The Midnight Crawl 🐯🚩

from thinking twice,

to enrolling thrice;

persuading few,

to the experience so new..

pushing through the crowd,

noisy, musical & loud;

was the local train ride,

with the scheduled time we could abide..

reaching the nearest station,

feeling like awesome vacation;

waiting for the colleagues to join,

no shops open to buy anything with a coin..

here came in a small cargo truck,

loading us over onto with good luck;

driving through the silent zig zag lanes,

with sleep pumping out of our veins..

we did reach Mahuli Village,

eager to capture some image;

lacing up with trek gear,

erasing the uncertain fear..

Welcome to Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary

we walked towards the Entry Gate,

ensuring to reach there by 12am not late;

clicking a photo for attendance & count,

with clear rules no discount..

testing our head lamps,

did warmup to avoid cramps;

begins our midnight stride,

with our eyes open & wide.. 

taking regular breathing breaks,

with equal ownership & stakes;

climbing through uphill,

craving for some breeze & chill..

conversations started - stories begun,

from star gazing, astronomy, to the Moon & the Sun;

strangers felt like childhood friends,

climbed together uphill, slopes & bends..

reaching the ancient caves at morning four,

in deep sweat & pain down to the core;

did we all choose to rest on the soil,

but few skipped the sleep & kept the water to boil..

never in my life yet did I start my day with pasta,

@ 6am this was served to us as piping hot nashta (breakfast);

with green sprouts to share & care,

accompanied the monkeys to eat & stare..

heading to scale & measure,

to also find the treasure;

within & around Mahuli Fort,

attending through each temple & court..

scorching heat couldn't stop us so to say,

plucking & biting each jamun, karvanda, mango on the way;

finding a cave with chilled water,

time was almost One to a Quarter..

our friends setup a Cloud Kitchen with woodfire,

cooking meals tastier than our desire;

resting under the water cooled cave,

with the limited energy we could recharge & save..

here we start heading back through a steeper route,

up & awake enough - not skipping to taste any fruit;

photo clicks weren't enough to capture the charm,

the aura, the breeze, the peaceful calm..

walking downhill with some rhythm & trance,

magical was the nature around at every glance;

a dozen of lemons, water, sugar, jaljeera & ice,

could relieve our pain almost instantly so nice..

eating everything found in our bag,

crossing each victory flag;

near were we to exit this paradise,

what next? asked a pro trekker so wise..

the pain the missing rain,

the gain the steep lane;

made us feel like never before,

without which we never could discover our core..

here we are Tuning in for More..