A Monsoon Trek up a Fort

Being a city dog in an apartment, one would think my life is boring and mundane with the regular walk down the pavement – but I've been lucky for my owner (I call her S, which I think is cool since we share the same initial) has always got something up her sleeve to make my life full of excitement and adventure. My name is Sultan, I'e been told I'm a rough collie just like some famous dog called Lassie, and here's a true story that I would like to share with you.

I started getting the idea that we were going to have a new adventure when S stayed up late in the night, fixing something in the kitchen, and wrapping it all up into neat plastic pouches. She filled up some bottles of water, including mine (I have this cool bottle that has an in-built dispenser – for some reason S prefers a regular bottle for herself), packed up sandwiches, boiled some eggs, and then started shuffling around the house packing clothes into plastic bags. I made sure I hung around and slept close to her bed, so that I wouldn't miss the action in the morning.

Her alarm rang unusually early, and instead of shutting it down and staying in bed, she jumped up and was ready in a jiffy. She pulled out the food she had prepared from the fridge and packed it all into a backpack, put my leash on and put me in the car. We picked up a friend of hers whom I had met before and get along with, and we drove out of the city down some winding roads.

The ride seemed unusually long, and they didn't seem to be sure of the route. S stopped the car along the way and kept asking for directions, and it was about three hours later that we finally parked at our destination. I didn't really understand why we had to drive that far, for I saw plenty of open spaces along the way that would have suited me just fine. Fortunately, S did stop for a while at a nice green field and let me take a little run off the leash and drink some water, so I wasn't too impatient in the car.

Our car stopped at this village where the road ended, and we got out on foot. S left her clothes in the car, and carried the food and water in her backpack. I had my harness on, but she let me walk alongside without a leash. We were walking on a dirt track, which was apparently too rough for the car to drive on (which I was thankful about for it was about time we got out of the car). The track went past some streams and waterfalls that S and her friend seemed to get quite excited about and they kept stopping to take pictures, though I honestly think they were just running out of breath and needed to rest a little. At one point they stopped to eat some breakfast – S had carried some butter sandwiches and boiled eggs for me, because I normally enjoy these while on a trek. But I had heard something that was much too exciting to focus on food, so I barely ate anything. She looked a little concerned that I didnt eat, but packed the food back into her bag, hoping I would eat a little later.

When she finally got moving I decided to investigate the noise I had heard – I knew exactly what it was for I had heard this noise before, and sure enough, there was this big langur sitting on top of a tree looking very alarmed when he saw me. I find it really funny that they are afraid of me and make these sounds out of fear, but I can never seem to get to them for they are way up on the branches, jumping from tree to tree when I try and go closer. I have never figured out how they do that, it looks like fun. S was explaining to her friend that I disliked monkeys because they would often climb into the balcony of our earlier apartment – I dont really dislike them though, I just think they play a great game of chase!

It took us about an hour to get to the next village and then the road disappeared and we were walking uphill on a narrow mud path.The track went through forests and there were many branches that came over the path – this didnt really bother me because I am short enough to walk below them, but S and her unusually tall friend had to keep bending while they walked so that the branches wouldn't hit their faces.

We walked a while through these forests, uphill for a while, and then downhill. S seemed a little confused for she wasn't sure that this was the right path. Apparently we should be going up something called a fort, and they couldn't see this fort at all thus far. But we all kept walking ahead anyway, in a single file, until I suddenly saw this open grassy patch in front of us. This was exactly what I was waiting for so I ran ahead into the open and rolled around in the grass. There is something about the wet, green, monsoon grass that makes it the perfect surface to roll on – S and her friend found me amusing, but I wished they would try it too. They also seemed happy to have come out from the forest patch, for now they could see the fort. All I could see was this big mountain in front of us – perhaps this is what they called the fort and wanted to reach the top of. They sounded a little unsure about whether it would be possible to go the whole way up, but we decided to give it a go anyway. Fortunately, they also stopped in the grass and unpacked some food, and here I agreed to eat some butter sandwiches too.

Our trek continued past some streams, through some more forests, and to a second grassy patch that overlooked a deep valley. S was really excited when she saw the view, and went a little bonkers taking pictures. She seems a little obsessed with taking "jumping shots" where one of them keeps jumping into the air while the other took pictures with the camera. S called out to me every time I went too close to the edge, and I came away when she called me. I am really glad she isn't one of those paranoid owners who wouldn't let me do anything on my own so I don't mind listening to her when she calls me away.

The climb hereon got really hard, it was steep and the humans had to use their hands to walk up. It wasn't difficult for me of course, so I kept running up and down the slopes and showed off a little while they struggled. It took us quite a while to get to the top, through the shrubs, trees and rocky patches, but we finally made it. S was red in the face when we got there but both of them seemed rather excited about having made it to the top. We sat there for a short while and then started walking back down – S thought it would be a good idea to climb down the steep bit before it started raining. That seems to have been a great idea, for as soon as we crossed the steep portion, it started pouring.

I have no idea why they say it pours cats and dogs – I have never seen cats or dogs in any of these downpours, and I can tell you that if they were any, they would have hidden from the rain in a sheltered place. But S loves the rain, so I don't mind walking in the rain with her and we continued our trek back to the village through the pouring rain. S wouldn't stop grinning and they both were talking about how soaked they were getting, and I could hear the water inside their shoes swishing about with every step. I was getting soaked too, and I shook the water off every time we were under a tree but it only took a couple of minutes before I was wet again.

We stopped at the waterfalls on the way back – they claimed they would "clean up", but they were really just playing in the water. I tried to join them but the rocks were slippery and the water was gushing, so I had to climb on to a rock and stay there until S rescued me and carried me out of the water. We got back to the car, and S dried me up with a towel and then wrapped me up to keep me warm in the car. She also changed into her dry clothes and we all drove back home.

The humans were gushing about how beautiful the place was, and how they loved the view of the valley. I was happy to have spent the whole day outdoors, without a leash, and be allowed to wade through streams, play in the grass and scare some monkeys. Everybody was exhausted, and we all slept very soundly that night, I even slept through most of the next day for I was "dog tired" – now thats a phrase I can related to!

-Sultan

Sultan is a rough collie, and mascot of the brand Slyly Simple Gourmet Kitchen. Ever since he has become a part of her life, his owner Surabhi Ganguly has made it a point to include him in all her plans – whether it is a career move or a travel destination. This article is about the experience of travelling with a dog in tow, and focuses on the journey rather than the destination!

Discovery- Wild walkers near Ooty

Tucked away in the folds of the Ooty mountains, a small cottage lies in the middle of a plot of farm land. The approach road to the cottage itself isn't in best shape, and it is necessary to leave your car half way and use a jeep to cross the final stretch of road. One needs to turn off the Mudumalai-Ooty road, drive across the hill slopes, past a few villages until one essentially reaches the end of the road - thats where you park, and meet caretaker Nanjun, who will take you to the cottage itself. One needs to first walk a little stretch and then climb into a jeep for a rough ride to the cottage.

After driving through Bandipur and Mudumalai, the road to Wild Walkers starts to make you wonder whether there has been some mistake in selecting the destination. There are several villages along the way, each with concrete houses more colourful and kitschy than the other. Yes, the mountain air is delicious, but you do wonder if the cottage is going to give you the privacy, peace and isolation that you have been expecting. The walk from your car to the jeep takes you by surprise, because one is not normally packed in a manner to quickly pick up bags and begin a mini hike. Even my shoes were still packed away, so I had to lug my baggage across in slippers, along with the little bags of food and other utilities we had picked up along the way. Once you reach the jeep, things start looking up, for you drive through a small tea plantation interspersed with scrub jungle, and finally you can see the trees parting ahead , which is where Wild Walkers cottage is located. The immediate area around Wild Walkers is an extension of the reserve forest, and gaurs, elephants and even bears have been spotted here rather frequently. This means that access to the cottage normally requires the caretaker to escort you, and you cannot really head out on foot on your own.

The cottage itself is a 3 bed room cottage, with each room having a separate access of its own. The common areas are all open to nature, so whether you are sitting at the dining table for a meal, or getting warm next to the fireplace, you are always exposed to the outdoors. The cottage is powered by solar power, so you can only keep 2 bulbs on at a time, and charging points for phones, cameras, tablets and every other gadget you are carrying with you need to be used sparingly. Phone are a little redundant, for there isn't enough cell phone network coverage. I would recommend putting your phone off or into flight mode, so that you can still use it to take pictures, but not drain the battery looking for network continuously.

The food is vegetarian and local, but delicious and fresh. The flavours were comforting, and there was an unlimited flow of food, tea and evening pakodas the whole time we were there. Not having electricity also means there is no water heater, so you need to tell Nanjun when you'd like to get a bucket of hot water delivered to your room.

The cottage doesn't really give you much to do either - with limited electricity, lack of network, no facility for games or music, one can be rather bored spending too much time here. But then again, this was exactly what I was looking for. All the things that I have mentioned so far may be slightly putting off for most travellers - which is why I have spoken of all this up front. If you are still reading this article, then this is when you begin to discover all the reasons why I loved this destination.

To begin with, the cottage is done up and maintained beautifully. Each room is spacious, with a view of the outdoors; bathrooms are modern and well maintained; beds are comfortable and the room is filled with curios, antique pieces and little details that reflect the taste and the attention to detail that has gone into putting the place together. Not having electricity was no trouble at all - in fact we barely even used the lights that we could, and spent our evenings by candlelight. The solar lights were used sparingly, only to use the bathroom or while we ate - and we didn't really need it beyond that. The views from the cottage are spectacular - on one side you have high mountains, in front you can see smaller hill slopes covers with jungle patches, and beyond is the valley that has the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary. Considering the amount of land we could see from where we were perched, it was delightful to also notice that in all these spaces, we could see no signs of other habitation, no other human being, no electric pole, not even a single light bulb or torch!

We could spend days hanging out on the verandahs, gazing at the view, looking at the clouds roll in and out, and watch Nanjun maintain the farm and keep the birds away from his crop. But that isn't all that we did, within an hour of reaching the cottage, we went for a little walk with Nanjun, to a lake and then to a view point, where the view only got better compared to what we could see from the cottage. Along the way we saw some gaurs on the slopes nearby, and even crossed some bear scat, which told us that the bear sightings in the region was indeed true. The next day we went for a beautiful hike up the mountain and spent some time at the peak, soaking in the air, gazing at the view, jumping in the rain and taking innumerable pictures. Words do not do justice to the place, its location, and the experience of doing those hikes in complete isolation, tucked away from the maddening traffic, crowd and construction that is Ooty.

For wildlife lovers and birders, Wild Walkers will surprise you. A pair of resident black eagles make regular rounds of the cottage, and you can watch it soar and circle and hunt and perch. Gaurs and barking deer are a regular feature from the cottage itself, it feels like you belong to the landscape for they graze and walk around without being affected by your presence. We were also lucky to have a bear digging around for termites very close to the property, and even spotted a wild cat (leopard cat) in broad daylight while we were enjoying a cup of tea. Once you realise the potential there is for a sighting right from the cottage itself, you spend the whole time keeping watch with a pair of handy binoculars.

If you are a nature lover and would give all that you've got for a few days in solitude, away from the rush and bustle of the city, then Wild Walkers is the place for you. I do not exaggerate when I say that it is remote and cut off, and that there really isn't much to do other than to enjoy the outdoors, but if this excites you, be sure to plan a trip and do not forget to take your binoculars along.

Why you need to be broke to jump start your venture

This article was first published on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-you-need-broke-jump-start-your-venture-surabhi-ganguly?trk=prof-post








Starting a venture of your own means you need to sit down and do some serious number crunching - what is the investment you are willing to make, how much money do you need to raise in order to take this idea forward, how comfortable are you yourself so you can take care of your financial needs while your business takes the time it needs to establish itself. This results in elaborate plans and detailed timelines of the amount of time you have in your hands to prove your concept.


One of the first things you do is separate your private funds from the business account, so you get a really clear picture of the fund that are available to invest in the business, and what you can use to buy yourself an evening in town. If this choice of starting your own venture comes after a salaried career, chances are that your bank isn't empty and there are some savings to pull you through the beginning.


The best thing you can do for yourself is to lock up as much of your savings in fixed term investments as possible, leaving yourself with as little spare cash as you can. A smaller bank balance results in lower consumption, cutting down on frivolous expenses, and reducing the amount of money you spend on social outings. These are regular money saving measures that we all can adapt to fairly quickly, which would make it easier to make your savings last longer than they normally would.


However, the real reason to lock the money away is not as much to make your savings last, but more to make yourself available for your business. Having freed up your time from your salaried job, may mean less human interaction as you may not have as many colleagues and business acquaintances as before. The concept of being a free bird also allows you the luxury of planning brunch, going out shopping in the middle of the day, and essentially allowing yourself time off any time you see anybody else having a good time. You are your own master, and there will always be ways in which you justify the break to yourself, and make yourself promises on how the lost time is going to be made up for. So while you are allowing your money to flow away, the bigger (and more critical) resource you are squandering away is the time on your hands.It is necessary to either be truly broke, or at least create a sense of having no spare cash while starting on a new venture (you'll really have to be good at deceiving yourself to make this work though). This is what creates a sense of panic, a sense of urgency, and keeps your mind from wandering, making plans to have fun instead of getting to work. Sometimes all the number crunching that you do, to prove you have enough spare cash to tide you through the tough times, may only be detrimental in making sure you have no tough times after all! I suppose this also justifies the argument that a good idea does not need to wait for the right time!