Raiding my Mojo with Trekking at Khajaguda Hills

Every now and then,when the city air gets heavy,and our lungs are chugging overtime,without us even knowing about it,and the mundane chaos of our daily lives,knocks us down,its time to unwind,unclog our brains,take a break and bounce back harder. An adventure freak, my husband from a long time yearns for the company of people of our age,with both our siblings and friends in other cities and countries,there are times we feel ‘lonely’ in our little world. It was he who chanced upon BCF (Backpackers and City freaks) about 6 months ago, who organize weekend trips and camps around and across nearby cities at very affordable prices, catering to the younger generation. It seemed like just the right thing for us!

As I browsed through their website,I found that they worked on the concept, that in every stranger was a potential friend,and in every travel we learn something new. Honestly, the idea of travelling with strangers sounded a bit intimidating until of course,we took our first trek with BCF at the rocky terrain of Khajaguda,on an early Saturday morning (1st Feb 2020). Natural rock formations, boulders, and peacocks in the sight are a few things that define the hills. We felt it was the easiest getaway on hand.

We were supposed to arrive at the trek point at 6 am. Not a morning person in the least, getting up and leaving the house at the crack of dawn for me, is possible either if I have to give an exam/catch a train/flight 😀😀. My husband literally dragged me out of the house, and after a lot of protests,i cowered in the end. We arrived about fashionably 15 minutes late. Since all the other trekkers were yet to arrive,we waited for a while.

There were 18 of us. Four of us were girls,and each of them confessed that they had been coaxed into the trek by their colleagues. At about 6:30 am or so our Organizer(trekking mentor), Vikas circled us around,briefly introduced himself, and asked us to give a brief bio about ourselves-our names, careers, hobbies, past travel destinations,and passions. We got to know later that we were a well educated team ranging from Docs to Architects, CA’s to Techies, and every one including our Organizer came across as humble and sensible people. He asserted that each one had to give a keen ear to each other’s intros, as we would need it through and after the trip. Vikas handed out badges, with numbers each from BCF, and made us do a few stretches to warm up for the trek ahead.

We braced ourselves for the 4 hour trek, which eventually started a little after sunrise. It felt surreal to me to get up at this hour of the day,and do a challenging task. My mind raced through a slew of things-from feeling like a ‘Roadie’ arriving on time for a task,to believing that I was ‘Tiger Shroff’, jumping from one rock to another pulling off his parkour stunts.Then,I had flashes of the movie ZNMD,where each of the protagonists confronts and embraces their fears,as they embark on a travel expedition to the iconic Hollywood movie'” 127 hours”,the story of a trekker trapped between huge rocks all alone.

Cut to the chase,when we did start,my legs wobbled like jelly,and the height freaked me out. Looking down,I was on the verge of quitting,if it wasn’t the encouragement and persistence,that Vikas, and my husband showed.I finally pulled myself together and worked myself out following our Organizer’s every instruction at the drop of a beat.I was clouded with feelings of fear, hopelessness that made feel as if I were the “black sheep”of the group there😬.

But,I genuinely felt lucky to belong to a team,all of whom were extremely kind, encouraging and helpful. Purva,an architect by profession,the most energetic and happy go lucky person of our group,seemed to ace each and every task with ease. The rocks were steep to manageable to extremely slippery and precarious at places. There were points where we had to lunge our bodies out through very tiny spaces,which was daunting for each of us.

Shriram had a good sense of humor,and would pull off jokes every now and then,to make light of the matter. As the trek wound through thorny bushes,he made a casual remark about snakes🐍. My blood froze for a time,until my hubby jokingly reassured us that he was a pro at managing snake bites🤣. As we progressed,we got to know each other better,the millennial banter was on with the guys saying “Bro,this and that..” Jay,who was passionate about photography,had his DSLR and came out with adorable snaps! Almost half way and more through the trip that it began to dawn over me that it was this camaraderie,zest ,fun and laughter that was amiss in our life. The transition from strangers to comrades and friends was so smooth and effortless, that it felt like a blur.

About after a 2 hour trek,we were greeted by a very beautiful and placid lake,which Vikas said had shrunken due to the nearby encroachments. It was a beautiful ❤️ sight and I just blurted out”Indeed,all of our life lies outside our comfort zones”.

Plodding our way through the rocks,up and down,we finally arrived at the trek point,which had a few rocks shaped like a turtle. We took shade inside the rock space to be welcomed by fresh bursts of unpolluted,light gusts of wind.And the view right down from there was absolutely jaw dropping .🤭

Very close to the point,was a rock at a straight right angle,which needed skill to navigate and climb up. It must be a level 3/4 trek. Both me and my husband,tried but failed,and in the end we gave up. Our way back was equally challenging,jumping and sliding through rocks,with of course our mentor and his assistant,Bhagat,helping each and every one out,ensuring our safety!.There was a tad difficult point,where we needed to jump down a foot long rock,and it was there that the impact hit my toes.

I wondered whether I had sustained a fracture,because I was already recovering from a fracture of my little finger while playing throwball, 6months ago!I sat down for a while allowing others to finish the last lap,which was a cave a few kms away. It was about 11:30 and daylight had begun to beat down strongly.

Finally, in a 10 minute time, our mentor gathered our group together, asking reviews from us. We lauded him for guiding and teaching us with such composure,and that he was so passionate about his work.As he made the announcement for the trekker of the day, I looked towards Purva, but Vikas was gracious enough to take my name,as everyone applauded and cheered. I was in total disbelief,but he said that he chose me because I overcame my fear and was all heart and earnest to try every task.That was something totally off-grid for me, for someone who had a bad record for sports in school, it filled me with a new surge of confidence to go out on more ventures like these. Vikas,also quipped sweetly that this was the best group that he had come across till then 😊😊. As all good things come to end,this one too ended on a cheerful note. With a heavy heart,we bid adieu,thanking each other for their help and company,and hoping to go along with each other to other travel destinations in the near future.

Yes, IN EVERY STRANGER WE MEET, THERE IS A POTENTIAL FRIEND…! 😍😍

As we started our car engine,my husband remarked,He said”You know our projection of the world is warped,there are still genuinely good people out there,like the ones we were lucky to chance into”. The epiphany is that modern man today, is so trapped in their careers, responsibilities,egos,religion and castes. Those 4 hours had bound us together till we felt a sense of belonging, and as if we had known each other for a long time. There was only one spirit that endured-that of humanity and friendship.I was overcome by the readiness people showed to lend a helping hand-sometimes to pull each one out to holding bags.I was touched to the bone by their kindness and chivalry. This trip will always stay close to my ❤️

Notes from BCF:
We organize this trip very often through out the year. You can follow us on Instagram for regular updates. Insta ID –bcf.official. For more info on BCF upcoming events visit us here. About logo you can read here.

Article by Dr.Tasneem, ENT Specialist and an avid Blogger. Thanks a lot to Tasneem for penning down your experiences from the even. Link for Tasneem’s personal blog and Insta ID – Imzytazz