Day 11: Racha on the Rocks 

Written by: Anshu Voruganti

The day  began with a sense of excitement and purpose as we gathered at GTR by 6:30 AM, ready for what promised to be an unforgettable trek. Once we went there we packed up snacks, met with our guide, Anand Uncle, and got homeopathy to take care of us during the hike. Then Ammamma suggested that we all make a quick stop at the mandir for Arati and namaskaram right before we left on our hike! After the mandir we all piled into the bus ready for the racha that was about to happen. And right after a heartfelt goodbye to Ammamma and all the aunties, we set off on our journey, singing songs along the way that filled the bus with energy and joy.

We were all having the best time screaming songs at the top of our lungs and dancing with each other bringing a smile to each and everyone’s face. With all the excitement of the bus ride to the trek, none of us were thinking about the difficulty of the trek we were about to embark on. Our destination was going to be a trek unlike any other we have done before—challenging, grueling, but ultimately rewarding. Once we reached the starting point of the trek we were greeted by some monkeys and dogs. But first, we set up the area to eat some pulihora, curd ride, pickle, and malt that our thoughtful aunties and Ammamma planned and packed for us. It was so beautiful to sit in the fresh air with everyone, taking turns serving each other, and enjoying this delicious meal.

Now the real adventure began. We started the hike with steep rocky steps for the first hour, or so we thought. The motivation of being told that the hard part was coming to the end or that the flat part was coming up kept us going up the steep rocky path for 80% of the hike. Even though Anand Uncle was suggesting that we save our energy, our racha was the only thing truly getting us through the hike. We were telling stories, talking to the uncles, singing songs, and dancing our way up the mountain. From dogs to snakes and monkeys and goats, we had an abundance of animals throughout our hike. The trek proved to be the hardest physical experience we had ever encountered at this camp; the steep inclines and rocky paths tested our limits, but the energy between us and the views kept us going. 

As we were getting closer to the bottom on the hike, we heard the beautiful sounds of our Gecko call. This gave us the energy to speed down the last part to meet up with everyone at the bottom. Keertana and I came down and were immediately greeted with ice cold water, at this moment liquid gold. We chugged as much as we could and ran into the bus to soak in the air conditioning and rest our bodies. Slowly, one by one all the girls made it down the mountain and into the bus. The bus ride there was filled with racha and the bus ride back was filled with rest. 

Once we got to Haritachala we all filed into the kitchen and began setting up the delicious indian food that Akka had ordered and picked for us. From gobi manchuria to chicken biryani, every item you can think of was on the table ready for us to eat. After we all thoroughly enjoyed our meal, it was time to reset with a shower and a nap. While waiting for my turn I worked on formations for our group dance since we wanted to set them in practice today. After everyone had rested we had formation practice and headed to the mandir for Arati. Arati in the mandir felt like no other day today. It filled the halls and echoed back in vibration and I felt so full of life. 

Once Arati ended we all piled into cars and headed to Dreaming Tree (restaurant) for dinner! We were all so excited by the menu and ordered so many different options for us all to try. We took over half the restaurant and brought our racha. We talked to Akka about so many different stories, took pictures, and once the aunties and uncles came, the racha doubled. It brought me so much joy to spend time with our Haritachala family and seeing everyone laughing and smiling with each other. Once dinner was over we headed back to Haritachala and decided to meet at the campfire to go over our plan for tomorrow. Since camp was coming to an end we wanted to make sure that all of our goals were getting achieved or being worked on. After we finished planning we moved onto working on the culturals. I showed Akka the set list, a flyer I had drawn, and shared all the ideas I had on presenting our culturals. Akka patiently listened through each step giving her advice and supporting me throughout the conversation.

Once we came to a good point with planning the culturals, without us noticing the conversation shifted to other things. We talked about the future plans of Haritachala, community living, ideas for future Gecko projects, and about all of our passions. I was able to share with Akka how I wanted to work on a kids merch line and what ideas I already had for it along with other ideas. We talked about how we would want to spend time in Haritachala in the future and the projects we would want to start here. 

But the most special conversation I had with Akka was when she told me that if I wanted to open an autism center here, all I had to do was dedicate my time and she would take care of the rest. The second Akka said that all the girls looked at me and looked back to Akka since they knew that it was my dream to open an autism center. Akka told us how Guruvugaru wanted to open a school for blind and deaf children and how this would be completing that circle. It felt like a dream to be having this conversation since it has been something I have been talking to Baba and Guruvugaru about for a long time. 

We lost track of time, wrapped up in conversation, and before we knew it, it was 4 AM. As we finally headed to bed, my heart was filled with excitement, joy and gratitude from the amazing talks and the promise of what’s to come.