It was last weekend of August 2005, and my company project team was on a weekend trip to Nainital. We reached Kathgodam by Ranikhet Express early in the morning, from where we proceeded to Country Inn, Bhimtal. We had hired a bus and a guide, and hence could have spent time in a way we best liked, without worrying about transport. After breakfast, we went to Bhimtal, and did boating for quite some time.
The group consisted of about 20 people, and pretty much every one was under 30 years. So we decided to go for trekking instead of following the usual tourist routine. We started circling the taal along a treacherous route, moving towards the hilly side of taal. It took longer than anticipated, and at several places, we had to move through 1-2 feet of water. We pushed forward, and eventually found a way going deep into forest. Soon, we were in a place from where, not a single trace of civilization was visible. The view in the forest was mesmerizing. Being rainy season, the forest was absolutely green, and we had trees with sparkling green leaves all around us. Suddenly, it started drizzling, but we were too much inside the forest, and decided to move ahead, but not before securing our digital cameras and phones in few plastic bags. In about an hour, we found a camping site. Our tour guide knew about it, and presented it as a pleasant surprise to us. The place consisted of few tents and a big thatched roof, with nice tables and wooden benches. Everyone was quite exhausted and took seats.
Suddenly, one of us noticed that his leg was bleeding profusely without pain. The camp people explained that we were attacked by leeches, which are abundant in rainy season. Soon, we discovered that more than half of us had leeches attached to our feet, and I too had 3 stuck to my feet. The simplest method to get rid of those was to put some table salt over the affected place, upon which the leech promptly stopped sucking blood, and tried to crawl to safety. In some cases, the bleeding continued for some time even after the leech was removed. The camp people served us with Hot tea and pakoras, and helped us clean up. It took some time to screen everyone for leeches and the bleeding to stop, but eventually, everyone was good enough to start on backward journey. Everyone was quite careful in return trekking, and we made it back to the Hotel by late afternoon.
Late in the evening, we had a campfire, and got a guitarist singing for us. Though his voice and guitar play was nice, he did not know many songs which people wanted to listen. One thing lead to another, and soon there were 5-6 of us at microphone, all singing whatever they wanted. All attempts to coerce them to come back and sit failed, and hence the "Leech Band" originated, a group of people who will capture the microphone, and won't let go till people are absolutely tired or bored, whichever is first. The name was suggested to commemorate the jovial spirit of us Software Engineers, which even a bunch of bloodsucking leeches failed to dampen. We sang and danced till well over midnight, and now, any Office Group trip is incomplete without a Leech Band performance around a campfire.
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