Journey away from Bangalore that includes night journey and an overnight stay… Especially ones planned on long weekends with Saturday and Sunday off :)
This visit to Tarangambadi was a part of our family’s backpacking trip, mainly conceptualized to cover a portion of the Coromandel coast. Our itinerary for this trip was Bangalore – Mayiladuthurai – Poompuhar – Tarangambadi – Karaikal – Nagapattinam – Velankanni – Tanjavur – Trichy – Bangalore.
This post is about destination no.3 on the first day on the east coast road. I had read about this place in one of the history texts about the Colonial empire in India. I had visited Portuguese, British and the French settlement towns during my earlier travels. The Danish colonized in India for over 200 years with three important settlements. Serampore (in West Bengal), Tranquebar (in Tamil Nadu) and Nicobar Islands (in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, all along the Bay of Bengal. To read about the existence of these places in modern day’s context, there was barely any information available online from a traveler’s perspective. Since we were anyway doing the ECR tour, my curiosity to know more about a Danish settlement motivated me to add Tranquebar in our itinerary. ‘Tranquebar’ as the Scandinavians called it, is a humble town known as ‘Tarangambadi’ in present times.
As we continued our secular pilgrimage, I bought tickets to a destination that was unheard of to my family until that moment. I requested the conductor to inform me when we arrived there. Accordingly, we alighted the bus at a small junction. The place looked very laid back, simple, untouched by any major developmental investments, just like any other fishing hamlet on the coasts of India. The bus conductor pointed to a small road to the right and guided us telling “one kilometer ahead is the fort”, and blew the whistle indicating the driver to proceed. My parents looked at me with a blank look on their face. I could sense that ‘Where are you taking us on this hot afternoon?’ question in their eyes. Although with the first look of the place, I too had similar apprehensions running in my mind, I wanted to walk further to see what was really there!
We walked for about half a kilometer and an old arch done with Danish art welcomed us at the entrance of the town. A board by the side of the arch read: ‘Welcome to- The land of the singing waves- Tranquebar’.
The arch at the entrance of Tarangambadi/Tranquebar
As we walked through this town welcome gate, the feel of the place transcended us instantly to a different country, or a different era- perhaps. The roads were super empty & clean and old Danish buildings stood tall on either side of it. The Zion church, the Teresa’s convent school, the Danish governor’s bungalow among several other structures that tell tales of an era bygone finally led us to a fort. ‘Fort Dansborg’ as it is called, is a structure peacefully nestled on the calm shores facing the Bay of Bengal. The moment we got a glimpse of the beach from the fort entrance, we got the link to the name of this quaint little place- Tranquebar: the land of tranquil waters. The place had tranquility overloaded not just in its waters, but in its air, land and whatever we saw around. I’m usually not a beach person, but this place was magical!
Since there are just countable properties (heritage bungalows turned resorts) in the town, Tranquebar is still unconquered on the tourist radar. Also, the unavailability of affordable food in a long stretch of kilometers, the budget hoppers are those who just drop in for day trips. Hence, except for a handful of fishermen, evenings and early mornings are idyllic with you being your only company if you choose to take stroll along the calm beach. This is by far, one of the BEST beaches along the east coast that I have been to.
The serene shoreline around the Tranquebar fort
The fort is well maintained and converted into a museum. An important port between 1600s to early 1900s, the walls of the port now lay dilapidated, majorly battered by the tsunami in the year 2004. A stroll along the beach take you to the Masilamaninathar temple. It dates back to 13.C.E. and is believed to have mythological importance. The sculptures on the walls of this temple and the shikara have been corroded by the salts.
Although there isn’t much to see around in Tranquebar, it was a place that filled our mind with peace and tranquility even with just a few hours spent there. My parents too, were equally excited about the place where I had brought them to. I must admit that Tarangambadi is a place that I would COME BACK soon. Then, with more time and a hotel reservation at one of those bungalows on its beaches. But for now, it was a hard but a helpless option for us to pull ourselves out of this place. Unsatisfied with the quick visit, we promised ourselves to come back exclusively to stay here as we left for our next destination- Nagore.
Let me get you going directly from where this trek to Kumara parvatha or KP peak is actually supposed to start. We reached Kukke Sri kshetra and checked into the lodge(a meagre 100Rs. Per day) run by the temple trust, freshened up and feasted on some sumptuous Mangalorean food for breakfast. Without wasting much time, we started the much hyped- one of the toughest treks in South India.. to the Kumara parvatha peak in the Pushpagiri wildlife zone.
The original plan was to start from the base by 7.00.a.m and camp at Bhatru mane. Then, leave Bhatru mane by 3.00.a.m the next morning and reach the peak to witness the sunrise, what is supposedly one of the best.
As planned, we entered the trekking trail.. It starts off with thick forest around and steep climbs uphill.. There was NO water sources along the way (We didn’t know that there was a perennial stream, with a small deviation after 2.5km) and a possibility of occasional encounters with elephants. We took frequent stops before taking a longer halt at Bhima’s rock. This stretch of 3km had oozed the fluid out of us..
A view from Bhima’s rock
Once this 3kms stretch was covered, we got our first view of Kukke town.. The thick canopy of forests made way to the grasslands after walking 1km further from there.. It was well past noon and the sun shined at its hottest.. We were running out of water already.. We started to wonder if Bhatru mane really existed and literally pulled ourselves to reach there. Or rather say, we pushed ourselves to walk the small distance that seemed never ending.. Finally… we were overjoyed at the first glimpse of Bhatru mane…
The first glance of Bhatru mane
We ran down to his nestle amid a small piece of green land.. I find NO words to express the joy of finding water.. That too, clear and cold water from the stream that ran through his farm.. We had a simple, yet the tastiest lunch served by Bhatru and rested under the shades of his arecanut farm..
We then made a small change in the plan and decided to continue the trek until it was dark. We feared the pace at which we were climbing up and did not want to return late on the following day.. We halted at a view point along the way for some photographs, before reaching the forest checkpost. We continued our hike up after registering our names at the forest office.. We stopped again at yet another view point.. The sun was coming down by the time we reached kal-mantapa and hence we decided to pitch our tent near the stream that ran by..
The sunset from our tent
I don’t remember which sane person in the group chose the place.. I agree that we got a place which became every other trekker’s envy.. The place was for sure, a top rated spot for sunset viewing.. But we girls, who stayed inside the tent know what we went through that night.. The tent was pitched on a slope, on the edge of a rocky cliff which seemed like the place where the earth ended.. It was soon dark and we ate the little food that we had carried and hit the bed (Read hit the rocks)..
The boys comforted themselves in their sleeping bags and threw the poor girls inside the tent.. The entire night went by like this: ‘Our respective backpacks were used as pillows inside our tent. We all would slide down with our bags inside the tent.. again we would push back everything and move up.. Slide down.. Slide up.. Phew..!!’ And a while into midnight.. The intensity of the wind also increased.. The cover of the tent started to fly.. We hoped for it to be 3.00.a.m soon so that we all could start our ascend.. But another surprise was awaiting us.. Madhu heard the cracking sound of the tent support and scared all the girls inside to vacate the tent. We carried our luggage from inside and jumped out of the tent, one by one.. The last girl just came out and the tent crashed down to a flat.. The guys woke up and one of them attempted to slowly remove the pegs.. One peg was removed and then… The tent flew.. away from our reach.. off the cliff.. down the valley.. We had borrowed the tent, on hire.
Everyone woke up and sat wondering why this had to happen. It was still dark at 4.00.a.m. and with the wind that continued to blow ruthlessly, our ascend to the peak seemed impossible.. We stayed back until sunrise 😦 We decided to compromise on one of the main agenda of our trek- Watching the sunrise at KP peak.
After there was dawn,one of the boys dared to go down the cliff. He had a thrilling feat with adventure and managed to bring back the tent that had settled on a boulder in the middle of a water body, down below in the valley.. More than getting excited about finding the tent, we were all celebrating his safe return.. It was around 7.00.a.m by the time we started our ascent.
Inspite of missing the sunrise, the views post that period were equally spectacular, all along the way. The climb was pretty smooth. It was around 11.00.a.m. by the time we reached the first peak/ false peak- Shesha parvatha.
The view from the base of Shesha Parvatha
After just a few photo moments, we decided to continue our journey.. We descended the steep rock and waded through super cool, thick jungles.. And then, climbed up another steep rock. This rockclimbing with bare hands and legs reminded me of our monkey ancestors.!! A small walk further up took us to the actual end of the earth. Right there, we had conquered our destination- Kumara Parvatha..!!
Shiva temple atop Kumara parvatha
Thanking the diety with a small bow in the temple on the peak, we set our return journey.. Getting down the rocky slope of KP seemed tricky with one of my friends ending up with torn trousers when he decided to sit and slide down on his butt 😉
The descend from Shesha Psrvatha was no easy task either. The loose gravel all along the trail made walking difficult without slipping. It was 4.00.p.m by the time we reached Bhatru mane.. We realised that we had covered only half the distance and had very less time left with sunlight.. We had to complete the remaining distance before it got dark because that was the toughest stretch with thick forests and wild animals. We had a quick lunch at Bhatru mane and got some rest in fast forward mode and started our descend by 5.00.p.m..
We knew we had very less time in hand and a LONG way to go.. We all walked as fast as we could. Our legs had given up already.. I was preparing my mind to stay back in the forest and make a feast of myself to some wild animal at night.. I ran down the slope at times.. My knees seemed like they would part away from my thighs.. We saw the sun coming down.. We continued to walk fast.. We saw the sun going down the horizon.. We paced up.. Suddenly we all halted.. There was pin drop silence.. We realised that some wild animal(mostly elephant) was somewhere around.. It took us a few minutes to feel the sound move away from us.. Then, we resumed our walk. We saw the bright day fade into darkness and every shade in this process. The toughest and the last stretch was almost coming to an end.. We had FINALLY reached the KP gate… And the last ray of light too waned into darkness.. Thus came an end to the KP trek- a mission….. accomplished..!!
We all then freshened up at the same lodge and did a quick visit to the Kukke temple before hitting the roads on our return journey.
NOTE: The above story is written based on my trek back in 2013 when there was no restriction on camping in the entire trail. As on 2019, camping is allowed only around the forest checkpost and Bhatru mane. So, it is wiser to plan the distance, hiking time and camping accordingly.
Must do things/ Highlights of Kumara parvatha trek:
Bhatru mane is the ONLY place you will find food and it is an experience in itself to get your turn in the queue to have your meal served. The same basic rice and sambar is served for all 3 meals and nobody complains. Not tasty, but finding food after a long day is LUXURY here. Bhatru has a fixed time for serving food and very punctual. The crowd is huge especially on weekends and the wait for your meal can take longer if you dont have your own plate.
The sunset from the view point enroute forest checkpost or Kal-Mantapa
To watch the Sunrise from Kumara parvatha is like going to a different world. Try to make it there in time.
The sky is in its clearest form and star gazing at night is a whole different experience. You see so many stars, bright and clear that it feels as if the sky has moved closer to earth. We got lucky as it was also a night of a meteor shower, so we saw many shooting stars.
Drinking water from the stream felt like nectar. So clean and tasty. You can fill your bottles at 4 places along the way. First after 3kms, near the Bhimas rock. Second, at Bhatru mane. Third, at the forest checkpost. Fourth, at a stream just before kal-mantapa.
It is that time of the year when the entire hill station awakens with the fragrance of the blossoms.. On the ninth day after the 1st pre-monsoon showers, the coffee plants around the hills of Kodagu will be in bloom..
It is an annual spectacle of nature whose occurance is unpredictable and is wholely dependent on the pre-monsoon showers. If the rain fails, it creates some sort of panic among the growers who then resort to artificial sprinkling sytems.. Be it rain showers or irrigation, in either case, what follows is something that one must experience atleast once in a lifetime..
White bunches of coffee blossoms adorn the trees as if some one has strewn cotton all over the hills.. And these flowers last for a maximum of 24 hrs which makes it even more special.. And like the saying goes.. You HAVE to be at the right place at the right TIME to see the right thing happen..
Have you experienced the fragrance of coffee flowers?
My friends and I had heard sufficiently about the rich wildlife of the region surrounding Pollachi, its beautiful sceneries and perfectly trimmed tea estates. Valparai is a lesser known hill station in the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary (earlier known as Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary). Kollywood stars and burnt out urbanites frequent this place to de-stress themselves and savor a slice of nature. Here, as one ambles past mud walled, thatched roof dwellings, granaries of farmers and tea estates fringed plateau, don’t be surprised if you happen to hear someone screaming ‘start camera’, ‘action’. This is a hot spot for movie makers with over 1500 movies and commercials having been shot here. And we too got lucky when we happened to visit the sets and share our homestay with the crew of the movie- ‘Madras cafe’ during this trip of ours.
A weekend itinerary was primarily planned by one of my friends and a few must-see items were pushed into the plan by me. Since this place falls on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, we decided to make it a three states’ drive including Karnataka. Accordingly, five of us started from Bangalore on a Friday night. Since it is also a bio-diversity hotspot, I had listed 5 animals on my ‘to-spot’ list while at Valparai. Valparai is the end destination after driving through 32 hairpin bends. Being a hill station, Valparai weather is specifically delightful with a cool climate throughout the year. It is usually the road leading to Valparai that is enjoyable with scenic vistas and photo-points. I had enlisted them with day 1 in the Tamil Nadu side of the sanctuary and then spending the second day on the Kerala side of the forested land.
Itinerary:
Day 0: Leave from Bangalore by night (Own car) Day 1: Reach Pollachi before sunrise. Backwaters of the Aliyar dam, monkey falls, Loam’s viewpoint, Carver Marsh viewpoint, Congreve falls, Vinayagar temple, Birla falls, Balaji temple, Iraichalparai falls, Nallamudi Pooncholai viewpoint, ChinnarKallar hanging bridge trek, Sholaiyar backwaters (night stay at a homestay in Chalakudy) Day 2: Athirapally falls, Vazachal falls and return to Bengaluru via Ooty.
The details:
Part 1: Tamil Nadu
During the night journey, I had dozed away on the rear seat of the car. When I opened my eyes to the misty morning dawn, our car was greeted by beautiful countryside with tree-lined roads, emerald fields of paddy, whispering palms and coconut plantations in the backdrop of the towering Western Ghats. We had reached Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. We waited near Aliyar park until 06.00.a.m. for the forest check post to open.
a. We registered our entry into the wildlife sanctuary there and proceeded on our journey. Our drive further towards Valparai, was an ascent along the winding road by the backwaters of the Aliyar irrigation dam.
View of the Aliyar backwaters
b. Four kilometers further from the forest check post, we reached the monkey falls. The waterfall is aptly named due to the many troublesome monkeys here. One even entered our car and happily carried away a bag full of fruits from the rear seat. Our drive continued…
c. Just as we approached the 9th curve (the Loam’s viewpoint), we were greeted by this gentleman who was calmly grazing on the edge of the steep rocks. We scored off the first member on our list of top 5 wildlife to see- ‘The Nilgiri Tahr’.
Nilgiri Tahr – Photo credits: Samson Joseph
d. Continuing our drive, we stopped at Carver Marsh viewpoint adjoining the Kavarkal estate. On a clear day, we were told that one can see the Sholayar reservoir (2nd deepest dam in Asia) from there.
e. We then cruised past the Tiger valley from where we caught a good view of the upper Aliyar reservoir.
At the entrance to Sholayar / Kallyar estates
f. We covered Congreve falls (located in the Nadumalai estate), Vinayagar temple (Jayashree estate) & Birla falls along the way up. We got good view of the Manopally forest and the grass hills of the sanctuary.
g. Ox-bow lakes situated inside the protected area is supposedly the highlight of this region for those who can manage to get permission from the forest authorities. We failed at it since we didn’t have insufficient information on the channels for the permits.
h. We visited the Balaji temple and the nearby Iraichalparai falls along way.
Just along our way, it was time to score off no.2: groups of ‘Lion tailed Macaque’ were walking all over the road and around. Even before we realized, we had reached the hilltop.
Lion Tailed Macaque- Valparai
i. We stopped by and trekked through the tea estates to reach the ‘Seen god shrine’ at the Nallamudi Pooncholai viewpoint. An old man, who claims to have seen god, blessed us with some prayers and turned out to be an encyclopedia of knowledge about the local culture and history. He explained to us about the various tribal settlements in these hills… pointing out at colonies, he would tell- Kadars, Muthuvars and Malai Malasars. They are estimated to have 190 households in 8 settlements in the sanctuary.
While we walked towards our car, the women picking tea shoots warned us not to proceed further. She pointed at a herd of 8-9 elephants feasting around at a distance, thus scoring off no.3 on my list.
j. We then drove to ChinnarKallar for the hanging bridge trek. In spite of driving all the way, we refrained from shelling out 250 Rs. per head just for the entry which sounded to us more like a bribe at the forest check post. This place is among the highest rainfall receiving areas in India. No doubt that the Valparai weather is pleasant all through the year and is an upcoming weekend destination among the urban crowd of the nearby metro cities.
We put our car in reverse and just then… no.4: Thegiant flying squirrel (a young one and wasn’t flying though) crossed our road. We were excited…!!
k. After covering places in the Tamil Nadu part of the sanctuary, we headed towards the Kerala border. We saw a calm stretch of the Koolangal river and decided to spend some time there. We could not compel ourselves from not taking a sip of its crystal-clear waters.
And right there. we saw this little creature on no.5: ‘The common map butterfly’
The Common map butterfly
Part 2: Kerala
We registered at the border check post and prepared to enter the Kerala land. Thick rainforests on both sides accompanied us all the way till our destination. We happened to drive through what I think is one of the dangerous roads I have been through. With the Sholaiyar backwaters on one side and a valley on the other side, only one vehicle can pass at a time. Beautiful views for most of the stretch kept us in an awe. Tunnels have been bored through the mountains to supply water to Parambikulam reserve from the Nirar dam.
We reached Athirapally reserve just after sunset. We got a quick glance of the beautiful waters cascading down to join the Chalakudy river. It was soon dark, and we checked into Maria cottage (a local homestay) where we were made us feel at home and served some sumptuous Mallu food.
Next morning, we walked past the palm plantations to reach the Chalakudy river to freshen up. This place is frequented by elephants at all times, but we did not care. We enjoyed the clear but rapids of the water there. We took a refreshing dip before returning to our homestay. We checked out of the place after having a good filling Malayalee breakfast.
Post this, we went back to the Athirapally waterfalls. We walked down to the base of the waterfalls and spent good time there. We had to then continue our drive, as our target was to reach Bangalore by night. After a quick stop at the Vazachal waterfalls (it is more like water flowing down a steep rock than a waterfall), we decided to say goodbye to Kerala.
Athirapally waterfalls
Part 3: Karnataka
The original plan was to drive through the route covering Ooty-Bandipur-Mysore to reach Bangalore. But, since we were behind schedule, we could not reach Bandipur before the forest gates closed (the forest gates are open only between 06.00a.m. to 06.p.m.). So, we decided to drive back through the curvy stretch of Pollachi road again.
We further drove through Udumalpet which happens to be one of the windiest places in Southern India. Thousands of windmills dot the stretch on either side which is a sight to behold. It was dark in no time and we had to zip ASAP to reach our offices on the following morning.
Fisheries, Coastal police, wildlife conservation NGOs.. We have dialed any random and all possible numbers to get clarity and the permission to go to the Kurusudai island.. Thanks to Madhu, with a struggle for over a month to get permission from the authorities- the right phone number struck, and we finally pulled it off… 🙂 Kurusudai is one among the 21 islands in the gulf of Mannar and a site of importance in research due to its rich marine bio reserves.
Gulf of Mannar marine national park area
So, our last day at Rameshwaram- Our destination ahead was fixed 🙂 An early morning bus from Pamban dropped us half way till Manimandapam. From there, a rickshaw ride took us to Vivekananda memorial hall where the 2 forest guides, the oarsman and the motorboat were all waiting for us 🙂 without wasting much time, our boat set sail.. We could see Kurusudai island at a kilometer’s distance across the clear blue waters of the Gulf of Mannar. We had to contain our excitement lest be quoted as psychos by the people who accompanied us.
We stepped on land in no time- we were briefed about the island in the information center and were also instructed not to use our cameras for any sort of photography. There are nearly 3600 marine species spread around 10,500sq.kms of the marine reserve. 117 coral species, 13 mangrove species, 460 molluscan species and 12 species of sea grasses are found here.. A haven for a bird watcher too with over 217 species of birds found here.. And then our guided tour around the island took wings.. or rather.. set sail 🙂
We first sighted a vibrant red star fish seated comfortably on a barrel coral.. But we soon realised.. that echinoderms were the highlight of the walk.. about 100 species of echinoderms are found in this marine reserve. Sea urchins, Sea potatoes, Sea cookies(sand dollar, snapper biscuit, pansy shell, sea biscuit, sand disc, sand cake, cake urchin and sea pancake are other common names given for these relatively shy invertebrates), sea cucumbers (of varying colours and sizes) dotted the entire shoreline of the island.. Sea lotus of different colours was another highlight of the walk.. We saw the marine plant- Pemphis acidula- an endemic plant to this area. The sea grass(Enhalus acuroidus) is another plant endemic to these reserves found abundantly all around. However, we were more keen on spotting the Balanoglossus(Ptychodera flura)- which happens to be the only living fossil in the world which links vertebrates and invertebrates; endemic to this area as well.. However, our guide could not understand what we were trying to ask due to the language barrier of Tamil:(
Since it was low tide, we could walk into the sea- all along the shore where an infinite range of sea weeds, multi-hued reefs and sea grasses spread over the shallow bed of the sparkling water brightened up the entire ambience of the place. From shades of violet to red, the raised coral reefs of the Islands are not only a special attraction of the place but also chart high on the list of marine biologists. We also spotted a notable array of algae, sponges, sea anemones, cowries, volutes, whelks, crabs, strombids, tonnids, sting rays, oysters among others too..
However, in high tides– this island is a good sighting place for the endangered Sea cows(Dugongs) and dolphins(bottle-nosed dolphin, the common dolphin and the finless porpoise). The land is also home to 3 species of turtles which includes the Hawksbill, Green and Olive Ridley turtles. No.. we didn’t sight them… We had to be EXTREMELY LUCKY for that and needed more time(which we were deprived of:( )
However, the main purpose of this blog post…. Tourism is prohibited here and getting permission for a genuine research itself is such a tough deal.. And we really hope that the general public behave themselves when they encounter such rarity of sightings, do not pollute and RESPECT mother nature for the immense amount of patience she beholds and admire the beauty of what she has to offer.. it really hurts when we find even a small candy wrapper sailing or flying up in the otherwise clean atmosphere where so many other genuinely interested people put in their hearts and souls in the conservation activities. What we give only comes back.. Give respect and take respect.. If not, nature has her own ways to take a toll on all the disrespect..!!
This was a destination that my friend and I had been contemplating to travel for some time. The trip turned into certainty only when my friend had the confirmed tatkal tickets in her hands after a wait of over an hour in the queue at the railway station. Then on the following evening, the two of us commenced our weekend journey towards Rameswaram by boarding our train from Bengaluru cantonment station to Madurai. We had a few important things to check-off on our small list for places to see and things to do at Rameswaram. Since the travel tickets were confirmed in the last moment, we had barely any time to make hotel reservations. We decided to go there and find something for ourselves.
Our Itinerary:
Day 0: Evening train to Madurai from Bengaluru Cantonment railway station. Day 1: Arrival at Rameswaram and visit to Ramanathaswamy temple (TNSRTC bus from Madurai to Rameswaram) Day 2: Visit to Dhanushkodi (Local bus from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi), Rameswaram local sightseeing (hire an autorickshaw for half day), Sunset & Beach walk near Pamban bridge. Day 3: Visit to Kurusudai islands (Local bus to Vivekananda Mandapam & hire a local boat from there to reach Kurusudai islands), Return to Pamban boat jetty; Return to Bangalore (Train to Madurai & change train from Madurai to Bangalore).
The details:
Day 1– Arrival at Rameswaram and visit to Ramanathaswamy temple
The train reached Madurai by 7.20.a.m. After freshening up at the station itself, we left for our main destination. The TNSRTC buses are quite frequent and it took us a journey of 3.5 hours to reach Rameswaram. Enroute, we passed through Ramanathapuram- the last stretch of mainland India. Once we reached Mandapam, the entry point to the island town of Rameswaram, we had our excitement running at its peak. For the next 15minutes, our bus was cruising over the bow shaped road bridge that oversaw the famous Pamban rail bridge. Pamban bridge is an edifice of engineering that is still standing strong on its 100th year in commissioning. This is a bridge that would connect us to the other side of the land, to a town that would host hundreds of stories from the Ramayana during our stay there, over the next couple of days.
After arriving at the Rameswaram bus stand, we noticed the tourist office that stood right opposite. We wanted to try our chance to get permission to the Kurusudai island and hence, registered our names as tourists in their logbook. This island is a protected area and we had tried hard to get permission for our visit even before starting our trip. Though indirectly, our random chance visit to the tourist office in fact helped us BIG time (Click here to read the story in detail).
Lord Rama is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Then, why is the city named after Eshwar? It is important to know at least this while you are there in Rameswaram. Here goes the story… Ravana, (a Brahmin) was a devotee of Lord Shiva (aka Eswaran). On performing penance, Ravana was blessed with a boon by Shiva such that- anyone who tried to harm Ravana would face Brahma dosha. Further, during the war between Rama & Ravana, Rama (a Kshatriya) killed Ravana who then happened to face the wrath of the dosha. Rama then, had to perform pooja to Shiva, the only one who could help him out of the dosha. Here, Eswaran helped Rama. Thus, the name to the town- Rameshwar. I was told that there is a similar story for a town called Ravaneshwar in Lanka.
We walked towards the temple road, roamed around a bit and finally checked into a decent looking hotel close to the main temple. After freshening up, we headed to the main landmark of this pilgrim town, Sri Ramanathaswamy temple. The world’s fifth largest monolithic Nandi statue guards the entrance of this temple. We were overwhelmed to walk across the longest temple corridor in the world and felt blessed after bathing in the water from the 22 sacred wells on the temple. Since it was quite a tiring day due to all the traveling, we decided to sleep early as we had a long day of exploration on the itinerary, next.
Day 2: Exploring Dhanushkodi and local sightseeing at Rameswaram
On the following day, it was Holi: The festival of colors. We were sitting at the Agnitheertham beach at 4.30.a.m watching hundreds of devotees taking a holy dip in the sea. But we were waiting for something else. We were waiting to welcome a day that would unfold with a palette of the best colors that nature could show. Although the wait was long, it was only by 07.00.a.m. when we witnessed what is by far, one of the best sunrises we had seen till date.
Sunrise viewed from Agnitheertham beach
We boarded a bus from there to Dhanushkodi- The ghost city. Although a visit to Dhanushkodi was one of the most awaited part of the trip, it was not our best. From all the stories and experiences, we had imagined of Dhanushkodi, we had expected to need at least one full day there. It is a place that we wanted to explore and not run through which can be best done only if one had a vehicle at his / her own disposal. However, we were at the mercy of public transportation on this budget trip. Like all visitors or “tourists” who had come down there, we too had to settle for a tour of this deserted city in one of the local tourist buses. A round trip was completed in about 3hours with a cost of 100Rs per head not satiating our need to see more of this abandoned town.
Apart from the few main structures and temples (old railway station, church, temple of the floating stone, etc.) that you would see during your tour package(local bus), a few other things that you can do during your trip to Dhanushkodi are:
A walk through the waters of the Bay of Bengal till the Kodandaramasamy temple is a must do. The water level never goes above your knees.
The Ramasetu or the Sethusamudram is something that can be visualized if you have a proper guide with you.
A drive on the asphalt road that stretches up to Dhanushkodi is something to die for. With the calm Bay of Bengal on one side and the rough Arabian sea on the other, the drive is every traveler’s delight.
On your return, you can cover Jada Teertha & Nambu Nayagiamman temple (both located at just a couple of kms before Dhanushkodi.
Ruins of the old church
One hour up on our watches and we were back in the main town. We settled a deal for Rs.250 with an autorickshaw guy who would take us on a quick visit of the major places around the town. Some of the places thus covered include:
• Gandaparvatham / Rama paadam- the highest point in the island town from where one can catch a good view of the scenery around. • Sugriva Teertha (a small pond) • Saatchi Hanuman temple • Bhadrakali Amman temple • Rama Teertha • Krishna temple • Lakshmana Teertha • Five-faced Hanuman temple- The floating stones used for the construction of Rama Sethu can be seen here as well. • The house of former President of India, his honor: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam- It is now converted into a museum.
Sri Rama theertham
An interesting thing we noticed in the architectural style of all the structures in Rameswaram was that with the Ramanathaswamy temple being an exception, all the other temples that I have mentioned above are typically built in the Nagara style of architecture. Having covered Rama, Sugriva and Lakshmana teertha, we were curious to enquire if there was a ‘Sita Teertha’ too. Our guide cum autorickshaw driver nodded and brought us to a place on the highway. And to our dismay, he pointed to a small tank by the roadside. It was filled with green stagnant water and a good mosquito breeding ground. “Damn…!! this patriarchal Indian society…!!” I exclaimed.
We were done with local sightseeing by early evening, and still had a LOT of time left until sunset. Standing on the road bridge and peeking down at the train tug over the century old engineering marvel- Pamban was a sight not to be missed. So, we decided to head towards Pamban bridge.
Once we saw a train pass over it, we decided to stroll around a small fishing hamlet that we just across the street. We got some good clicks of the Pamban from the boat jetty in this fishing hamlet. While straying around there, my eyes fell on the light house that was located a few meters across the village. We asked for directions and reached there in less than half and hours’ time. While we waited for the gates to the lighthouse to open, we tagged along with a few kids, our new friends at the fishermen’s cove. With the kids excited to converse in English with us, we did so while taking a walk further down to the seashore. With a magnificent view of the sun setting in the backdrop of the Pamban in the distant end, we settled down under the shade of a mangrove tree until the sun went down completely.
The sunset from the fishermen’s cove
It was soon dark, and we had to head back to the temple road for a safer crowd. We bought some peanuts masala from the vendor on the seashore and found a comfortable seat for ourselves to catch some peaceful time. It was a full moon night.
On that wonderful day: We had seen the faint horizon emerge out from the pitch darkness of the sky that brightened into broad daylight with a series of color change and then the white sky of the day fade into the black of the night … And again, the night’s sky was lit up by the beautiful full moon… Yes… We had witnessed one COMPLETE day…
Full moon lit night sky as seen from the Agnitheertham boat jetty
Day 3: Visit to Kurusudai island and return to Bengaluru
Based on some local contacts, we had got a last-minute permit to visit the Kurusudai island. As per the directions given, we had to check out early and catch the 8.00.a.m bus from Akka-Madang to Vivekananda memorial hall. Our boat was waiting for us with the guide to take us to another world- A world of exotic marine animals- ‘the Kurusudai island ‘. (A more elaborate article on this visit can be read by clicking here). To sum up- “We were lucky to get there”.
From Kurusudai island, we got dropped at the Pamban boat jetty. Our boat was anchored somewhere amid hundred other boats and hence, we had to walk across through knee deep sea water to get to the shore. This walking experience was unique in its own way as one doesn’t get such a sight in any other boat jetty. We had to place every step of ours’ so carefully that we did not want to accidentally step on and kill the in-numerous star fishes or sea cucumbers that were lying on the shore bed.
We walked further up to the Pamban railway station and bought our tickets for the 12.00. O’clock train to Madurai. And soon the train arrived. We boarded and our hearts were pounding hard with excitement. We had bought tickets for a train…. A train to Madurai which would actually ply over the Pamban bridge, an experience that we were waiting to live through. It was an even special ride since it was a journey over the historical Pamban bridge on its 100th year of existence. We couldn’t ask for more…!!!
View of the bow shaped road bridge from the Pamban bridge
In 4 hours, we alighted at the Madurai junction… But yeah, even as I was wondering how everything went so fine through this entire trip, the surprise was waiting for us at the station- our train to Bengaluru would arrive 3hours late. And what followed is… history.
Have you visited Rameswaram? What was the purpose of your visit, Pilgrimage, family vacation or backpacking? What is your story from your visit? I would be excited to hear from you!
It was exactly a year ago, that I decided to celebrate my birthday by taking a short trip and break from my work. Mom and I drove our car from home in Bangalore at around 8.00.a.m. and headed towards Tumkur with a plan to spend the entire day outside. We wanted to cover as many landmarks in Tumkur as possible.
List of places covered:
Devarayanadurga hills: This area has two ancient temples, also a reserved forest area at Naamada chilume
Koratagere: Goravanahalli Lakshmi temple and the reservoir nearby.
Siddaganga Mutt: You can combine this with a short trek up the Siddaganga hilltop.
First, we headed towards Devarayanadurga hills where the twin temples are located. A winding road along a picturesque landscape lead us to Yoga Narasimha Swamy temple atop. The view from the top was beautiful with early morning dew settling on the warm rocks. We got the first aarathi (Pooja) of the day and rushed to Bhoganarasimha Swamy temple situated at the base of the hill. It is the custom that the doors of the later opens only after pooja at the hilltop.
Top: The view of Devarayanadurga hills; Bottom left: the temple pond at Yoganarasimha temple; Bottom right: Bhoganarasimha temple
From there, we drove towards Naamada chilume. This is a small spring nestled amid the greenery protected by the forest department. It is believed that Lord Rama rested at this place enroute to Lanka. When he woke up in the morning, he did not find water to make his vermillion (Naama- in Kannada). Hence, shot an arrow to a boulder from where a small spring emerged. This is a perennial water source even till date. This is part of a reserve forest area and there are a few spotted deer kept in an enclosure. Nothing very exciting about this place, we would have skipped it if we had known.
Top: The road to Naamada Chilume; Bottom left: A guesthouse at Naamada Chilume park, Bottom right: the water spring where Lord Rama’s arrow struck
From there, we lost our way and reached the main road after a very long drive. We asked the locals for directions towards Goravanahalli. This village is famous for the Lakshmi temple and better known for- Late Kamalamma, the holy lady. We finished our pooja amidst the crowd, took turns to make a wish at the wishing pillar. There is a small lake and a reservoir at a walkable distance from there. We went up there and had our packed lunch with the cool breeze and a good view. Soon after, we planned our next destination- Sri.Siddaganga Mutt.
We were blessed with the holy water of Siddaganga. We took a stroll around the huge campus of the mutt and were awestruck with the service rendered to the society. And then, we were in for a BIG surprise… An occult of the least expected. We felt blessed when we got the darshan of his holiness Sri.Shivakumara Swamiji… It is when least expected, miracles happen. Swamiji who is fondly called ‘the walking god’, was gracefully sitting on the porch of the Mutt and blessing the visitors. Even after several days of planning to get an opportunity to see him, people consider it hard to be able to see him. And there I was, right at his feet, taking blessings from this Holy man. I was thrilled, ecstatic and had goosebumps. Only countable people on this planet have this magical aura around them (according to me), and he is one!
A nandi carved out of a rock at Sri Siddaganga Mutt with the image of Sri.Shivakumara Swamiji
With that, it was a wrap to our day tripping, and we headed back home, feeling all blessed (literally! With a long day of temple visits) and having a small peek into history and mythology here and there along our way.
Trekking enthusiasts have a lot of options around Tumkur. I have covered these places on separate occasions.
Tiger Census is a week long quadrennial event conducted all over India at the same time. A total of 5,00,000 sq.kms area – 17 states- 40,000 forest beats to be covered with 2000 personnel pulled in to count an estimated 1700 tigers nationwide. The event was scheduled from 16-Dec-13 to 23-Dec-13. With 2 days of training, the census will be done in 2 parts. The 1st 3days will mainly concentrate on tracking the carnivore population(including tigers, leopards etc) through critical carnivore trails and the next 3 days will be through specified transact lines identified to count the herbivores and evaluate the healthiness of the carnivore habitat.
The public can participate based on an online application and selection procedure. It is purely voluntary wherein, 1 volunteer will be accompanied by 2 forest guards and allocated a specific beat inorder to spot the mighty one with the stripes..!! The forest department would provide bare minimum logistics (read it food) However, beddings need to be carried by the volunteers themselves 🙂
So all said and done, I was shortlisted as a volunteer for Kallahalla Wildlife Range in the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. Last minute preparations, arguments with folks for permission, hunt for a notary for getting the indemnity bond attested.. I was all done and all set for the LONG week ahead 🙂
Day 1: After getting misguided by google maps a couple of times, I had arrived at the forest office in Kallahalla by noon. After the enrollment formalities were done, there was a small briefing for the volunteers about the do’s and don’ts in the forest. We were not in a luxury campsite, we had to remember and be alert always. We were then directed to the camp to grab some rest before the hectic week ahead 🙂
The camp itself was in the middle of the national park that boasts of the highest density of tigers in India. The shelter we had to look upto during our next few days was an old abandoned 3 BHK house which once served as a forest staff quarters. Now, there laid only the walls and a thatched roof with no doors, no electricity and no phone connectivity. We would have the privilege of being greeted by wild animals at our door step every morning and reptiles creeping in to the living room every now and then. We did not have to be surprised even if one fine morning, the tiger himself waved a ‘Hai’ at us while sitting on the porch.. The only things that we had with us to protect ourselves were our sleeping bags, camouflage clothing, trekking boots, torches and some insect repellents. That evening, we opted to sit out in the open, under the clear starry sky until the biting cold of the December night froze us. It was just a day past full moon 🙂
Day 2:We all assembled by 6.00.a.m in front of our camp where I was introduced to Mr.Swamy & Chikkanna. They were the guards who would accompany me through the due days ahead. Chikkanna was a ‘Kaadu Kuruba’ tribal person. He could recognize the forest with just it’s sounds and smell. He knew every grain and twig in the forest. Swamy was a Bachelor’s in Biology. Chikkanna’s role was to manage the team with the survival skills for the deep jungle and help identify things with their local names. Swamy would then document everything with the local and their scientific names. And me? I was a general public, getting aware of various aspects of forestry and the habitat census procedure itself.
Mr.Swamy saved the camp as the reference point in his GPS and the three of us marched towards our beat. We stopped by every now and then to make a note of the different animal scats that we found along our way. Also, the forest grass cover, vegetation, commercial trees, medicinal plants, herbs, shrubs, every thing were recorded. The scat samples that we collected in small sachets included those of wild cat, barking deer, rabbits, sambars, spotted deers, bears etc. along with that of the tiger as well.. Further ahead, as we marched a few kilometres into the thicket, we reached a small bit of moist land. We spotted aleast a dozen of jungle fowls around there. We walked around the place and noted fresh pug marks of a tiger mother & a cub who had just dropped by, to quench their thirst. We proceeded further and the sight I encountered next needs a special mention. Atleast 50 parakeets emerged out of a small bush when I walked by. It was truly Awesome 🙂 I cursed myself several times for not being able to identify the innumerable bird species I came across all the way. We saw a tree-full of langurs, Malabar giant squirrels and sambars. We encountered a pack of wild dogs(dholes) who surely were upto a well laid strategy. However, the day soon ended without any major direct sighting of the tiger.
Day 3:Another day, filled with anxiety began at 6.00.a.m. We were greeted at the entrance of the transact line by some wild hogs. The 2km stretch of the transact was covered without any sightings apart from elephant dung all the way. Further downhill, we saw fresh tiger scat and I had already started to crib about having missed a glimpse of the striped beast by a few minutes 😦 Peacocks, barking deers peeked into our way at times. We then grabbed some wild berries from one of the trees along our way. We consumed it only after it was okayed as ‘Safe for consumption’ by Chikkanna.
When we continued our walk further, Chikkanna stopped us suddenly and asked us to stay still for a while. He pointed- “Elephant..!!” He concentrated on the sound and again said- “There are 2..!!” Within moments, we heard the thumping sound of the elephants moving towards us.. 100mts.. 50mts.. 10 mts.. SHIT.. We saw them both right there.. “RUN…”Chikkanna commanded.!! The three of us just ran… and the elephant mother & calf duo followed us… We ran.. they ran.. We ran further. “TREE..” Chikkanna pointed. And we three climbed and reached the top of the tree within seconds. (It is unbeleivable how you end up doing things that you have never done before, when it is for life.. I had never climbed a tree before. Atleast not one this high..!!) The duo continued towards us. Swamy grabbed a few crackers from his bag and lit them one by one. After bursting 5-6 crackers, the elephant duo decided to spare us. Although petrified a little bit at my first near death adventure, I descended the tree and continued our walk further.
We passed by something that looked like a tiger’s den with few bones stranded here and there. We reached Kiggere- the tropical moist deciduous part of the forest. It is a grassland, where we saw herds of spotted deers grazing all around. We rested there for a while and feasted on the fruits that we had collected along our way. The second leg of the day continued here on, towards Kebbekatte.
Climbers, creepers, bushes, thorns- we waded them all.. and suddenly pug marks appeared from nowhere. “The tiger has just walked down to the watering hole-200mts down the line(Kebbekatte), we might be lucky“- Chikku said. “Shh..” followed an alarming sound. “It’s a tusker.!! He is close..” We looked around and couldn’t find any trees this time. We real7sed that we were stranded between an elephant chase. Swamy reached out to his supervisor over the walkie-talkie to inform him of our status. He was informed that we were stuck midway and it was not possible for help to reach us from either ends of the beat. Without an option, Swamy lit a couple of crackers this time. And, we were all releived for getting lucky again, for the 2nd time.. We then walked towards Kebbekatte. It was an unfortunate day for us as we had just scared the tiger away which was spotted by the other beat who had arrived there before us.
Day 4: My heart kept thumping a little harder than usual. I felt a bit nervous while I was heading towards the jungle. My fingers were crossed all the way hoping to have no more adventures. I felt it was okay even if I did not spot a tiger, but wanted to reach back alive and kicking. I kept walking blindly behind Chikkanna who lead Swamy and me. We had to literally find our way out of the bushes which had overgrown all of us, blinding our way further. We could not even see if a tiger sat by, snarling at us. I heaved a sigh of releif when I got the 1st glance of the Kiggere grassland. the 1st part of the beat was accomplished, peacefully..!! Chikkanna moved into the bushes to answer the nature’s call. And so did Swamy, behind another one. I was trying to pacify my thumping heart standing all alone in the meadow. Tigers are mostly spotted in open grasslands, I had read. Then, on hearing the trumpet of an elephant, Chikkanna emerged out of the bush. He signaled Swamy to join us asap. He explained to us that the tusker was calling for a fight and is moving towards Baalekatte(our route further). We walked ahead slowly along the same route. Suddenly, Swamy pointed out to our right and screamed- “Run Run… its a Herd.. Herd..
It took few seconds for Chikkanna & me to believe our eyes. We had forgotten to look out in other directions while we were concentrating on the lone tusker. About 10-12 gigantic pachyderms were marching towards us, at a distance of barely 20mts from us… We three started to run… Chikkanna shouted- “The tusker & the herd, both are heading towards Baalekere, let us run towards Doddkere“. We three ran..
Tadan…. Another tusker stood right infront of us…. We three were surrounded by these pachyderms from 3 sides.. Chikkanna and Swamy ran.. I followed them.. While the two were running much ahead of me, I got entangled in between a thick bunch of creepers. “F**K… This is it..!!” I thought. But, I saw god in disguise running towards me with a dagger in his hand and free me out of the tangle. It was Chikkanna. After running for a distance, he had turned back to check on me. On noticing that I wasn’t there, he had come back.
The monsters were close, we continued to run.. I again tripped over a snake that crossed my leg.. I leaped over and continued to run. Meanwhile, Swamy had lit a few crackers and planted them along the way. Out of 6 odd something crackers, only one bursted. The sound was good enough to shoo the tuskers away.. We continued to run and reached the safe confines of a tree trunk on the otherside of Kebbekatte lake.
After a short while, we met the group from the other beat and headed towards Sulekere along with them. This was the last option we had, to catch a glimpse of the striped monster. We waited there for a long while hoping for him to come there to drink some water. We saw bisons and other animals walking in there, but hard luck- we could not spot a TIGER 😦
And thus ended our tryst with the wild.. The pug marks were all accounted which will be matched with the camera images captured by NCTA and a compiled report will be out in a few months’ time 🙂
Whether it was my chase of the ‘Tiger trail’ or if it was ‘Me getting chased for being in the elephant trail’, I don’t know. But what I’m certain was ‘The Chase’ was over..
While considering Ooty to Bangalore distance, the Ooty is one of the favourite haunts for Bangaloreans, along with the people from nearby cities like Mysore, Coimbatore, Chennai etc. Popular for its well-groomed tea estates, the pleasant Ooty weather although the year has earned it the title of ‘Queen of Hills’. We were nine friends in two cars on this monsoon weekend trip to explore Ooty district. But this trip was planned by skipping all the tourist places of Ooty and exploring the lesser known corners of the district. We started from Bangalore on a Friday night at 2.00.a.m. hoping to reach Bandipur by 6.00.a.m. That’s when the forest check-post opens, and we hoped that could spot some wild animals along our way. But, due to frequent pit-stops, we made it to the check-post only by 7.00.a.m. Nevertheless, we spotted a good number of elephants, peafowls, fox, deer, sambars, wild boars etc. With so many sightings, it was quite a good start for a trip, I must say! The itinerary for our weekend is as given below.
Itinerary:
Day 0: Leave from Bangalore by night Day 1: Explore Avalanche forest reserve, explore Ooty, stay at Masinagudi Day 2: Trekking and other activities at Masinagudi, Wildlife safari at mudumulai forest or Bandipur range, drive back to Bangalore through Bandipur. (Visit Himavad Gopala Swamy temple, if time permits)
The details:
Part 1: Avalanche and Ooty
First in the visit list was the Avalanche, a steep & breathtaking climb of 35 hairpin bends with deep valley covered by thick white snowy clouds on one side led us to Udhagamandalam a.k.a. Ootacamund a.k.a. Ooty. Without wasting much time amidst the maddening crowd of tourists there, we drove down another set of 34 hairpin curves- 25 kms further from Ooty to reach the forest check post of Avalanche. Thick rainforests on either side, bumpy waterlogged potholes and scenic view of the Emerald dam backwaters at every turn, accompanied us all the way till the start point of the eco-tour. Once there, we hired the forest jeep for a 24 kms drive through the Shola forests- A place that was BEAUTIFUL.
Enroute to the Bhavani temple at Avalanche
On a clear day, one can see the dam from this place. If one is lucky, he could spot a leopard or an elephant on the way, we were told. Since we were there during monsoon, the thick fog made the visibility poor adding onto the adventure of our jeep ride. On this eco-tour, we visited a century old Bhavani temple, innumerous waterfalls and ended at a beautiful spot called as ‘Lakdi spot’. It had a small stream cascading down in full fury and then running through the shola grasslands surrounded all around. After spending some time there and getting all drenched, we realized that we were all wet till the bones and chattering with cold. Thus, decided to head back to our cars at the entrance.
One of the many waterfalls tucked away in the Avalanche forest
From Avalanche, we commenced our drive towards our next and the main destination of the trip: “Masinagudi. Masinagudi is a part of the Mudumulai forest range, the extension of Bandipur National park (in Karnataka) towards the state of Tamil Nadu. Since Ooty is the only and the last town before heading towards the forest area, we decided to take a short break there. We filled our cars with fuel, withdrew cash from the ATM and bought some Ooty chocolates along with other essentials before heading towards the cottage we had booked for our stay. Our stay was in a private estate adjoining the forest fringes or rather say it was located within the reserve forest itself. It was late evening (already dark) by the time we reached our cottage. (NOTE: The forest check-post closes by 06.p.m)
A view of the valley from one of the hairpin bends of Ooty
Part 2: Masinagudi
We parked our cars at the Singara check post, beyond which the roads are drivable only with a 4WD/SUVs to reach the cottages. Two Mahindra Jeeps were arranged by the cottage guys itself. This 3 km ride from the Singara check post to our cottage was a GRAND welcome in itself: Our road was blocked by herds of elephants, bison and deer. These encounters took our excitement to a soaring high…!!
After a quick round of dinner, we all got ready for the highlight of the trip- The night safari: at 00.00 hrs. in the night, who can believe if we say we drove in an open jeep into the heart of the national park in search of a tiger that was feasting on its latest kill..?? Our safari guide and his clients had been lucky to get this rare sighting on the previous night. And once we were there in the middle of the forest, the screeching engines of our jeep halted, lights were switched off. It was a new-moon day. So, there was no moonlight even, only the open sky with the twinkling stars guided us through. The only 2 sounds we could hear were that of the orchestra of the cicadas and the pounding of our anxious hearts. What we all discovered right there, in the middle of nowhere was “ETERNAL BLISS”. Even after a thorough search through the remotest corners of the grassland, we could not find the tiger until 2.00.a.m. Although we spotted a few other animals, we were definitely sad about the fact. But the bumpy ride to the forest and back was an experience in itself that was all worth it!
Next morning, we were greeted by the excellent view of the Blue mountains (Nilgiris hills) through the window glasses. We all jumped up for the guided walk along the stream, lining the boundary of the reserve area. We captured some rare fauna like the Nilgiri langurs, Malabar grey hornbill, Malabar giant squirrel, peafowl etc. in our machine-gun-sized cameras. The climb to the tree top house is also worth a mention that gave us a good view of the forest around. It was afternoon already by then and we had to pack up for our return journey towards Bangalore.
At Bandipur National forest
Contrary to the normal boring return journeys when all are usually exhausted and silent, all the 9 of us were jumping off our seats every now and then, until we crossed Bandipur: We encountered at least 24 elephants including a herd with a new born, at least 20 peacocks all set to open up their feathers as it had started to drizzle, sounder of wild boars etc.
For someone who finds peace in nature, this was a magical trip! This is that ONE trip that I would love to do all over again and that time, it would be for a longer stay here… in the cradle of mother nature.
So stuck up with my professional life.. I am finding little / No time to visit my native, where my basics belong to.. Politics, emotions, manners, education- on the whole the basics of every aspect of the human that I am today 🙂
Nostalgia fills my heart as I hear of heavy rains in the recent weeks- little villages have turned into islands, water levels are atleast 2 feet above bridges, waterlogged paddy fields now look like a never ending stretch of the river itself.. WOWwww…. An amazing picture of a rain fed rather filled-green COORG flashes infront of me.. And what my heart is craving for at the moment is some AWESOME Coorgie food.. And what my taste buds are asking for are the lesser known typical monsoon delicacies native to Coorg and cannot match their original taste if tried to re-create in any part of this wide world even by the greatest chef ever born..!! So here goes the list..
VEGETARIAN:
1. Therme thoppu palya (Fern salad)
2. Kembu suli curry ( Colocasia shoots)
3. Baimbale curry (Bamboo shoot curry)
These are varieties found only on river banks.
4. Kaad maange curry (Wild mango curry)
5. Kummu curry (Mushroom curry) especially the wild varieties- Aalandi kummu, Nucchi kummu, kaatola kummu.
The above stuffs taste deadly when combined with hot Akki Otti(Rice rotis) prepared on mud ovens lit with firewood 😉
6. Chutta chekke kuru (Roasted seeds of ripe jackfruit smeared with red soil and dried in the sun and preserved especially for the monsoon)
9. Onak yarchi fry (Since Coorgs hunted regularly, venison, wild boar, barking deer and several other kinds of wild game formed part of their diet. These meats were also sliced, rubbed with salt and turmeric, strung or skewered and sun-dried or hung from the rafters in smoky, wood fired kitchens)
10. Koile meen curry (Used to be in abundance where bamboo traps were laid in cold, swift flowing streams and the flooded paddy fields were full of these tiny freshwater eels)
SWEET DISHES:
11. Kuvale putt (Prepared with ripe Kuvale chekke (a variety of jackfruit, locally called Kuvale) wrapped in Kuvale ele (Leaf from a local plant found on riverbanks) and steam cooked.
12. Baale nurk / nurk putt ( Bananas fritters)
13. Maddh paaysa/ Maddh putt (Porridge /cake made of an aromatic herb, which is expected to have 18 types of medicine available only during the month of kakkada or aadi)
And last but definitely not the least – A peg of Nell-kall (vodka made of paddy) and some homemade wine…. Or a cup of steaming hot ‘Bellatha Kaapi’ for the teetotalers .. 🙂
People often complain about my eating habits and how choosy I get about what I eat and the little quantity that I peck onto.. Treat me with a platter filled with the above stuffs and see how I can binge on… This city food is CRAP.. and not what I savour…Not even the 6-course expensive meal cooked by the executive chef de cuisine of the costliest restaurant in the world…!!
The Lost Lander 