Did you cherish the long weekend?

I definitely did though, we did not pack our bags this time, for a change!
Saturday went off in window shopping (does this term include the numerous trails in vain, as well?)on Brigade road and browsed in my favorite book shop on Church street. Earlier I had planned to visit Indiranagar 100 ft road, but changed the venue when I heard from a friend that 100 ft was crowded with media crew and eagerly onlookers after the Honda-runover incident. Come to think of it, it is sad that pedestrians have neither safety nor the comfort of walking, eventhough walking is the best mode of transport wrt the much-voiced ecological aspect! What an irony :-(
Back to my list of things done - Went on long walks in the evening to CMH road and burnt lot of calories :-(
The next day, 4 of us headed towards Igglur dam - Shall try to post more info on this place, which is 95 Kms from Blr - and Omkar hills on the return journey. It was a long and tiring day with sun back to its scorching mode, already in Jan!
Monday was relaxing - a friend stayed back with us and we played games, watched Republic day parade in between and ate lots of junk.
In the evening, saw the movie Raaz2. That was the first horror movie I had ever seen. I was glad that I didn't get scared very much. In few scenes, I closed my eyes as I felt yucky to see the gory ones.
Enjoy the week ahead!

2009 - The New year

Wish everyone of you a very happy, fun-filled, successful, healthy and prosperous NEW YEAR!
Let the new year see the beginnings of things you had always hoped for and the end of those habits you want to get rid of!
How did you ring in the new year? We had been to a friend's apartment association celebration and had fun with friends. It was a bit funny as well, as the entertainment turned into playing 'Housie' after dinner on the NY eve and people like were desperately looking for the lady to announce stop of the play instead of the numbers. Finally when it ended at 11.50 pm, we had lost lot of our nails :-) Then came the DJ who preferred melodies and I agree with him, but a Ghajini number on the dance floor?
The good numbers were put off in the first stanza and I was furious when my favorite 'Bhool Bhulaiya' met that end :-(
Overall, it was fun and the beginning act was lots of laugh. Hope the laughter continues into the year as well.

Beeravara Betta - head to Nature for a Picnic

Beeravara Betta is a hillock that is situated about 45 Kms from Bangalore and is an ideal picnic spot and a great place to relax and to become one with Mother Nature.

Beeravara is the place where you have to whisper so that you are not too loud for others’ ears. It is a very quiet place and hope it remains so.


Driving directions:

* Get onto the old Madras Road to NH7. After a 23-km-drive you will reach Nelamangala. Signal (no need to go inside Nelamangala).
* Turn left here on the Mangalore/ Hassan road. There is a big sign board and Karnataka tourism board here. This is also the road for Belur/ Shravanabelagola.
* Continue on this road for about 15 kms. You will see many villages on either sides. After you spot a small hill with a smaller temple on top, keep looking onto your left for a small temple of Bisilumaramma.
* Enquire here and take left. (I read from a blog that there used to be fairly large signboard to the left which reads ‘Beeravara - 1 km’ This is no longer there as the Mangalore road is being widened)
* Go inside for a few metres until you see a small rock pillar installed on a platform to the left and a small temple on the right. There is a rough path leading to the left till the base of the hill.


At the top of the hill is a small temple dedicated to Lord Lakshmi Ranganatha. You can spot children playing at the foot of the hills. You can reach the top via a steep flight of steps. When we went, construction activities were ongoing and we had to climb via the edges which became more difficult as the height increased. So, we abandoned the idea and returned, after a few pictures though.

We searched for alternate routes to the top though the construction workers said that there weren’t any. We took a tour around the base of the hillock and found a track going behind the hill into an open area resembling forest. We could see goats and cows grazing. We turned around and tried rappelling without any proper gear though. Ram and Satish slid down and it was fun clicking them doing this. One of the masons took interest in us and came down the hill and climbed up the hill barefoot, using his hands for the support. When we tried, we weren’t even a single step ahead. After a few more attempts, the idea of climbing the hill was dropped. We started exploring the arena for an equally interesting place. A few metres behind the hill was a jack tree which was almost picture perfect and had the coolest breeze in its shade. This vast area and the breeze instantly relaxed us.

There were a few boulders nearby and we went up a big rock which had an amazing shade at the top thanks to the trees on top. The top portion was flat and the view from here was awesome, if not more. You get to see lush green in all directions and could hear the traffic noise from the highway. The NH should be a few hundred metres away from this boulder. Though Satish complained that this noise disturbed him a bit, I was happy that we were closer to humanity and not lost in a jungle.

There was nothing much to do there, but nothing more was needed also. We sat down and started talking as we hadn’t packed any games with us. Three of us were there and each had the same experience of peace and serenity on top of this place. We regained our childhood watching a cow walking along with a crane. Whenever the cow got ahead of the crane, she would fly to catch up with the cow. They looked like friends on the way to their school. Soon an old woman came and tied the cow to the nearby bush. The crane went around her and was providing companionship to the cow and entertainment to us.Now and then, there were one or two dogs that would come to the foot-hill and stare at us. Thankfully, they never barked or did not venture up and left us to ourselves.


At lunchtime, we went around looking for a place to spread the picnic basket. We drove into the village and could see the small houses and school. There were boulders, grave tombs spread out everywhere. After a 15 minute search, we decided to return to our campJ This time when we carried the bags of food, plate, water and bedsheet, the workers looked at us with a big question mark on their face. It was a simple lunch, but tasted great thanks to the surroundings and our internal peace. We rested our backs for a while and were yapping. Those were meaningless talks but I could feel the calmness in each of us. When an old woman interrupted us for some water, we were only happy to see another human being there. She had come with her goats that were busy grazing and soon we could hear her speaking to another woman at the foot of the hill. These discussions went on for 2 hours or more amidst the chirping of birds, bleating of goats and cows in addition the whistling winds.


There was no trekking, adventure or rock climbing. Still, we were satisfied with our picnic spot.

Believe me that becoming one with nature is not very difficult here. Rest here for a while and forget any worry and erase every tension out of your mind.

It might not be a very good idea to come here in summer.


This is what I had read about the hill temple, by SRINIDHI RAGHAVENDRA L V:

“After a little distance, the stairs pass through a cave-like passageway for about 20 feet before reaching the top. It is a marvellous creation of Nature, the path giving way to a cave passage with sunlight streaming into it from the other end. The top of the hill is a small squarish plateau about 50 sq ft in area.

The temple is a small stone structure with beautiful Hoysala style square pillars. You can see a pair of large footprints, believed to be of Lord Hanuman, right in front. Inside, is a strikingly beautiful image of Lakshmi Rangantha Swamy made of shiny black granite carved on a pillar, which is about five ft tall. A pair of glittering brass eyes with stones encased appear as though the lord is staring outside. The other parts of the face are also well defined and adorned with brass ornaments.
Worship is performed only on Saturdays and special days.
The annual jatre or the fair is held on Rathasapthami day here. “
(copying the info as the DeccanHerald page link doesn’t open)

Mydanahalli, a weekend getaway from Bangalore

Last Saturday, I had been to a place called 'Mydanahalli' - u read it right- or 'Maidanahalli', which is a black buck reserve forest in Karnataka bordering Andhra. A friend of us came to know abt this place and suggested it as a weekend getaway. Here is the blog that she was referred by her friend : http://ifornature.blogspot.com/2008/11/mydanahalli-blackbuck-reserve.html There are more blogs on this place and we were convinced that it would be a good idea to go early in the morning to spot the blackbucks made famous by Salman Khan. Though it was 140 Kms from Blr and the place did not have any flora or landscapes, we decided to try our luck with the blackbucks and their winged friends. 5 of us decided to leave Blr by 4.30 in the morning (in the peak cold winter) so that we can reach when the animals are out on their morning walk. We managed to get up, packed almost all brands of biscuits, fried snacks, soda and water cans, filled full gas and and left home just before 5 am. Ram was as usual behind the wheel and I next to him with 5-8 papers with the route and directions, courtesy- blogs and google maps. The early morning was definitely a different sight - dark roads covered with fog, howling & barking dogs, the roaming cops dressed like terrorists to protect themselves from cold and only a lathi for self protection! , fellow vehicles on the road - that being the beginning of xmas week, many families could be seen travelling that early. We took the old Madras road to join the outer ring road that feeds into Tumkur. As usual, Tumkur road was full of slow-moving trucks and thousands of diversions and barricades. I pity those who get to travel this road often! After an hour long drive, we reached the toll gate and were asked by our friend to look out for a board 6 kms after the toll, on the right side. 10 eyes followed the instruction and after 6 kms, we were desperate and looked out in all possible directions! It being a straight road without any turns, we were puzzled and drove on, doubting the directions given by her friend. Soon, we reached the exit of the toll gate and continued straight. We all were shot back suddenly when she shouted that she spotted the board. Time for reverse gear . Only then it became clear that the 6 kms was meant after the toll exit :-) It was fun, anyways. We had to take the Tumkur by-pass and not get into the town. But there was no signboard when we reached the deviation point. We asked a villager who asked us to go straight, whereas Satish was insisting that we should take the right turn to join the by-pass. Me being me, said that since Tumkur trucks were taking right to enter the town and insisted that we head straight, which we did. We were doubtful as the road was not wide enough for a NH and could see shops on the roadside. So, we stopped a cyclist who confirmed that it was not the by-pass and we took a U-turn. While continuing on the by-pass, there was a small board with the hand-written words 'Pune road' which made us discuss again. After discussions, we continued straight only to return to Pune road after 5 minutes. That place is the over bridge under construction. Turn right and continue for 45 kms or so towards Madhugiri. That part of the drive was wonderful - it had dawned by then and there was thick fog on all sides. Visibility was poor which made Ram apply less pressure on the accelerator. We took time to click snaps on the way (shall update this post with good snaps soon) and reached Madhugiri (which also happens to be a district). We had to go past Madhugiri onto Hindupura Road for 17 Kms to reach Puravara village. I tested my Kannada skills. And every single board in this route is in Kannada which I dint attempt :-) After a few odd Kms, we had to leave the tar road behind and there started the stress test for the car and our backbones. Inspite of directions, maps, pictures of board signs with us, we had to continue asking the villagers for help, who were not only enthusiastic, but also wrong many times. A self-proclaimed forest guard wanted lift and asked us to go back from where we came! In short, we were lost and amidst people who confirmed that the forest was a few kms ahead. That motivated us to go ahead and entered muddy roads(?) and slopes. We had entered the forest without realising. Soon, I got to see a lake with few birds and the scenery was beautiful. Stopped every person who passed us asking for the black bucks. We were told to go near the shed which was 2 kms from the lake and so we continued. We reached a point beyond which the car cannot go because of a ditch and so started walking. After a few metres, we could see a house and grazing cows. How can there be a house in a reserve area, we thought and spent some time bird watching and returned to the car. The time was 9.30 and all were hungry. We decided on a pool-side breakfast and drove back to the lake. Bread, butter, jam and ready made rotis made a smooth way inside our foodpipes. Meanwhile, we were researching the footmarks on the lake side - if they were of goats or deers ! I took a count of chances which were 3-2 with me offering to be the third vote on spotting bucks! Once, the food was in, energies shot up and caught hold of more villagers who swore that our earlier route was correct and that we simply had to go beyond. They asked us to go straight - but where is straight when you are inside a jungle without any road tracks? Well, we went ahead to the same ditch and Muku started filling it with large stones so that we could drive over them. 15 minutes later we were on our way again. Suddenly, Ram exclaimed that the fuel tank was getting emptied fast and we all looked down to check for leaking petrol. Though being an offroader, Honda CRV gulps almost a litre for each km on a road less road in the first gear. Now, the priorities shifted from animal spotting to getting out of the jungle. And that's when, we saw a shed and got down. After enquiries with the shed owner who spoke flawless English, Kannada and Tamil, we came to know that the reserve area was only a km away. We left the car there for saving petrol and trekked our way through the thorny bushes towards the fence he showed. He told about a watch tower and guards whom we dint meet till the very end. We had to cross moats to enter the fenced area(it was fenced on one side only). I wore cotton trousers and thin shoes. The bushes started poking me with their needles and I had to stop every now and then to remove them. When I say jungle or forest, please do not imagine a forest covered with dense trees that keep the sunlight away. This is a forest with only Eucalyptus trees, cactus and acres of bushes. We walked for another half an hour and reached a denser part of the forest, where we finally spotted the black beauties. We saw two of them who dint blink for a second, but ran and disappeared in no time. They were huge in size and from whatever I could see, they had amazing horns that seemed to be the work of skilled craftsmen. Only the belly was white and rest was dark brown (or black?) in color. A new rule came after this - not to speak or make noise! We went further in and was getting more holes in my body. We walked along the path of an erstwhile stream, which had dried long ago. Some of us were lucky to spot 2 more black bucks - fawns this time, but they were equally fast if not faster. It was a bit disappointing that we could not see herds of them or take pictures of the animals. We could not locate the watch tower or any human beings. There were many snake hills and were scared as we had read that there were 14 different species of them in the forest. After some more waiting and hesitation, we started our way back. We took a short cut and so got lost only to find our car soon. We quenched our thirst and went to the shed-house and used his toilet. The guy had a poultry farm earlier (that explained the shed) and was running a brick factory then. He said that there was a guest house under construction and it should be possible to stay after that. To see what, I dint ask. He talked in length about his life, snakes, scorpions, pets, politicians who promise roads and infra without delivering and offered us tender coconuts. We politely refused and thanked him for the hospitality. He suggested a shorter route to Blr via Gouribidanur. We took his suggestion and took the mud road towards Gouribidanur. A good 2-25 km stretch was difficult after which there was tar road to Dodballapur and a good ride to Yelahaka and Blr then on. We saved around 30-40 kms and also avoided the Tumkur road traffic. This is definitely a recommended route, except for the 20 km mud-road stretch. The total distance covered was around 270 kms. To summarize, it was a good drive and we were lucky enough to see the 3-4 animals and some colorful birds near the lake. Issues : Bad road conditions, missing road directions, not so green forest cover, absence of a guide or boards in the forest area and above all, it is disappointing after the real long drive. Not recommended for families with children or for lone trekkers. Even in Dec, the temp was around 27 degrees, so summers will be hotter(the probability of spotting animals is high, as they may not find grass anywhere else). The photos in the referred blogs are nice and beautiful, but I don't think Mydanahalli is worth a long drive. Well, that's my opinion :-) FULL STOP

What kept me away?

Guess what happens, when u return to work after a break? Piles of work and loads of mails in the inbox !
Well, I'm in a similar position. Haven't actively blogged for a while and now, have got Kilobytes and megabytes of things to share with :-)
Let me begin with the reason for my silence as the first topic.
I took a break from work for a month, after nine years in the corporate world. You may instantly approve the need for a break! I took this time to rejuvenate myself and did what I love to do.

• Stayed back @ home, sweet home till I got bored of the TV. I am not going to complain about saas-bahu serials and their viewers. The women at home and others watch them for lack of better options! (Plenty of time on hand and the absence of objective or goal may force things that are otherwise undersired. This is one of the lessons I've learnt.)
• Cleaned a bit (I have to say a bit, because cleaning and dusting a house are perennial jobs) and organised stuff lying all over the house. (It takes only a minute for the house to revert to its disorganised state and somehow I belive it takes no effort for this reversion!)
  
• Took up dieting and gymmed daily- I lost a good 4.5 inches and 1.5 kilos (The kilos have now returned back as pounds)
• Played keyboard and regularly went for my classes and practised at home as well (There was no need to dust the keyboard)
• Visited my parents and spent time with my immediate family and friends
  
• Went on a holiday with my hubby dear to the beaches of Mangalore and forts of Kerala.
• Rest of the time, I was busy shopping, listening to music and lazing around :-)
  

Basically, I grabbed the opportunity and spent quality time with myself and family.
I simply love those days and I was happy to end the vacation as well.
All is well that ends well :-)
And when I joined work last month, the initial days kept me busy and so, couldn't take time out for blogging.
Here I am and hope to pen mythoughts more frequently.
Wish you all a Merry Christmas and enjoy your vacation too !

Take a break!

Well, thatz what I'm doing, right now!
A break from the corporate world after so many years ! Though it is a 3 week interval, I'm enjoying it and thats the reason I haven't written any new post.
Well, now that I have broken it, let me also tell u that the next two weeks will be hectic with fun, thanks to Diwali and a function at my parent's place.
Whats your plan for Diwali celebrations?
Wish you all a very happy Diwali and happy holidays :-)

Resort & Weekend getaway from Bangalore

Its more than a week since my last post! The weather in Bangalore is wet and hot - its not only confusing, but also flu and cold are prevalent. I was one of the victims and now back to normalcy, well, almost with the occasional cough!
To celebrate my recovery, we gathered a few friends and made a day trip to a cave resort called Guhantara in the outskirts of Bangalore- on the Kanakapura road. It is 30 Kms from HSR layout and around 50 Kms from Indirangar.4 couples and 3 kids made it in 2 cars on sunday morning and after a slow long drive, we reached the resort by 10 am. The last 3 km was a rollercoaster ride as there were no roads inside the forest-village. Another resort by name 'Angana' is also located on the way. Thanks to the monsoons, the place wore a lush green and wet look.
We had registered earlier for a day full of activity. The entrance resembled a cave and after payments, we were taken through a tunnel the interiors of which were of mud and gave a rocky feeling. The kids were thrilled with the dim light, sunlight peeping through the holes and made sounds to highlight the effect. After a 300m walk, we were led into a central room which had dinner tables made out of logs and lots of people. I would have thought for a moment that we entered a theatre, if not for the breakfast buffet counters. An artificial waterfall with a small pool of water formed the centre and against this backdrop, there were seating arrangements done like a theatre. Little did we know that our sunday would be spent in that area!
After tea, we proceeded to the play-area which had Table tennis at the corner of a cave. the table was broken and a half was lower than the other!The place was poorly lit. Still, 4 of us played TT for sometime and the rest were engaged with the dartboard which had only 3 arrows to throw! Though there was a snooker table, a board that read 'Only professionals allowed' kept us away. 3 carom boards were available for the kids. After half an hour of play, we decided to venture out to the open. Came out of the cave and realised that the entire play area was not more than 3000 sq.ft. And including us, appx. 400 persons are to enjoy the resort facilities.
Only the beach volley ball has an earmarked area, there were no cricket pitches, but 3-4 teams were already playing - some with their own bat and balls! We had to wait to get hold of shuttle rackets and played amidst fielding. Within a few minutes, the resort guy came demanding the rackets and asked all 8+3 of us to play with a single frisbee. When I refused to return the rackets, he told me that two women from our group are playing shuttle elsewhere. Inspite of me telling him that they did not belong to our group, he insisted that we play frisbee. But where?
We whiled away the time and got into volleyball by noon. Two other women joined us and we had a match. After that, again the question what next? Thankfully, the resort had organised events like tug of war, singing competition, housie etc to retain people in the auditorium and keep them engaged.
Another shock was that the swimming pool is the same as the small waterfall pool which had a rocky base! We waited for lunch and it turned out be average. It was very spicy for some of us and the housie kept us engaged. Post lunch, when it is difficult to move around, the singing competition started. It was raining out and we spent some time playing dumb charades, swing, slide etc. The auditorium also served as the rain dance area and it started by 3.30 pm and went on for an hour. Meanwhile, we slipped into the pool and played in water. We timed it just before the rain dance got over for the shower. High tea was served and time to say bye and left by 5 pm!
Well, overall, its a small place and definitely lacks sporting facilities. There were many corporate teams having their day-outing and having fun. But, this place is definitely not worth the money we pay, which is Rs.650 per head for a day!
http://www.guhantara.com/
Pictures available in the above website.

Festive rush in trains

Its not only common knowledge, but also a very important tip that one can reserve tickets in trains, 90 days in advance. Its a boon because one can ensure availaibility earlier and plan the other aspects of the trip in advance, especially if it is a holiday or sight-seeing. Come festivals, which are plenty in our country, the trains are the first indicators even before the HR departments get ready with their planning.
I have been experiencing this with the major festivals like Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Pooja, x-mas or long weekends around Gandhi Jayanti, Independence or Republic days. During the past decades, the rarity of seats in public transport has only gone up by several notches. I'm sure the number of trains or seats have gone up in this period, but this number seems to have been beaten up by the number of citizens willing to take up journeys around these holidays.
My recent example is attempting a booking for Diwali, this year which falls on 27th Oct. Much in advance, my family had calculated the booking time and kept reminding me to book them on the opening day to avoid inconvenience or hassles with the public and private road transport folks. I too promptly made use of technology and kept enough reminders in Microsoft Outlook, mobile and post-its on the wall. The D-day being Saturday when I tended to extend my cosy sleep, I woke up to the alarms and reminders. It was 7.45 am and I had good 15 minutes to brush and switch on the computer. I logged into the IRCTC website by 7.55 and checked the availability for the Friday before Diwali for a train from Bangalore to Tuticorin. In 2nd AC, there were 17 seats available and that a message was displayed that it cannot be booked before 8 am. The site was behaving properly - all fair and good. Waited impatiently for the next five minutes without doing anything, lest I should use-up bandwidth. When the system clocked 8:00, I pressed the button 'Book ticket'. Well, nothing happened for 2-3 minutes which seemed like hours. I was visualising the various booking counters with mad rush of people who might have waited for hours in long queues and brokers who might be bulldozing their way through. But the website was relaxed and reluctant before the next page came up where I hurriedly entered the name of passengers, choice and id proof details and pressed the 'Make payment' button. This button was no less than the previous one and took its time to display the bank gateway where I filled the login id, password, transaction password, agreement with Terms &Conditions and pressed the button 'Confirm payment'. A message that the payment could not be done was displayed from the bank's site after what seemed to be another hour to me. I checked the time and it was 8:05. Cursing the bank and its infrastructure, I checked the availability of tickets which came out as WL15. I proceeded to 3rd AC which was also in WL and for sleeper class, it was WL200/Regret and it was 8:14 by then.
It was unbelievable, but imagined so many frantic guys in front of laptops and counters who might have got the 17+34+200 seats (it might be more) in that train and hundreds of them like me who got disappointed by the nick of time.
Forget inflation or fear of terror attacks - we want to celebrate our festivals with friends and family, our long weekends in beautiful hill stations or beaches.
Till the country gears up to handle these small pleasures of its citizens, we will continue to remain as a developing nation.

A beautiful weekend getaway from Bangalore

Since it rained bombs in Bangalore on Friday, we friends decided to beat the terror fear by heading towards a village called Kaiwara.
Kaiwara is a nature-blessed, picturesque village near Chinthamani town in Kolar district and 60+ Kms away from Bangalore. Six of us spent our Sunday there and we enjoyed every bit of it. On Sunday morning, when we wanted a place that is within an hour’s drive, I suggested Kaiwara and few of us made calls and surfed a bit to find the route and other details of this little-known village.
How to reach: Bangalore -> Hoskote->Kaiwara. Go towards Old Madras road till Hoskote and take the left at the arch where the road forks into 3. (If you go straight, you’ll reach Kolar). Kaiwara or Kaivara (as the tourism name plate reads) is 29 Kms from this arch. On reaching the village centre which is symbolized by an auto stand and few shops, continue straight for 9 Kms. To reach the cave temple, take right where there is a Kannada board directing towards Narasimha temple.
Initially, we did not take this right turn, but proceeded ahead. You get to see lush green trees (being July end, rain gods have been blessing), boulders and hillocks of small, medium and large sizes.
We parked our car in one of the plains nearby a hillock and started our trek towards the boulders. It was a calm, quiet and very silent place – cold winds blew and soothed the body and spirit. The soil was red and the boulders were thrown all over the place. It seemed as if it was a school playground only that the game was to roll the boulders to any desired spot. There were a few trees and lot of thorns all over the ground. After a 10 minute trek, the place turned dark (it was 12.30 noon) and before we could look up to the sky, the clouds started coming down and they came down heavily. There was no time to think and all six of us started running back to the car, as there was no tree nearby. But the rain bet us and we all got drenched from top to bottom before reaching the car. Our clothes and shoes turned red with mud and still we got into the car and colored its interiors with red.
Within a few minutes, the sky cleared and after a bit of musing, we re-started the trek. By the time we reached the boulders, the clothes had partly dried thanks to the winds and we felt better though the shoes were spoiled. Dor removed her slippery wet slippers and braved trekking on bare feet and Muku had to carry them back- he was happy to play Bharatan for his wife’s padukas. We conquered few boulders, climbed those with step-like stones and had a good time. It is a very scenic place and all you can see around are hillocks and boulders. It is a visual treat for the human eyes and camera lens. Ram was engrossed in clicking snaps. No other humans were around till we spotted a shepherd with his 65 goats grazing. After moving a bit forward, there was a woman collecting wood and a boy, probably her son sat on a boulder and was staring at the rocks for a long time. Two of them were tired by now and enjoyed a smoke from the hillock. Some of the rocks were big enough for rappelling. On the rock that we stood, there was enough space for spreading the picnic basket. Since the rock was wet, we decided to return to the car for lunch!
Again, the clouds overtook us and the sky opened up once more with full force. Mahesh took us to a six-foot rock behind which 3 of us took shelter. From there, we could see the beauty of the big ground that lay ahead of us, the hillocks etc. Soon, visibility was reduced to few meters and a white smoke replaced all the big objects. It was a good 15-minute rain that paved way for a clear sky. The drizzle continued and since the rock that sheltered us started getting wet on our side, we started our return journey. The rocks looked cleaner and I keep wondering why there were yellow patches on them. A stream from the rainy waters started gushing and it was a nice sight with sun turning bright again.
It was 3.30 pm when we had the aloo and mooli parathas that Mahesh& Satish had picked up for lunch. The tiring trek, rains and the beauty of the place made the parathas tastier. Dor’s Lindt chocolates turned into desserts. Since it was wet, we could not spread the picnic blanket and used the boot of the car as the table counter. Well, it started drizzling again as expected and we rushed indoors and further soiled the car. We could not avoid it this time as we had to drive to the cave which was shut by the legendary Bheema.
We took the same road down and proceeded to the Kannada board and took a left (Remember to go right if you are on the way from village). After a few hundreds of meters, the white temple building can be seen at the basement of a big hillock. As you can expect, monkeys ruled this area and they still are. Some of them stayed back to dry themselves and the rest proceeded towards the Narasimha temple. You have to climb around 100 steps to go up and this temple is different from the usual structures. Wondering how? It has a terrace from which you get wonderful views. There is a Yagna mantapa which has lot of small idols including the Dasavataram series of Lord Vishnu. A 8-foot statue of Lord Narasimha and Lakshmi(my guess) can be seen against one of the walls. Next to the mantapa is a very small entrance which is formed by the edge of the cave rock. One has to sit down or kneel to see a small idol of Narasimha inside the cave rock. Probably, it is a symbolic representation that mankind has to kneel in front of the super power. Well, aarthi and pooja was being done by a priest who was also accepting donations and giving receipt bills. We spent some more time and hurried back to the car when the rains came down again.
We were told that the road ahead has a picturesque view and a big solo rock and so drove up the cliff. The views on both sides were awesome. After a while, we returned in the same route and there was a spot with a raised single track with small pond in red color on one side and lush green bushes on the other side. Ram went down to click some pictures with Satish protecting the camera with the umbrella. Once inside, the camera was wiped clean and dry and waited for the next click which happened a few times on our way back.
The return journey was equally wet and I was continuously reminding Ram to reduce the speed, who was enjoying the good road inspite of the waters. Temperature has reduced drastically and the AC did not help either. It was 6.30 pm when we reached the Marthahalli Coffee day to warm ourselves.
It was a memorable day full of exotic views and wet experiences and would recommend Kaiwara for those souls who want a weekend away from the maddening crowd.
Food : We carried our lunch and except for the small shops at the village centre, did not find any restaurant.
Road: 60 Kms from Bangalore. Very good road. It is NH is our guess.
Best time to visit : Monsoon and post-monsoons, winter too. Expect it to be hot in summer.
Ideal for: Mild treks, picnics.
Request: It is a very beautiful place and help it to remain so. Please do not litter and carry back all your carry-bags and plastic containers

Shivanasamudram falls & Thalakad

Last Saturday, 3 of us decided to cool our heels in the majestic waterfalls. We started from Bangalore by 9.15 am - we started 1.5 hours later than planned because I decided to pack some food since we could not buy any ready to eat stuff the previous night. Shivanasamudram is 115 Kms from Bangalore on the Kanakapura road. We did not expect the road to be as good as the Mysore road or the Golden Quadrangle, but were shocked at the last 25 km stretch which was bad. Inspite of being a tourism spot, the Govt (whichever party) has not paved the road which happens to be the state highways! Such sorry state of affairs.
On reaching the falls, a bigger disappointment awaited us! there were only the majestic rocks and a thread of water. Everyone who had come there was shocked and trying to take pictures with whatever water around! It is only January and I wondered how drier the coming months are going to be! To see some water, we decided to go to Talakad and also to take the Mysore road.
After enquiries, we headed towards Talakad that is 30 kms away and the route between Shivanasamudram and Talakad was even worse.
On entering Talakad, we need to pay 10 rupees each for the village municipality and the forest department so that we get to see Cauvery. To our surprise and delight, there was plenty of water and crowd. Spent some time there and went on the watch tower. We decided to spread our picnic basket at the bank of river, but at a peaceful and lesser crowded place. So, we took the car and came to the place which we noted on our way forward. It was a beautiful place at the bank of the river and with lots of tree and hence shade. Nobody was around and we spread the blanket and started exploring the lunch. Stray dogs came from nowhere and started guarding us. One by one, beggars started coming and before we could wonder, two cars came our way and parked right in front of us. There was one more tempo traveller that followed and from that, I could see that a marriage feast and silver utensils were being unloaded. When I saw 5-6 milk packets, I wondered if they were going to set up stove and cook coffee/tea. We decided to leave the place for all these hungama and got up. Forgot to mention that a sole pig (yes!) gave darshan. When I exclaimed, that it is a "piggy bank", I got stares in my direction!
We wrapped up having a hearty lunch in a peaceful surrounding. We enquired the route to Maddur through which we can reach Mysore and continued our journey. Only then we figured out that there was no road at all in many places and mud was being filled in so many other stretches. I donot know if it is a state highway, but definitely, a stateless highway! And this time, we had to travel around 40+ kms to reach Maddur and that the worst route in the day. So, we went from bad to worse and then to worst. Since there is no more superlative degree, the next one has to be good and it happened to be the best - The Mysore-Bangalore road. We zoomed and reached home by 6.15 pm.
My suggestion to u guys:
1. If u have to goto Shivanasamudram falls, take the Tumkur road as it has only 25 Km of bad strtech and that is bearable than the other route
2. Donot goto Shivanasamudram as there is no water and no good road. Look for a better alternative. If I find one next week, I shall let u know!

Holidaying in Goa

Goa ... A great place to have fun, celebrate anniversaries, to party or just to relax !!!
My first visit there and I go impressed !
Looking forward for another trip there....
Its hot, hot & hot all throu' the day and nights are no different !
Luckily it wasn't that humid when I went there:-)
Let me elaborate the details in a separate post...