Kodachadri

Bangalore might have the most favorable climate and friendly situations for many of us here, but then the outburst of vehicle and human populations has taken away the olden charm that the city once used to showcase. More importantly the city doesn’t have peaks that exceed the sky, wide flowing rivers , clouds that bring constant rain, landscapes spread far , far until one can see, places that are inaccessible by roads, wilderness with sudden surprises, Grasslands, pristine waterfalls, air temperatures maintained at ≤ 15° C, that’s exactly why am always heading out bag packing.


Of course, I gotta be a lot lucky for having settled down in here. A night’s journey from the city would lead you into endless number of places to choose from. So this time, here we were in the beautiful peak of KODACHADRI. It is the 4th tallest peak in Karnataka, falls between Shimoga and Kollur. Kollur is an important Religious destination; The Mookambika Temple here is frequented very often by devotees from kerala . On the tp of Kodachadri peak there is the Sarvagna Peetha of The great Religious preacher Sri Adi Shankaracharya. This is also the same location where the famed “ Galipata” movie was filmed.
Team Size: 19

Organizer: BASC

Means of Transport: the Super splendid “HONDA EXECUTIVE AIR CAR” (As seen in scripted boldly on the bus) 23 seater Run by Swaraj Mazda Engine. This minibus had a sturdy chasis, Woodlined interiors that gave an authentic look, Push back seats with more than 80% seats actually in working condition and a small 17” colour tv that seem to doll out hot movie flicks from the driver’s vast pirated collection. No Sarcasm here, the Bus was pretty good

Expenses: Roughly 1000 Bucks


On the iteanary : Visit Hidlumane falls, Kodachadri , Arishinagundi falls, kollur temple and a fort that came on the way near Rippon pet.

The week ended with a lot of excitement. Was quick to reach home on Friday and started off packing bag. A brief visit to the supermarket to buy a couple of biscuit packs and the famed MTR ready to eat, after which I left home by 8 PM. The Departure was at IST 9:30.
We left the city by 10.30. The route until Tumkur road through Dr Raj kumar was quite messy with private tourist buses queuing up all along the road. Once past the Jalahalli cross, the ride was smooth. I usually have a thing for these night rides, the pleasure of feeling the cool breeze from the edges of the windows with a pinch of music by the ears would be the perfect way to unwind. And if it’s a train ride they could be fascinating as well. The rhythmic sounds of the rails, suspensions and a periodical horn from the engine would also make for a great musical on the backdrop to compliment the ride. These when coupled with a window berth can make for a perfect package to pass the night awake and going.


We stopped by for sometime at 3AM or so for a tea session. The road isn’t particularly great all along. Finally we made it to Nettur early morning by 7 Am. Headed to Sri Devi Hotel for the morning Kriyas after which we settled down for breakfast. The Guy who runs the hotel is a humble guy and has the whole of his family employed at the kitchen. Breakfast were marked by the Idli’s, the poori’s, the Bun’s and lemon rice. These south indian breakfast delicacies were shared ranging from 1/1 to 1/4.


Start point:


3Kms from Nettur, we arrived at the starting point. The unwanted luggages were dumped back into the bus and the essentials made their way into the bag packs. After a quick intro session among the team, we soon headed into the fields. The 2 day date with the nature and the clouds had now officially begun. Crossed a stream, and arrived at a Govt. primary school on the way. The classroom which was adored with various charts, maps and photos of poets brought back memories of my schooling days. Don’t we all share fond memories about our schools! The only place which I remember where simple things are kept simple.




The lone teacher at the school looked like a dedicated guy, his mobile phone kept ringing every now and then. The team distributed chocolates among the kids. These tiny tots were initially surprised and taken aback when they saw us. Later smile forayed back on their faces. We did click some pics with the kids and after which we resumed back on the path. Spotted a water snake resting in a small pool of water by the path, the snake was clearly unfazed by our presence and lay calmly with all of us clicking photos surrounding it. The path finally leads to Hidlumane Waterfalls. We could see some well fed agricultural fields that radiated lavish green color to the whole of the surrounding area.




The Hidlumane waterfalls lies at the top and on the way we come across many smaller waterfalls as the water forms a cascading effect and gradually falls through several step formations. The route to the falls took us through forests, minus the leaches even though the soil had no sunlight and appeared quite damp. The climb through the forest was easy and needed very little effort. Soon we reach the falls; the falls isn’t particularly majestic but offers a good healing massage to people who would want to stand on its base. And for people who’re just ok with admiring it at a distance, its beautiful as well. The Sunlight seeps through the tree tops and falls on the water falling giving it a glitter. It did appear like a series of crystal falling from the top..



We move on, 10 mins climb through the forests soon bring us to the open grasslands towards the peak. It is here where the 2 day association with the clouds begins from. As I inch step by step, the landscapes open up, I could see flat plains on one side and patches of water bodies on the other side. The little felt miseries of trekking inside forests had thus ended. The weather from now was moderated for less than ≤15 C. Cool breeze could be felt, The clouds beginning to loose height , while we gain more potential energy soaring to the peak. It is at these kind of places where I’ve felt some of the most pleasant and carefree moments in life. The walk could rightly be called “ The walk in the Clouds”. The sentence reminds me of a romantic Hollywood movie that I happen to see some time back, it had the same name.



This was followed by a brief stop for lunch. The packed idlis and the Mangalore buns tasted good. Soon we resume and join the Jeep track to the Kodachadri Peak. The next stop was at the base camp were the group positions for a tea break. Being a sweeper ensured that I was always the first from the last. We get our dinner for the night parceled at here and soon take on the last 30 mins accent to the peak. The food was carried to the peak with people taking turns. (Yes we work as a team!). The clouds soon start covering up on us. They could be felt everywhere. The deep vertical drop next to the path was no longer visible; it instead appeared like a milky white carpet all-round. Soon the Peak was here. The divine Sarvagna peetha of Shankaracharya gave a very austere look to the peak.

To be honest, I didn’t have any feeling of accomplishment as the whole trek had been more of a casual one, yet it was nice to have made it finally to this beautiful place that lay above the clouds. The next obvious thing everyone set out into doing was photography and it was soon time for sunset. The sunset on the peak is definitely a moment that shouldn’t be missed. The Sun often goes undercover between the clouds, the hide and seek game goes on for a while and finally bidding good bye to light up the world elsewhere. The clouds take a fine polish of gold when the sun sets; this makes for a beautiful background to take some mindboggling photos of the clouds themselves and at times we humans at the focus too.




The sleeping mats and bags are quick to come out and people are gradually seen settling down. The dinner was finished soon. While the rest of them are either sleeping , playing Cards (Minus the betting money), Counting stars, tracking sounds, exploring paths on torch, etc ,We settle down for a chat . The weather wasn’t very chilly however my wollen shawl was just not enough to cover me. By 10 we’re done talking about all our previous treks, photography, and a hundred random topics that made it in our conversation. We soon surrender to sleep.


I did catch up on some sleep till 4 AM. Later that Morning I was among the Long list of accused people for having snored last night. I always refute the claims; I never feel that I could have ever snored.


Day2:
We did explore the landscape around at our will trying to catch enough of the sunrise.





The unknown river trail at the base, followed by the clouds and the sunrise at the top, this shot is gonna be embedded in my mind for a long time, a rare scene.

We pack bags, leave the peak and are at the base point where we have the breakfast. The Lone filler for the day was a plate of Lemon rice; little did I know at that time that I would end up passing the whole day with this little food. A half day trek down within the forest trail leaves us at the main road; The distance from the peak to this exit point spans 10kms. Nothing notable on the way, although yeah, we came across a bunch of bikers all on their bullet along the second half of the trail. Their bikes sure did make me jealous. Anyways Biking can wait until the next april, this time I was solely on trekking.

We take the bus to Arishinagundi falls entry point. It is from here that all my miseries take shape. 15 odd people who begin walking the 5km trail to the falls are grandly welcomed by an army of leaches who had been impending an attack on this trail. The attack seems to get more and more while the number of people still on track kept reducing. Finally the number reduced to 2 owing to a trade off between doubts on the trail, the leaches, the empty stomach and an incredibly steep trail on one side and an Arishinagundi falls on the other side. The 2 of us myself and karthik, mysore who headed undeterred were joined by Apoorva later. The top priority in life at that moment was to find that board at the left showing a deviation to the Arashinagundi falls. We finally find the board and head on to the falls. With no food and very less water at stake, it was a daunting task to have finally made it to this beautiful abode of nature that lay totally secluded from humans. The Falls is majestic with large volumes of water pouncing down from more than 40 feet height. The Central cachement area was very difficult to approach and we were happy viewing the falls at a distance, yet fully satisfied. The rocks all around the falls gave us ample opportunity to jump one another and make it closer to the falls for being clicked. After all we put in a mammoth effort to make it here, we need the place and our presence well documented. The other 3 member gang was soon to follow. After a brief rest at the falls, we set sail back to the bus. We were more relieved to be getting back.




We had to climb for 15 mins to make it to the diversion point where we initially took the left turn to the falls . Once reaching this point the rest of the journey was more of getting down the whole of the route. I turned back shouting for Karthik, mysore who often stops to clear the leaches. We knew we were already delayed by much time and I wanted us to make it back to the bus asap. Suddenly a snake passes through my feet. It looked brownish with white scales and measured a nominal 5 feet. Suddenly my heart stopped a beat seeing this creature, which I thought even, bit me. Already I had so much of sensation in the leg due to the leach bytes that I couldn’t gauge any sensation due to fresh Snake bites. We passed the poor creature that rested by the side of the trail. The way back was more introspection, evaluation and assertion of the possible snake bite. I kept thinking about the hours one has for medication in the event of the snake bite. Also kept thinking about the number of incomplete accomplishments at this phase of life in the event something really bad happens to me. Suddenly out of nowhere god appeared in my mind. I seem to chant his name in mind asking him to keep me alive. I didn’t talk much until I made it to the bus.


Once reaching the bus we were received by the rest of the team with open hands and claps, I felt great to be back , to be joining the team. After a short session cleaning by bleeding leg (I estimated the total blood donation to be around 200ml for this trek) we got back on the bus and headed back. We reached nettur where the Sri Devi hotel did have dosas left over for the day and was minutes away from shutting doors. Had 4 dosa’s and settled back in the bus.
The journey back to Bangalore did involve a lot of activity. We did start of with Ravichandran, who was busy consoling/romancing his heroines in all of the video songs we played. Antyakshari later took over and went on till 12 in the night. By the way it was more than 6 hrs now since the snake encounter and I was doing fine. Yeah be happy to be alive, the poor thing never bit me.


Day3:
Bus made it to Bangalore early by 6.30 on Monday, caught an auto and got back home. I did have a friendly supporting team as always, and experience exceeds my expectation as always.
That’s Kodachadri for you,

November edition of Karthik’s Nature escapades

Karnataka…. Just one state, Many Worlds

A piece of history:

Kannada is one of the major Dravidian Language of India, spoken predominantly in the southern state of Karnataka. It is the 27^th most spoken language in the world, with native speakers called Kannadigas. It is one of the Official Language of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka. Kannada Rajyothsava or the Karnataka Formation Day (literally Birth of the Kannada State") is celebrated on 1^st November every year. This was the day in 1956 when all the Kannada speaking regions of south India were merged to form the state of Karnataka.

 

India became a Republic in the year 1950 and in same year linguistic provinces were formed. The state of Mysore is one such state in the south India. The state of Mysore was created taking into fold various parts of the region, which were ruled by kings. Several districts in, now called North Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka were dissolved in the new state. The new state was named after Mysore, which by itself was a princely state. People of North and Hyderabad area did not accept the name Mysore; People of this region were demanding a change in the name. After prolonged debate the name of the state was changed to KARNATAKA on November 1 in the year 1973. Late Devaraj Urs the then Chief Minister of state took this landmark decision. Officially the new state was born on November 1 and on this day every year birthday of the state is celebrated. This is popularly called as "KANNADA RAJYOTHSAVA or KARNATAKA RAJYOTHSAVA" means "State Festival"

 

The Karnataka state in whole is one of the fastest growing states in India. The Capital city Bangalore has stood true testimony to the technological boom of IT industry and Other IT Enabled Services. Even to this date Karnataka has the highest revenues generated out the Export duty derived from the IT. The city has also been responsible for crafting the success stories of many Young engineers who have gained from enormous talent pool attracted by the IT. Some of the biggest IT majors are based out of Bangalore and the city also houses a few biggest R&D Centers of the MNC's outside US. In the agricultural domain Karnataka tops in the production of Coffee and other spices. Rice, Ragi and Sugarcane have been some of the other most widely grown crops in Karnataka. The mining fields rich in manganese and Iron across the northern belts of Bellary account for huge revenues from ore exports. There has also been much effort to promote investments both in IT and Non-IT across the smaller Tier1 and tier2 cities to improve economic prospects and ensure uniform economic developments across all regions. The recently concluded Global investors meet promises to bring several thousand crores of investments in all sectors primarily the power, steel, food technology apart from the IT investments.

 

The Malnad regions in the Western Ghats, the vast coastline along the Arabian Sea, the historical architectural marvels in Hampi, Belur, Halebidu Chitradurga, etc make the state an important tourist destination. From the highest waterfall in india, the Jog to the tallest Monolithic statue, The Gomateshwara of the Shravanabelagola can be found in here. The Western Ghats which are the bio-diversity hotspots of the world are home to rich natural resources, flora and fauna. The longest stretch of Western Ghats close to 800kms falls under the state. The tourism department of Karnataka has been aggressively promoting tourism in the states through many programs. The tag line for tourism being "One state many worlds" is an awe inspiring one to hear. The recent Golden Chariot Premium Rail tour takes one across the length and the breadth of the state in the lap of luxury. The Mysore Dussera that is world renowned for the Jumbo savari is attended by people from across the globe. The event that dates back to 400 years is a tradition followed from the times of the Maharajas and has flown down from generations together. Karnataka is also home to a healthy population of Wildlife. Some of the most important Wildlife parks of Karnataka are the Bandipur national Park, Nagarahole, Dandeli and other smaller reserves. Estimates say that there are close 300 Tigers in Karnataka spread across different national parks, also there are close to 5000 elephants. The Malnad regions around Agumbe are particularly known as the Majestic King Cobra habitat.

 

Culturally Karnataka has a lot of diversity within the state. Although Kannada is the official language of the state, there are several minor languages like Tulu, Konkani, kodava, etc. The other regional languages of the country like Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, etc are also widely spoken as a confluence of movement of people across the borders. The kannada language has been recently granted the Classical language status taking into account its rich heritage, the fact that the language dates back to 1000's of years. The Contribution of Various literary personalities to the development of the language has also been a key reason to the recognition of the language and its popularity. Kannada has received the highest number of Gnanapita award that is 7 in all. This is highest for any language in India. The credit to which may be attributed to some of the prominent poets and authors of Karnataka. The state is also home to some of the famous piligrimage centres that are thronged by millions of devotees every year. Some of the prominent religious places would be Kukke subramanya, Dharmasthala, The more Serene Sringeri in chikamagalur, Gokarna, Kollur, Chamundi hills, Melukote, and many more destinations.

The kannada Rajyothsava award instituted by the Govt. of Karnataka recognizes prominent personalities from all fields and awards them. The award stands for a lot of glory and pride and is received by individuals with a lot of respect for the same. The political scenario in Karnataka is something worth mentioning. In the last decade the state has not been lucky enough to see stable governments rule the state for the full term. There has been instability with all the governments and the president rule being imposed quite often. This has definitely taken some toll on the image of Karnataka and as far as the development activities are concerned. This has also resulted in creating a dent on investments.

The state is criss-crossed by some major national highways. The roads bring in development; however the state still lags when compared to other states in India that have a wide network of roads. The Rail road network has also particularly taken a back seat when compared to other states that have greater densities of Rail network. Not all districts in the state are linked through rail network. Also Electrifications of some of the busiest rail routes are yet to be taken up. The only international airports in Karnataka are in Bangalore and Mangalore. The airport in Bangalore has been recently shifted to a new location at a bigger terminal that can handle increased passenger traffic. The Table top Airport at Mangalore also has international operations, Touted as one of the most difficult airports, there has been an accident here involving death of 160 people aboard air india express flight very recently.

The history of the state suggests that it was ruled by the Hoysala Emperors predominantly in the past. The emblem of the state that is symbolized by the 2 lions is called as " Gandaberunda" .The same could be found at the entrance of Vidhana Soudha. This emblem is derived from the hoysala dynasty. Vidhana soudha is where the seat of power resides in Karnataka. This is one of the most beautiful Administrative houses in india and was envisaged and built by Late Sri Kengal Hanumantiah. The other important institutions in the state that are of national significance are Research institutes like IISc, IIMB, ISRO-ISTRAAC, DRDO, LRDE, NAL, IIAP, also many big Public Sector units like BHEL,BEL, BEML, HAL, NGEF in the past, ITI, etc.

The movie industry of Karnataka is fondly referred to as Sandalwood. The movie industry dolls out a 100 odd films every year. Some of the actors of the yesteryears who are a house hold name would be Dr. Raj Kumar, Dr. Vishnu Vardhan, Ambarish, Srinath, Shankarnag, Ananthnag, Ravichandran etc to name a few. Although the movie industry isn't as big as it is elsewhere in the country. The kannada movie industry does still manage to have its share of Local audience who cherish and encourage the kannada movies. The theatre that had for long been sidelined with the advent of Cinema and TV's is on the revival path with many Theatre houses like Rangashankara, etc promoting theatre among the masses which for a long time had been restricted to the certain niche class of people with interest.

That's Karnataka for now, Happy Rajyothsava for everybody.

 

 

 

 

 

Ganapa- One god many colors

Ganapathi in short Ganapa is by large the most popular Hindu god. Alright, that's something we all know.Now In a country like India with so much of diversity in religion, castes, etc its hard to really arrive at a consensus about the more acceptable form of god that can be acknowledged by all kind of people. If there's one god whom anybody and everybody can identify with devotion , then its got to be the Ganapa. I believe he adds a lot of flavors to our lives everyday.

Its been a month since this year's Ganesha chathurthi and i have been eager to pen down some thoughts that crossed my mind on the festive. Gowri Ganesha Festival has been one of the more important festival to my family. There's a lot of joy, lot more to the way the festival is observed in my house. The Gowri habba has a bigger attendance with all the women power from the family getting one to traditionally do the pooja, while the Ganesha habba is restricted to only the men from our house. The other men from the family are doing it in theirs.

While i dont think i can throw much light on the gowri festival as am not that connected with the pooja, it is the Ganesha festival that interests me. It all starts with the Clay idol that has to be bought into the house. A lot of bargaining happens before fixing a price to the idol. The shopkeeper demands more while we're on the opinion that the god isn't worth all that money and thus we bargain. On a lighter note , the bargaining thing is more a gene product and comes embedded in oneself . Its hard to Suppress such an inherent instinct, so even the god's have to make way only through bargain channel.

The streets of Bangalore adorn in a complete festive flavor filled with hawkers selling various pooja items. Be it the Ganesha Idols , the Banana plantations ( BAALE KANDHU ), fruits , flowers of all colors. Its a delight to be walking past such a place that is overflowing in festive mood.

There's more to the cultural linkages with the city and the Ganesha Festival. The street pandals houses Ganesha of huge sizes backed by an impressive list of various cultural programs that identify with our tastes and tradition. While its true that in other cities the same festival is celebrated in aggrandized manner with even more fanfare, the tradition that bangalore follows has suited the people in here for a long time.

The pooja vidhana for the ganapa is an elaborate one, but they all make so much sense. the naividhya ( offering to the god ) has the tasty Kadbus in them along with many other items. 21 kadbus waiting to be eaten later once they're shown to the god, ha ha. This is followed by an immersion of the idol the same evening or the following day. the turn up at the immersion place is a scene particularly worth mentioning. People line up with different sizes, shapes and colors of Ganapa adorned with flowers and waiting to be immersed in the water once in for all. The devotion is at an all time high, backed by some final pooja before the god is let go into waters. Finally the Ganesha festival is here to an end, only to come back the next year same time same season

Its all about the Bike_____ continued

Biking these days assumes a larger meaning and the word isn't just restricted to the the world of Motor Bikes.

The Bi-cycle interestingly takes a startling entry into the Biking World. The manufacturing technology for the Bi-cycle has really made the cycle to be looked upon with a greater zeal.

So what if one asks me ,whats the scene in the indian roads currently?

The Cycle is soon catching up among the eco conscious, health savvy youths and adults especially. Bangalore interestingly has a good chunk of cycling communities who are mostly within the 30's. The current breed of people aren't driving an Hercules MTB or a BSA cycle that we all rode in our childhoods. They're more obsessed with Bikes from Brands like TREK, MARIDA, FIREFOX, Etc. These imported brands come at a great price but also offer a great riding experience

Bangalore as i see isn't that very friendly for a cyclist in terms of the road comfort, traffic, the inclination, the flatness ,etc. The usually over cramped roads are a spoilsport for a cyclist who is already sidelined because of his speed limitations on road. There aren't seperate lanes for cyclists like how a developed city would typically have. Yet the bangalorean isn't ready to find reasons to avoid cycling, instead he's making things better for himself. There is already an active community of substantial number of people who commute long distances to work by cycle. The online communities like the "Bangalore biking club", etc is fostering a lot of interests among people by constantly organizing weekend cycle rides for interested people, also providing back up vehicles and quite some publicity too.
Recently after some protests malls like Mantri and others have provisions for parking cycles too, that is a positive change

So whats my association with cycles!!!

Lets go back the memory lane. Once upon a time there was this kid who was so obsessed with the cycle that he had given up food and water in his relentless struggle to upgrade to an Hercules MTB Bike from an existing smaller bike. and this happened for a day and a half untill his parents gave in.

I should very honestly agree that Bicycle in my childhood truly represented mobility ,freedom & wings. Be it to the daily trip to Primary School with bags affixed on to the Carrier, pay 0.50 Rupee parking charge for parking it in the school grounds.

I can even recall my "EXPLORATION" Expeditions with my dear school pals exhaustively covering the nukes and corners of Bannerghata road, Hosur Road and also the current new add on areas to the JP Nagar. The idea was simple, We used to set sail on all ourselves exploration new localities that were mostly undeveloped then
The busy and the buzzing localities surrounding the Bannerghata nowadays used to be a barren un tarred patch of lands with snakes, etc wherever we went.
Roads then were much safer for cycles, than they're now
The association with the cycle continued until 10th standard and then it died down


Flash 2010:

Here is my cousin who's flown down from the US once in for all and he buys a cycle for himself. I'm awestruck and curious. I drive his cycle and i feel great about it
Its got this really thin tires, aluminium body that makes it light, 21 Shumano Gears that really takes away all your effort. Am impressed and i instantly buy the same cycle and we start going on trips in the weekends

Places we covered till date

Devanahalli, BIAL
Anekal
Hosur
Kolar
Chikka Tirupathi

And the list seems to grow

Every time we take our bikes out, we add in 100 kms of travel that came straight out the effort of the muscles. No hydro carbons, no batteries, no emission, Just nothing but pure muscular energy

My stints with the bike!!!


The physical fitness plays a role only for the first 30 kms and after that its purely the mental fitness that just takes over. Initially when we started pedaling there were instances where i felt tired in the first 25 kms , however endurance i believe was the one which could take me places. At the end of the ride we'd have clocked in 100 odd kms easily and still left with ample energy for the rest of the day

When i set out Biking with a Dry fit Nike shirt at 5:00 in the morning, i feel chilled for the first 5kms until the body heats up, The i-pod has to be there by default. then there is the gloves to the hands which are very important and a really hard shoes. The water bottle filled with 1 ltre of water.

Flat roads are a delight, the ups are a slight pain in the ass and bearing the Sun is again a difficult task. The winds are lovely, but could get slightly tricky if they blow in the wrong direction

At the end of the day riding the cycle is pleasurable, refreshing and healthy
Its more about the joy of the bike, and its got very less to do with eco friendly and a slew of reasons that come tagged along

Its all About The Bike

A Good friend of mine once said " 4 wheelers move the body , while 2 wheelers move soul". Someone like me who's only dated 2 wheelers in too much of an obsession would instantly identify with these lines. While 4 Wheelers are tagged with luxury,temptation and speed of course, 2 wheelers on the other hand share a greater identity .They represent Freedom, Breaking away, the wind, Adrenaline rush, They're all about Manhood and celebrating the same.

Lemme take a small example to Bring the contrast between the 2 of these modes of land travel. you have a guy nicely dressed in silky bright Formal Attire driving his Merc, and on the other Hand there's this Guy driving his Bullet 350 with a heart thumping noise, dressed up with his leather jackets and gloves. Whom you wanna watch??...For me though , I always wish i could be the latter guy. It makes me wanna branch out from the usuall and experience the sheer experience of Cross roads and Off country Biking.

Now to talk about my biking experience, I was lucky to get a Bike too early in life.That was in my PU days, I owe my parents a lot for this. When many of my friends around me were happy driving a honda Activa, peps and kinetics , one fine day i suddenly landed with a PULSAR DTSI 150. Previous to which i was zooming around in a bajaj Chetak of 1987 model, The scooter which my dad used. Its pick up of course was on full throttle,Other notable feautres included Hand gear, Fill Oil when you fill petrol, returned a mileage of 35km every ltr, Tyres having completely gone bald gave me enough room to try skidding, and all sorts of stunts that i felt capable off.

To talk about Pulsar 150 , the model is in immense demand ever since then, Constant upgradation and timely variants have given Bajaj a unique Brand Value. Although it isn't comparable to the kind of experience a Royal enfield would give you on road, but i'd still rate it high cos it was a complete package.

Its been 6th year successfuly that i've riding my bike and i don't have a single Complaint, bearing some minor itches here and there, like for instance a guy like would always feel why aren't bikes much more taller??.

Some of the memorables that i'd wanna recall here,

1. My chemistry Sir in the PU tutions intially felt that i was a spoilt brat who just unecessarily got a bike and would go down in the PU exams because of this. Later i scored a 100

2.The days of CET councelling, probably some of most carefree and joyful. The best days in my life. The arguments between Govt and the Colleges wouldnt settle and the councelling wouldnt happen. So this bought us ample time. Frequent MG road atleast thrice in a week to catch up on all the latest movie flicks(This was in Symphony, My favourite theatre, front rows, 50 Bucks) Bowl at Amoeba, play Games, Collect a lot of coupons and eventually exchange them for dolls. Bike ensured a 25 mins Transit time between MG and home.



3.The 4 years that followed into engineering was split between 2 years of BMTC just to be more responsible, what i mean is economical and the last 2 years the bike had to be pulled out due to irregular timings and increased travel time with buses.

4.Occasional trips outside the city along with friends in the college had also had a part into my biking diaries

5.The recent past has seen a couple of long biking trips out of bangalore, the one worth mentioning is the 1 men army trip taken to Ooty and a host of places around.
Managed to knock around 900 kms on the trip spanning 3 days.
It is during this trip i had some memorable experiences driving around the steep curves of Cunnoor, The lonely Roads of BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. The buzzing roads of Bandipur and Madumalai. not to forget the 45 odd Hairpin curves of masinagudi Ghat
.the one thing to wind these all would be the Drive back home on the mysore bangalore highway that goes fully crowded on a sunday evening. Ripping at 80-100kmph, squeezing between vehicles, maintaing bumper to bumper distance.The Sudden throttle. these are some of things that can bring in your adrenaline rushing


I could take more about my bike, but i shall hold the rest of the space for an equally interesting vehicle. Not that nobody knows about it, But we have forgotten. Some of the precious and fond gifts of our Childhood is left unattended rusting in our Attics.I had a similar story not untill long i discovered what a vehicle i had been missing riding all these days

No registration Number,
No Licensce
No Helmet
No Documents, Insurance
No Fuel
No maintanence

Yeah , A Cycle needs a desperate foray back into our lives, like never before .Thats the need of the hour.



Shall be Continued.....

BRAHMAGIRI- "the walk in the clouds"

Karthik’s weekend escapades
Season:August 2010
Brahmagiri, Coorg, Karnataka
August 14th, 15th 2010

Team size: 22 people
Travel: 24 Seater Mini bus
Trek Expense: Around 950 Rupees/head
Includes travel, permission and food expenses

Places Covered:Irupu Falls,Brahmagiri peak, Munikal Caves

Day1: Friday night pick up from DG bunk at 11:30 in the night

Day2:Reach Virajpet, Ponnampet, gonikoppal and finally Srimangala
Finish breakfast at Srimangala, The places houses a couple of small restaurants, they’re non-veg by default. So vegetarians will find it difficult to digest their piece of meal at this place.








Irupu Falls:

It is here where the trekking flags off. The permission for trekking, camping and the charges for the forest guest house costed a whopping 7k Rupees. The Lkshmana Theertha River plunges in cascade from a great height at this place.

The initial trial takes us through a lot of bamboo bushes. The leaches that were the prime concern throughout the trek had already started getting attached to our shoes. Soon the inclination gets steeper and the heavy bag packs makes it difficult to take on the heights. However these steeps are no concern to someone who’s a regular trekker.

Soon we come out of the forests, and the plains treats us a visual delight. One can see peaks spread with beautiful flowers upon them that makes it appears like a carpet complimenting to its beauty.





Memorable moments:

Crossing the stream, the water here was chillingly cold. The couple of guys who managed a bath truly need some applaud.

The Groundnuts that Rajesh had bought were in Great demand.

The king size leach that I found here fully absorbed sucking blood inside my shoes.

The watch tower that stood tall, I shall remember this tower.

.The Narimale Guest house, This place was where we were housed in the night.It still makes me confused on how could anyone build such a fully fledged building at a place this high in altitude. How did they ever manage to get so much bricks, cement,etc.

Later in the day we left to Munikal Caves on the kerala side of the Mountains. The walk we had here is rightfully to be named the” walk on the clouds”. With visibility dipping to as low as less than 4 Mts by the evening, The joy of walking on the mountains without a heavy pack is something that can only be felt, than said.

The dinner in the night was cooked inhouse with mithun adoring the head chef post, soon we were able to relish Chapathi’s with hot Curry freshly cooked with lots of vegetables .Shavige Bath was also part of the menu.

Meanwhile the leaches had done lot of damage to my legs. The blood wouldn’t clot. This left me bleeding all throughout the evening and I had to even shelf the idea of using the sleeping, instead slept on a mat alone. My legs that were actually bleeding profusely had to put inside a carry bag before sleeping along with the carry bag until my knee.

Day3

Woke up early at 6, we left the guest house by 7.30 and headed towards the Brahmagiri Peak. We were treated by some beautiful peaks on the way and a couple of elephant encounter, both in single and in groups.

The climb to the top was a daunting task. It took several stops and several sips of water in between. We were greeted by a herd of Sambhars around 30 in number; they were suddenly quizzed to see us in their territory.

Spent around an hour admiring the beauty of the landscape that lay around us. The view was mostly subdued due to mist that lay surrounding us. The group of 7 elephants at the foot of the peak was picked up by the cameras. We then gulped on all the food we had brought along with us.

The group then split into 2 groups while getting down from the peak. A few of us choose to take the path through Kerala and the rest of them got down through the same path that was used to climb.

The 8 of us then decided to try an alternate route back to the forest camp that apparently went into a tizzy and 3 among us got into trouble with the elephants and the Guard had to come back to get us out of trouble.

We then made it back safely to the forest base camp from where it took us one hour roughly to get back to Irupu falls. Thus the Brahmagiri Trek had officially ended. Got into the water and enjoyed the thumping falls, they have a masseur effect on the shoulders. This was a rejuvenating experience

We got back to the Base as soon as it gets and left for Bangalore, stopped by at Gonikoppa for dinner and made it to Home by 3:3A,m

BANGALORE ASCENDERS( BASC)

I thanked my stars a 100 times that I found this amazing group of people. They’re so much fun and professional.They do things the way it’s meant to be done(Trekking). Thank you guys. You’ve been totally great. Loved trekking with you people.
Now I proudly call myself a BASCian

Bangalore Heritage photography

Karthik’s Weekend Escapades

August-2010

Event Date:
August 8th 2010

Intent:

The primary idea of the event is to capture on camera some of the few remaining structures of the yesteryear. In the recent past, Modernization and population explosion in some way has taken away the old charm of the city that it used to be in the 90’s. The way the city ever keeps changing colors, I found it interesting to capture a few of its marvels on photograph. This I believe will add up to my collection and am sure I shall look back at it for the years to come.

I found it suitable to cover the entire event journey on cycle as this will give me multiple advantages. I would be able to cover all the places with ample time and details as I would be slow, since the event is being planned early morning on Sunday the experience of cycling empty roads will be totally welcome. The joy of pedaling is an experience that is always enriching and delightful. Smaller causes like diet, health don’t really play a part. Cycling is just about cycling without strings attached

It would be very important for me to be at my first destination as early as it gets. The more the people, vehicle more harm for the photographs. Looking forward to capture the places keeping people at bay


Agenda

Start from home by 5’o clock in the morning.

Padmanabanagar

Hanumanthnagar
(Rama lakshmana & Gavi gangadhareshwara temple )

Ramakrishna ashrama

Gandhibazaar road side market and bull temple road

National college

Taxi stand

KR Park, Indian institute of world culture

Lalbagh West Gate

VV Puram Circle

Kr market and mosque

Chickpet

Avenue Road

SBM, head office

UVCE

Vidhana soudha

GPO, Bangalore

Raj Bhavan

Basava Bhavan circle & planetarium

Central Telephone exchange

Karnataka high court

Cubbon Park

Venkatappa Art Gallery & Museum

Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium

MG road

Utility Building

Mayo Hall

Army School, Hosur road

Christian Cemetery

KMF Diary & india’s first 3 layered fly over at diary circle.

IBM, Bannerghata Road (This place once housed the Drive-in open movie theatre)

Ragigudda (Jayanagar 9th block)

Banashankri Temple (the richest temple in Bangalore)

Wind up in Padmanabanagar


Google maps estimates the journey to be around 48 kms

I wish the roads remain empty and the day remains nice and cool.



Shall return back to the post with the pics guys

The lone traveller

The lone traveler is all set to his conquer his long standing dream

Close to 600 Kms of pure biking
The highways, the patches, The ghats

No distance too long,
The conquest to conquer, too strong

To feel the wind is serene, biking alone is a dream

To branch out from the usual is hard, hope to reach far, far

To make it back home in safe and sound is a dream, hope to make it in sheen

Post4 . . . (Shimoga and Chikamagalur)

We Resume journey , Skip the lunch for the second day, yet no complaints , everyone seems to have got well on with the trip and as we cover places one by one, the tempo seems to just go higher and higher.

Bhadra Dam (lakvalli Dam)

The dam is huge, although the main walls stretches just over 200 M unlike KRS. This is primarily because the hills that surround the dam sort of create a natural wall and the dam. I must say u can only see water until u can see!!!

Kemmangundi. . . by 7 PM

We did manage to reach kemmangundi by the evening. The road that goes right from turuvekere is enjoyable although gets deteriorated by the time your around 8 kms to the top. The guest houses maintained by the horticultural department are decently maintained and economically priced. one wouldn't ask for an AC suite here primarily because you wouldn't want an AC on a hill Station
Soon The night gets very cold and we wrap up the day . Thick blankets are a must

Post3. . . . (Chimoga and Chikamagalur)

Day 2 (Starts as early as 6 AM)

This has been my second visit to shringeri in the last one year, the previous one in October 09 was more to do with pilgrimage trip exclusively with grandparents.

The morning was beautiful with lot of mist all around adding to no visibility. The temple Campus is a serene place, The main deity sharadamba often in full splendor beautifully adorned in jewels is a treat to watch. The Vidyashankara temple next to the sharada temple is more simplistic but has beautiful carvings and is over 500 years old The zodiac pillars are an add on to its beauty. The tunga flows silently in true elegance on the banks of sringeri. One can see huge fishes here often well fed by devotees who visit the place. I would strongly Recommend Sringeri for people who are wanting to take a break and are looking more towards a spiritual treat.

Resume the journey..

Sirimane Falls . . ( Kigga Falls)

Need to take the road that leads to kudremukh, and deviate right towards Kigga. The vehicle density on roads here are <5 Vehicles every 10 mins.We spot some migratory birds with huge wings in the fields. Tried some stunts with capturing them on camera only to end up in vain as they flew immediately they see me.
The falls is less crowded, well maintained . Need to park the car at a place and walk down the stairs to reach the waters. mind you there is entry fees everywhere.
like a great man once said " There is no free meal"

Head Back to sringeri, Car needs break pads changed, get it done( I still haven come in terms with how lucky we were that the small workshop we went into had the original spares and the mechanic was a nice sweet guy, who just made sure he'd fix back the car in the right condition and double check it )

Head on towards Koppa

The best road and the most memorable one. Not a single pathole. taking on the every curves was totally effortless, thanks to the wide roads that were so well banked, i was really delighted to be driving on this stretch. I Felt like i was riding some cooper in NFS except that it was real this time , and i didn't have to race just sail.


kavishyla( Kuppalli)

The birth place of Rastrakavi Kuvempu , a true legend, someone whom every kannadiga who'd look upto with respect, or identify oneself with. Here a monument is erected by the govt. kuvempu would once sit hours together to go on write such beautiful works inspired by nature that surrounds this place. The house of Kuvempu has been converted into a museum. the house is huge, has a sloping roof made of mangalore tiles and has a pond in the center like all old houses do for rain water collection.
The furnitures and the other items used by kuvempu have been carefully preserved. The different awards and honours to the great poet are also on display, Some of the very old B/W pictures here leave you spellbounded.

Post-2........ (Shimoga And Chikamagalur)

We then reach Thirthahalli by 4 odd . The roads by now have started to open very picturesquely and the drive takes you through properly banked curves that is even enjoyable even on a Manual steering Car. We stop over for a brief food break marked by some south indian delicacies in the hotel on the main road which was very tasty and economically priced.

We aren't here for long, needed to make it to Agumbe before sunset that was couple of hours away and we still had 30 odd kms to over.

Kundadri Betta: ( On the way to Agumbe)

The peak is around 10 kms deviation on the Agumbe road to the left. Takes you through Roads that are as steep as >50 Degree. My poor 800 C huffed and puffed in the First and Second gears to make it to the top. the View above is magnificent. The peak also has a temple that is aligned with the Jain Culture coupled with a medium sized Kalyani that has clean water. One can see range of mountains for far far distances from this peak .

Agumbe( The Cheerapunji of the South)

The Destination for the first day was soon reached. I had sailed around 450 kms until now and luckily made it on time to catch the sunset. the View point gets pretty crowded by the evening and soon people clear off immediately after the sunset and the scene appears just like a traffic snarl at some junction in Bangalore. The place hides in it a lot than what it actually shows up on the surface . having the credit of receiving the highest rainfall in Karnataka, also the region is famous for innumerable number of falls around , most of them undiscovered and undisturbed. The place is also famous for its rich wildlife. King Cobra incidentally having made it to the stardom both in NGC and Discovery have been filmed in these places.

Shringeri ( Serene!!)

Since Agumbe lacks good accomodation, we decided to take a shot at shringeri which is an additional 25 kms from Agumbe. The Roads that we took weren't that great, and at one stretch that spanned around 15 kms i had to bear with a totally nonsense road with forests on either sides and no sign of people or Vehicles. We soon cover up the the remaining stretch and reach Shringeri

Call it a Day!!!

We have a very simple yet tasty food inside the temple. Then sulk down into the bed at the Temple Accomodation that we luckily got.

Shimoga and Chikamagalur

The Republic day this year incidentally coming on Tuesday had indirectly stretched the weekend beyond sunday provided i can squeeze a leave on monday to accommodate a 3 day long holiday.So i soon decided that I'll take a Monday off and plan a trip on road in our very own Maruti 800 dx.

After eliminating a lot of places that were initially on my list i finally zeroed in on covering Shimoga and Chikamagalur exhaustively. Since my car had undergone some major surgeries in the last month , costing a whopping sum , i was all prepared to take back some services from the car.

We were heading to the western Ghats, One of the 10 bio-diversity hot spots of the world!!!!.....Western Ghats need no introduction to anybody, it has had a great impact on the climatic pattern and the economic activity in the country along with a diverse range of flora and fauna many of them having figured out in the list of critically endangered species, while 1411 or so tigers left need prior attention, it may be time to realize there are more species that needs immediate attention too. Karnataka luckily enjoys the credit to having the longest range of western ghats within its borders. districts like Shimoga, Chikamagalur, Coorg , Udupi, etc have borne the fruit of the enormous wealth and other advantages that the Western Ghats bring along with them. These regions enjoy enormous rainfall that has rendered the land absolutely fertile. for someone like me who's usually stuck up between 4 walls of the office , the place is a one of the kind of a get away. It offers a magnificent view of the mountains, Challenging roads through the ghats that adds to the drivers delight(often nightmare if not properly tarred),breathtaking views, and a beautiful climate that Bangalore fails to offer these days.

Its always good to go back to the basics once in a while. Its in these places that u really experience that, too much of technology has crippled us, our lifestyle looks way too materialistic. Its people you see in these areas are the ones who really leave you spell bounded on how they have resisted change and remained so simple in life.

This time my travelogues are not gonna be the ones like in the past, where i made sure i highlighted every nuke and corner the journey had taken me. Am gonna be as simple as it gets.

Here's the list in the order that the drive took me for the 3 whole days

24th January

Leave Bangalore(4:40 AM)

Crossing Nelamangla was painsticking excercise, the traffic is so bad that early a morning. The toll road at the Golden quadrilateral untill Tumkur is overly priced at 22 for a mere 25- 30 kms.
We soon head on

Dest 1: Amruthapura( Turuvekere)

I have been completely ignorant about the history and the architecture of the temple, Its dedicated to one of the Avatars of lord Shiva(Amrutheshwara). A simple beautiful temple with lot of stone carvings, interesting compound walls with Circular Stone with each carvings different from the other. A well maintained lawn.
adds up the overall outlook of the temple.

Dest 2: Thavarekoppa Lion and Tiger Safari( Shimoga)

This places figures out in the outskirts of Shimoga on the Shimoga-Sagar Road, like how BNP figures out in the outskirts of Bangalore. The place is well maintained, has a zoo with the conventional list of animals. The lion and tiger Safari which is reasonably priced will take you through half a dozen tigers, and quarter to a dozen lions. The Safari staff here are very enterprising and keep you entrained with their jokes all along the safari.I have to mention that these people appeared to be very dedicated to these animals and treat them with fair respect.

We move along, Take the Thirtahalli road, out of shimoga, come across Gajanur (birth place of Kannada cine idol Dr. Raj Kumar), move on .

Dest 3: Gajanur Dam

The Tunga Bhadra project. The Dam looks quite majestic and new. The Walls are too long. Entry though has been restricted to the public. One can enjoy the waters from a distance. We move on

The road following the Dam is very picturesque, dotted with forest canopy that accounts for a calm shade along the road as we move on to thirthalli. Come across Mundgaddhe bird sanctuary that has no birds in the january season. soon We reach thirthahalli.

To be continued......