I ushered in my birthday a couple of weeks back amidst pristine nature and absolutely no connection with the outside world. I am not kidding, any of my friends or cousins/relatives can vouch for the fact that I was virtually unreachable ! One of my close friends kept repeating - "I don't understand how you could vanish on your birthday !" I had to tell him I didn't really vanish and it was not really my fault that there was no signal at Jog falls or the nearby areas where I was travelling the whole day. I did have glimpses of signal ( blessings from the mobile God ;-) )once in a while during the journey which conveyed the wishes of those who wanted to reach me in the form of SMSs ,voice messages and the occasional phone calls. I was lucky enough to make a call home during lunch and seek the blessings of my grandparents.
My last visit to Jog was about 3 years back with my school gang and we had a blast of a time trekking down the bottom and struggling to climb up ! My friend had to almost lift me up every step since I had had a fall that morning outside the hotel room and hurt my back ! Since this trip was with my parents, we decided not to trek till the bottom but to just enjoy the scene and the place. We did manage to climb down a little from the side and get some really breathtaking views. This was right outside our guest house which was facing the side portion of the falls. This was not the commercial view spot and was devoid of people and littering. The view from this side was totally different though we couldn't see all the 4 falls together. 
After some quick photos and a breakfast we headed to Murudeshwar. I was taken aback by the beauty and the cleanliness of the temple and the beach. The Shiva looked majestic and imposing and the newly built Gopura was ready to take on all these swanky skyscrapers of the city. The beach was so pristine and shining that it felt like a sin to dip your legs. The sand was so smooth that it didn't stick to the legs nor did it feel grainy for the feet. After lunch we headed back and the rest of the day was spent in the cab. The wonderful roads made sure that we got a good amusement ride for free !Coming back to the signal ( or rather the lack of it ) part, it is really amazing how addictive we have become to technology. I personally don't care much about my mobile and I don't miss it much when it is not around. But having said that I have grown used to the comfort it gives me when its with me. I can message/call anyone I want at any point of time. So being without signal for 1 1/2 days was both a blessing and a curse and when that day happens to be your birthday it makes things more challenging. Of course I didn't have a mobile 5 years back and only some real close friends or relatives would call up to wish me and it wasn't really a big deal if someone missed out or forgot to call ! Then started the age of reminders, mobiles, social networks, mails and what not and it becomes increasingly hard to miss some one's birthday unless he/she is unreachable or has lost the mobile!
