One Saturday off in a month and the crunch for exploration was at its peak… Dad and I decided to board the train to sit in a bus that runs on rails.. I mean.. We wanted to travel in the “RailBus”. There are only 2 railbuses still running in the country, one runs on narrow guage and the other runs on broad gauge. While the former is a part of the Kalka-Shimla mountain railways, the latter is operated by the South western railways. And we were interested in the one closer to home i.e. in South India. It plies between Bangarpet (literally translates to Gold Market in Kannada) and KGF a.k.a. Kolar Gold Fields.
Bangalore Cantonment Railway Station
It leaves Bangarpet at 9.00.a.m and returns by noon. Again leaves Bangarpet by 5.30.p.m and returns before its dark. So, technically we wanted to reach Bangarpet before 9.00.a.m. But the laziness that had set in because of a hectic work week, we woke up late and boarded the Bangarpet-Bangalore express at 9.45.a.m from Cantonment railway station. So the entire idea of railbus travel flopped even before it happened. Jeez..!!!
Once at Bangarpet, we walked from the railway junction to the dusty town and boarded a private bus that took us to KGF which had passengers 2.5XFOS (2.5 times the Factor of Safety) the bus was designed for..!! And our arrival at the destination was rather fast considering the time we had before we died of suffocation due to the availability of very little air to breathe(forget Oxygen) in the completely choked up bus 😛 (I seriously don’t know how to put our plight in words..!!)
The Cyanide Dumps
KGF.. The road welcomes you with a continuous stretch of this really awesome looking hill on one side and an old dusty town on the other side. It is dusty because it is a mining hub and it has a hill because of the same reason.. These hills are called cyanide dumps- the slurry left over after gold extraction from the mines using Cyanide based alkalis are dumped here and this has hardened over time making it look like a hill. It reminded me of the formations in the Grand Canyon for some reason.
Kotilingeshwara Temple
From here, we again boarded a bus to reach the “Kotilingeshwara temple”. This place is said to have more than 1 crore Shivalingas, all donated by people. Though I’m not a very religious person, I wanted to visit the place for the history it unfolded. It was soon pack-up time for us as the scorching sun had sucked out most of our energy. But, most importantly, we had to return to Bangarpet before we could miss a glance of the sole reason of our trip..!! And.. We were back at BWT junction as per schedule.
The loner was resting in the shade of a tree. And the loco pilot obliged to open the door and let us have a look inside of the train. It felt nice to see the last one left in the country but the trip ended soon. Ofcourse, it was with a heavy heart that we could not travel in it 😥
The RailBus
Have you been in a bus that travels on railway lines???? Do share your experiences below. I’d love to hear them!
I was sitting at home for 1 long week with lots of anticipation every morning waiting for a call for joining from my employer.. My brother had to finish his comp off.. It was a sudden plan.. My brother came up with the idea of going for a long drive. I teamed up with him and his friend (who has been working on night shifts).. and we left straight to Hogeynakal falls (sounds like a Kannada translation of “Rocks of smoke”- that exists in Tamil Nadu)..
We took the route through “Denkinakottai” after Hosur.. A village road that is far away from comparison to any highway back home in Karnataka (read it: Awesome roads) led us to the waterfalls, at the end of a long stretch of forest cover.. The place was pretty crowded on a weekday too..
Streets that were lined by stalls selling fish fry, dosa, parota etc welcomed us straight to a platform that has a number of coracles arranged one on top of the other. Suddenly my brother felt some men slipping their hands around him holding some yellow bottles.. They were offering body massages.. And suddenly there were women out of nowhere who came behind me offering private rooms for ladies for a body massage.. We somehow managed to walk past these people… Then there were these boat men.. Each one offered a ride for a different rate.. Finally after a good bargain of Rs.200 discount, we were in there…. In the waters of Hogeynakal..
The entry to the LOC
Little further on the ride, we had some eatables/snacks being sold on a coracle.. There were little guys who dived down into the deep river from high up the rocks, came up to our coracle and ask for alms.. And there were also some boatmen / fishermen sitting on these rocks and fishing with hooks..
The floating stall
As we went past each spot where our boat-man had to take us.. he had a story to tell.. “MGR” stone, “Rajkumar” falls.. The location where “Roja” was shot.. Aishwarya Rai posed in “Raavan”.. He continued to show us all that irrespective of whether we were interested or not..
The breathtaking view of the falls from the watch tower
As we proceeded further, we were told that to our right was Karnataka and the rocks to our left was Tamil Nadu.. The river flows exactly in between dividing the 2 states (Literally- the divide between the 2 states is for the water). And this valley opens up to a beach- the sand which throws a warm welcome with its pristine waters.. Err.. did I say pristine?? I beg your pardon- The water is severely littered with plastic bottles and bags and sent out a dirty stench as if to warn us to stay away from getting into the waters..
The entry to the beach- KA to the right & TN to the left
We ate some yummy fresh fish fried with red chilli marination..!!! burrp…. J And boarded the coracle for a ride back.. We spotted a few localites who crossed the border (Line Of Control between Karnataka & Tamil Nadu).. The coracle ride seemed like a convenient mode of transport for people in TN who would like to go for a pilgrimage to “Male-Mahadeshwara Betta” in KA..
It being July (Monsoon) and there being “NO” rains.. The river having so much waste which did not flow easily.. The trip was not very exciting.. 😥
This is quite an old story. But, nevertheless worth writing about, especially if you are looking for a quick outing in Bangalore within a short driving distance…
GKVK is the short form for Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra a.k.a. University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS). It is a research institute funded and managed by the Karnataka state government. With several sub-campuses located across the state, their main campus is located near Jakkur in Bangalore. If one travelling to Bengaluru airport is alert, he may find it on his way.
My cousin who was studying her undergraduate course in Agricultural science at that time, informed us about the “Agri-Mela” happening in her campus. It is an annual event organized sometime in November. Hailing from a farmer background, our family has the natural instincts to learn more about various crops, research and related advancement in technology. With that curiosity, my dad and I went for a bike ride to the venue. The bike ride was intended with two basic ideas. One, of getting some fresh air from their vast campus and the other was of course to look out for any suitable technology that we could implement in our farm back in my hometown. This is an excellent place for bird watching too.
The best stretch in the city- The Gulmohur Avenue
Although this 1000 odd acres university campus serves as a good lung space in the overburdened concrete city at any given time of the year, this is a season when it beams with extra life. The various plants across the campus will be bearing fruits and flowers in full bloom. Since the research in agriculture covers a range of topics, you could walk or ride around different patches of land with different types of crop, all mostly grown and managed by the students as part of their curriculum.
There are stalls covering range of topics like horticulture, sericulture, apiculture, cattle farming, poultry, food processing, storage, logistics, marketing, irrigation etc. covering almost all areas of agriculture and provides a platform for farmers from the state to share and learn newer developments in this field.
The exhibits at the agricultural stalls at GKVK
It was well over afternoon by the time we finished roaming around just a portion of the campus and exhausted. We bought a few homemade & processed foods from the stalls with an excitement to try newer flavors and decided to head back home. All in all, it was an afternoon well spent.
Things to do (on any day of the year): • Take a drive if you want some fresh air without going too far from the city on a lazy evening. • Spend a day bird watching here, there are often bird watching workshops conducted by hobbyists. • You can buy fresh fruits and vegetables at their outlet on campus, many a times organic and sold at relatively cheaper prices as compared to the city. • Sign up for one of the several training workshops conducted on campus, throughout the year. • Visit the annual ‘Krishi-Mela’ and interact with farmers from across the state and the country.
There is much ado about the Western Ghats getting tagged as a World heritage site by the UNESCO.
So, like everyone around me here, I too am excited about sharing my views on it.
Firstly the stronger points for consideration:
The western Ghats is home to very rare species of flora & fauna- many snakes, frogs, birds etc. are critically endangered and also unique only to these Ghats.
These ghats stop the wind from the east and bring rainfall to the south.
The major rivers of the South are rain fed and originate here.
I being an ardent nature lover would definitely support to save the ever lush green ghats.
Now, the points not to consider:
There are a no. of tribes living in these Ghats like the Soligas, Kurubas, Maleya-kudiyas etc who will all be forced to vacate the forests and will be disturbed from their natural habitat though the government may promise them of providing alternate homes.
The Coorgs (Kodavas)- by themselves are a very small community fighting hard against the “Jamma Bane” issue and now have yet another blow. Many localites holding lands in the identified areas will be forced to vacate and this will inturn force them out of Coorg.
Myself being a hardcore Kodavathi, I would never be able to take this by my stride.
And now, the strongest of them all:
The Ghats are a rich source for mining, timber and a major hub for tourism leading to severe deforestation in the name of building resorts, nature sports and the likes.
It is important to consider that our beloved elected representatives are frequently in the limelight for the mining scams. The major share of resorts in this region are owned by big names and are tucked away deep in the core area of the jungles which compete for providing the best tiger spotting, elephant spotting, wild hunting, etc. etc, activities for their guests. So there is a valid point for these scamsters to fight against the prestigious tag.
The heritage tag limits the human entry to most regions. Let alone restrictions on activities like trekking, hiking etc. just walking around this place without knowledge would lead to high penalty.
But, what if this has an impact on a Coorg’s lifestyle: the tag has come as a much needed respite for a nature lover like me. We are Coorgs at the end of the day. We have lived our way through thick jungles, heavy downpours, deep dark nights, wild animals in our porticos. And that’s the way we enjoy our life at it’s best. So we can definitely live strong with thick jungles. We want our Green cover to be saved…!!
I am frustrated of being helpless and just a mute spectator watching the depletion of green cover in the name of development. I can hardly see any development in my area other than the fact that big names (let me say powerful people) are buying properties by offering good money and settling down in Coorg, becoming stake-holders in resorts etc and turning all their black money white.
I used to eagerly wait for the rainy season to start so that I would get my monsoon holidays while I was in school. And now, I am even more anxious that this rainy season may pass by without even seeing a “rainfall”. Yes, only conservation of these ghats can bring us the rains that we need.
I am frustrated with the fact that the place where is grew up catching little fishes and crabs with my cousins as a little girl beneath big boulders is now nothing but a fully concrete platform for the tourists to rest on.
What I once knew as a beautiful waterfall and a place where my grandpa gave me my swimming lessons is now nothing but a pool of sewage flowing from the town littered by ruthless tourists. The stench of this mess gets tears streaming down my eyes everytime I stand on the very same concrete platform and try to recollect the good old greener and cleaner grandpa days…
The Bramhagiri hills
And here I sum up (with lines from a famous song of a Bollywood movie):
Give me some sunshine, give me some rain Give me another chance, I want to grow up once again…
It was a visit due for a couple of years now… Subbanna uncle is a family friend of ours and after repeated invitations from his family; the long pending plan had finally materialized. Mom woke up early that morning and prepared sufficient food for the two families. The idea was that the two families- Subbanna uncle’s and our’s, ate lunch together. We left home around noon towards Haniyur, a small village located at around 10kms away from Rajanukunte on Doddaballapur road. That’s where the Subbanna family lives, a little away from their farm.
As we entered Haniyur village, we were welcomed by fragile houses with mud smeared walls, dry- unpaved roads which had never seen Asphalt, dusty animals and open drainage running up to their brim in front of the houses on both sides of the road. When we arrived at his house, the door was locked and the neighbors informed us that the family was off to their farm. So, we decided to meet them in their farm itself rather than troubling them to walk back home in the hot sun.
A warm welcome laid by the Asters’ garden
Their farm extends to a very large area that has been divided into several portions depending on what crop is grown. The crops are largely short term and comprise of fruits, vegetable and flowers. This time around they had Asters’ flower garden and a grape vineyard. While the elders in the family were busy with the labourers, the youngest member of the family- Uncle’s grandson was busy playing with the water pipes that were laid for drip irrigation. They were all excited to see us in their farm and some welcome drink (Tender coconut water) was sanctioned immediately. We told them that we would be having lunch with them in the farm itself and opened all the packages we had carried with ourselves. For salad, we had fresh tender cucumbers from the garden. Main course was ‘Kodava food’ from my mom’s kitchen and some nice ‘Ragi-Mudde’ from the Subbanna family’s large lunchbox. Yummy lunch ended with fresh chikkus, guavas and plantains- all from his farm. No restaurant could make up for the cool, fresh and pleasant ambience under the grape vine, in spite of the scorching sun seeming ruthless just outside.
Clockwise from top left: Onion farm; Grapes vineyard; Gerkins farm; raw grapes
Later, we walked around their farm and the village and breathed in the rusty country side as much as we could take in. After having a hot cup of chai from the fresh milk from the cattle in the family’s backyard, we decided to bid good bye to this wonderful family.
Some kind of a place for worship of the Local deity
It was still around 05.00.p.m, when we started from there. We decided to take a small deviation from our road and visit a temple located at around 4kms from Haniyur before heading towards the city. I’m not a temple kind of person, but for my parents’ sake, we went to the “Madurai- Shaneeshwara temple”. We were done with the darshan in 15mins or so… and headed back to the grind.
Conclusion remarks: There was no set agenda, just catching up for lunch with some old friends in the shades of a simple village and farm. The simplicity of the people who live there and the simple, yet tastiest food from their kitchen, with fresh and chemical free vegetables from their own garden… It’s a different feeling. We the city souls will never understand what money can’t buy. ‘Keeping it simple’ is the way of life!
If you are new on my website, WELCOME! If you have been following me for sometime, you may be already aware that I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and soon after graduation, I was recruited by one of the LARGEST automobile manufacturers in the world! It is every mechanical engineer’s dream to be able to pursue a job in the same field that we studied. I was lucky to have JUST that.. My first job gave me an opportunity to work closely with cars with a sort of freedom that I had seen only in documentaries or on episodes of Top-Gear on BBC.
But, Since there are SO many things I involved in my roles and responsbilities in this position, that I often find it difficult to explain it in a ‘ley man’s’ language. The simplest I can call myself is a ‘Car Doctor’. In this post, I would like to share what I do (apart from writing travel articles) on a daily basis, in my first job at the car hospital.
<14-Sept-11> I’m on the mezanine floor….
A cap whose colour is forgotten behind the thick layer of oil & grease, a pair of knitted white gloves which now look like dark leather ones with the dirt, black heavy leather shoes with metal cover for the toes, newly introduced punk looking helmets which make me look like a cyclist, arm covers, wrist guards, goggles- the deep sea diving types…. These are my safety gears at work… and I’m all set for some action..!!!
I’m told that there’s some problem with the shoulder joints(the front door hinges) and he needs a physio- so I ripped both the hands(the front doors) apart.. His eyes (headlamps) were flickering.. And I checked for some electric signals that the brain sent across.. The MIL(Malfunction Indication Lamp) was glowing.. So I removed the eyes out of the skull. Even then, the MIL was on. Now, it was time to pull out the nose and dig deep into the nostrils (the hood and everything under). Then, the spine (the steering column) came out. It was then time to shave the head off (the dashboard/ Instrument panel covers) and I directly pulled out all the nerves (wiring harness) that I could catch in a grab. The signals continued… I removed the medulla (immobilizer ECU), cerebrum (theft warning ECU), cerebellum (injector drivers) and the current flow still continued.. I have removed out every possible source of these signals and now I know the source is “the Master Control- The engine ECU”. It is in my hand right now. Yes, the blinking has stopped!
My job doesn’t end there. In fact, it starts only now.. So, there I am.. Investigating which Neuron (circuit on the PCB) lead to this current outburst.. I broke open a few capacitors and relays. The resistors were already ripped apart.. and finally found the culprit… Unbelievable but true- a tiny ant had pee-d on one of the soldered circuits which lead to corrosion which in turn caused the malfunction of the brain. Hmm…
But my work continues… I will now send the part to the supplier(literally..!!) and follow up with him to identify the root cause and take countermeasure on priority..!!!
OKAY…!!! So, I’m Dr.Neurologist cum dermatologist here… I work with the brain(ECU) and nerves(all electrical and body parts)
But there is a cardiologist too.. My colleague-friend: He treats all heart related ailments (Engines).
And there’s an orthopaedician too- he treats the limbs (the chassis, suspension systems etc.)
We are the soldiers guarding the Siachen border- We have complete freedom to rip a person apart- part by part and win accolades for it.. Destruction gives us all a complete sense of accomplishment.
We are rarely idle. But, when we think we are, we put back everything and go for a long drive.
And then, we are back for yet another postmortem..!!
One of my patients- during the regular check up on the test track
Ofcourse, I have MUCH better pictures of my patients going through even worse treatments.. But, I had to rely on this internet photo for confidential policies 🙂
Picture courtesy: Google images
Click here to read about out my next job assignments.
Studying at Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore (NMIT) comes with it’s own perks and privileges, outside academics. This post is a dedication to one such, to the days spent at my almamater.
<Date: 13-Feb-2009>
It is lunch break. My gang headed towards “The Lake”- the usual hang out of the NMIT-ians. But, today was an unusual day because we were going to the lake not just to hang out, but to check out the metal birds- that have all landed on the other side of the lake. Occasion: AERO INDIA-2009.
F-16- Super viper, F-18, EuroFighter Typhoon, Su-30, Tejas, MIGs, Suryakirans, Sarangs are just a few to name. They have all been flying over our classrooms all the while. We had hardly listened to any lecture in class over the past week except for the sonic boom of these metal monsters… No arguments, This definitely is the best part of studying in NMIT. Along with the engineering lessons taught in the classroom, we all tend to develop an inquisitive approach to aeroplanes. We learn to identify the planes by their sounds and their shape while they fly past our heads all day for over a month during their rehearsals.
As we walked from college to the lake- my memories flashed back to what my eyes had witnessed that morning. My college route bus: R-13 is the only bus that flies across(literally..!!) Harohalli, “The Flying Village” route. And this route has the best country-side view enroute to college. So.. read further to know what I saw this morning..
After passing Haro-halli (literally translates to “The Flying Village” in Kannada), a little ahead- the road is lined by eucalyptus grove on one side and a high rise wall on the other. It is the Yelahanka- Airforce property beyond the wall. It took 2 minutes for my bus to reach the end of the grove. And where the grove ended, was a sight to behold. “The Lake”. It had an unusual level of water as compared to the previous years and it has small islets (or so we called them). Some migratory birds perched on the branches of the trees in those islets which enhanced the scene. Thick mist covered the water for a height of about 2 feet and then a pale layer of mist rose above in the rest of the atmosphere. On the other side of the lake, where I thought was the hedge, a Su-30: Sukhoi stood on its runway facing away from us at an angle of about 45deg. The early morning rays of the sun fell obliquely on the jet and the metal reflected it back. It looked as if the spotlight was on the protagonist on a stage.
Truly an unbelievable sight and it definitely cannot be explained by words.. But, before I could take enough of it, my bus had passed the spot and had reached the college bus-bay 😥
The Su30 at the Yelahanka airforce station: A view from Harohalli villageA view of the Su-30 on the otherside of the Lake. But this is sometime during the lunch break
It’s really not required for a NMIT-ian to buy passes to see the aerobatics on the other side of the wall. We watch them always and dearly.. Seldom, these birds fly so closely over our heads that we even wave a ‘Bye’ to these pilots .. and every girl there will be drooling… 😛 There is usually a mela kind of an atmosphere around the lake with public flocking to see these peculiar birds year on year…
Tomorrow is Valentine’s day and I can’t wait for my date with the metal birds.. It’s a pleasure to be able to feel all the action at such close quarters. These are truly wonderful days of college for every NMIT-ian. Period!
After completing my course in Bachelors of Engineering, I had a gap of a few months before reporting for my job. Since I had a liking towards working in the field of media (part time), I thought it was a good idea to effectively use the time by pursuing a short-term course in creative writing or journalism. And what better place than my almamater ..!!! After looking up a few options, i signed up for a certificate program in creative writing at Mount Carmel College.
A seasoned writer, author of several books, Ms.Rachna Chabria was our trainer. On the first day of the course, she had given us a classwork to write a free-of-thought piece about ‘A place where there is a lot of movement in characters’. The skill, imagination of level of understanding of individual students would then be grasped by her to take the course forward.
Some wrote about a wedding they last attended, some chose to narrate a market scene, some a village fair so on and so forth. An amateur travel writer that i was destined to become someday, I chose to write about a place called ‘Raja’s seat’, a popular tourist landmark for those visiting a place called ‘Coorg, in the state of Karnataka’. Believe me when I say that I had no idea even in my wildest thoughts that I would write travel blogs someday. So, here is one of my first article at the creative writing class. Infact, this is one of my earliest travel articles, written much before starting a full-fledged blog. My baby steps to the future 🙂
It is a scene of me sitting in Raja’s seat all alone, early in the morning at around 5.30.a.m. The sun was not out yet. I found a nice place on a small patch of well maintained lawn. I could feel the moisture of the cold dew drops on my feet and my palms as I tried to support my body to sit on the lawn to get a nice view of the sunrise. It was a much needed- a very peaceful morning.
I could see layers of clouds of different shades overlapping each other which seemed to be neverending, covering up the far away mountains. The sun was slowly rising up and the first few rays passed from in-between the leaves of the tree that stood beside me and illuminated the drops on the grass underneath, which glittered like small diamonds embedded on stalks made of jade.
Raja’s seat @ sunset time
My senses were pleased as the fragrance of the blooming flowers had filled in the air. I felt the cold breeze flow past my cheeks which reminded me of floating in heaven: like a typical Bollywood scene. As the wind blew, the mist that had covered the mountains, started to clear out slowly. I could hear the chirping of the birds which were leaving their homes for the day’s task.
My sight deviated to some kind of a small pressure that I felt on my bare feet. It was a bright yellow coloured flower with some purple streaks and red polka dots. I put my hand across to pluck this flower and to my surprise, it flew away to sit on a real flower next to me.
I was suddenly disturbed by loud pounding sounds made by the shoes of the joggers who entered this nature’s fully packed activity zone. I was afraid my thoughts would be disturbed by the increasing number of visitors and so, I decided to head back home.
My first attempt at imagining and writing creative content was appreciated. I felt motivated to pursue writing further, with improvisation ofcourse! But, however my happiness was short. My future employer had telephoned me 2 days later and informed me that I was supposed to report for work in the following week.
So bearing the priorities in kind, I had to leave the course halfway, without completion. I joined my first job as a ‘Car doctor’ on the following week. The places that job would take me over the coming years would then go down into my blog, your one and only TheLostLander!
This is yet another outing from our endless list of random weekends. This time, it was the three of us. Dad, bro and myself who boarded a random train with a ticket to a random destination. We first enquired about the next earliest train leaving from Yeshwantapur railway station. And then decided the destination based on the parameter of distance that the train would cover such that it is not too far from the city and it is easy to find a transportation to return to the city. After the destination was decided, we bought a ticket and headed towards the platform.
So, at around 2.00.p.m.on a lazy weekend, we boarded the train going towards Tumkur. After a good 20minutes or so, we arrived at our destination, a small station called “Gollahalli”. Since every corner of Bangalore has a village named Gollahalli, it is normal if you are wondering which Gollahalli I am talking about. This one is called “Railway Gollahalli”. I don’t know why the name, maybe because it is the only Gollahalli connected by trains or so…
After alighting at the railway station, we decided to explore the village using our favorite mode of transport: “leg motor service”. Like always, we started to walk in a random direction from the railway station, without a set destination. We walked and walked, miles together… It was a thorough exploration of the rustic side!
We spotted a good deal of blunders with English which could give one a hearty laugh. And of course, the fresh village atmosphere, an unending list of birds, lush green farms, the charming village folk- All which definitely plays its magic on people like us who are frustrated with the hustle & bustle of the metro.
Mutton stall- Matan steel- ಮೇಕೆ ಮಾಂಸ shop
It was a village that is neither of any scientific or architectural recognition, nor of any historical or mythological importance, but yet an amazing place in its own way. We were our own guides here. We did not want to ask for directions from any localite as we ourselves did not know where we wanted to go… We continued to walk… reached some main road… we further followed the main road… we reached Nelamangala BMTC bus stand. This was where our exploration ended and we boarded a bus back to the city.
Birds at Railway Gollahalli
Closing Remarks: Be not a Columbus or an Amerigo, but one must definitely explore a new place, try out a new dish, make a new friend. It feels AWESOME 🙂
I believe that we develop interests based on the environment and the social circles that we are exposed to. Born in a small hill-dwelling community whose lineage takes pride in hunting games, it once got me to think where my interests towards nature and wildlife conservation came from. Although I couldn’t join too many dots, one significant period was my high-school days where I would have long conversations with a friend, about animals’ health, their behavior, their habitat etc. Her father worked in the Karnataka forest department. I thus chanced upon once, to stay for a couple of days along with her, in the official quarters located inside the Bannerghatta Biological park.
A stay dating back to June 2007: Five friends and I embarked on this memorable trip (yeah, I can call it life changing too.. It probably changed my perspective about zoo keeping and keeping animals in captivity).
Day 1: After bracing through long traffic jams and burping on our pre-booked lunch at the Jungle resorts within the park, it was Safari time for us. Even though I’ve been to Bannerghatta innumerous number of times in the past, this was a nice experience. On my previous visits as a normal visitor in the zoo, I would have to buy separate passes for each section. But this time, I was exploring the place with special privileges. The herbivores safari, tiger safari, lion safari, bear safari all done by sunset time and we unwound at the quarters.. You have 6 chatter-box girls in one house and what do you expect? A lot of gossip 😛 The evening thus passed by. The cook served our dinner and post that, we all geared up for one of the most memorable nights of our lives.
Deep inside the jungle
We were all set for “The Night Safari”. The forest guards would go on their regular night beats in the forest and this time, we would accompany them. Apart from being the first experience for all of us out at night in deep jungle, what was more exciting was that we were going in an open pick-up vehicle. As the eeriness of the deep dark wild started to excite us more and more, we got a better understanding of such places at night. While we were being attentive and soaking in all the sensuousness of mother nature, we spotted some wild animal that crossed our path.. and then came back and stood infront of our vehicle. I thought it was some sort of a wild cat and my jaws dropped in awe. I shouted in excitement, “Cat, Cat!”. Then noticing the weird glances I received and the silence of others, I realized I had to shut up. A friend was quick to realise what it was. She shouted “Leopard, Leopard!”. Imagine a LEOPARD, totally untamed and WILD.. right infront of us…!!! The driver halted the vehicle. Another friend yelled out, “Don’t stop, don’t stop.. Move move..”. But the driver took the jeep in reverse and closer to the cat. The leopard had now walked past our jeep and come to the rear side. At a distance of less than 10meters or so.. Instead of pouncing on us and grabbing one of us, strangely the leopard ran away within a few seconds. PHEWWW… still feels like I just woke up from a dream..!!
We were then told that the leopard had littered cubs somewhere in the vicinity and hence, ran away. The forest guards know their forests and its inhabitants. The leopard was frightened about a threat to its babies and hence ran away to protect them. They are usually in defensive mode during these time unless attacking is an absolute necessary. The Safari continued.. We spotted bisons, antelopes, spotted deers, neelghais, wild cat, black bucks, mongoose, rabbits, so on and so forth… The nigh safari was indeed an experience in itself!
Day 2: Next morning we all woke up before sunrise and again, headed towards the jungle. This time, it was a morning ride with a hope of spotting a few wild elephants. As we travelled deep, deeper and deepest into the forest, the terrain got more bumpier and rocky. The painful ride however, did not yield any good sightings apart from fresh elephant dung everywhere. But, some wonders of the jungles that we had missed in the darkness of the previous night, made up for the disappointment of our morning ride. Picture these little scenes: hundreds of butterflies flying out of a bush, all at once; the glittering clear waters of the lakes lost in the deep jungle; many more.
After reaching back to the quarters, we immediately headed to a pond located behind the quarters. It was bathing time for the pachyderms at the zoo… Two majestic sweethearts walked past us, with a calf: Vanaraja, Darshan & Baby Nisarga (Those are the names of the elephants at Bannerghatta). We too stretched ourselves to give them a scrub and in the process, got all wet with the ever playfull little Nisarga.
It was our zoo time post breakfast. In a separate area, an elephant calf named Geetha was in deep slumber. The calf who was barely as old as a month-and-a-half was guarded by her mother. We accompanied the mahout to feed them and spent. During this, the little one woke up and we got lucky to spend some time playing around with her. She would nod her head and playfully chase us. We would run around the tree until both of us got tired, and then start the cycle again. While at this, the vetinerary doctors of the zoo welcomed us to the backyard of the Vet-hospital. Under their supervision, we got an opportunity to touch, carry and care for wounded or sick animals that were being treated there. Among them were an alligator, civet cat, guinea pigs, rabbits etc.
Later in the afternoon, we visted the SOS centre. I didn’t even know such a place existed within the premises despite coming to the zoo several times in the past Special privileges! This is a rehabilitation center for wounded lions, tigers, bears etc. These animals are mostly rescued from circuses, bear charmers etc. treated here before letting them into the actual zoo area. This is a public prohibited zone. The handsome Siberian tigers were my favourite.
At the SOS centre
Next was the drive uphill- to Udige bande. We got a nice view of the ‘Bannerghatta National Park’ from here. You can find innumerous dolmens here, believed to be the place where the local tribes once laid their dead ancestors to sleep. There is also another large rock, called as the Barber’s stone which is believed to have been featured in Dr.Rajkumar’s ‘Gandhada Gudi’ movie.
From Top left: 1.The view from Udige Bande, 2. The Barber’s stone, 3.The Dolmens atop Udige Bande, 4.View of a small check dam constructed by the forest department as a watering hole for the wild animals.
Day 3: We were taken to the tiger and lion conservation area. The pictures taken here are something that I would be flaunting for the rest of my life. Not all get a chance to touch and play around with tiger cubs 😉 The big cats that are ready for their breeding / mating are brought here. After the cubs are born, the parents and the cubs are nurtured here until the cubs are of a suitable age to go back to the wild. Here, there is no wild as such. They are let in the safari area to mingle with the other cats in a controlled space, which is also another form of captivity.
Playing with a tiger cub at Bannerghatta lion and tiger conservation area
We took a walk around the museum and got a few insights into preservation and conservation of our natural heritage. We then headed to the last part of our long weekend. The butterfly park was newly set back then and it was a good crowd puller among the public.
To my experiences of going on wildlife safaris and what I had watched on discovery & Nat-geo, I guess this trip gave me a new insight into wildlife conservation. Until now I had only been hearing and watching it. This trip gave me an opportunity to EXPERIENCE it. You cannot connect with nature unless, you get up, close and personal with wildlife.
The Lost Lander 