Magic of Nandi

Bangalore’s closest hills station holds a special place in my heart. While most of my memories are of early morning drives on the curvy roads and the mist, that is not the only reason for this.

During a trip with my friends I discovered that one could walk up a flight of steps to get to Nandi Hills. While I could not explore the path then I have since done couple of hikes here. As opposed to the crowded noisy Nandi Hills most of us know this route is scenic, lined with gulmohar, mango and jamun trees. During summer while the birds entertained me with their songs, I got to taste some wild mangoes and jamun while walking up.

On one occasion I spent time watching yellow browed bulbul drink water from a dripping tank, another time babblers kept me company for a long time. Closer to Tipu’s guest house I had my first close encounter with Tickle’s Blue Fly Catcher. But birds are not the only ones to look out for; the trail also has a fair share of butterflies, insects and wild flowers.

The only eye sore is the garbage that is thrown closer to Tipu’s Guest house. That brings you back to reality and the impact crowds can have.

Couple of pointers

There is not restaurant on this route till you reach the top so carry water and some eats.

Careful of monkeys that are on their way up, food seems to tempt them so please keep them inside your bags.

The amazing world of trees

I love the springs and summers of Bangalore, they bring out the best in Bangalore. It’s like the heavens have a special team lined up to shower flowers and leaves on me as I drive. It amazing how trees along the various roads burst into yellow, orange, purple and pink flowers, it’s truly a mesmerising sight.

While I loved watching them year after year and always wanted to be photographed sitting or standing under them I never really bothered to learn more about them. I would always be amazed by how people I knew name trees by just looking at them, while my knowledge didn't go beyond knowing 5 trees. After my first tree walk I could not recall more than 1 tree. I kept struggling for a while

One of the advise I was given was to try identify the trees that were in bloom or fruiting. Since the flowers and fruits look different it’s easier to identify them. Once you know the names then you just have to observe them more to know other details. This has been the best advice I have received and have started putting it to practise. It's amazing how much you can learn just by looking at the flowers. 

Cassia fistula/ Vishu Flower

Gulmohur

Rain Tree

If a flower blooms during the night and the likely pollinators for the flowers are the bats. Older flowers on the same plant/tree might have different colour just so that pollinators (birds, bees and other insects) can differentiate and tell the flowers they have already visited and the ones that are fresh.

White Plumeria

Cannon Ball. Nagalinga tree , Couroupita guianensis

Copper Pod

I have started to realise that leaves differ as well. Not just in size but they have different patterns and structures. Botany was never my strong hold and I find understanding leaf patterns a little more difficult. When it comes to leaves you look at the stalk and identify the nodes (slightly swollen parts on the stalk). If there is single leaf emerging from there it’s a simple leaf otherwise compound. The vein patterns on the leaves can tell you the kind of tree/plant it belongs to.

Peepal Tree

pongamia leaf

The other thing to look for is the bark patterns, some might be smooth while others broken and jarred. For now I am still finding my way through the complex plant world but the journey so far has been interesting and I realise I have just about scratched the surface there is a long way to go.

My current bible for flowering tree in Bangalore:  http://www.wildwanderer.com/blog/?page_id=90

And the next link has helped me to some extent to understand leaf patterns http://www.imarket.pt/modules/com_ninjaxplorer/simple-pinnate-leaf-88.html

For more hands on experience would suggest going for http://www.ecoedu.in/treewalk/

The Fight for Survival

Most of the trips to the wildlife sanctuaries have always with the hope that I get to see the big five up close. The dream was no different this time as well. With some last minute planning I was in Bandipur for the weekend.

The jungle safari felt like a wasted trip as I didn’t spot anything except the spotted deers and wild boars. The driver didn’t stop for birds and I was feeling really low.

Just after the safari, I was headed back to the place I was staying. Close to the Bandipur Forest Office I took a left and had to break hard. On the side of the road was a fight for survival that I had never heard about.

A small cat was fighting with an adult mongoose. Claws out, hair raised, it was jumping about. The mongoose had bared its teeth as well. As I watched the mongoose and cat disappeared in to the trench fighting. I moved my car closer to catch a glimpse. I was just in time to see the mongoose bite the cat in the neck and hold it down. Sound of a vehicle behind me made the mongoose drag the cat into a bush. Initially I could still see the cat struggle and they disappeared deeper into the bush, out of sight I head the cat’s cry slowly died down.

I am not sure what happened after that as I didn’t get down from the car to investigate. I assume the mongoose made a meal of the cat.

Note: All this action happened over 2 mins and hence didn't get too many pictures. Posting the only decent shot I got.

Lepakshi – A Place Lost in time

Lepakshi was on my to-do list sincefor a long time. Since this place was only 175 kms from Bangalore, it was an ideal get away. Spur of the moment decision on a Friday was how this trip was planned.

Except the last 10 Kms the roads to Lepakshi is well laid and we were driving at a constant 100 kms/hr most of the time. The only drawback is that other than one Kamat Restaurant, there is no other place to stop for a quick bite.

Once we reached the temple each of us took our camera and walked in different directions. While I looked around for a guide, I found a group discussing about the temple and decided to join them. It was fun because along with history and details about the temple, they discussed mythological stories related to the sculptures.

The fascinating thing about the temple is the wall paintings on the ceilings. Each section depicted a different story, some mythological and some related to the people who built the temple. After I got back I realised I didnt have a single picture of the paintings

The other interesting bit is about the wall with blood stains from Virupaksha (the temple builder) gorging his eye out and throwing it on that wall to prove his innocence .

If one had a day to spare this definitely is a place to visit.

As we headed back, since we had time to spare, we decided to stop by at the birth place of Vishweshavraiah . There is a museum built here with collection of things like his Bharath Ratan and other awards, his pass book, his dairy etc. It is amazing to see the simple life style the great man lived and remember the great work he did for India.

We spent about an hour there and then we were ready to head back. The drive back was uneventful except for the slow moving traffic as we entered Bangalore.

The pictures are in the link below
http://picasaweb.google.com/aishwarya.belliappa/Lepakshi?locked=true#

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.