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The NMR SAGA
Trekking along the Nilgiri Mountain Railway track is veritably a life time experience. One which combines both ECSTASY & AGONY. This ambitious venture was planned twice in the past but deferred if not shelved because of preoccupation and hence non-availability of some of the proposed participants. But God willing what had hitherto remained a wishful dream finally saw the light of day in the Nilgiris on Saturday, the 12th of December, 2015,
NMR is the steepest gradient in Asia and 8th in the world. Many have trekked from Coonoor...
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to mettupalayam (down hill) ,No one had done an up hill trek , So we planned one such. Kallar to Runnymede, a steep gradient (1-12.5) and 16 kms…….. . However, keeping in mind the age and physical condition of Yours Truly, the trekking party consisting of 8 IRI admins and one ex-admin, kept me out of that group. A plan of action to which I perforce had to acquiesce with mixed feelings. It was a classic case of the " spirit being willing while the flesh was not ", more so, as I was in the recovery mode from a month-long bout of acute bronchitis. And so it was that the adventurers saw me off at 7.10 am by the MTP-UAM Passenger at Mettupalayam before they themselves proceeded by road to KALLAR to commence what proved to be the MOTHER OF ALL TREKS by an IRI admin group. Exhausting yet memorable, back-breaking yet exhillarating, arduous yet amazing. I guess in an effort to bring to you the thrill of the participants I could go on endlessly. But that would be a travesty of justice. For if the ends of justice were to be adequately served, it stands to reason that those who underwent the experience, and they alone, should narrate, both in prose and pictures, the sheer beauty of their endeavour.
I am merely doing the honours of initiating this post at the request of all those who actually undertook this MISSION PAR EXCELLENCE. And they are in no particular order 8 IRI admins Dr. Nazeer, Jayaraj, Subawarna Kohilan, Minti aka Pradeep, Shashank Bhatt, Raam from VSKP, MS Narayanan and last but not the least Pramodh Kommattil. One of our ex-admins Dr. Amit Kumar also participated.
I would be failing in my duty if I did not acknowledge the pioneering and organizational contribution of Dr. Nazeer, Jayraj and Kohilan who ensured that this venture was a resounding success. I as well the rest of the party are deeply indebted to these three gentlemen.
Now over to the others for their accounts of the expedition