Space trekkin'

After agonising over probable client visits and painful deliverables, I think I can safely do my mental cartwheels (there ain't much physical activity nowadays!) in preparation for the trek to Brahmagiri. It's been a year plus since I did a decent trek..Skandgiri?? yeah and more than that since my byline made it to our website. Turning in for the night...more post the trek

Rangaswamy Betta

What follows is a long-winded, not necessarily linear account of what happened when 3 people and I managed to convince myself that I could trek.

Skandagiri, a moonlight trek in Jan’08 was followed by near drought conditions on the trekking front for this motley bunch of people, but things got off to a start again with some inspired thinking from Siva. So what started as a plan for a trek to Rangaswamy Betta involving 8 people came down to a trek for four, what with ‘drop-out’ disease rearing its ugly head again. A consequence of the shaky times we live in, I wonder? So off I set out on the morning of September 13^th with three valorous souls who were ready to let me drive them down in a nifty little i10. A smooth drive indeed it was till the charming hamlet of Harohalli where we turned off the main road into the picturesque side roads that led to the mountain…kinda too picturesque to be on our route, I thought to myself. And for sheer driving pleasure, there were these moon-crater-sized potholes to negotiate. (The i10 took them like a woman, I should say!) Presently, our brains kicked in and we figured out what you know by now. We were lost. :-)

Inquiries with some dazed villagers later, we met our knights in shining armor riding a, well, a TVS50. Two young men who were visibly amused at the sight of a woman at the wheel with the guys in the backseat! Well, that didn’t last long, for the potholes soon demanded a more experienced driver and I graciously gave way to Sharad to take the wheel. (Siva: Please note this and dude, for the record, I DID NOT panic. :-)

We wheeled further away from nowhere towards the Good Lord’s hill, with only the beginning of the thought that these knights might be of the Robinhood kind and would lead us to a deserted place and rob us! Well, nothing as exciting as that happened and we soon found we’d done a Dirk Gently: we had not reached where we wanted to go, but we’d reached where we needed to be! We still do not know the name of the village except that the first syllable is ‘No’. We parked the car right in the middle of an open-air cow shed next to a few bemused cows. Charges: Rs. 50. And off we went. We crossed the mandatory open field, the gurgling brook, a helpful villager or two and soon found the little winding trail up the mountain.

Suffice to say that I do not remember much of it, except that I felt like demanding that we all stop and take in the scenery at rather frequent intervals. I mean, what else is an uphill climb for if you can’t stop every five minutes or so to see how far you’ve reached! :-)) And hey, I do not know which monkey thought going bipedal was a great idea. That definitely wasn’t the brightest moment in the trekking history of the monkeys. I think all-fours-down is a better attitude to climb mountains with!:-) Anyway, you get the picture right? Some people climb mountains with grace and aplomb and reach the top untouched looking like they’ve just taken a morning stroll. Some even sing songs when climbing up! While some of us spit and curse under our breath and look like what the cat dragged in by the time we reach the, if I may so, summit! I definitely fall under the latter category. But it was indeed a good feeling to finally reach the top. It just arrived, unannounced, all of a sudden. And how does one capture the peace at the top of a mountain in words? What with the sun playing with the clouds to create a fantastic round rainbow (see pic below) and the wind nearly sweeping us off our feet, it was splendid, to put it lightly. For a few precious moments, nothing mattered.

Oh, somewhere in the middle of the journey, we realized the Adigas’ folks had packed exactly 4 idlies instead of 4 plates of idlies – the result; four ravenous folks had one idly each with negligible helpings of some upma and kesri for lunch. Needless to say, the food tasted pretty good. Downward bound we were after a while, with Sharad bounding down and setting a scorching pace! After a few near spills and twists, and ending up delicately balanced on the toes of one foot caught in between a couple of rocks (Rachna, here are your ballet lessons!) I finally managed to get a closer look at the rocks at my feet. The mountain brought me to my knees. Literally! I could have killed for a chance to walk on flat land then. Anyway, all good and interesting things come to an end, and so did our lil stroll up the hill.

Back in the car, with Sharad at the wheel, we were in the city in a flash. Until Kumaraparvatha, let my tired legs rest in peace. Amen.

PS: Some lessons learnt: ‘Running shoes’ and ‘trekking shoes’ are not marketing gimmicks. They do different things and don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.

It is important to learn the local language, lest you be led to a village whose name begins with ‘No’ and have to pay Rs.50 to park your car next to a cow.

Do not watch the movie Wall-E. It’s silly. Ok, that didn’t have anything to do with the trek, but I thought I should just let you know.

...suspended animation, a state of bliss...

But Bugs, Gokarna definitely deserves a separate post doesn't it? And I can't think of a better way to spend a day off from work than go back to Gokarna...in the spirit of course! :-)

Well, where did it start? Where did it all really start?Water all around...water, pouring down from the high heavens, water below, roaring, separated from us only by the skill of the instructor and his rubber contraption called a raft (it is rubber right?)...was it the crystal clarity of feeling alive in those moments? Or was it the more mundane yet esoteric combo of Blue Riband Tango orange-flavored gin, Khoday's rum and home-made wine? Or could it have been the delightfully absurd conversation...(I still believe in capsicum!!) Let me just call it the 'Barrapole effect' - by the end of the little-less-than-48 hours we spent together at Barrapole, all we could think of was 'when's the next trip'.

The place of choice - Gokarna. The planets contrived in our favor and we found 9 souls willing to bunk a day at work to go on a trip, hold on to your seats, for Four Full Days! Before you could say 'Scooby Doby Dooo', Siva had sent a mail about 'Cow's Ears'. With all the damage that the rafting had done to our wallets, 'low-budget' was the buzzword. And off we went on a Rajahamsa one fine night to the enchanted li'l town. Someone's single-handed efforts @ snoring and the spine-crunching potholes ensured we all got litle sleep. The very delayed cant-remember-the-name Express meant bemused travelers (and a cat) at Udupi station got a chance to witness us 'city-slickers' (!!) playing Uno right there on the platform. And it was close to 6 in the evening when our down-but-definitely-not-out bunch toppled down into Gokarna railway station.

Legend has it that Lord Ganesha tricked Ravana into putting the Atmalingam on the shores of Gokarna. Well, as we drove down the gently curvaceous roads to the beach, we understood exactly why Shiva chose to stay rooted right there. :) Suffice to say the place Is Beauty. And we sensitive souls certainly didn't want to disturb the peace! So our daily schedule ran something like this:

Activities on Day 1: Reach Gokarna. With the pit stop at Udupi, it was quite an activity in itself.
Activities on Day 2: Walk on the beach/cliffs. Jump into the sea. Drink apple milkshake/tea. Eat. Talk. Crash.
Activities on Day 3: Walk on the beach/cliffs. Jump into the sea. Drink banana milkshake/tea. Eat. Talk. Crash.
Activities on Day 4: Walk on the beach/cliffs. Jump into the sea. Drink ginger-honey tea (yeah, you guessed right, they'd run out of milkshake) Eat. Talk. And bid adieu :-((

And of course, there was the fish. World-class low-fat(?) cuisine to complement our not-too-active existence! All this eating and drinking interspersed with frisbee on the beach with some more friendly tourists, football, tube rides (and a boat ride) into the deep sea, dolphin sightings, walks by the light of our cellphones, and of course the gangs second game of choice - Chain Cut! (The first is indeed, Truth-or-Dare :-D) And to round it all off, a generous dash of vodka and beer! :)

For Siva, it was 'tube madness' and a mudpack.
For Dan, the dance and music of the waves and the fish, of course.
For Sharad, it was about the photo-ops and a secret tryst with the temple priest's daughter.
For Bugs, it was about 'hearing your mind in the roar of the waves'.
For KK, trademark random one-liners, his camera and the sea.
For Rachna, a return to innocence with hopscotch and magic castles.

For Harini, milkshake mania.
For Anisha, sweet smiles and chocolate pudding.
For moi, well, some things are best left unsaid... ok ok, the truth is I've 'thunked' and 'thunked' so much to write all this I can't think noh-moh! :)

So what if we didn't see a sunset, did we have the time of our lives or what! And after an encounter with a friendly calf that adopted us as its extended family at the Gokarna bus stand, a long bus ride with a stopover for some regular 'meals', delicious omelette and fish curry (again!), we were back in good ol' Bangalore.

I have but one thing left to say: 'Can we puh-lee-ze go back sometime?' :)

The Year that was .... 2007

The name of our official- unofficial blog site I guess has become a misnomer now …… Year 2007 saw no treks, but pleasure trips all thru the year.
Thought this site needs a peek before the year ends and before the blogspot guys disable it (Not sure if they do it; but well, ……)


Highlights of ‘07:

Aagumbe --> Hunkal woods --> Barapole--> Gokarna--> Kushal Nagar--> Belur -Halebeid
Jan --> Feb--> Sep --> Oct 2 --> Dec1/2 --> Dec /22
* The monsoons chased us (or did we chase the monsoon ?) In fact till the very end ! We headed to Belur-Halebid wee after the depression in the bay crossed. Anisha was busy checking 24 and 48 hr weather forecasts and updates online. Must say they were pretty accurate – It was a bright sunny day at Hassan Dist.

* Green was the colour ! –Verdant green, bottle green, olive green, moss green, algae green, mint green … we saw it all. @ Aagumbe , Hunkal woods, Barapole and Kushalnagar. Nestled in the narrow lanes of the concrete jungle, most of us have turned colour blind – The grey cells are jus about capable of identifying hues of black, brown & grey …

* Never give Harini a camera !

* All of us love MAYA ;)


A quick recap...

-Aagumbe

Geographic Details : Westren Ghats, 75 km from Shimoga.
We hitched a train to Shimoga . Bus from Shimoga to Tirthahally and then a bus ride to Aagumbe. Bangalore – Shimoga is a 7hr train journey. There are buses round the clock that ply from Shimoga to Tirthahally.

This small town, shot to fame after the tele-serial ‘Malgudi Days’ of Shankar Nag. The serial was shot at ‘Dodda Mane’ a.k.a. Kasturi akka’s house. The house is a run down one yet there was something nice about it ....the wooden stair case, the huge portico, the quaint backyard, the attic, the cauldrons in the kitchen simmering on fire wood, the antique dresser and chest of draws …..
Perhaps the other reason for Aagumbe to be on the blip screen is the ‘Aagumbe Rain Forest Research Centre’. This research centre started by Romulus Whitetaker, researches and protects the endangered King Cobra.

We were to trek the cloud forest, but we were cautioned of the naxals and chose not to venture into the forest. But as per trek standards we did walk a lot – 16 kms roughly, but largely on a flat terrain. We were all set for the arduous trek though – tents, sleeping bags , dozens of oranges, zillion tetra packs of juice& flavoured milk, choclate and energy bars, bread loves …….we had enough stock to set up a small little food stall. And even after thrusting a lot of food down our oesophages, our rugsacks still weighed more than a couple of kilos.

Memorable moments archived …
* Mouth watering food at Kasturi akka’s house; so much so that Ravi would have two rounds of breakfast /lunch ;)
* The ride in the truck with empty egg crates
* Having lugged around the tents, we were determined to pitch them. We camped at the Research centre and this turned out to be a costly affair – Rs 250 per head !

Hunkal Woods < http://www.hunkalwoods.com/>

Geographic Location – Chikmanglur Dist . This place is 5- 7km from the Chikmanglur bus stand.We hired a tempo and drove down to Chikmanglur via Hassan. The drive a tough one – bad roads + raining cats and dogs + lousy driver + Mungaru Male songs ONLY.

This trip was Kalyan Akkipedi’s recommendation; so it ought to be a super duper place!!
Well, Hunkal woods is the name of the place were we stayed – it’s a 100 year old bunglow turned into a resort/holiday home. It’s a nice cozy big house nestled in the coffee estates of the Western ghats , completely cut off from the hustle and bustle ; no mobile network either !!

We were told that we would be handed a route map to the bunglow at the Chikmanglur Bus stand. The boy at the chaai stall did hand us a hand drawn map. It reminded me of the maps I had seen in Enid Blyton books ….must say was a perfect setting for a treasure hunt – misty and a cloudy morning, the sun was yet to peep from its slumber, narrow lonely lanes. We hardly started pouring over the map and somebody heading to the bunglow hopped into our cab – we really didn’t have to tax our grey cells with map reading thereafter …J

The approach road was a pretty bad one but worth the drive ….One is completely over awed by the greenery around. This is a perfect place to unwind - sipping on freshly brewed coffee amidst the valley- the imposing western ghats all around you and reading a book atop the machaan. The only thing that you can hear is the stream gurgling, the jungle fowl, the Koyal and the constant buzz of the cricket.


We entertained ourselves with some badminton, TT, flipping thru the artsy wartsy magazines and a host of card games. There was constant supply of piping hot food and kapi- we couldn’t have asked for more !!

Cadburys Celebration moments:

*The walk thru the coffee estates and the jungle in the rain. Atop a small hillock(of the Muthodi range) , the wind speed was some 6-7mph and was literally blowing you off, one had to sit on his haunches or squat to avoid being blown off …


Barapole < http://www.getoffurass.com/trip_paradise.htm>

Geographic location: Close to Coorg
This place was yet another recommendation from Kalyan. The USP of this place is the white water rafting in Barapole river. The adventure tourism group “Get of your ass “conducts this event thru the year barring the monsoon season.

Coorg is famous for the “Home Stay” concept and we stayed at one such place called “High Falls”. It’s a km from Irrupu falls. We didn’t have a road map this time and we did go round and round the mulberry bush – the best part being, all of us half way thru the cab ride had a hunch that we were headed the wrong way …… but after numerous stop overs and asking half – a- dozen people we did find our way to ‘High Falls’

The entire rafting experience was simply awesome – the rafting gear, the preliminary rafting instructions and trials of Forward paddle, Back paddle, Left Turn / Left Back, Right Turn / Right Back…. Actually a good deal of the paddling was done by the instructors, we were jus having fun and contributed a teene weene bit. We did experience an adrenalin rush when the raft went thru the rapids. (There is a name associated with every rapid - I forget the names though …..can jus remember Morning coffee …… )

Kodak Moments …

* The Chilli-capsicum debate!!
* The game of ‘lock and key’ and ‘Chain-cut’


Gokarna

This coastal town is 750 kms from Bangalore. Badly connected by trains from Bangalore - Road Travel is the only mode of transport
Bus from Bangalore to Mangalore /Udupi .Train from Udupi to Gokarna


The two main beaches here are the Kudle Beach and the OM Beach. There are resorts and shacks along these beaches. The shacks on Kudle Beach are more cost effective. The recommended place of stay and food on Kudle Beach is ‘Sun set café’.

Food you ought to try @ Sunset café…
* Banana Milk shake
* Chocolate toast + Hot choclate
* Baracuda Fish fry
* Ginger –lime-Honey tea : best recommended if you have a bad throat

The Gokarna town is a couple of kilometers away from Kudle Beach and best accessed on foot. The ‘patel’ points in the town are the Ganesh temple and the Shiva temple. The local priests are all out to make some quick buck by recommending a zillion pujas. The town otherwise is like any other tourist –town selling wares and articrafts for a ‘phirang’ junta they are reasonably priced by ‘phirang standards’ .

The Om beach and the Paradise beach are equally serene. We spotted dolphins too ! If one is lucky, one can hitch a boat ride from Paradise Beach to Kudle beach – and the ride in the middle of high seas is something that one needs to experience. It’s a nice feeling to go blub- blub- blob- blub with the waves….

This has been the longest trip so far and we perhaps went at the right time of the year ……..less of tourist crowd and we literally owned the beach. Its ideal for a nice swim and incase you don’t know swimming jus take a tube and float into the deep seaJ

We missed the sunrise and sun sets because of an overcast sky ……the moon did peep out occasionally. The beach by the moonlight with the western ghats dotting the sea line, the pleasant sea breeze and trance music playing in the background – zimply perrrfect !! I would say, this is a perfect ambience to ruminate or mull on something or come up with a whacko plan for a business or a play/movie ;0)

And oh! the other thing that you ought not to miss is the fishing ….. early morning walk along the beach and you would find the fisher folk cast their net and the rhyme that follows while they drag the net on to the shore. They don’t use trawlers and don’t have to go too deep for a catch …..a few feet from the shore is good enough for a decent catch.

Global gyaan from the trip
* The rhythmic trance beats and the sea waves are highly correlated!
* If you want to hear your mind, you need to hear the roar of the waves ;)

The whackiest thing on the trip …
* The modified version of “Harry”
* The special mud pack for Siva

Kushalnagar

This is 250 km from B’lore in Madekeri Dist.

The patel points for this trip were Byllakuppae and Dubare . We stayed over at Valley Dew Home stays. The place was a little of a disappointment coz of the food,but we nevertheless had a good time. The game of Scotland yard kept us pretty entertained.
And of course Siva’s antics .

Dubare we had read was an elephant camp and we expected to see a herd of elephants; we only caught the glimpse of an old tuskar. The poor old jumbo was tired of loading and off loading people from a joy ride round the park – The mahout sure did make a good living coz of the old jumbo.

Byllaekuppae is famous for the second largest tibetian settlement in southern India. The monastery at this place is a fairly neat one. The monastery houses a school and hostel and the little monks are taught Tibetian philosophy, scriptures and the Dalai Lama. The monastery houses a 6 feet tall statue of the Buddha, that is covered with gold plated leaves. It has a nice meditation hall too, but sadly tourists not conversant with the silent form of prayer have converted it into a mini entertainment ring. Nobody looses a photo opportunity in front of the 6 feet tall statue and the intricately painted walls.

To get a better taste of the tibetian culture, we went hunting for tibetian food – all of us had mentally prepared ourselves for a nice lunch with momos, tibetian soup et al. We were a wee late for lunch at most restaurants, but we did manage to have a semblance of tibetian lunch.

Key take aways and learnings :
* Siva’s Fav song : ‘Aa ante Kamalapuram… …. ’
* Secrect of Siva’s Glowing lips – Nivea for men Chap stick that costs 5 pounds !! ;0)
* The thief in the game of Scotlandyard is a lucky chappie, with way too many trump cards .


Belur Halebid

We were a little late in organizing for a trip and post numerous trials and attempts of booking accommodation / tickets we decided to visit out next door dist town. This place is famous for the ruins of the Hoysala empire. Belur being a Vaishnavite shrine and Haleebed being a Shivite shrine.

The ideal way to get to this place would be a train to Hassan and then a bus ride to Belur / Halebid. One could take a bus all the way to Belur as well. The first bust from Majestic Bus stand to Belur is at 4:45am; there are buses round the clock though.

The group in general was tired of the cab / tempo rides and therefore chose to board the big red town bus. The bus does stop at every little hamlet and takes its own pace to reach Belur – yet there was something nice about the bus ride. One can hire a cab, rick from Belur to Haleebed or hop into any of the buses heading to Halebid.

We intended cycling from Belur to Halebid , but were discouraged by tourist guides and we didn’t find any shop that would hire out cycles either. In hind sight, guess it was good that we didn’t find one ! Haleebed is at a distance of 16km and cycling on kuchha roads with the sun beating down, would have been a Herculean task.

The architecture @ Belur and Halebid is by and large similar. One would definitely need a guide to show you around the temple .The carvings at Belur and Halebid are more intricate than the ones at Hampi. What’s more amazing is that the entire architecture etc was done over 3 generations – Blue print--> prototype / pilot project --> execution. Must say amazing transition docs and six sigma processes in place !!

Terrific year indeed !! In addition to all the bonding that happened over these trips, faffing and bonding happened over Brew haa haaa , Barbeques , pot luck lunches , dinners and more lunches …….

What’s in store for ’08 ?


* Kanha National park – to spot Tiger - Tiger !!
* Silent Valley trek – to spot Jumbo
* Somnathpur – complete the Hoysala Jig saw puzzle
* Kottagiri

Hampi

Warning! What follows is absolutely a non-linear and convoluted account of two days in Hampi.

My history lecturer in school told my mother (she was a teacher too) to tell me to write a page and a half before the big exam on the morrow. 'It'll not pain then to write reams of history", he said. And it is true. I am reminded of this as I talk to a friend. I have no work to do today other than set up my house; a bit more furniture, some curtains, a fridge and the place will become habitable.

We, Bugs, Siva, Keya, Anisha, Pratibha, Ravi, Ragini and I have just returned from a two day trip to Hampi.

What can I say? That it was a good trip, a peace trip where the world was in harmony in contrast to the wild chaotic city? Remember the poem, "The solitary Reaper"? "..Stop here. Or gently pass" I want to preserve that harmony a little bit longer.

As Siva said, the next trip is 'Mohenjadaro and Harappa'. Hampi is a wild place. Boulders stacked up in incongrous places. Sunset in the cloudy skies. It is a vast vista of plaintain groves, I hear the sound of distant rumbling, of trucks, vehicles far off. Yes, it is a little bit of childhod driving on the wild South Kanara buses. A driver once showed how to take the bus to the edge of a roll; I was with my friends, eight o'clock in the evening, chatting with the driver as we journeyed home and he showed us the roll. Happy times, yes.

Imagine bicycling, with many hilarious misadventures, amongst the stone ruins of an age old kingdom. There are rocks, temples made of rock, set amongst rocky patches, strewn. And there are government maintained patches of land nearby. That is what hits me now as I think of it. Patches of green amidst the rocks. Except Matanga Hill (So off we zoom to Matanga Hill, to see the sunset. We buy twenty bucks worth of peanuts (reminds me, who paid for it? Is it accounted? :) ) from an old lady who wants to make the 'bonni'[first sale]. 'I'll guard your cycles till you come back if you buy twenty bucks worth of peanuts', she says) which is no hill but boulders stacked on top of another by a haphazard hand. The sky is thick cloudy streaks near the western horizon; a few clouds at the edges of the breaks shine silver, heavenly. And it is puffs straight up. It is cooler and we are sitting on a rock overseeing more rocks. A mile away, perhaps, lie the plaintain groves; dark green almost to the horizon. I hear the distant sound of trucks rumbling. I hear people talking but the mind is a blank. I think nothing for a while, then hear someone talking.

Consciousness. To be aware yet not feel craving, desire yet not desperation. Intangible. There is something Mona Lisa about this. Intriguing!

What of the bats in the underground cave? 'Bat dung' someone cries. And Siva sings a hindi song, I forget what except that it was hilarious. All are in fine fettle. Ravi sleeps off at Mango Tree and at Waterfall. Keya and Siva scare away a crab. I drink a lot of lemonade. We ate good food that evening. The aroma is of home cooked food. Then off we went, the luna groaning as we went uphill. But it sure beats cycling! :)

Cycling is fun too. Though those faulty brakes!; as if ten people were dragging me backwards even on the downward slope. It is a nice little hamlet. if I may call it that. Just four kilometres away from the hotel. It is a good day to cycle. A wee bit sunny, perhaps? :) We went first to the Queen's bath, yours truly playing the tour guide and trying, unsuccessfully I may add, to be one step ahead of the rest. But we find a fundu guide in the Vithala Temple. He shows us the dancing hall, the musical pillars. Each is made of a block of granite, two and half feet by two and half feet perhaps. Within them are carved smaller pillars, their height and slenderness carved to the pitch of the instrument it mimics. He plays the Damaru, the Ghatam, the mridangam, the veena, the tabla, sa re ga ma pa da ni sa on the jal tarang. He plays the instrument carved on the pillar and we listen, ears glued.

There is an amazing depiction of mahasasura being torn apart by Narasimha. And another of utbhav Narasimha; Narasimha emerging from the pillar. And a tree grows beside the North entrance of the Temple. (Or is it.. the South? Help please! :D )

It is early morning around eight. The land is still cold. As we walk towards breakfast, a boatman allures us with the prospect of a coracle ride. We bargain down then pay him what he asked for in the first place! Peace is getting to us. Someone wants to explore the rocks. The boatman struggles upstream as few of us pose for photographs. Bugs along with Anisha and Pratibha are in the coracle as it slips back a few feet. The boatman rams his oar into the ground and tries to draw up the coracle but it is too strong. Luckily, he is smart. He paddles quickly to the side and grabs hold of the weeds on the bank. And he drags the coracle up and around the mighty stream. That is how humans have taken over the world. Mind over matter. And it is a silent fight seen from the opposite bank and he's noncommital on the issue. We paddle slowly over the calm stretch. My legs are cramped just a tad.

And the lonely planet recommended places do not have idlis or dosas. So we sit in a small peaceful place run by a small girl and her mother Was it child labor? She seemed happy but who knows what hopes, dreams lay within. I drank some black tea while Pratibha, Anisha, Siva and Ragini drinnk coffee that 'looks more like tea' (Anisha). The flies have pretty large stake in the place too! Someone protests for another location but the movement is not seconded; 'There are flies everywhere in Hampi!', Anisha says.

There are no flies when we go out on saturday. Just a lot of huffing and puffing. I am wheezing, scaring away the birds and the buzzards, as I gasp for breath. Not that it is too dry a place. It might have been a few years back but the Archaelogical Society of India (or whoever) is doing a pretty good job, maintaining the lawns planted around. Especially amongst the ruins of the palace, near the Mahanavami Dibba?

My memory seems to be refreshed, nor the name of the place seem important. What is important though is what one feels.

What can I say? That we laughed a lot, Siva in crackling form, Pratibha's 'Ah ma!', Keya singing and dancing like a Bhakti sant in the Virupaksha Temple? The old man who showed us the inverted image of his hands grinned as she danced her way past. :D Ravi discovers the inverted Gopuram. How does it invert the image? Is it like the virtual and real images from lenses taught in high school physics? Most probably it all has to do with proportions. 'A ray from the top goes down this way and the other ray from gopuram base goes up like this', gestures Ragini. Most probably. But beyond all that, science though having the answers, is unsatisfactory.

Later in the evening, we have finished dinner and wait for the overseers of installing the extra beds to take a walk. It is a nice crescent moon. Siva wants to model; he places the bottle of water on his head and gingerly steps out. Pratibha and Anisha are trying to distract him. I am laughing as Siva gains confidence and wildly starts swinging his hips as he walks. Bugs is laughing. So is an european tourist captivated by the antics and the laughter. Wild!

..in the here and the now. That is what we are. Tat avam asi is not too bad a phrase. Not at all!

Virupaksha Temple is so peaceful (I know I am overusing the word but what else to use!?). I wish I could stay that way forever. Just a tiny wish, dear god. One itsy bitsy wish. There is peace. It is cloudy and we ate well at lunch; we sweated off a few kilos cycling before that!

The silence. The tranquility just grabs you. And it is some time since we have sat down. A million thoughts have passed thru our minds. It is a place to grow old in. A place of grace.

I wish I could stay here forever but we have an agenda; the 'patel points' have to be covered!

The previous day we were talked into going to Mango Tree for an early lunch. So we ditched a lot of 'patel points'. But not before Siva's rear tyre went flat and Bugs, riding with me was insistent in her demands to stop and look at the underground temple instead of puffing our way to Mango Tree. At one stretch the side road hits the main and goes off down the hill. I zoom in exhuberance, a bus honks behind me and I start wobbling, I see a replay of the brigade road stupidity that occurred a day before the play. 'Don't shake', I scream to Bugs as I try to apply the brakes more gently. We manage to slow down and stop . Bugs wanted to ride the bike after that! :D

On the way back down off Matanga Hill, we passed a mother and child carrying bundles of grass. ..or were they sticks? They were getting home after a hard day's work I guess. That day, I enjoyed the hues and the landscape and never noticed her pass.

It is now ten monday night; I have played truant from work today. The guilt sets in now. I must go to office tomorrow.

Does the eagle feel the same as it takes off to circle far above and wide?

A night to remember....

Let me tell you the biggest hazard of trekking in late night. No, it is not accidents/injuries, neither animals nor ghosts. It is all about not knowing where you are heading, especially when at the start of the trek you have no one to ask whether the mountain you are about to climb is actually Channagiri or not. I am still not sure we climbed Channagiri (I think we climbed Kalwarbeta instead.. though, again, I may be wrong). But what matters more is to have fun, and what fun we had!!

Anyway, lets start from the start... or rather the late start primarily due to saturday (18th March 2K6) evening Bangalore traffic. The pickups were delayed by as much as 2 hrs and by the time the 15 (ya you read it right!!) of us were past the city, it was already 10 pm.

Sing a Song: Quite a few of us were rookies in the band and there were introductions all around when anyone boarded the minibus. The journey was due North towards Nandi Hills for a large part of the trip, before taking a diversion in the left for Channagiri. As has now become a trend (twice in a row is trend, right?), the crooners started in full flow as soon as we had hit the highway. The enthusiasm, coupled with Anil's bday, led to dedicated customised offerings ("Baar baar din ye aaye","1,2, ka 4, My name is Anil" and "Chandni, O meri Chandni" to name a few)

Adding fuel to fire: The bus journey terminated near a deserted temple at the base of a hill. The night had well set in, and surroundings were spooky. Stories immediately started flowing in (ghosts on the trees above, a grave near us and start of Countdown to the Last One Alive aka Darna Mana Hai). It was then that the Brave and the Fearless (read Anand et al) decided to alight a bonfire.

"Arrange the splinters in a cone shape ... no, bit horizontal"
"Chhahh.. no point, too much wind, aisa karo, block by more stones around"
"I'll bring some dry leaves from around here, they will burn"
"Yaar these splinters not catching fire... only the kerosene is burning"
"Anand, do one thing, keep adding kerosene from time to time, that is the only way"

And so, the kerosene lit campfire was up, with fumes blinding anyone who was on the windward side of it. It was in the midst of this that Anil cut the cake and was duly anointed by foam, courtesy Ravi.

Rock n Roll: It was supper time and we had Veg n Non Veg Kaati rolls along with the bday cake. The Yajna was completed by adding the cake remnants to it ("yaa, now it is burning... OK time to move")And so we started, the fifteen of us, spreading the message of light in darkness, armed with our torches and the cute little mascot...the PETROMAX... Wait this one deserves a bit more.

I dont know whose brainchild this was to bring the Petromax (= pressurized lantern where the incandescence of a rare earth mantle produces the light). But I know for sure that it was debated whether to carry it along for the trek or leave it in the bus. And here ventured Arun ("Not to worry, I will carry it"). Little did that poor little creature (I am talking of Petromax and not Arun) know that this would be the trip where it would not only be bumped and hurtled all along the way, it would also be cursed for its weight and uselessness in the clear moonlit night and finally the trek would prove to be its last one ... sob :( .

Show me the way: Ten minutes onto the stony path made it clear to us that it wasnt leading us to anywhere towards the hill (to our right) but to some dwellings ahead. So it descended on us that we had to leave the path and start climbing the hill instead. Again, few brave heads rose and parties split for individual explorations - led occassionaly by Ashok, Ravi, Mohit and Andy to name a few. Fortunately, our leader was in complete control of the situation and handled very well each time a split party ventured into wilderness.

Mohit: Here is a way towards right; Ashok: No, towards left I can see an opening.
Anand: OK, both of you, go 50 mts further on each way and report back if you can still go ahead or get blocked
Mohit: OK, I am stuck, its blocked; Ashok (he is blocked too... but) Then come this way!!
Anand: Fine, lets go to the LEFT. Tell the others.

And this way, after numeruos non-existent tra(va)ils, we settled on one and trudged along. (We later saw that an upward trail started from very near to where we had supper). As we moved up, the still air gave way to slight winds, and the cool soothing effect combined with the effort of climbing made us a little weary. We reached a place with a shallow gully with a few boulders jutting out. Here is where we took our first break. Few perched on the boulders, the rest wherever they found place.

Parting time: Pretty soon, we were marching in two groups (is this a trend too?). The 2 Anands, Kishore, Bugs,Prats, Mohit, Ashok, Me, Shipra and Anil were in one and Ravi, Anisha, Chandani, Siva, Arun (and the Petromax) in the other. An unfortunate incident forced the Petro group to stay back and wait. Anil also went back to inquire and stayed put with them. The rest of us (nine in all) continued our way up. Almost immediately, we found a trail leading upwards. After that, the going was comparatively easier.

The trail was definite and marked by arrows; it led through dense shrubs and trees till finally it dissappeared quite near the top of the hill. Here again, Anand used his path-finder tools (read Mohit and Ashok) to decide the way to go. Soon, we reached a flat rocky surface facing the Nandi Hills with cool winds blowing unabated all around us and clear black sky above. This was also the place where we had a brief interaction with someone on the opposite hillside through light signals (WE ARE NOT ALONE!!).

Where are you: Whatever exhaustion we had along the way up was gone as soon as we rested there for a while... for some (Andy et al) rested too well (you could hear him snoring above the winds). The rest of us continued our search for the top, though after going some distance, we were faced by thorny shrubs. Realising the futility of going further, we thought it better to go back to our resting place... but where was it? we lost our way a little bit and if Anand hadn't remembered some milestones (rocks), we wud've ended up going down by a separate route. Thankfully that didnt happen.

Back on the rocks we waited for the Petro group (they had communicated through phone that they were coming up.. finally!!) for some time, but then decided to meet them while going down. So we started our downward journey on the trail. After going down quite a distance, we realised we should've met the Petro guys.. well, that is IF they were also able to find the trail (which they didnt). So, now started an exercise to locate them, and an extensive use of visual/aural/telephonic communication happened.

"RAVIIIIII....WHERE ARE YOUUUUU" .... "OUUU"...."OUU" (echo)
"I can see a light... Naah , they are only Bugs and Kishore"
"Hello.. Hello... yaa..we have reached way down? ..Hello..where are you? what?!! at the top?!!!"

Apply your learnings: And so it transpired on us that the Petro group had gone to the top by another route while we were descending. Seeing no point in waiting for them, we decided to go back to the bus. But this time the final part of descent was tricky. We somehow reached a point from where we could see the road (though we weren't sure it was THE road we wanted to go on), but we were at an elevation to it, and there was a drop of around 10 feet. There we used our lessons learnt on the Rappelling exercise, used the small bit of rope we had, and climbed down.

Back near the bus we decided to take rest a bit and then continue for another trek, this time the Nandi Hills.

Jo Dar Gaya..: I must say we weren't exhausted on returning from Channagiri, and as though for a proof to this, Anand immediately set off for prospecting if there was any way to climb up the hill facing the one we had just descended. Unfortunately, there was none. Anand,Prats,Bugs,Kishore and Ashok then went to explore another side of the road, Andy retired in the bus (awakening the poor driver in this process), and myself, Mohit and Shipra waited for the explorers to return. It was then we had the idea of scaring them (when they returned). We hid behind a tree and as soon as they were near us we jumped on them. Not all, but Prats for sure had a scare ... she looked visibly shaken :)Again a bit of reorganisation took place for Nandi Hills trek. The minibus drove us to the foothills of Nandi Hills, a place where the road takes a right turn. Off we got down (7 of us), while Shipra and Andy stayed back in the bus to return to the temple spot and wait for the Petro group there. It seems they waited quite a bit as the Petro group returned in early morning only.

Naa tire, Naa retire: The trek to Nandi Hills was quite contrasting to Channagiri one. There's a well-laid road, with milestones indicating distance remaining and lot of bikes and cars zooming past you most of the time (Really have no idea why would someone Return from Nandi Hills when sunrise is just around the corner). But the spring in step was slowly and steadily giving way to exhaustion. Along we trudged, with Anand, Ashok and Prats going way ahead (we met them only at the top). The 4 of us following, counting each kilometer as it passed by (somehow the later milestones were farther apart I guess!!)It was only very near the top that we realised we will miss the sunrise after all (we had kept a deadline of reaching by 6:30 am = assumed time for sunrise). So, it was again time to take the shortcuts cutting vertically across the winding road. It was tiring like anything. In fact, on the final climb, I felt so exhausted, I almost gave in to the desire of toppling backwards!!Nevertheless, we reached Nandi Hills, just when the morning calm was settled across the horizon, and what a view it was!!... The floor of clouds was interrupted in places by hilltops, which looked like islands on a frothing sea-surface. As we went further ahead, the sun was shone bright, and its rays sparkled off trees and shrubs. Numerous monkeys were playing along the way as well as perched on branches. We passed a water tank and went along the periphery of the campus, till we came up to a few shops.

Tipu's desire: Our requests for tea were denied at the first shop, but we managed to find another nearby. While we were having tea-biscuits, we met a member of the long-lost Petro group (Arun), who described us their adventurous journey (including the episode of sad demise of Petromax). The rest of Petro group was sleeping inside the bus (very near to where we were eating). So, we decided to join them once we had seen the sheer cliff-drop on the hill side (which Tipu Sultan allegedly used for death penalty).We sat on the rocky end of hilltop, enjoying the sunlight, wind and the breathtaking view, while Ashok tried his luck by sitting periliously close to the edge of cliff. (Oh how I wished to have Tipu's Powers.. "[Clap Clap]. ..Push this guy!!"). Few minutes more, and then we joined the others sleeping peacefully in the bus. The return journey for most of us would be a gobbledegook recollection of scrambled dreams; though I remember the speedometer hovering near 80 kmph and Arun dropping off twice on the driver's shoulder in his slumber. Soon we arrived in Blore and bid adieu to each other.

Anthargange Chronicles : The episode of 'Adventurous Seven'

Here are some snippets from the 'Adventurous Seven' front:

Me: what's the fun in going by the road... I think we can climb this hillock instead, what say Mohit?
Mohit: chalo .. tell me Sudeep, where do we have to go for rappelling?
Sudeep: Ya, you can go by this way also, we have to reach the top for rappelling, though I have never climbed it myself!! (actually the two hillocks were totally different ones, as we found out when we saw the 'non-adventurous' team rappelling far away after reaching the top.)

And so the seven of us started to climb...

Halfway up the hill, we started having second thoughts on whether there is a way to the top through the steep rocky surface or not. This was where we rested a bit... (More of Siva's Oranges in picture here... though he rued he left the rest in his bag)
About this time only, Kamlesh decided to follow Gurudev Tagore's preaching (Ekla Chalo Re) ... and parted ways with us. The last we saw of him, he was perched atop a cliff, standing on one leg and hands flowing (aka Zayed Khan in Main hun Naa)

Next we faced a block, having a small cavern to the right side and thich thorny shrubs to the left, not to mention the overhanging ledge:
Me: OK, I'll try to climb up... (got scratched on my hands)... OK, we cant climb this.
Ram: Tu hat, let me try.
Finally Alok managed to overcome the bushes and pass over to the next level. I followed next. Now the two of us are supposed to tell the others whether there is a way ahead (I could see none). Mohit was impatient ("Arey yaar tell us we can go further or not")

With sustained efforts, all of us crossed the bush barrier, and the faced the flat wall (about 80 degree incline, no place for handhold / foothold barring a thin crevice running along the length). Beyond the wall, was a small cave.

Alok climbed the wall till the edge of the cave. Rest of us followed suit. It wasn't easy... once my foot got stuck and Ram had to pull it out from below for me to progress further.

Mohit: There's light at the end of the tunnel (cave)... lets go.
Me: OK, I am light in weight, I'll climb.... (too steep !!).... OK, we cant climb this .. (deja vu?)
Mohit: Just remember, we have come to a stage where we cannot go back, so the only way is forward.
This time Ram came to rescue ...("I have longer legs").... and led the way.

Into the cave .. and then through a side passage out of it we went.Pretty soon we were at the top pf Hillock, elated at our achievement.

Time for another video session:
Mohit: Kitne aadmi the sambha!!
Siva: YOOO...HOUUUUUU!!
Alok: Jo dar gaya, wo mar gayaa!!
Kishore: I'm still a v!r$!n.. (OK, can't complete this!!)

We followed the downward trail to the nearby settlement, and had Ginger-lime under tree-shade. Then we moved on to join the 'non-adveturers'.
Alok had a bigger adventure later on, when he discovered his engagement ring missing during Rappelling... thankfully he found it in his kit itself!!

Piyush