A weekend trip to Golden temple, Vellore

Plans to Tirupati trip ended abruptly, but never knew destiny had plans of Golden Temple , Vellore for the weekend , not just for me but for the fun-loving gang of my workgroup . Something never even planned but something cannot be denied with a group who are ever-ready to live every single moment ! Times have changed, we had to plan for a trip a month before in college and now, a lunch break is enough to plan a trip anywhere . :)

Early morning on a weekend , we were supposed to be at Madhu's, Nari's and Dass's flat. It is central location for any plans which we make , and its more than a palace where the high-profile conglomeration happens . I am referring in lines of G-8 , G-20 and G-... you can add any no of persons to be part and there is a place here for them . I kept an alarm at sharp 6 and woke up unreluctantly . By now, you have realised I wake up on trip days at scheduled time , so no need to boast this from now on . Krishna called up at regular intervals to me and Raja just to make sure we are ready on time when he comes to receive in his chariot, sorry his car . Ofcourse I was on time here too , but Raja came 15 min later. But this was good time for us to sit in a car and view the early morning scene near Old-Airport Road. I wonder so many people jog early morning, instead of sleeping cosily on a Saturday morning ! Newspaper vendors , BMTC buses , milk valahs... the world is already fired up so early , and I would never realise the beauty of these things if there were no weekend trips. I guess you all agree , right ?
We reached the central point around 7.45 . Already late , but there were many late-latifs than us so we grabbed the chance to savour a hot cup of tea nearby . Naveen, Hemant and Yugandhra were on time, but an uninvited accident delayed Uma's arrival by 30 mins more. The group was already hungry and we started finally on a journey sharply at 8.15 in a group of five in two cars . We had a safe driver here and cruiser in the other . The journey was blissful with songs continously played .Who reaches first to the breakfast destination A2B was decided long before the start , but by how many miles was the hot dog cooking up in Krish's car. As usual , I was damn hungry and so were others . The moment we reached , Narayanan aka our beloved Nari along with Krish and Madhu -the flagbearers of paying bills throughout the trip, started in style by ordering plates of fresh hot Pongal, Puri, Upma/Kichdi - the fight was going on why it is called Kichdi when Upma sounds so delicious. Who cares ? The motto was to gobble all these and satiate the hungry belly , and all ten were honest enough relishing the tasty breakfast . Let me say, I never ate such a tasty Pongal before, and it left me craving for more. The crowd was unforeseen specially on a secluded place on NH-7 but as the saying goes " pet ke liye aadmi kuch bhi karega" holds true here and the man goes to any corner on earth for that. Infact, A2B was a blessing for the travellers at this corner of earth .
After hunger was satisfied, we all realised that we had to rush up to Vellore soon . At 10.30, we began the trip ahead . The road-less taken to the divine Sripuram was the one we took and reached before the cruiser's car reached. A tortoise-rabbit story was recalled which we learnt during our kindergarten's and it holds so true even today . :) No offenses to anyone! The veda parayana darshan tickets worth Rs. 250/- per head ensured a comfortable long walk inside the temple premises. The moment we stepped in , I glanced at mesmerising golden temple . The temple is built comprising the modern architecture equally laced with Dravidian architectural style. It is spread on a huge sprawling premise with Vedic quotes teaching you lessons on the way to deity . We had a very good darshan of Lord Lakshmi Narayani , and were blessed enough to offer comfortable prayers for a while . After wrapping the darshan task , the next destination which was reverred by the foodies and shoe-shoppers was Ambur. We reached here around 3 pm and you wont believe we roamed so-many shops cluttered with leather shoes mostly owned by Muslim community here . Madhu was the person who had advertised about this , and probably after our visit, it may make it to the list of Incredible India ! must-visit destinations :) We had a quick lunch here .Uma played his prank to the fullest by hiding my Nokia N78 in car's vouch but later, gave up by my anxious face .We visited every shop in the tiny hamlet of shoe-vendors .By the time , we tried our bargaining skills and bought a pair of shoes , Raja and Uma were already fed up and having a relaxing time seated in hotel. Ofcourse , there were many comments about my bargaining skills . But I welcome them and all are free to voice their opinions in a democratic India . I bet there were far-better bargainers than me out there, right ?
Dass, the cruiser had to reach Bangalore by 8pm and it was already 6 and covering 200 Km was no easy task . We in Krish' s car had an amazing journey back home with discussions ranging from South-Indian film industry , controversies , politics, YSR's succession plans and what not ? And I was enjoying the conversation half-asleep . I usually tend to sleep soon on long journeys ,but my companions are always there to keep me awake . We were in Bangalore outskirts, and I told Raja that we are so near to our destination and how come the trip is ending without any roadblocks. It was simply amazing, but he replied me back that the same thing I could have told him when we reach Bangalore.Luckily, I dont believe in superstitions and we all reached safely to the central point. Hemant and others had already reached, and collected their scattered stuffs and prasadam . Dinner was also in the itenary and it was proudly finished at Cauvery restaurant where Nari and Madhu were lucky to do the honours as usual . I had a good sleep after reaching home . A lazy Sunday was awaiting me the next day , and expenses incurred by the concerned to be paid soon ! Hope it's not a bombshell ! :)
Keeping my fingers crossed for Tirupati trip next ? Let's see what destiny has it for us now !!!!