An electric morning at ST

Excited by the prospects of a different day ahead, i sped towards Sona Towers to see the day begin as soon as possible. I was greeted by familiar excited faces of my colleagues waiting for everyone to assemble.
There was usual teasing and stuff but by the by, the atmosphere was infectious with anticipations for the day ahead. There was a cool breeze and white clouds in the sky making it a picture perfect day.


Though we had to wait for the lazy bugs (i had partied whole night too, but i can sleep in the bus ;-) ), yet, it was not drudgery, not boredom, just lot of laughter and noise and clicking cameras and gingerly exchange of introduction with familiar faces. Finally amidst all this comedy and pandemonium, we left at quarter to 8. IST, you know!

Sugary Biligiri

Enroute, we had sugarcane. The farmers were so good natured here that they gave us a few sugarcanes just on seeing how we were eying them. Ah! It reminded me of my childhood days when on a buffalo's back i used to suck on a sugarcane stick without a worry in the world.





The place that we were headed to was Billigiri Rangana Hills (BR Hills). Its approximately 230 kms away from Bangalore towards Mysore and at an altitude of about 5090 ft. above sea level. At an easy pace, it took us about 6 hours to reach the place.

After talking to the officials at the Forest Office, a Ranger accompanied us to the cottage where we were supposed to stay at night. It was a simple hut of 3 rooms, a hall and a kitchen that had all basic amenities. The most surprising thing to me was that there was round the clock electricity - really helped! I recharged my camera batteries.

Junglee cottage and Lunch

After checking in at the cottage we went to this small hotel for lunch. Well, i did not find it agreeable to my pallate but my Kanadiga friends liked it very much. They said it was better than Chandrika.


My surprise lay elsewhere! 50 (26+24) people ate at a bill of just Rs 750! Unimaginable in Bangalore - filling meal at Rs. 15 which makes my colleagues happy! Really amazing. The show biz of Bangalore has really not penetrated here. Simplicity is still in its pristine glory.

I noticed Sitesh tipping the rangers with Rs.30 and how happily yet hesitatingly they accepted it. If i try doing that in Bannerghatta National Park - i think they will tip me instead! ;)

a Temple, the Wet Carpet and Deers

We also visited a local temple. It was raining and the whole mountain range was magically transformed to a lush green carpet. I have my religious beliefs close to my heart and do not visit temples often. I rather enjoy His creation more than idolatory - something that we concieved, created and propagated. So, i stayed outside as usual, enjoyed my Cadbury's Temptations and His Green Carpets. Post lunch we went for a safari ride. We chanced upon some Cheetals and a couple of wild boars. Though Vaibhav stalked one of them, he was unsuccessful in getting a shot.

Fire, Ghost and Theology

At sundown we were back to our lair, had dinner and campfire! Some people will remember that game of Truth or Dare forever! ;-) There were some pretty nastily crafted questions for unsuspecting folk like Sashwati and Deepthi. I just escaped with naming my crush in THBS. Actually, i was not asked the right question, my fortune! No one let Pavan ask it! ;-)

Even after stubbing out the camp fire, the night was hardly over. We met Swami Abhayananda cloaked inside the flesh and bones of sleepy Abhay! Well, it started with ghost stories from Vipin, but ended with discussions on theology, karma, reincarnation, you name it! I particularly enjoyed pestering Abhay for one story of a fortune teller that i had instantly developed an appetite for. We laid down our funny bones well beyond midnight amidst peels of animated laughter and jokes that even ghosts would have considered blasphemous! Abhay was scared ( citation needed! ;) ) to share our room.

Idli, Gaj, Mountain and the Tiger's appartment

Next day, lazy morning... A very tasty breakfast and off we went to K Gudi. People went berserk for a photo session with one of the tame elephants over there. There were elephant safaries for ladies and some insistent guys. I got some lovely photos of blooming Gulmohar engulfing the forest in its flaming red flowers.
And in the mountains there had to be a trek (logically enough)! No! I am not putting up my own photo here which some sadist shot when i was sweating like a pig. Its totally gross. We also came across a thicket which the ranger said was supposed to have been a tiger's lair at night. I am not sure, i did not find any tiger hair on the many thorns in the thicket or pug marks on the soft soil.

Bliss

Ill-scented and hungry after the trek, we headed back to Bangalore. But the adventure was not over yet. We saw a crude dam on the way, and there was this vast stretch of land, water and mountain that queerly enough reminded me of Windows Xp default desktop wallpaper named as Bliss.










I wondered what name they would have given to this breathtaking sight. I just fell in love with it and shot at it with all kinds of scene compositions that i had known. Well, one of them did end up as Shailesh's desktop. I have, however still kept the old one, which still remains my favorite.

Shiva's Samudra

Then we headed to Shivana Samudram. A steep descent and cool, rushing waterfalls caressing the tired and weary muscles. Some people resisted the temptation, i have no idea how ?! Its hilarious to see what games an empty stomach plays on our minds. There were a lot of synthetic food on sale over there, but i chose wild bitter berries sauced with chilli/lemon paste over them and ate them too. In fact i rather enjoyed eating them just like centershock chewing gum!

Maddur vada & Dusk

Finally, we reached Maddur. There we had lunch. And then a swift drive back to Bangalore amidst Antakshari and omnipresent flashing cameras.

Epilogue

The most special thing about this trip was that most of the things about it was not planned beforehand. Well, i think this was a good way to demonstrate that smart decisions can be reached in nick of time and its not always that if a discussion has many members, the decisions will not be unanimous. Its unplanned nature also gave a juvenile fabric to the trip, where everyone had a say and no one was treading down a beaten path or being vetoed out by some invisible pre-determination. In my opinion the credit should go to the accomodating attitude of Sitesh and Deepthi and the fact that though Deepthi knew Kannada, yet Sitesh put the onus of translation on Harish thereby bringing all of us into descision making roleplay. No wonder it was a great success.

Though physically tired after the trip, i feel mentally reinvigorated. Also last but not the least, i made some great friends.