It was a fine,
pleasant Sunday morning—not too sunny, not too hot, but just perfect! The
entrance to MacRitchie Reservoir was abuzz with activity, as always. There were
flocks of people getting in at 8am and then there were the early birds who were
done with their exercise routine and all set to leave the place. All of us,
from, the centre, who were present at that point of time, formed a circle and
started off with our warming-up exercises. After a quick round of warming up
and stretching, we could soak in the wholesome environment of the Macritchie
reservoir, complete with the smell of the flowers on the trees, climbers and
bushes around, and the chirping of the morning birds, not to forget the buzz
caused by the human activity around.
Once done, we set out
on our walk. Since we had done the board walk quite a few times in the past, we
decided to take the path less travelled. We walked towards the kayak rental
point and headed off towards the path that led to the Jungle trail. As we
walked past, we saw several enthusiastic kayakers cutting though the water as
if they were on a motor boat! The coordination required while rowing is a
definitely a challenging task, and we were in awe at the balance and the
coordination exhibited by all those who were kayaking. Soon, we went past the
path around the water and headed off on a trail behind the board walk, running
parallel to it at the start, and then eventually diverting towards the Jungle
trail. This trail had a thick canopy on top, thanks to all the giant trees
lining the trail on either side. It was a muddy trail, with a lot of ups and
downs. Some of us just continued on the board walk itself. As mentioned
earlier, it was not sunny, but the air was heavy with moisture and we could
feel it weighing on us heavily. As we briskly walked along, we could hear the
sirens in the distance warning the Kayakers to get off the water as there were
giant rain clouds looming in the sky indicating a very heavy downpour. We
decided to pay heed to the sirens and quickly did a U-turn to make it to the
nearest shelter before the rain got to us. Some of us were lucky and made it on
time and some of us got a little drenched. Nonetheless, Macritchie reservoir
looked glorious with the grey clouds, the silver rain, the green trees and the
lovely blue water.
As the rain decided
to have some mercy on us and pause for a while, We were back near the water at
the end of the trail. We assembled near the Car Park and were all set to go to
the lovely home of Shailaja aunty and Rao uncle. A quick drive later, we were
all at their serene and beautiful house, which always has an air of aesthetic
beauty and calm around it. The sun was also out in all its glory at this point
.The turnout for the walk as well as for the brunch was one of the largest we
had had in the recent past. After the meditation, came the brunch--with all the
delicious food that was cooked so lovingly by aunty and uncle. We all felt
fortunate that yet another lovely walk and brunch had come to a close, leaving
us all waiting for the next month.
-Preethi
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