage now. OK this is truly my favourite part of the trip .The Vattakanal or vatta area is pitch dark at night and we were inside the forest , two or three hair pin bends away from our cottage . There were small dots of light blinking all around us . Yes .. the Fireflies .
We all thought why don't we stop here and the driver responded .Car stopped , The red swift also stopped behind us and all of us were out . The moment the head lights were off, there were countless of them . The avatar feel .
We couldn't believe we got the chance to witness something fantastic like this . They were glowing and going off , on and off on and off in a certain uniform pattern. Some flies stayed in one place , must be sitting on the trees and some were flying around .
We stood there and watched it for ten or 15 mins and one of the fire flies got into Prabhu's hand .
Every small part of the trip had a moment of laughter .
Prabhu was looking at the firefly in his hand, saying hey this is a fraud , this looks so ugly without the light . He was right , it was not so special without the light . That one came with us till the cottage sitting on the window and it was glowing again .
Once we got down at our cottage, i was the first one to go up to the room and the owner was standing there . He asked how the trip was going , where we ate and i just had the idea pop up in my mind .
Prabhu was looking at the firefly in his hand, saying hey this is a fraud , this looks so ugly without the light . He was right , it was not so special without the light . That one came with us till the cottage sitting on the window and it was glowing again .
Once we got down at our cottage, i was the first one to go up to the room and the owner was standing there . He asked how the trip was going , where we ate and i just had the idea pop up in my mind .
I asked him about magic mushrooms . He said you can get it in mannavanur . But we've just been there and i dint find any . Did u ask anyone he asked ?
I said i dint ask anybody because it was raining heavily ,
he said Oh .!! that's why you dint get it , He then told me how to get it .
If i had asked the owner guy before we started in the morning , things would have been easier ,we would have got it.
I said i dint ask anybody because it was raining heavily ,
he said Oh .!! that's why you dint get it , He then told me how to get it .
If i had asked the owner guy before we started in the morning , things would have been easier ,we would have got it.
So now we got some data to start with. Especially Siddiq and Prasath were excited like kids to see mannavanur lake again . I said we wont be having time for the lake . We can just go , buy the thing and leave soon.
I told the driver that we might have to go to mannavanur again in the morning , he said no problem , whatever you want , just wake me up in the morning . Cool .
So it was me , madhu , siddiq , prasath and driver going to mannavanur the next day early morning at 6.
Sabha leads the other team with dinesh , prabhu and arun to be there at the DFO office in the morning before 9 to see some reserved places .
The plan is all set .. what else !! ?
PArty time . .
The refreshments ritual session started ,. That means coffee rolling session for Me , madhu and arun . We three sticked to the agenda of not having any refreshments throughout the trip.
The owner came again and this time i asked him to tell the driver about the details of the shrooms, others also listened . He said its available in all seasons during the small rains and it doesn't grow in random areas as people might think . I asked where it grows and he also told me the place which is something i wont reveal here in this blog . He said he is not interested in such things , never tried it but these foreigners are mad about it and they love it so much .
I said yeah i learned all about it from their blogs and forums and some travellers even mentioned this one place called @###*# akka shop , where is it ? do u know it ?
The moment i said that .. he was shaken . Oh What , that's my wife , dont go and ask her for mushrooms. She will be offended . All of us were laughing . I said some foreigners mentioned her in a blog . Yeah they might have but she doesn't know anything.
That shop was the bread omlette shop we had break fast at. It was so cool to see and know all the places that were mentioned by the hippies, the places which the travelers from various countries had cherished.
The owner was charging extra for the camp fire, he had to bring firewood from somewhere .
So we thought of making our own camp fire , we collected sticks , dry grass leaves whatever we could grab on , moist things are avoided as they cause huge smoke which will spoil the surrounding . We lighted the fire and it was awesome for a few mins , then soon it started to go down and we had no hope of keeping it alive . Only good firewood will burn till it becomes charcoal , maintain the heat and be alive for hours . Our driver then did his part , he was talking too much like Bear Grylls in man vs wild . He took some sticks , did this and that and then he went back to his refreshment drinks. The fire was good till it lasted . We had coffee beside the warmth of the fire and again all of us wanted to go for a walk . Last night some of us went for tea .So today everyone wanted to have that experience but it was too late for tea . Anyways we went out in the dark . I told the driver that we might have to go to mannavanur again in the morning , he said no problem , whatever you want , just wake me up in the morning . Cool .
So it was me , madhu , siddiq , prasath and driver going to mannavanur the next day early morning at 6.
Sabha leads the other team with dinesh , prabhu and arun to be there at the DFO office in the morning before 9 to see some reserved places .
The plan is all set .. what else !! ?
PArty time . .
The refreshments ritual session started ,. That means coffee rolling session for Me , madhu and arun . We three sticked to the agenda of not having any refreshments throughout the trip.
The owner came again and this time i asked him to tell the driver about the details of the shrooms, others also listened . He said its available in all seasons during the small rains and it doesn't grow in random areas as people might think . I asked where it grows and he also told me the place which is something i wont reveal here in this blog . He said he is not interested in such things , never tried it but these foreigners are mad about it and they love it so much .
I said yeah i learned all about it from their blogs and forums and some travellers even mentioned this one place called @###*# akka shop , where is it ? do u know it ?
The moment i said that .. he was shaken . Oh What , that's my wife , dont go and ask her for mushrooms. She will be offended . All of us were laughing . I said some foreigners mentioned her in a blog . Yeah they might have but she doesn't know anything.
That shop was the bread omlette shop we had break fast at. It was so cool to see and know all the places that were mentioned by the hippies, the places which the travelers from various countries had cherished.
The owner was charging extra for the camp fire, he had to bring firewood from somewhere .
There was no phone signal, only BSNL was working. All the phones were useless but its hard to keep a mobile phone idle . AR rahman's Mariyan album was released recently , so we were listening to "enga pona raasa" and were going somewhere up the road .I don't remember even one word of what we were talking that night.
At one point every one got alert and excited . I was a little behind and dint know what was happening . I peeped into the group and it was a Beautiful green snake, Everyone started flashing light at it from mobiles and i was worried at the situation . If it bites someone .. we were in no condition to take anyone to hospital . It was definitely not the time to play with a snake . the flash photos made the snake very dizzy or something , it was moving slowly and lost its track .
Prabhu was like a girl who just got a teddy bear gift . He was looking for possible ways to catch the snake. It went under a car tyre and that moment prabhu managed to touch its tail and he was happy .. He tried to hold the snake but it slipped into the forest covers . Good for it .
We started walking up the road again and was discussing about the fireflies we saw earlier . It was getting darker and darker . There are also many ghost myths and stories around kodaikanal. I felt like there was a pair of eyes looking at us from inside the forest. For 5 minutes i was in doubt if it was a leopard or some other animal. Their eyes glow in the dark . it turned out to be a red radium sticker in the brake light of a two wheeler which was parked in a shed. I tried to talk about the ghost dimension of kodaikanal to make the discussion interesting and came to know that The guy Karthic, (he is Prabhu's cousin actually) was haunted by a spirit for some months and his life had some ups and downs because of it . He was so casually telling about it but i was frightened hearing this . Just two months back i met a family neighbor who had a similar condition , haunted by a spirit and they don't know what happens in their life during the time they're possessed.
I don't want to go into those details as it is a very personal thing for them . I have another friend from the film institute I studied in, his name also is Karthik, who told me about ghosts in the area called Mathikettaan cholai in the outskirts of kodaikanal . He is also a kind of a person who is sensitive to spirits .They are called mediums who can sometimes see and feel ghosts or get haunted by it .
Later prabhu and Karthi were telling about the Ancient Aliens documentary in history channel .He asked me if I've seen it .I was not aware of that series at that time . I thought he was referring to the Chariots of gods documentary which started all this buzz about ancient aliens . I said i have not seen it exactly but i knew all of that theories he was talking about .I told him ive written a blog about aliens from all the information i have collected abt it .He was impressed , He said he will read my blog but i dont know if he checked it out.
Then the topic changed to Lemuria and ancient tamil civilisation I said im going to bed as we had to travel till mannavanur again early morning .
Let me give an interesting information here ( from my PhD thesis 😉 ).
Then the topic changed to Lemuria and ancient tamil civilisation I said im going to bed as we had to travel till mannavanur again early morning .
Let me give an interesting information here ( from my PhD thesis 😉 ).
When the scientists look for possibility of Alien life forms on our planet Earth , they search for very rare unique chemical structures . The chemical formula of magic mushroom is 4 hydroxy dimethyl tryptamine which is the only 4-substituted indole in all of nature and thus the one and only 4-substituted indole known to exist on earth .
Some scientists say The casing of the spore , its electron density and its deep purple colour may be capable of space travel . Biological space migration without any technology just like how plant seeds travel across deserts and rivers .
DAY 3
Sabha woke me up again at 5:45am , i dont know how he does that . I woke up Prasath and siddiq . They started getting ready as soon as they opened their eyes . Madhu was back . Driver was called for and wroom wroom urrrr ....... to Mannavanur . We dint regret missing the mushroom last evening because this morning drive was a splendor. Music and fresh sun light . In 40 minutes we reached the place and it was around 7 ..Me Madhu and the driver got out and walked slowly not knowing what to expect . The communication happened and the next moment we were taken to a small house where a guy showed us some stock , some plucked in the rain last evening and some was yet to come . In few mins two more guys came and they gave some freshly collected ones . How much to buy was the question .
As i read from a blog ... From an award winning traveller " Peter Gorman " when he bought mushrooms from an old woman in kodaikanal .. she said take 3 and enjoy the country side , take six and talk with shiva .
This guy was selling at one dozen for censored/Rs. I asked him how many to take for a good high , he said take 8 or 10 for Best Buzz .
We got into the car immediately , We had no time to visit the lake as predicted . Siddiq and prasath were little disappointed but they were ok with it . While on the way back to the cottage we planned not to tell anyone that we successfully got the shrooms .We had it kept secret for a surprise . We had tea on the way back in a place close to the main town and reached the cottage in no time . Sabha and team had left to the DFO office for permission . I asked the driver anna to get prabhu 's friends ready . They must be sleeping . After everyone refreshed .Madhu divided the shrooms into small packs and kept it hidden inside the jacket and jean pocket .
We ate bread omelettes and was waiting in the akka shop for more than one and half hrs. Prabhu's friends were ready and the guys who went to the DFO office were not reachable , they came finally with Permission for a list of areas .
The car passed through the Guna caves and pillar rocks .I was hoping no one among us would want to see those places which would end up mixing with a large tourist crowd . The moment the car went near pillar rocks .. we were shouting at the driver .. please don't go near the crowd , no no no .... as if we were in the danger of catching a horrible virus . we maintained a distance from the crowd in all places .
Arun was asking me again and again .. did we get the shrooms or not , i said believe me we dint get it , Madhu also made up a believable story , Arun rechecked with the driver who blabbered initially but then realised the drama and maintained the act with us .
Me and madhu were not sure when to open the surprise . In the meanwhile Arun and sabha had been to the Dolphins nose that morning before they started to the DFO office and they were sharing that experience . They had reached the spot at early morning when there's no crowd and they said it was not very special . just another view point on a rock that looks like a dolphins nose .
We crossed the pine forests .We had no time or interest to check the place, families were sitting there with crying babies , husbands with cowboy hats and ladies unpacking the tamarind rice and sambhar rice parcels for the old ones . It was a major picnic spot .
People love pine trees for the cinematic touch .It was first planted in kodaikanal by British officers and now these trees are growing rapidly and spoiling the originality of the environment . So they have planned to cut down these pines very soon . It was badly littered , the noise of the families spoiled the serenity of the place but it cant be helped , everyone loves pine trees.
Then started a line up of vehicles. It was the peak of the tourist season and cars ,vans buses crowded up blocking the way . I dint know how many in the crowd had permission to visit the reserved areas . I would be very pissed of if all of that crowd gets into Berijam lake which was where me and madhu had planned to try the mushrooms (for the thesis research purpose obviously) .
Anyways we cant blame the crowd as we were also a part of it and everyone had their rights to visit the attractions in kodaikanal.
We felt like waiting in the Queue of a ration shop , so many cars and vans behind us like people waiting for rice, dal and oil . It was taking hours to move so some people got down from their tourist buses and started dancing on the roads for peppy fast numbers . Youngsters and men in their 40's dancing off their stress . North indians , south indians all were the same when it comes to enjoying . They made the road look like a resto bar . Slowly we crossed the hair pin bend and there was a chance to drive a little faster and dooosssshhhh...... Tyre puncture .
All of us were devastated . The driver said no problem , we have a stepney .Now me and madhu looked at each other . The driver slowed down the car on the side of the road and the other friends in the red swift also parked in the side of the road seeing us.
There was a necessary discussion about changing the tyre and the driver anna was doing his duties . He had a set of spanners but the right size was not there . Now we had to ask someone in the queue for help.
Me and madhu pulled sabha and arun into the trees above us . Arun felt the vibe .. he asked did you get it or not !! I said yeah we have it , he got relieved , he knew , he had a doubt from the drivers reaction earlier . We climbed the small dune and it was awesome. It was covered by grass and was not a dense forest .. We went deep inside so that the sound of music from tourist buses and horn sounds dont reach us . We found a nice beautiful place to sit and We also had a honey bottle bought ready for the experience . We thought a little flavor will be good . Sabha was enjoying the forest alone , he was mesmerised by the place. He did not involve in the shroom ritual and also did not disturb our moment . A very comfortable character he was.
Finally .... the important moment of the trip which we all waited for .
We waited for something to happen . Nothing much for the first 15 mins . It was creating some unexplainable feelings in the body, we were feeling a clench in the stomach and it was disturbing and like a gut feeling or goose bumps in the intestine. Psilocybin .. the dark blue substance in the mushroom quickly becomes psilocin as it enters your metabolism .
Then Madhu started laughing and he was getting amazed . Me and Arun were not exactly feeling what he was saying but we knew something was happening and the perspective of the environment was changing more and more . We knew mushrooms will create a colour hallucination but we dint want to simply assume that things are changing. I was on the green floor rolling because of the stomach feeling and was also taking pics of the grass . It seemed weird , the forest was silent and we dint know what to expect . MAdhu was feeling weirder and weirder . Then Sabha reached us after having his time alone in the forest and We three were laughing now ,.. Sabha !!!!..you have changed colour . His face was yellowish and turning towards cyan . The feeling took over us and other guys came up to see what we were doing . Prabhu , his friends and Dinesh came up . Everyone wanted to taste it to satisfy their curiosity . I wanted them to experience it too but i said taste it if you are ready to take three or four of it . Eating just one piece for the taste wont give u any proper effect and that piece will get wasted . This is not chilli gobi to taste just one piece . But they were too afraid to eat the sufficient amount.
Truly a memorable pic for the three of us .
The mushroom dealer gave us the small shrooms saying they are the most potent . they call it bullets .
We all went down then to see whats happening with our car . The driver had the right spanner , he got it from someone but he was not very talented in mechanical stuff . Our friend Babu Ji took care of the situation and the car was ready in no time .
Again the ration queue continued for another 1hr . We had good soothing music inside our car .
Now started the real feel of the magic psilocybin mushrooms .
We felt floating inside the sea of the kodaikanal forest . Things started vibrating mildly . Some very minor colour hallucinations were there and the body felt very light and extremely relaxed . We were compelled to be silent and enjoy the nature . The plants and trees were breathing , everything was more alive and visible . Its so hard to explain the exact feeling . We could just feel it and wonder but not explain . Dinesh wanted to try but he hates anything that disturbs his stomach .
But the thing about psychedelic experiences is to forget your body and walk into the gates of the mind and soul into other dimensions . We could feel the other reality of the place . I wont say it is an intoxicated feeling or as an illusion of reality . I was feeling like im into the actual reality of the world for the first time . I was being connected with the nature around , the feeling of oneness .
(A boy hanging on our car selling some fruit on the way . We dropped him after some distance where he wanted to get down )
The brain is not the manufacturer of every thoughts , ideas and emotions. Most visionary ideas and spiritual feelings are not always produced inside the brain . In fact our heart is several thousand times more electromagnetically stronger than the brain and more signals travel from heart to brain than from brain to heart .The mind is a software of the brain and we get too attached to it , thinking that's us , that we are our thoughts , that we are our mind and we also get attached to our physical body . We dont realise anything beyond our mind and body .
Graham hancock says our brain is like a Television set . Pineal gland being an antennae for our soul located in the center of the brain collecting signals from the collective consciousness or the ethereal cosmos .We are brainwashed or addicted to only one channel of the television set . This channel which is called nomal . Being normal . We think its the only reality and whoever thinks outside it or feels beyond it is considered crazy or lunatic or a mystic .
There are other realities . Normality Tv is not the only channel . We can tune to many channels .. We are multidimensional beings with the capacity to tune to other frequencies or energies . We can live in other realities and feel other dimensions .
Do not think that the psychedelic drugs do something to ur brain and brain loses its normal capacity to work and shows you different hallucinations . Its not like that .. These psychedelic drugs are gateways . They help you to tune into other channels and is very useful to know ur real self .
Let me borrow the words of Simon .G. Powell because explaining the feeling of mushrooms is not something easy . Its not a feeling of being intoxicated but a feeling of being awakened , being reborn to see everything is connected in nature , the feeling of oneness . Everything in nature is in perfect order and harmony .Its just we humans who are out of order .
We are fractals within fractals of one consciousness . We have the properties of god inside us like how a drop of water from an ocean has the same property and quality of the ocean .
We forgot our true nature and we have a feeling of being separated due to the wrong idea of our body. Our mind and heart vibrations go beyond our body volume and we are connected to everything around us . Our physical body also has an ethereal dimension or the physical body is itself ethereal .The laws of quantum physics also prove this .
Now we were feeling great and i was feeling chillness in my eyes , like i was dropped inside a lake . It was truly divine . Madhu and Arun were sharing the same feeling . Finally our car reached the check post . Once we cross the check post .. we will be catching the road that takes us to all the spots mentioned in our permission ticket especially the Berijam lake . Many cars and vans were being rejected entry because they dint have permission , The time was close to 4 pm and they dint allow many visitors for the time constraint . We were near and we asked someone to go and show the letter to the check post officer and get entry . Siddiq got down from the car in a hurry with the letter and he was anxious and tired by travelling through the long queue for hours . He was raising his hand with the letter and asked the check post guard to open the gate ...
Me madhu and Arun dint have any idea of what was happening , we were enjoying the music and feeling one of the most awesome moments of our life . Stomach was still clenching but we were enjoying everything totally . Then we realised everyone in the car was out for some reason and some big fight was happening around .
It was the check post guard , poor man .. he got offended by the way siddiq threatened him to open the gates and he was furious in anger .
He was shouting who the hell are you to order me to open the gates , your permission letter is nothing and i wont open you the gate . Go complain to anyone you want . Siddiq dint know what to do , he was convincing the guard that he dint mean any wrong and we had come all this way in this crowd and please allow us . Everyone tried to convince the guard and some other officials came , Then the driver did the smooth talk . They asked siddiq to stay in the car as he might make the guard more furious .
Again the ration queue continued for another 1hr . We had good soothing music inside our car .
Now started the real feel of the magic psilocybin mushrooms .
We felt floating inside the sea of the kodaikanal forest . Things started vibrating mildly . Some very minor colour hallucinations were there and the body felt very light and extremely relaxed . We were compelled to be silent and enjoy the nature . The plants and trees were breathing , everything was more alive and visible . Its so hard to explain the exact feeling . We could just feel it and wonder but not explain . Dinesh wanted to try but he hates anything that disturbs his stomach .
But the thing about psychedelic experiences is to forget your body and walk into the gates of the mind and soul into other dimensions . We could feel the other reality of the place . I wont say it is an intoxicated feeling or as an illusion of reality . I was feeling like im into the actual reality of the world for the first time . I was being connected with the nature around , the feeling of oneness .
The brain is not the manufacturer of every thoughts , ideas and emotions. Most visionary ideas and spiritual feelings are not always produced inside the brain . In fact our heart is several thousand times more electromagnetically stronger than the brain and more signals travel from heart to brain than from brain to heart .The mind is a software of the brain and we get too attached to it , thinking that's us , that we are our thoughts , that we are our mind and we also get attached to our physical body . We dont realise anything beyond our mind and body .
Graham hancock says our brain is like a Television set . Pineal gland being an antennae for our soul located in the center of the brain collecting signals from the collective consciousness or the ethereal cosmos .We are brainwashed or addicted to only one channel of the television set . This channel which is called nomal . Being normal . We think its the only reality and whoever thinks outside it or feels beyond it is considered crazy or lunatic or a mystic .
There are other realities . Normality Tv is not the only channel . We can tune to many channels .. We are multidimensional beings with the capacity to tune to other frequencies or energies . We can live in other realities and feel other dimensions .
Do not think that the psychedelic drugs do something to ur brain and brain loses its normal capacity to work and shows you different hallucinations . Its not like that .. These psychedelic drugs are gateways . They help you to tune into other channels and is very useful to know ur real self .
Let me borrow the words of Simon .G. Powell because explaining the feeling of mushrooms is not something easy . Its not a feeling of being intoxicated but a feeling of being awakened , being reborn to see everything is connected in nature , the feeling of oneness . Everything in nature is in perfect order and harmony .Its just we humans who are out of order .
We are fractals within fractals of one consciousness . We have the properties of god inside us like how a drop of water from an ocean has the same property and quality of the ocean .
We forgot our true nature and we have a feeling of being separated due to the wrong idea of our body. Our mind and heart vibrations go beyond our body volume and we are connected to everything around us . Our physical body also has an ethereal dimension or the physical body is itself ethereal .The laws of quantum physics also prove this .
Now we were feeling great and i was feeling chillness in my eyes , like i was dropped inside a lake . It was truly divine . Madhu and Arun were sharing the same feeling . Finally our car reached the check post . Once we cross the check post .. we will be catching the road that takes us to all the spots mentioned in our permission ticket especially the Berijam lake . Many cars and vans were being rejected entry because they dint have permission , The time was close to 4 pm and they dint allow many visitors for the time constraint . We were near and we asked someone to go and show the letter to the check post officer and get entry . Siddiq got down from the car in a hurry with the letter and he was anxious and tired by travelling through the long queue for hours . He was raising his hand with the letter and asked the check post guard to open the gate ...
Me madhu and Arun dint have any idea of what was happening , we were enjoying the music and feeling one of the most awesome moments of our life . Stomach was still clenching but we were enjoying everything totally . Then we realised everyone in the car was out for some reason and some big fight was happening around .
It was the check post guard , poor man .. he got offended by the way siddiq threatened him to open the gates and he was furious in anger .
He was shouting who the hell are you to order me to open the gates , your permission letter is nothing and i wont open you the gate . Go complain to anyone you want . Siddiq dint know what to do , he was convincing the guard that he dint mean any wrong and we had come all this way in this crowd and please allow us . Everyone tried to convince the guard and some other officials came , Then the driver did the smooth talk . They asked siddiq to stay in the car as he might make the guard more furious .
once we entered the check post .. we all burst into laughter discussing siddiq's approach with the guard ... everyone asked siddiq why he fought with the guard , siddiq had no idea what went wrong . These government officers have great prestige and ego about their jobs .They get mad and furious when someone messes with their official status . It was the funniest moment of the trip and wroom wroom wrroooo......... Several hair pin bends later .. and in half an hour we reached the Berijam lake where God lives .
The road to berijam lake was a thick forest and i was looking out the window and feeling the environment in a way i had never before experienced . I was holding my body and thanking God for such a day .
When we reached Berijam , on landing my foot on the ground .. i dint feel like going around the place and seeing it from all angles . Just being there at any part of the scenery was ok for me. I went and sat in the grass .The evening sunshine was warm and as it touched me .. the chillness in my body was replaced , filled with pure bliss and i became God at that instance .
When we reached Berijam , on landing my foot on the ground .. i dint feel like going around the place and seeing it from all angles . Just being there at any part of the scenery was ok for me. I went and sat in the grass .The evening sunshine was warm and as it touched me .. the chillness in my body was replaced , filled with pure bliss and i became God at that instance .
God lives as pure consciousness ,omnipotent and omnipresent filling all of nature and we became one with nature . If i had to give an explanation for what i felt .., that would be it . Nature is not simply something that is there , it has intelligence and one has to tune in to it to feel its Godliness .
If mother nature has wisdom and intelligence .. then why does it not have the power to cure man's madness to destroy the environment ?? Isnt there an antidote for the madness ? a cure ? There is a cure and it grows on the ground . Its called magic mushrooms - Simon.G.Powell
We felt the mind was put to a stop and we were just there existing in pure consciousness . Madhu closed his eyes and said it was another different world inside . Things keep coming and going . Magic mushrooms and Berijam lake and the evening sun just shattered my mind and i discovered a new reality , a new myself in that moment that i would cherish forever .
"All is within yourself. Know your most inward self and look for what corresponds with it in nature."
- Ancient Egyptian Proverbs from the Temples of Luxor.
Madhu was laughing at one family which had come there for sight seeing and asking where next ? we were thinking Where does one want to go after coming to such a beautiful place ? Just sit and feel the place u idiots .
I still worry for not taking a proper picture of the place . It was two mountains crossing at one point and a small dune in the middle with two beautiful British cottages in it . Now it must be a government office . The trees in that dune were in perfect alignment like a desktop wall paper . Coniferous trees which have branches only in the top of their height . Such a beauty floating in the mists like an island . The marshes glittered like in Daffodils poem . Wordsworth must have been living on a mushroom diet to have written such beautiful poems . (He was really living in a place in England where Psilocybin mushrooms were common and legal .)
The Greenery was shimmering with yellow of the sunshine . The beauty was penetrating us and i was breathing in and out slowly .Madhu and Arun were also lost in that beauty and i wonder what all they saw . Then the time was closing in and the TNPSC guys starting asking us to move .
This is a picture of me when i was God :) still looking like a thief am i ?
From Berijam there is road to Munnar which is a very short route and another road to a place called Kavunji which is just 7 kms from there . Both roads are now blocked for vehicles to preserve the flora and fauna . I wish to do trekking on those roads which would be now in natures beautiful turmoil .
It is called magic mushrooms for a reason > to have this kind of a spiritual feeling .. one might have to do serious meditation , 40 hrs of fasting or one hour in salt water isolation tank , things that ascetics and mystics do to get into spiritual dimensions but Psilocybin mushroom does that in minutes .
Psilocybin mushrooms can occasion mystical type experiences having substantial and
sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance - griffiths
Roland
The word psychedelic was coined by Humphry Osmond in 1957, its etymological root is meant to indicate the ‘spirit-revealing’ or ‘soul-manifesting’ nature of the chemicals concerned.
The spiritual use of Psilocybin mushroom is seen in ancient civilisations like mayans and inca .There are statues and scriptures for these mushroom rituals . In india there are hundreds of references in scriptures to a plant called " soma " which has no leaves or roots . Even today there are mushroom spiritual rituals and ayahuasca , iboga ceremonies happening in tribal communities . The shamans who are the tribal priests go into trance state , into other dimensions through these psychedellic plants and from the spirit world they get guidance to discover hundreds of medicines from their forest . The governments destroyed amazon and african forests for money . Now they steal all the medical ideas from the shamans for their pharmaceutical industry growth .
( I will share more about the connection between some of the major religions of the world with mushrooms and other psychedelics in my next mega blog about Religions which will be published next year hopefully . )
The psychedelic plant Ayahuasca of the amazon and Iboga of the African jungle are curing many people from alcohol , cocaine and even heroine addiction with 98% success . Something which the modern medicine cannot achieve . Magic mushrooms can cure people from tobacco and alcohol addiction .
If you try to give up something, it will rule your mind. But if you
find something deeper in life, the less significant will just fall off ~ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
It is one of the least harmful substance known in nature but named as a class A drug by the government. Medical properties of magic mushrooms are well proven and they are one of the most efficient medicines for migraine and cluster head aches which is even worse than migraine .
It was sad when i came to know about the mercury pollution from the Hindustan levers thermometer manufacturing company . The mercury poisoning ruined the life of many of its employees and the company dint fund for any of their medical requirements and the cases filed in the courts will always go in favour of the company . Thats how the government reacts to peoples problems .They always favour the corporations and money makers . The pollution is spoiling kodaikanal's environment and it is something to be bothered about . They dont ban such companies but they do all other nonsense .
We three had no interest in leaving the place but the other guys reminded us that it was late and the TNPSC guys (govt officials) were in a fury . So we left the place half hearted . Madhu was reluctant , he said leave me here .. im not coming . All others were calling him madhu come .. madhu madhu ... madhu ..times up. He had no idea why one should leave from such an experience . Practical life was creeping in like a ghost . Man can live in pure bliss and eternity but the so called practical life and social structure he has created makes him separated from what he actually needs . Prabhu was asking me how it feels , i said im perfectly normal .. i shaked my legs , jumped , moved my hands and said im perfectly normal .. just feeling unusually blissful . He advised me to become an ascetic but im not serious about anything , just enjoying what life provides .
Researcher Graham Hancock says that if we trace back our history till our chimpanzee stage in evolution .. two and a half million years ago we dint have any stone tools .Then we started creating simple stone tools .Then we were stuck with the same set of simple tools without any updates or upgrades rigidly for 6 million years . They did what was taught to them by their previous generation and that repetitive behaviour went on and on with no effort to change anything . They never came out of the box because of fear and insecurity . Graham calls this as the 6 million years of Boredom . Fully anatomically modern Humans developed 195 thousand years ago but they did the same boring thing with the same tools until just 40 thousand years ago when man suddenly started spirituality , symbolism and creativity in a sudden wooshh and Research works say this must be influenced by Man's contact with Psychedelic plants like the Psilocybin which took him into altered states of consciousness where he found bigger realms of life . The Hallucinations on taking psychedelics matches with the cave arts of ancient times and the shamans of tribal cultures are a solid proof for this analysis study. Not to forget that the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA and some inspiring ideas of Steve jobs came from the influence of psychedelics .
I dont know if i can feel that perfect divine moment again . We were moving up the hill and the mushroom effect was still there .. just missing a little something on leaving the Berijam lake . Actually the psychedellic experience of the mushrooms leave a positive effect in us on a long term basis .
Magic Mushrooms Could Spark “Moral Enhancement,” Save Us From a Hellish Transhuman Future, According to the National Institutes of Health
We felt that our mind was expanded or it got dissolved .
“The remarkable piece is that psilocybin can facilitate experiences that change how people perceive themselves and their environment,” - Roland Griffiths, a study author and professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine in Baltimore.
As DR. Robin Carhart Harris says ... The brain is made up of nerve connections and these connections form hubs . These hubs are like the conductors of an orchestra or like a traffic police who directs the vehicles in the signal .Even when we enjoy nature , the eye recieves the reflected light from nature and the brain interprets it . Our mind decides how beautiful things are and decides the value of it .The Brain or the mind predicts and constructs our reality , In other words its just an interpretation which we think is the only true reality . But reality in classic physics is very different to the reality of quantum physics . Without the involvement of the mind mechanism we can see the actual reality or other dimensions of the reality , things vibrating and breathing ie the quantum universe .
How does magic mushroom expand your consciousness . It disconnects the hubs in the brain . So the music conductor leaves the orchestra . We stop the mind from controlling us .
While in the mushroom effect , its no more the music of the brain . The real music flows in . You see another reality , another dimension of nature which is more real and wonderful than our so called normality .
The monkeys were enjoying their freedom , There was a breach in the fencing which lead to a Rock . The Rock was protruding from the slope into the space like a seat floating there in air between the valley .
It just dint have a sign board on it " Come sit here " . Otherwise it was obviously the best place to sit and have the best view of the valley for the best moment ever . Just sitting there would be like bunjee jumping .
The moment my friends saw me ..they knew what i was planning . They started calling me .. lets go lets go . I said let me just have a small moment here ., It was not such a dangerous spot and Im a natural rock climber , they all knew it but they believe in the evil twists and turns that fate can do in life more than they believed in me . It was like having my parents around . arghhh !!! . I cant fight with my friends ,so i left the place in sadness .
"According to a research from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
18 healthy adults, average age 46 were asked to eat magic mushrooms in their study. 94% of those who received the drug said it was one of the top five most meaningful experiences of their lives; 39% said it was the single most meaningful experience. And all of them said that the experience cant be explained in words .
Critically,
however, the participants themselves were not the only ones who saw the
benefit from the insights they gained: their friends, family member and
colleagues also reported that the psilocybin experience had made the
participants calmer, happier and kinder."
I will say it is the second most meaningful experience in life . The first one would be falling in love . Butterflies in the stomach , feeling poetic and Getting lost into a unique world feeling the soul and i need not say the rest .
Everyone was trying Venkee's sun glass and going crazy . Madhu tried it and was laughing mad . It was my turn and they said try this, its better than mushrooms . I tried and found out it was not a sun glass, its a power glass in black shade , i couldn't see anything , it was some high power lens which made me feel like my eye balls soaked in deep green liquid. Scary thing.
Thats it , thats our last major point of the trip . Our return journey almost started from there as we already had our things packed and bags put in the cars that morning . We vacated our cottage before we started here . We already bid our farewell to Vattakanal and have one or two more hours to say good bye to kodaikanal on the whole.
And that day when some of my friends thought we were doing crazy stuff .. i knew we were only in the safe zone truly indulged in the experience .
And that day when some of my friends thought we were doing crazy stuff .. i knew we were only in the safe zone truly indulged in the experience .
On the Way out we saw a herd of Bisons crossing the road . The driver stopped several meters before them and asked everyone to stay quiet . Bisons are dangerous and in one hit they will smash the car into the valley .There were ten or fifteen of them . The boys were excited and asked the driver anna to go closer to take photos , he went as close as he could and One Bison , the biggest and the head of the herd turned at us .With its huge horns and a white beard it was like a warrior , it looked at us and it was obviously warning us not to get any closer . its expression is worth worshipping ofcourse only next to Rajinikanth's Baashha . MASS!!!
We were worried about the other car coming behind us . Those Guys touched the snake's tail last night , they might get down from the car and touch the rear of the bison. We were laughing about them and those guys really did get down from the car to take a picture of the herd.
Psilocybin mushroom was awesome and we experienced loss of appetite . Now we were out of the forest area and moved towards the main town .
We crossed the famous kodaikanal Golf course where i remembered the Blog of Peter Gorman in which he talks about his kodaikanal trip . Eating close to ten mushrooms and trekking on the hills with an Indian hippie Guide who smoked joints all the way .
Scientists say that the spiritual effect of Mushroom happens in a sweet spot in the level of intake . Eating too many or too low wont trigger the spiritual feel .
Peter Gorman's psychedelic trip was Weird and wild.
Getting chased by a Glowing cow and monkeys and then he ends up in this Golf course where he again gets chased by the Green guards , escaping from them and falling into a Ditch of industrial waste . All his experiences are available online .
The man has travelled all over the world in many cultures and now is hospitalised for getting bitten by a bug in the amazon which resulted in the spread of flesh eating bacteria in his leg and he almost lost his leg and all his savings for the treatment. At present Getting recovered by funds from his fans all over the world .
The entry gate of the golf course had a warning board , "Beware of sudden hits by Golf balls " School children were walking on the pavement along the Golf course and this warning board dint make any sense . Some families were peeping through the Gate seeing the Rich foreigners playing Golf .
Then we reached the town. Some of us wanted to buy home made chocolates . Its a tradition to get chocolates every time we visit a hill station . Sabha was doing the major shopping .. he spent almost half an hour choosing his taste from the variety . He was also calling his mom over phone to ask some remedies for his stomach irritation . Prasath was worried he will have to answer his senior officers the next day for not appearing at work for two days . My idea as usual was to move away to a silent place to eat but Prabhu said all the boys are in murderous hunger .It would be very bad to move from here without eating . I couldn't deny .
We ended up in a restaurant in the middle of the town . Me and Madhu were not in a mood to eat of course because of the mushrooms . Maybe Gods don't eat . We stood outside the restaurant silently for half an hour like British royal guards doing nothing . It was getting dark , the evening turned to night , i was slowly feeling the mushroom effect fading away .
Then we reached the town. Some of us wanted to buy home made chocolates . Its a tradition to get chocolates every time we visit a hill station . Sabha was doing the major shopping .. he spent almost half an hour choosing his taste from the variety . He was also calling his mom over phone to ask some remedies for his stomach irritation . Prasath was worried he will have to answer his senior officers the next day for not appearing at work for two days . My idea as usual was to move away to a silent place to eat but Prabhu said all the boys are in murderous hunger .It would be very bad to move from here without eating . I couldn't deny .
We ended up in a restaurant in the middle of the town . Me and Madhu were not in a mood to eat of course because of the mushrooms . Maybe Gods don't eat . We stood outside the restaurant silently for half an hour like British royal guards doing nothing . It was getting dark , the evening turned to night , i was slowly feeling the mushroom effect fading away .
We were doubting our driver whether he is sober or not. Night drives in hill roads are not safe and yet some drivers make it a habit of drinking to keep themselves warm and energetic . Questioning them will only make matters worse . We stood there for another 15 minutes and slowly others came out after a Grand evening lunch . Everyone was talking about siddiq's lunch which included One Chicken Biriyani , one Plain biriyani ,Two idlis , one Dosa and one Omlette . More Food = more stamina was his formula . He came out like a king and asked me and madhu why we were not eating.
We started our return journey now , time to leave KODAI .
We planned to stop for tea only after going down the hill . The last minutes in the Mystic Kodaikanal and the last minutes of the mushroom trip .
The return journey was lit by music and the battle between pen drives continued .
We reached palani and had tea , We had a coffee (slang word 😉) to escape from the physical hangover of the mushrooms. The best way to solve any hangovers technically .
We started our return journey now , time to leave KODAI .
We planned to stop for tea only after going down the hill . The last minutes in the Mystic Kodaikanal and the last minutes of the mushroom trip .
The return journey was lit by music and the battle between pen drives continued .
We reached palani and had tea , We had a coffee (slang word 😉) to escape from the physical hangover of the mushrooms. The best way to solve any hangovers technically .
The night drive was awesome . I was wearing sun glasses in the dark and enjoying the headlight beams of the vehicles going in the opposite direction . It was like being inside a virtual game .
Author's Note :
It is not advisable to consume these mushrooms just for curiosity or without proper knowledge . One should research properly before setting out on these adventures.
DEFINITELY NOT FOR AMATEURS .
Its good for the meditative artistic people .
Even though it is used in medical psycho analysis and theraphy.. Dr. Paul Kroeger says it can cause negative effects on people who have mental problems , schizophrenia or who cant handle themselves , bi polar disorders , people who have huge crap going in their mind , life problems . These people are advised not to use it without a proper guide .
Most important thing : Never pick the mushrooms yourself . Most of the mushrooms in the wild are extremely poisonous .
We entered into another dimension and had the time of our life but society will soon pull us into its low standards violently . whatever our ideals in life maybe ..we always end up in the normal caged life . we are no special , there is no escape .
Though its depressing on one side , I thought we should also battle the system and try our best at living as free birds . We are light workers , our job is to activate everyone into light beings and keep battling .
Meeting up with school friends was cooler than i imagined .Thanks for the trip friends ..We should do it again .Special thanks to Prabhu , Karthic , Babu ,Venkee and Vicky for adding more fun to the trip . Missed all comedies that happened inside your car . Next time we will take one big van .
Even though it is used in medical psycho analysis and theraphy.. Dr. Paul Kroeger says it can cause negative effects on people who have mental problems , schizophrenia or who cant handle themselves , bi polar disorders , people who have huge crap going in their mind , life problems . These people are advised not to use it without a proper guide .
Most important thing : Never pick the mushrooms yourself . Most of the mushrooms in the wild are extremely poisonous .
We entered into another dimension and had the time of our life but society will soon pull us into its low standards violently . whatever our ideals in life maybe ..we always end up in the normal caged life . we are no special , there is no escape .
Though its depressing on one side , I thought we should also battle the system and try our best at living as free birds . We are light workers , our job is to activate everyone into light beings and keep battling .
Meeting up with school friends was cooler than i imagined .Thanks for the trip friends ..We should do it again .Special thanks to Prabhu , Karthic , Babu ,Venkee and Vicky for adding more fun to the trip . Missed all comedies that happened inside your car . Next time we will take one big van .
Bye bye KODAI ... we will be back soon , Be safe till then .
