The 3 men were climbing the hill from a long time. The knight in purple was named Nikhil by his father and Tuks by his friends. The man with the white cap was Pawan (which means 'wind', but we never hear him howling nor talking) and the man in the extreme right is a giant who is around 6 feet and 3 inches and has a long name which matches his height. He was named Balasubramanya , a name which becomes even bigger when he adds his fathers' name to his name - the full name reads Balasubramanya Ramachandra. It is a different matter altogether that, we lazy asses shorten even the shortest possible name - so the long name Balasubramanya Ramachandra becomes Bala, which in Kannada language can mean a tail and which in Sanskrit can mean a kid.
Ok. I digress.
The 3 men were climbing the hill from a long time. The goal was to reach its top which supposedly had a fort (ok ok, the fort was not SUPPOSEDLY there, it WAS there) built by one Ballalaraya, a small time chieftain some time in once-upon-a-time, whose only claim to fame being his death in the hands of Tipu Sultan (is he the lost-in-a-different-dimension-brother of the great Genghis Khan?). The websites had waxed eloquent about the breathtaking view of the hills and valleys they would be bombarded with at the top of this hill. Their guide (his name is long lost in the mist of hopelessly non-linear time) had promised them, once they reach the top of the hill, shade from the scorching sun and place to rest, but they were in no position to completely believe him nor dispute his claim of being the messiah of the shade. The trek in its 4th hour, the sun beating down mercilessly on the top most point of their head, the not-so-cool-wind blowing on their face with the same vigor of a 20 year old trucks' exhaust pipe, the climbers were in a very delicate position. The Purple Knight was as silent as a girl who is making love to her man in a dark room filled with snoring men. Pawan, the non-howling-non-talking wind, still was in a no-howling-no-talking mode, and the Gentle Giant was wondering aloud about the giantness of his body and its pros and cons...well, mostly cons.
Ok. There were 4 men climbing the hill. Not 3 as was claimed in the beginning. Of course I failed to count in the guide. My mistake.
The March sun can be very unforgiving to people who are unprepared. NHNT (Pawan, the non-howling-non-talking) had a white cap on his head but he was not prepared for the brightness his eyes were coping with. If his eyes had a mouth, his ears would have heard a lot of howling and talking which he would not have liked very much, but then nature in its infinite wisdom did not provide eyes a mouth, so well, that is that. The Purple Knight was not protected by a cap nor by sunglasses, so the less said about him, the better. Bala was protected by his sunglasses, but well, what problem can be bigger than the bigness of his physique, especially when he is climbing a big hill in the middle of a FUCKIN' HOT DAY? None.
And yet they persevered. Feet by feet they conquered. They bent their backs, put their heads down, wiped the overflowing sweat on their face, and walked like men possessed. Well, it wasn't all that serious and mystical, but yeah, they did walk like they had an important goal to reach. Sorry about the exceedingly exaggerated 'walked like men possessed' part though. Thinking about the burnt grass, the still green forest, the brown soil under their feet, they hiked. And then they heard the sentence they were all waiting for.
"There is the fort. Another 10 minutes and we are there". The guide was relieved that they were there. Not because he was tired. Well, he was tired of the silent whining. But yeah, even though he physically wasn't tired, he was relieved that he would not have to carry any almost dead person to the top of the hill and the way back. (Talking about the way back, the 3 men had seen that movie 'The Way Back' just a week before their trek to the mud fort and all the 3 were secretly wishing that they would not meet the fate of those in that movie who were fated to die. Yes. I am exaggerating again.)
The Purple Knight squinted to see the fort. He did not. The sun was bright and his eyes were not open enough. But he knew it was there and that was enough for him.
The NHNT wind silently gazed. By the look of his eyes and by the grin on his face it was clear that he had seen it.
The Gentle Giant let out a 'Whoop'. It meant he was happy. It also meant he was relieved that he can rest his huge body under a tree which only he could see. It also meant that he would rest there until woken.
The rest of the walk was a stroll. It wasn't exactly a stroll, but you know how it is with men and their energy when they are filled with hope. The gait had a spring in it and the sun suddenly became cooler by two degrees or so it seemed. The ten minute walk was reduced to 2 minutes (you know how it is with the crazy non-linear time) and the small tree at the top of the hill suddenly grew to a huge tree which gave shade to travelers from prehistoric times.
Oh Ok. There were 5 men. I was the 5th. Did you really think I could write this without being the 5th? You should be mad to think that way !!
So yes. The first line should read like this.
The 5 men were climbing the hill from a long time. The name of the 5th is immaterial, but well, we anyway know who it is.
To mention, the top of the hills did give a very mesmerizing view of the surrounding forest and the valleys. Just that we went there in the wrong month. November should be an excellent time. Even December and January should be fine. If you are going in February or March, do send me a mail so that i can say "Are you fuckin' mad??!!"
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