Days of Nostalgia

The month of October bought with it the festival of lights. Though I don’t celebrate Deepavali, I always make it a point to sit on my terrace and watch the firecrackers.

For me fire crackers remind me of Huthari, a harvest festival celebrated back home. As a kid since I didn’t get to burst crackers during Deepavali I would wait for Huthari. Dad would take me and my siblings to the shop give us a budget and let us buy what we wanted. Then it was a wait till 8 pm, that was when we were allowed to burst them. Friends from houses near by would join us and along with crackers one could hear laughter and shrieks of children.

Huthari was also a time to show off ones courage. The one who lit the biggest and the nosiest cracker without flinching was considered the most courageous. I am proud to say that there were few times I got the title

And as we finished our stock of crackers elders would carry oil lamps and head to the fields to bring home the first harvest for the year. This done everybody would wait for payasam made along with the first harvest to be served and then head back to their respective homes.

This year as I sat in a quite corner of the water tank and watched the skies light up it brought back memories of the good old days of fun.

Another weekend another destination - Pavagada Fort

When Krishna mentioned Pavagada all I could think of was the famous Shaneshwara temple. As usual the plan was to meet at Aravind's house and leave from there. Before we started we gobbled hot idlies that Aravind’s mom served and left at 8 am.

As we hit the NICE road our drive turned eventful, we noticed some test cars, we chased the cars for some distance till we got close enough to take some pictures.

As we passed them we kept guessing their make and company. Based on recent news we all decided that this could be the new hatch-back from Ford.

After the initial excitement the drive got boring with bad roads and not many birds spotted.

Just as we neared Madhugiri the sight of the sunflowers against the backdrop of the second largest monolithical rock prompted us to stopped and take pictures.

After this our next stop was Pavagada. Since it was Saturday the town was crowded with devotees. However very few people knew about the fort. Finally with some directions we managed to reach the base of the fort.

The start was through open drainage and filth. As we moved up the path was covered with animal dung. The place though of great significance in history is deteriorating and badly kept.

(Pavagada Fort is located in the northeastern part of Tumkur District in Karnataka. It was built in 1405 by a Vijayanagar chieftain. This hill fort witnessed a historic battle between the English and Tipu Sultan.)

The fort has entrance at each level.

Halfway up there is a Hanuman Temple and a little further there is a water tank. Our assumption was that this might have been used to stored water for the entire fort. Krishna commented that the pattern of the fort was similar to the one at Madhugiri. The fort is also guarded by huge boulders. Finally after 50 mins we were on top of one of the watch towers. This is supposed to be the tower where the king sat (not sure if that is true). The view from here was very pretty. We also noticed that there were buildings on the other side. We decided to explore them. As we walked around we realised that there was nothing much one could infer about their use by walking around. We also chanced upon a flight of stairs and this lead to what looked like rooms. For a change it didn't have the musty smell. Since there was nothing much to do after that we started our descent. It was faster than my expectation and we reached back in about 15 mins.

By now our breakfast was digested and we were ready for lunch. As we hunted for a place to eat we decided to try the one that looked better than the rest. But when the food was served we realized that we had made a mistake. We barely ate anything and quickly left. Our only consolation was that we could stop at Kamat Restaurant on the way back and eat good food.

Finally after losing our way couple of times more and making a stop at Kamat we reached Bangalore at 7 pm. Though not one of my most memorable trips it was definitely worth it.

Gulakamane Lake

When Krishna sent me the write up about this place (which was relatively less) I was sure I had not heard of this place and was eager to explore.

The only direction that we had got was that the lake was close to the Art Of Living Campus. Since it was Ganesh Weekend we decided this was an ideal short trip and we could be back before 10:00 am.

After being misguided once we finally managed to take the right road. One had to go past the Art of Living campus and take a left at the main junction of the next village, after that take the left at Gulakamane village. One can even ask for TK falls and will be guided to this place. (TK Falls is 2 Kms from the Lake)

The whole intention of this trip was to bird watch. When we got there initially except for the beautiful lake, we didn’t see any birds and we were disappointed. But as we walked around the lake we observed folks of muniya, ducks, kites, weaver bird building its nest, white browed bulbul, parakeets, cuckoo, myna, laughing dove, ashley premia, kingfisher, coucal to name a few.

We spent about 2 hours here and then it was time to leave. Though this heaven for bird watchers is close to Bangalore it still remains known to a selected few.

Magnificent Water Falls Dudhsagar, Gokak and Godchinmalaki

It was a long gap after Amedikal Trek and fortunately Dudhsagar happened at the right time.

After waiting in the railway station for 2 hours the train (Vasco) finally arrived at 8:30 pm and we were off to Dudhsagar. This was going to be my first full fledge railway track trek and I was looking forward to it.

The plan initially was to alight at Castel Rock Station and walk towards Dudhsagar. When we were told that the train would stop for 2 minutes at Dudhsagar Station, we decided to take that option to save time.

But as we crossed Castle Rock the view turned beautiful, with waterfalls at every turn and green hills everywhere. So when the train stopped at a signal we hopped off it and started walking. We walked through 6 tunnels both long and short and we managed to do this without a single torch. We were later told that it could have been dangerous to walk without torch as the tunnels were sometimes home for snakes. The sights during the walk were beautiful and worth every minute we spent.

After 2 hours (8 kms) of walking we finally arrived at the breath taking Dughsagar Waterfall. It is so beautiful that one can watch forever and still not have enough. Since we were told the train back to Castle Rock was only at 5 pm we decided to walk a little further, here laid the most beautiful tunnel passage. 2 tunnels separated by a small waterfall. The water fell from the openings of the tunnels and the bright sunlight made the water drops sparkle. Since there was no one there we had a chance to experiment with our camera. Another 10 mins of walking we were opposite Dudhsagar waterfalls and it looked lot more majestic from here.

Though reluctant we walked back to Dudhsagar Station to board the only train back to civilization. Luckily the train was going all the way to our next destination Belgum.

The day activities had worn us out so after a delicious dinner we went to bed.

The plan next day was to visit Gokak falls and Godchinmalaki falls. We took a bus to Gokak and from there hired an auto for the day. This was not a good idea as the auto driver wanted to get back in a hurry and kept nagging us through the journey.

We decided to visit Godchinmalaki falls first. This is about 16 Kms from Gokak Falls and 20 Kms from the main Gokak town. We had to walk some distance before we could see the waterfalls. Though the view took our breath away the place was so crowded and dirty that we didn’t feel like spending more than 5 minutes here.

The next destination was Gokak falls. Having seen pictures of the falls before we had high expectation but when we got here, there were more people than water. Just as we were giving up hope we spotted nature at work; a rainbow started to form around the falls and stayed for about 5 minutes. It was truly an amazing sight.We spent some time admiring this and as it disappeared we decided to head back. The rainbow remained the topic of discussion all the way back.

This trip had good share of breath taking moments and disappointing ones but at the end it’s definitely one to remember.

A much deserved break – Coonur (Part 2)

We had big plans for today. We were to visit Dolphin’s Nose, I was told that the view from here was superb.

While we waited for our Uncle, we decided to visit Sim’s Park again. And this time Akshaya managed to find the Rudraksh Tree, unfortunately we didn’t find any seeds.

Just as we finished walking around Uncle called to say he was ready to take us to Dolphin's Nose.

The drive through tea estates and forest was beautiful. But as we near the actual destination all there was to see was mist. We waited a while, drank some tea but the situation was still the same, finally decided to head back home.

On the journey back we discussed the type of tea, tea-flowers etc.

Another delicious lunch and we were ready to explore again. Considering our interest in tea cultivation Uncle decided to take us to his Estate. The Famous Catherine Waterfalls is situated amidst the plantation. The ride turned out to be an exciting one. Not only did we get treated to beautiful scenery, we also spotted a herd of Bison amidst tea plantation. As I watched them I felt that this was their way of reclaiming the forest that men keep encroaching.

By the time we returned it was dinner time. The plan was to go to Wellington Club. Wellington is the place where army officers are sent for education so that they can be eligible for promotions. The club looked like an old British Bungalow. This place also had a collection of old pictures, guns and stuffed animals. Once can easily spend 2 hours looking around. Though the food was not so great, the visit was worth it.

Since we had to leave early next day when we got back we quickly packed and went to bed.

Journey back was another adventure. The drive in the ghat section was beautiful and I kept cursing myself for not driving down. Due to heavy rains some bridges were submerged. The bus had to go through villages and bad roads to reach Mysore. From there it was a smooth drive on the highway. It also meant a end to a lovely weekend.

A much deserved break – Coonur

Coonur has been on my to-do list for 16 years now. My Uncle and Aunt stay there and the last time I visited them was 16 years back. Ever since they have been inviting me over and some how the trip never happened till 19th Jul 2009.

It was an impromptu trip. Decided last minute, called and confirmed with my aunt, booked tickets and I was off. My sisters were coming with me so I expected to have a good time. While Ashraya was travelling with me, Akshaya would join us in Ooty a little later

Though we had heard about roads being blocked due to heavy rains, our journey was uneventful till Ooty. About 8 kms from Coonur a fallen tree lead to the road being blocked for an hour. Eventually we reached Coonur by 8:30 am.

We were greeted with sumptuous breakfast of Appam, Stew, Egg Bhurji and Toast. We quickly polished off most things on the table. We then decided to rest for a while. Restless souls that we are, within 30 mins the urge to do something started to nag us. We decided to explore Sims Park. This turned out to be a wise decision. The park has some exotic trees, botanical names of which I can’t pronounce. We also spotted lots of birds that I had not seen before. The main attraction for us was the Rudraksh Tree; we searched the whole park for it and but couldn't find it. Finally by lunch time we gave up and headed back.
Lunch again was delicious spread. Must say my aunt is a terrific cook. The plan after that was to drive to Ooty to pick Akshaya up. Since we arrived early we decided to explore the Wax Museum that a friend of mine Akshata had mentioned. All I can say is that it’s a good attempt. Next stop was the Thread Garden opposite the Ooty Lake. I was amazed how they could make it look so real and that too by just using thread, very impressive.

Once we picked Akshaya up we shopped for some Ooty chocolates at King Star (Oldies in the business) and headed back.

The dinner was another memorable experience. We went to a place called Blue Hills, the signature dish here is Wellington Parota (a must try). Having stuffed our selves here decided we had done enough for the day so headed home for some good night’s sleep.

Day 2 – to be continued…

Glorious Karnataka

When you have the passion to travel, you would normally start by exploring places closest to you. I guess that kind of explains why I travelled so much within Karnataka.

Having born and bought in Coorg I got to see the Scotland of India. I climbed hills, walked through coffee plantations, drove through dense forests and took dips in the rivers. And every time I went visiting one of my aunts I discovered another side of this beautiful place.

Mysore was the closest destination when we wanted to go on one day fun trips as kids. And even now when I visit Mysore I remember time when I was awed by 3-D paintings in the place, excited by the animals in the zoo and enjoyed the ride up Chamundi hill. Dassera here is again something that I always remember.

Doing my graduation in Bangalore fuelled my passion for travel. It was here I made friends with people who shared the same interest. Whenever we got a chance we would go and explore places close by.

One of the first places we went as a group was Sravanabelagola, Belur and Halebid. The workmanship in the temples is unmatched. The huge Mahaveer, The attention paid to details, effects achieved without any high tech gadgets, the perfect measurements, I continue to visit these places every now and then and they still mesmerize me. Since it’s so close to Bangalore I normally advise people to take sometime and go here. And if I have the time I go along.

But this in not the only place where once gets to look at the past, Hampi is another destination that’s a must visit. Music from the pillars, the pinhole camera effect, and the amazing food one gets here just add to the feel. In one of my three day trip here I also stopped by at Badami, Patadkal and Aihole. Though they are all sculptures from the past each one is different from the other. I could spend days here going back in time.

Again the thing about Karnataka is that one is not limited to historical places. An overnight drive can take one to places waiting to be explored. I have been on many trips like this and seen the scenic side. Discovered hidden water falls, trekked up many a peaks, walked through dense forests and wildlife sanctuaries, sighted rare birds and camped at backwaters.

And that is not all, when I think I need a little more of sun and sand I head to costal Karnataka. I could eat seafood all day and lay in the beach, some well-known and some virgin ones. I also make these trips to costal Karnataka for religious reasons. Some of the oldest and well known temples are located here. My fun trips tend to be extension of the religious ones.

Though I have travelled through Karnataka extensively I still feel there is lot more to see and I will continue making trips to explore the beautiful State.

The Good Old Nandi Hills

It was very early in the morning that Sunday. I still hadn't slept as I was at my friends place partying. Just as everybody started find a place to sleep, someone suggested we drive upto Nandi Hills. It seemed like a good idea to me. Having been in Bangalore for 10 years I had not once visited this place.
After quickly freshening up we got into our cars and headed to Nandi Hills. Just 2 people knew the way. So we decided to follow those cars. The tough part of our journey was not finding the way but keeping awake.

Since we started at 5.00 am we missed watching the sunrise from the hill. Stopped at the base to take some shots. It was a pretty sight, the vineyard and the golden sun.

When we reached the top a group of monkeys greeted us. One could see monkeys every where and they were creating a havoc.

Just to stay awake and get some energy we decided to first get some coffee and then walk around. There are lot of vendor selling cappuccino there. After gulping some hot coffee each of us headed in different direction to explore the place. I went with some bird watcher friends of mine. We found lots of different birds and spent time chasing them.

We then visited the old temple and walked over to Tippu’s drop. The view from here is superb. The temple itself is a small one and does't have too many carvings on it. Another thing that’s memorable about this place is the flowers ones finds all over. Some wild and some home-grown ones. They give a different charm to the whole place.

After spending some time here we decided to head back but not before eating some hot Maggie.

Remembering Forgotten Cultures and Traditions - Janapada Lok

Every time we stopped at Lok Rucchi for breakfast I have wanted to visit this place. If one travelled on the Mysore Bangalore Road he would notice sign boards saying Janapada Lok. I had seen it too and wondered what was special about the place.

So this time when we stopped at Lok Rucchi I decided to visit this place. After all it was literally next door.

After paying an entry fee of Rs. 10 at the entrance I walked towards the museum. I guess it was my lucky day; I was the first visitor for the day. As I walked in to the museum the care taker walked in and he was quite happy to give me a guided tour.

The first part of the museum stored items that are used in day to day life, the only difference was that these items were really old. The Founder of the place had collected it when he visited rural Karnataka. There was also written information about the all articles that were displayed.

The next building was filled with pictures of different tribes, their culture, festivals and ceremonies. Since we showed interest the caretaker took time to explain each one in detail.

The next building had musical instruments and things used in rural Karnataka for entertainment (leather puppets, life size dolls, games etc). The open space next to this place has sculptures recovered from some villages.

The last part that I visited was the livelihood section. Here one will find potter making pots, old jaggery moulds, equipments used by blacksmith, fisherman, farmer etc

The place is a good attempt to capture the fast fading charm of rural life and culture. It can take about 2 hours to really see the place and personally I think its time well spent.

Kanwa Reservoir

It had been a while since I had gone on a long drive. The travel itch had started again. I had to get out of the city and spend time away from the hustle and bustle.So I decided to drive to a destination called Kanwa Reservoir along with few of my friends.

I was told that it was a beautiful place about 70 Kms from Bangalore. The plan was to start at 6:30 am. We intended to reach there before it got too hot. But by the time the group got together it was almost 7:00. To save time we decided to take some short cuts only to find the roads blocked. Finally!! after navigating through barely existent roads we reached the Bangalore-Mysore Highway.
The journey from there was smooth; We drove along side children riding to school in cycles. We managed to reach our destination by 8:45 am. Beautiful sights greeted us as we drove towards Kanwa, lush green hills and tons of birds like bee-eaters, kingfishers, Indian roller, spotted dove to name a few.

As we stood watching the reservoir, an old villager offered us some tea made of jaggery. We decided to try it. It was very different from the normal tea one is used to. This had a strong flavour of jaggery and was very sweet. Given a choice I would not drink it again.

As it started getting hot we decided to leave but not before making plans to visit the place to watch the sunset. And when that happens I dont intend to forget my camera like I did this time.

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and the Stone Bridge

I was really exited about the trip that I was taking with 3 friends of mine. Arvind had mentioned about a submerged bridge somewhere near Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. The bridge could be seen only when the water level reduced at Bhadra Reservoir. The plan also included a visit to the Wildlife Sanctuary and based on the blogs I had read I expected to spot atleast one of the cats.

The journey started early, the first pit-stop at Kamat on Tumkur Road for breakfast. After that

it was a long drive with another break near a lotus lake. The break was supposed to be a 5 mins one but after looking at the birds around the lake it extended to about 20 mins.

Finally at about 12:30 pm we reached the backwaters of Bhadra Reservoir. The view was breath taking; Even now I think that the cameras didn’t do justice to the place.

After couple of shots began our hunt for the bridge, we looked everywhere but could not find it. All we could see was line of tree tops. We decided to walk around a bit and investigate.

After walking 1.5 kms Arvind decided to call his friend and check if we were at the right place. Turned out that we were at the right place but the water levels were high. Later a local told us that the bridge was not seen for the last 2 years.

Disappointed we decided to head to the home-stay we had booked. The website had promised lots of things. As we drove through the coffee estate and arrived at the place we realised we had made a bad choice. The place looked crowded and the place was a resort and not a home-stay. The service was bad and our room even worse. After complaining for a while decided to make good with what was there. The view around the resort was beautiful. One could see the part of the western ghats.
Tried fishing at the pond, played badminton, ate dinner and went to bed hoping the next day would be better.

Having spoken to the resort manager, we decided to drive to the wildlife sanctuary.

By the time we reached there the first safari had already left. Since the authorities refused to let us hire a jeep we had to wait till the first group returned. As the time went by our excitement started to dip. When our turn finally came all we saw in our trip were some barking deer, spotted deer and peacocks.

We headed back to the resort lazed around and left after lunch. On the whole it was one of those trips which didn't live up to my expectations. I am now looking forward to my next trip.

Fond Memories of MP - Bhimbetka

We arrived at Bhimbetka pretty early in the morning. Looking at the parking lot we didn’t expect too many people at the rock shelters. The first task for the day was to find a guide. This was one place where we made a mistake of not enquiring about it in the MPSTDC Office. We took the first person who approached us.

This turned out to be a big mistake. The so called guide didn’t know much except the obvious details. We ended up interpreting drawings on our own or listening to other guides who seemed slightly better.

The place as such is scenic. One can see amazing rock formation

along with ancient drawings. The paintings are said to be spread across 10 acres in different caves but 14 caves are cordoned off for the visiting tourists.

There is a good attempt made to preserve Bhimbettka, but there is no education among tourists about preserving this. While we were there a group of students were trying to chip of the rock corners. Worse still was the fact that their lecture joined them instead of preventing from doing any damage. And the so called guard just looked away. Considering the importance of the place I only wish they would be a lot stricter.

We were done with out sight seeing or should I say cave exploration by 2 hours and were ready to head to the next destination.

Tips: Stop at the MPTDC highway restaurant to get information about guides.

Siddarbetta and Blackbuck Sanctuary

Krishna took the initiative of planning for one day trek during the long Good Friday weekend. After looking at some options we finally agreed on Siddarbetta. Since it was just 4 of us we decided to take one car. Again it was Krishna who was getting the car (Balli ka bakara). Anyways he claims to love driving so I don’t think he minded.

We started at 6:30 from my place. The car that Krishan was driving was given by the TATA service centre since his car was under repair. It showed signs of over use. We had bald tyres.

The journey was smooth. We stopped at KAMAT on Tumukur for breakfast only to realise that we had missed the deviation that we had to take. Once we hit the state highway the bird watchers stopped every now and then to take pictures. The drive was beautiful, everywhere we looked we found trees that were in bloom.

We reached Siddarbetta by 10:30am. I was disappointed to see steps made all the way up. As it was Sunday there was lot of people visiting the temple at the peak. Our ascent was slow. Krishna was impatient with the pace we maintained. I was cursing my laziness to do exercise.

When we reached the top we hired the Bhel Puri seller to take us to the caves. Our first stop was of course the shrine. Just in front of the idol there is a water source which according to locals doesn’t dry up. We filled our bottle with this water and started with our cave exploration. There were some interesting

sights here like the grave of a saint, living quarters of another saint and wild grape veins formations. After crawling and doing duck walk for about an hour we reached where we stated. We walked around for some more time and started our descent.

Our next programme was to have lunch at Madugiri (a slightly bigger village) and proceed to Maidanahalli (Black Buck Sanctuary).

About 4 kms from Madugiri we had a flat tire. The spare tyre had its metal showing. We decided to use it, and proceed till Madhugiri. Fixing the tyre took us nearly 2 hours by then it was 5:30. We decided to take a chance and visit the sanctuary.

There are no proper directions or boards to this place. We stopped every 5 kms to ask directions. Finally we managed to find the mud road that lead to the Sanctuary.

As we drove we started spotting the animals. They were very gracefully and pretty. The place is poorly guarded and maintained. But this is a place that I would classify as a must visit.

We headed to Bangalore at 7:00 pm. At that time little did we know what was instored for us. We asked for directions at a village and that guy directed us to the longest route to Bangalore. The road took us all the way to Dodbellapur and back. The roads were bad and never ending. The only good bit about taking this road was that Krishna spotted a Leopard. And just as we entered Bangalore we had a flat tyre again. Since we had used the spare one already we were in a fix. We deciced to drop the car at a friend's place and head home. It was 1:30 am by the time i slept. Over all a tiring but good trip

Fond Memories of MP - Bhojpur

When we arrived at Bhojpur early in the morning, through the mist we saw this half constructed temple. It was a lone structure amidst fields and rocks.

Bhojpur was a place that Sharan was determined to go. Every time we went to Shiva temple during our Madhya Pradesh trip he would say wait till you see one at Bhojpur.

It looked like we were the first people to visit for the day. It was quite and peaceful. As the sun rose we walked around to get our perfect shot. As I walked closer to the Linga (idol), I realised how huge it was. It was 4 times my height. And the Linga was made of one single rock. It was really amazing to see it.

The temple itself was half constructed and some parts of it had fallen off over the years. ASI was trying to build back the fallen pieces.

As we finished walking around the temple we remembered that the blue prints of the temple structure were said to be on stones near by. We walked around and could not find it initially. Just as were about to give up we saw a watchman walking up to the temple. We approached him to enquire and he turned out to be quite helpful. He took us to the spot and explained the drawings to us.

Just as we were about to leave he mentioned to us about an old Jain temple that was situated near by. This place had a tall statue and is said to be over 300 years old. Other than that the place didn’t offer much. We spent 10 mins there and headed to our next destination. On the whole Bhojpur lived up to the hype that Sharan had created