The last local trek of CATS; Sukhna Nature Trail had taken place in Spring time. Though many non-trek activities had been held in the previous 5 months along with a 13days memorable motoring expedition to Leh in July, CATS had been missing not having hit the dirt track since April.
So when Nepli – Kansal trek was announced to be held on 21st of Sept’08, we were absolutely inundated with registrations. Within no time we had to add another bus, taking the number of participants from 60 to 90. However, as a cynic once said, ‘Man proposes and God disposes’, week ending 21st arrived with 3’ of water at Nepli forest. We had no choice when Chief Conservator Forests, Mr Ishwar Singh suggested that CATS postpone their trek by a week as it was plain unsafe. CATS quickly divided the participants list and promptly made calls to ensure that the message reached every single soul about the trip being postponed to 28th of Sept’08. A task which looked daunting at the onset, was successfully accomplished within half an hour with the core team of CATS calling each one of the 90 participants on the list.
The designated Sunday morning arrived with great excitement for many. The first comers arrived by 5.45am and CAT Paramjeet quickly assumed his position at the registration desk. Little ones CATS Aman and CAT Amanat helped set up the name badges in alphabetical order whilst Sukhi and Gurman of Hotel Chandigarh Beckons took care of the rest. Thanks to STEPS and coordination by CAT Vishal, there was copious amount of tea for CATS to wake upto. CATS were ready to greet 90 set of paws.
CAT Aradhika soon walked in chirping away in her inimitable style, ‘Bula liya – Utha diya subah subah mujh ko.’ CAT AP greeted CAT Dharam, ‘Aaj to bahut se purane paapi dikh rahe hain!’ CAT Fang walked in with his gang from Ludhiana, minutes after he had pulled my leg over the phone by speaking in a sleepy voice, ‘Umm... Kitna time ho gaya? ...6.30??!! ...Yaar alarm nahin baja... doubt it if I will be able to make it with 2 hours of journey yet to be made! ’ Abundant good clean fun, that’s what symbolises CATS J
The newcomers trotted in soon. Apurva led one group whilst Sandeep marched in with another set of paws. Shweta brought in her group of mates, CAT Deepinder was being missed by his pack and CAT Hemant came in with lots of new faces too. The Reception area of Beckons proved to be too small to hold the merriment of 90 CATS and breakfast boxes had to be distributed in the foyer outside. The older CATS knew the drill well but the new faces were not quite prepared for the amount of food that is handed out at the beginning of the trek. Most had not even brought in their rucksacks despite clear instructions in the trek factsheet. Bartering was soon found to be taking place. Rucksack space was being offered provided the tenants offered to carry the rucksacks half of the way. Generous rucksack owners offered their storage spaces without charging a premium!
With 7 teams made, team leaders appointed, team colours distributed, trek rules read out aloud, first aid officers identified, all 3 buses set themselves on the road, but not before the Bus Contractor kindly agreed to let CAT Ashish A drive one of the buses on my assurance that he was a ‘safe driver’, despite the looks! Each bus broke into a round of introductions followed by a game of antakhshari on the way to Nepli gate. CAT Deepinder joined us at the Nepli Gate with 4 of his colleagues. After the permit/entry done with the efficient gate keeper of the Forest, the 7 teams set foot on the trail around 8.15am.
Red hearts led the group, green hearts made sumptuous noise to scare away every bird in the vicinity and silver stars trailed. CAT Dharam had everyone glued to the ‘diesel plant’ and fresher Puneet was on the seventh heaven, even after she slipped in the overflowing choe, taking her husband Krishan with her. Benevolent CAT Navpreet soon joined the couple on the slippery and wet ground as he ran to help them on their feet. CAT Ashish A noticed soon enough and applied brakes just in time to save himself from slipping into what turned out to be the first adventure of the day for CATS!
Some bandages, laughter and hugs later, the pack set foot again on the trail and walked right into yet another overflowing dam whereby they had to pussy foot across the stream on precariously placed stones. It was the time to maintain the balance. The lighter ones tip toed their way through whilst the heavy weights rocked the boat a little ;-)
Just as the sun was warming, the leading red hearts reached the top of the first hillock, ‘Hawa Mahal’, which beautiful views of Sukhna lake as well as the Capitol Complex of Chandigarh. Since the gap between the first and the last group was increasing, I asked Apurva to take a little longer break at the village well called Bollian Wala Khu where tea awaited the CATS as a refreshing break, courtesy Chandigarh Forest Department. However, a lot of newcomers were having a little tough time to scale the heights of our little hillocks. Nevertheless, it was worth every ounce of effort we made. The moment was well captured by many a camera. Ludhiana gang was having a banter with Chandigarh crowd, IBMs were being debated Dells, chocolates were being traded for muffins, fruit juice was being shared.
Others opted to enjoy lovely breeze at the steps of Hawa Mahal itself. CAT Neeraj was trekking for the first time in her life and did not mince words when she said to me, ‘Supreet, teri to coffee aaj se bund hai!’ I knew I could forget about having a tete-a-tete at her house in the near future. Her husband and our Elusive CAT Charanjeet came for the trek for the first time as well but was too much of a gentleman to swear at me! Their daughter CAT Sandy also looked a little lost and bewildered, even though her T-Shirt read, ‘Me Me Me!’ Newcomer Aseem had an eye for photography and we cant wait for him to finish off his roll and share his photographs with us. Has our official photographer, CAT Paramjeet found a ‘saathi’ in him?
I left the gang there to soon give a helping hand to the new comer Satinder who slipped on the steep slope. Given that I was acutely aware of the time gap between the leaders and the trailers, I decided to quicken my pace and catch up with the groups ahead in an effort to keep the groups as much together as we could. It was important to stay together since there’s no mobile signal to allow any communication/contact. Everything has to be managed manually and on foot in the jungle, as it used to be done in the good old days when our spare time used to be ‘ours’ and not tied to a little instrument glued to our palms every waking second of our lives, as is the case now.
I missed the leading group, red hearts, at Bollian Wala Khu by 20mins but enjoyed drinking the water directly fetched from the well followed by a lovely glass of tea (yes glass!). I left the instructions behind with the Forest Staff to send the trailing CATS as quickly as possible. It was sheer pleasure to trek in peace and each time these prized and precious moments remind me of the couplet by Ghalib,
‘Rahiye ab aisi jegah chal ker, jehan koi na ho
Hum sukhan koi na ho aur hum zubaan koi na ho’
Jumping over the uprooted trees reminded me of the school athletics meet. This half an hour offered perfect opportunity for me to reflect quietly in solitude, enjoy the symphony orchestra being composed instantly by the birds, the wind and the trees. Peacocks played hide and seek, Bablers (7 sisters) were in abundance, hoof marks were aplenty in the soft mud, which turned into slippery silt at a few places, but no animals could be seen around. Herds of sambhar and spotted deer had perhaps taken solace in nooks and crannies to save themselves from the sun which was beating down the brow mercilessly by the time
I was missing our Cool CAT Neerja A by the time I reached the ridge of the second hillock. Kansal log hut was 3kms from this spot and there was yet another hillock to conquer. I met some new faces on the way. There was a young betrothed couple exchanging shy glances. A child was found asking, ‘Mujhe yehan kyon le ker aaye ho? Yehan to saanp hain.’ Sensing the child’s insecurity and his inexperience of trekking, CAT Paramjeet assured him that there were none around. CAT Charanjeet also took a child under his wings as he had come without his parents and had separated from his siblings along the way.
CAT Dharam in the meantime kept his flock of kids together and imparted knowledge about the jungle to them at every opportunity. Did you know that porcupines ate the roots of freshly planted plants? Each feather and quill found on the trail told an interesting story. CAT Aditi was having a challenging time as an accident a year ago had resulted in her loosing a part of her ankle bone during the surgery. CAT Uday literally holding her hand through the way. Since CAT Hemant’s leg was also hurting due to a recent fracture, CAT Aditi had one pain killer herself and gave her remaining one to CAT Hemant. See, CATS share everything; be it laughter, pain or pain killers!
After leaving the second hillock, I came across some blue stars who also separated from their group. They were blaming their temperature controlled working environs for getting breathless in the balmy autumn trek. There was yet another newcomer who was being mercilessly teased for lagging behind by his mates. He was justifying his slow pace by admitting, ‘Yaar 11 maheene se kursi pe baith ker 1 din main stamina nahin recover hota!’ The trek was not really that tough in all honesty, but many had come unprepared for what was awaiting them at Nepli. Most had come without rucksacks thinking they will be able to hike through the jungle without eating a morsel. Some were wearing the wrong shoes but most amusing was to find a couple of pretty damsels coming with huge and cumbersome umbrellas.
CAT Paramjeet kept saying to the struggling gang of silver stars, ‘Bas 500mtr aur and we will be there’, when he pretty well knew that the Log Hut was 5kms away. He managed to get them going for a while till eventually CAT Amanat noticed him standing in front of the sign post declaring that the Log Hut was 2kms away, ‘Jhoot bol rahe ho aap, uss board pe 2km likha huya hai!’ CAT Neerja R found herself without food when a newcomer decided to walk off with her rucksack containing her food. Fortunately, the gang of CAT Navpreet kept her well nourished. Silver Stars had a self-appointed guide, who was actually our 7 year old CAT Aman. CAT Neeraj at one stage said to CAT Aman, ‘Tere maar barri payegi agar saanu galat raste utte le gaya Aman!’ It was absolutely amazing to see kids leading their parents on the trek. CAT Aman at one stage left his father CAT AP speechless when he stumbled time and again, ‘Khud to theek se chalte nahin aur mujhe kehte rehte ho – Aman dhyaan se chalo, beta dhyaan se chalo!’
In the meantime, children saw their parents in a new light on the trek and indeed connected with their little ones anew. Newcomer Puneet was found bribing her 5 year old chubby daughter Ana, ‘Beta, if you promise to walk all the way then you can eat junk food for coming 2 days!’ Nothing worked as Ana soon got tired and Puneet had to give her a piggy ride. The fellow trekkers salute the strength of this mother who actually carried her daughter nearly a third of the way, regardless of whether the trail was taking her uphill or downhill. The trail became tougher for CAT Aditi too so CAT Paramjeet found a tree branch for her to use as a walking stick. CAT Ashish A kept an eye on the flock despite running fever since morning, when he could easily have stayed in bed. CAT Anil quietly went through the whole trek with a smile, along with her equally reticent 9 year old son CAT Achintya, despite their first attempt at trekking with CATS. Infact, he went back promising to come with his family next time.
The most difficult part for everyone was to climb the third hillock, especially the newcomers who were completely zapped of all energy their sedentary lifestyles offered to them. Even young adults were found to be struggling. CAT Charanjeet had shooting pain due to extra weight he carries of the stones and had to lie down to let the pain subside. CAT Sandy quickly forgot her own pain in the toes since she knew she had to take care of her father now. We all were running low on water by now, though we started with a litre of water each with the facility of a refill at the local wells. CAT Fang looked as if he had just had a shower with his clothes on. CAT Harry was prompted into ‘running mode’ when a generously proportioned lady trekker remarked, ‘Itna dheere chal rahe ho?!!’ Even CATS who had done this trail twice before found no shame in admitting that though they knew there was a third hillock round the corner, they wished it was a little less steeper J
The first lot had reached our destination, the Kansal Log Hut by 11.30am. By the time I reached there at 12noon, I found around 40 bodies scattered around the shady lawns of the Log Hut. Most were asking for a cuppa-cha. We had come well prepared with the ingredients for a lovely tea and cold drinks along with bakery items, but everything was in the bus which I could not see in the parking lot. Newcomer Aneesh offered to come along with me to find the buses, given we could not call the drivers in absence of the mobile signals.
By the time we found the buses, everyone had forgotten about the games we were supposed to play after completing our trek. We were too hungry to wait for the tea to be made as well. Few had milk straight from the cartons, others poured lemonade mixture into their water bottles, some dived into the box of biscuits and the rest helped themselves to the namkeen ‘mattar.’ It was free for all, but there was order even in this chaos. There were a few CATS who ensured that no litter was scattered around. One bus load was soon despatched at 1.15pm, followed by a second bus load 10mins later. However, the rest of us had to wait because some CATS were still on the trail. With the rest of my core group still on the trail, CAT Fang promptly offered to wait and help me in keeping the show going, even though he could have easily jumped into the second bus and drive back to Ludhiana.
By the time the remaining of us walked by to the Log Hut from the parking area, we found almost all of the trailing CATS on the lawn. However, we were promptly told by CAT Navpreet that 4 CATS were still behind. CAT Aditi was undergoing a traumatic time on the trail with the pain killer wearing off. Despite her rock solid grit, she was struggling badly and was telling others to leave her behind and that she would make her way to the Log Hut when she had recovered a little. However, that’s not how CATS work. CAT Uday offered to give her a piggy ride, CAT Paramjeet and CAT Kapil offered their shoulders to ensure that slowly but surely, this foursome reached the Log Hut to a thunderous applause at 2pm.
You see, it was not a race which we had to win. It is this very bonding originating from the social fabric of CATS, which all of you have helped create that humbles me no end. CAT Uday, Kapil and Paramjeet could have turned a blind eye to CAT Aditi’s pain, but they chose to stay put with her, every step of the way. CAT AP on his first trek might have arrived earlier with his two kids in tow but he chose to stay with his pal CAT Charanjeet who had shooting pain. CAT Ashish A and Puneet laughingly walked barefoot since wet shoes were causing blisters in their feet. CATS is not a cluster of individuals, CATS is The Family in which everyone looks out, nurtures and cares for each other.
It reminded me of a similar incident when 17 CATS had gone to scale Shali peak at 10,000 feet above sea level to celebrate New Year’s eve last year. I developed high viral fever on the way up. To this day I don’t know how I managed to reach the top and then walk down hill, but what I do know is that I had 5 CATS with me every inch of the way. If CAT Aman has the honour of being the youngest known child to have scaled Shali Peak at the age of 6, the credit goes to CAT Rajpal who held his hand and even carried him above rocks as high as he was! If CAT Amanat chimes at scaling Shali Peak despite having breathing problems, then she also thanks CAT Monica in the same breath who literally held her hand through the snow and counted 10 steps at a time with Amanat to reach the top. In the process, we missed our chartered train to take us back to Chandigarh and had to fork out more money to hire taxes, but there was not a single murmur of complaint from anyone. I also recall the concern writ large on the faces of the CATS in the raft of CAT Navpreet which rescued us when our raft got flipped whilst white water rafting in the Ganges crossing The Daniel’s Dip in April this year. Time and again CATS have come together, unasked, to help everyone along the way.
Families bonded in the lap of the Mother Nature, individuals of all age groups found new friends, newcomers gelled with each other outside their professional environment, serious trekkers had a fulfilling day. The honour of being the youngest trekker that day goes to 5years old Anandita who could have done this trek without her feisty mother who gave her a piggy ride through most of the trek. The honour of being the eldest trekker goes to our courageous and not-so-Elusive CAT Charanjeet, who completed the trek despite being in terrible pain during the last quarter of the journey. Star of the show has to be CAT Aditi, without a doubt.
It was a challenging day for CATS. We were undertaking our first trek in 5 months and had 80 pairs of aching legs and rumbling bellies to take care of. Lack of mobile signals offered yet another challenge when our buses were held up at Kansal Gate, rather than being allowed to reach the parking area closer to the Kansal Log Hut. However, such was the generosity of the new comers and camaraderie amongst everyone present that there was not a single groan heard. Every challenge was accepted head-on as an adventure.
Till we meet again, I sign off by commending the grace of the new comers, the tireless spunk of the children, fellowship camaraderie concern and care of the CATS.
- CAT Supreet
NB: With great pride I announce that through this trek, CATS have managed to raise Rs.11,000/- towards the Bihar Flood Relief Fund. I would also like to acknowledge the generosity of a couple of individual CATS who contributed beyond the trek fee towards this cause.
Rs.11,000/- will be handed over to Rotary Club on 06th of October, who’s Past President had personally gone to supervise the relief efforts. They will be using this money to prepare survival kits costing Rs.400/- per person. The survival kit is to contain items such as blanket, medicines, dhoti, packaged food etc.
My Dear CATS,
What started as a slow trickle... soon turned into a melee during the assembly time... CAT AP was pleasently surprised to bump into his University mate after donkey years... Wondering if CATS should start a 'Find Your Friends' service too?!!
Some very cheerful first timers on the trek, courtesy CAT Sandeep... This noisy lot played Antakshari on the bus without missing a single tick to respond with the appropriate song! ..Can you guess which two would be married soon from this gang?
CATS soon walked into choppy waters... with three falls to testify ;-)
This batch of new comers under Meenakshi was comparatively subdued and kept up with their pace, whilst taking our little CAT Ustat under their wings, who had come without her parents... Just the kind of spirit which embodies CATS... Meow :-)
First dam being carefully crossed by first timers - The Red Stars... CAT Anil brought his son Achintya for the first time for trekking with us and has promised to bring the rest of the family in future...
Though Kapoor family came for the first time butwhat memories they have gone back with! Even a fall in the choe and having to carry little Ana on her back for most part of the trek and walking barefeet towards the finishing stages of the trek due to wet boots causing blisters in her feet did not dampen the spirits of our exuberant CAT Puneet.. Hats off to The Girl Power :-)
The experienced CATS leading the freshers on a short cut to the first Hawa Mahal...
Team Leader par excellence, Sahil putting his paws up with the rest of his pack to enjoy the breeze and enjoy the views of The Sukhna Lake and The Capitol Complex!
Forget the view... just take a picture, will you?!!!
Back on the trek.... some freshers chose to walk over...
CAT Kapil chose to play it safe along with other old timers ;-)
Our CAT Rima on the look out for birds... the feathered variety that is !!
Our older CATS resting a while at Bollianwala Dam...
A refreshing cuppa hot cha was served to all at Bollianwala... courtsey Mr Ishwar Singh :-)
Children getting a helping hand to fetch potable water from the village well, which was dry till a couple of years ago... Thanks to the water conservation practices carried out under the guidance of Mr Ishwar Singh, there are over 150 dams and choes at Nepli Forest now... Three MEOWS to Mr Ishwar Singh..
Our first timer CAT Neeraj sharing something interesting with our old timer little CAT Aman... That indeed is the beauty of CATS... We learn while having fun... Knowledge is not limited to mugging the books.. 
Girls chilling out in the solitude Nepli had to offer... Or are these two sharing a lesson or two about boys??!!
Our little poser Ana with her prized plume took the honour of being the youngest CAT on the trek this time.. Our elusive CAT Charanjeet was on the other end of the scale :-)
Childhood and fun really go hand in hand... would you believe me if I told you that our beautiful CAT Aarzoo is blowing bubbles AFTER finishing a 13kms trek?
But where is their share of fun?? ...just a thought... Can we do something to ensure some parity atleast for our children? 
Hand in hand.... Kapoor family crossing a hurdle on the way... I have to admit that CATS had quite a few challenging obstructions caused by The Mother Nature this time at Nepli... But we conquered them all :-)
Though maintaining the balance itself became a challenge at times.. there was not a paw which did not stumble here ;-)
...and this the stunning destination which awaited CATS after their arduous trek... but there was still a slip between the cup and the lip... err - a kilometer to be precise!
Arduous our journey might have been... but it was certainly interesting since we did not just have the 2-legged variety to give us company along the way... Can anyone name this beauty? 
At first it seems that a butterfly has gone capput with legs up in the air... but look again and you see that its very much alive and kicking! ...Can CAT Rima (or anyone else) tell us more about this one?
No... I have not gone insane with the heatstroke... this indeed is a complete snake skin which was found on the trek by CAT Arun... Life is full of surprised with CATS!
Last batch of the tired CATS resting their paws at the pretty Log Hut...
CAT Fang also conquered pain and discomfort by rejoining CATS after exactly a year...
Yeh kya kaano ko haath lagaaye jaa rahe hain??!!! 
This literally was the state of most of the CATS on the way back :-)
Here's one which flummoxed each one of us - Both the pairs of boots finished exactly the same trek, stumbled through each one of the choes/dams, walked through the mud along the way to catch the bus back... but look at their disperate state?? The brown ones are all muddy whilst the white ones (YES the WHITE ones) look as if they have just been taken out of their packaging!
