Bengaluru Diaries: a Hill and a Tree and a Dam in Half a Day...

After residing in Bengaluru (or Bangalore) for 2 years, I had tried exploring it as much I can. Since it is blessed to be in midst of hills on all 4 directions, it enjoys probably “the best” metro climate. And ofcourse, gives away lot of hills and rivers and viewpoints to explore. I have finally

Omkar Hills

decided to put down- “Places to visit in Bengaluru” and will start with the most recent visited ones from Bangalore Southà

#1. Omkar hills

This place is said to be the highest point in Bangalore. It is in RajaRajeshwari Nagar. When driving on Mysore Road from Bangalore, take the left at Uttarahalli Main Road, drive past the BGS Apollo hospital and then take the right next to JSS College. This road goes to the top of Omkar Hills. Omkar Hills has a dwadasha jyothirlinga (caution: elders are bound to get more & more devotional/emotional/sentimental!) temple and Ashram which was founded by Shri Shivapuri Mahaswamiji.

You’ll enjoy the strong breeze here and the panoramically view of the city is super awesome. Just behind the temple is world's second largest clock, said to be bigger than the Big Ben, the clock

Dodda Alada Mara

tower in London, and its making took two years.

Upon climbing a few steps you can see an old banyan tree surrounded by statues (Ramanujacharya, Shankaracharya, Madhwacharya, Jesus, Koran, Buddha, Mahaveera and the Guru Granth Sahib) representing various faiths/religions and singing aloud strong message of unity in equally strong blowing wind.

#2. Dodda Alada Mara or Big Banyan Tree

This tree is a giant 400 year old located in the village of Kettohalli. Before you google this village, it is really easy to access the place if you can identify a small road next to Rajarajeshwari Dental college (near Kumbalagod junction)! This single plant covers 3 acres.  In the 2000s, the main root

Manchinbele Dam

of the tree succumbed to natural disease, and thus the tree now looks like many different trees with over thousand aerial roots.

The tree has fenced boundaries, and benches for people to sit. There is a small shrine, many monkeys, some lays and soothing shades- good picnic place indeed!

#3. Manchinbele Dam

This beautiful dam is constructed by Sir M  Visvesvaraya which is around 9 km s further ahead from Big Banyan tree (don't miss the left at Chandrappa Circle). River Arkavathi forms the back waters of the Manchinbele Dam. You’ll find a couple or two government appointed watchman’s eating your head and money! This place suffers from govt.’s poor tourism showcasing- not much publicity, no maintenance, lack of connectivity, lack of proper security and lifeguards. Apart from that, really wonderful place to be!

On Top of Dam

#4. Ruppi’s Hotel & Resort

This is a place run and owned by Kannada film industries famous Real Star, Upendra. I visited this place for a short snack after visiting Dodda Alada Mara and Manchinbele Dam. This is just a km away from Dodda Alada Mara. Onion pakoda and onion rings that we ordered along with the chai were just delicious. Interiors, cottages, playgrounds and restaurants- all have looked good to me in my first impression. I have promised myself to visit this place again to explore!

Ruppi's Hotel & Resort

I recommend you to cover all 4 places mentioned above in the order- 2,3,4,1! Will take less than half a day and to be at Omkar hills at around 7.30pm will be the best thing to do! It’ll energize you for the rest of the coming week, guaranteed!

No greens,
Cloudy & Chirpy,
I set out to search,
White flowers... 

Bangalore had Blossomed,
Red flowers...
Green flowers...
Blue flowers...

[Photo Credit: Sharath P R, Thanks to Chikkappa [Ramesh], Chikkamma[Ratna], Doddappa[Karunakar] and Munna[Sharath] for being the part of this trip!]

Kumara Parvata Trek: Not For Faint Hearted...

Beating Valentine’s Day traffic I made my way to the pick-up point, Domlur, Bangalore. I had literally no time left for packing since it was a “working” Friday and we (Chandru and Abhishek) had decided only on Thursday to go for this trek. We made sure that we carried essentials like- 2 pair of clothes, torch, towel, soap, dry fruits and chocolates. I knew, scaling up 5600ft Kumara Parvata(a.k.a Pushpagiri or KP) will be a daunting task considering the fact that summer had already set in and humidity would take its toll!

Hiking Ethics!

Comfortable Temo Traveller was arranged by Bangalore Mountaineering Club for 12 of us (including our super-fit guide, Sam) and we left Bangalore by 10pm. Thanks to good road and excellent driving, we arrived at Subramanya, approx. 280kms from Bangalore, around 5am on 15th of Feb. Full moon was still on sight! We took an hour to freshen up in an “unknown” dorm and were all set by 7.30am with a quick breakfast (including Horlicks for extra power!) at Neo Mysore Café, located infront of the Kukke Subramanya Temple.

A lazy 1.2 km droll to base of Kumara Parvata was the most comfortable part of the complete trek! Once reaching the foothill, Sam gave us a briefing and lessons on trekking ethics. We introduced ourselves and soon after, we hit the trail of most challenging 13kms of my life!

Picture Perfect!

Definition of this trek was set as soon we finished a km, catching the breath on these 40-50 degree inclination was real test for both-mental and physical fitness. Luckily, the group was really fast and we didn't realize that we are gonna set a record time soon!

By 9.30am we had arrived at famous house of mid-aged Girigadde Mahalingeshwar Bhat, mostly known as Bhattramane, covering 4kms. This mud house built in 1974 had a cowshed and areca nut plantation, electricity coming from indigenous hydro power and solar power, constant water supply from a water channel of the hillside rocks. We were served simple and tasty lunch, dinner and next-day breakfast here. Also, we spent a blissful night here. Had there been no Bhattramane, I would confidently say that KP would be near to impossible!

No surprise, KP has it’s own mythological importance. KP was the place where Lord

Mantapa

Subramanya (a.k.a Kumara) fought and won the fierce battle against the demon, Tarakasur. Impressed Devendra got his daughter married to Kumara. Hence the hill got the name KP and river that flows- Kumaradhara,.

Post early lunch, we started at 11.15am to scale rest of the 9kms. 3 things kept improving exponentially- beauty, humidity and inclination! We crossed forest dept. check post and caught glimpse of Western Ghats- in 2 viewpoints located at a stretch of a km. Our aim was to reach Sheshagiri(The first main peak before KP) and damn it, we couldn't even sight it till we had trekked for close about 2 hours! We kept checking with Sam, pointing at series of false peaks that we encountered and asking if it was Sheshagiri. Silence and Smile was his constant answer!

I had almost lost my battle till I reached Mantapa, ancient stone structure. Abundant water and oranges we carried, gave me the boost. With high spirits we were back in trail and soon reached Sheshagiri. Views were just incredible and KP was only a km away now. Then started an unbelievable stretch with green shades and later, 70 degree inclination. We had made it to the top of KP by 2.20! Feeling on top was just priceless as I spotted Lord Shiva’s small stone shrine and flag flying high. Couldn't resist writing down-

Did we scale this?

Clouds had calmed,
Flags waving high…
Lying down on rocks,
Cold breeze hit my face… 

Like it had never hit me before!
Like the seasons that changed overnight!
Like these red flowers in green pastures!
Like this longed victory getting longingly closer!
Like the destiny’s invariant smile, that finally smiled!

We started the descent at 3.30pm, skidding most of the times. We were back by 6.30pm at Bhattramane. Some of us were nursing ankle or toe pain, and the tea which welcomed us, followed by an open-air cold water bath and tasty dinner refreshed us and paved way for a most satisfying sleep!

Next day morning, i.e. on 16th, we woke up at 6.30am, had quick breakfast and continued our descent. We reached the base by 10am and after a bath in public bathroom, we went inside the temple, took a round and tried to catch glimpse of the Lord and his blessings!

This trek looked like a philosophical story to me. Constant steep inclines pointed towards

Sunrise

hardships of life. Many false peaks reminded me of distraction one encounters before the ultimate goal of one’s life. Although views at Sheshagiri were the most beautiful, we still went to climb KP, since KP zenith was the main goal. It was a learning experience and burnt my false pride of achieving Hampta pass last year. I learnt to respect every trek and every trekkers!

Bidding goodbye to Subramanya, view of Sheshagiri behind temple gave me Goosebumps! We started at 11.10am, stopped for lunch at 12.45pm at Gandharva restaurant, Sakleshpur, and a Chai break in Bellur cross. After successfully crossing many toll plazas and bearing through some nonsense unheard music, we reached Bangalore by 6pm!

Team seen with Bhattru

Final Tips to make it to KP-->

1. Watch enough of Rafael Nadal’s games for mental fitness and hit gym before 2 weeks for physical fitness!
2. Trek with people who are extremely positive and who can push the team as a whole!
3. Do it at least once in your lifetime!

[Cheers to Chandrashekar, Abhishek, Sandeep, Sushanth, Amit, Joseph, Mathew, Anurag, Jitendra, Gyanesh, Sam and BMC for making the trek super awesome. Photo Credits: Chandrashekar & Amit.]

The Wolf of Wall Street: Movie Review

As I told in my first movie review last year, I normally refrain from writing review of any movie that I watch. I clearly believe, movies are made for entertainment and not for -entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. And this movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese, had everything in it, that would constantly hurt my belief!

In this age of twitter, where people put their comments/feelings in 140 chars, do we require 140 page report to narrate a incident?- There was really no plot, no story, no action, no beauty, no breath-taking visuals- basically anyone could put the screenplay in less than an hour. But this movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill & Margot Robbie, goes on and on and on- for 3 full hours leaving in you the disgust sorrow feeling of brutal killing of your precious time!

Glorification of smuggling, mockery of security, excessive "smoking-up" of drugs, constant unnecessary "making-out" sequences- list of my complaints will never end! Positives to look for is initial 10 mins of Jordan Belfort(played by Leonardo) setting up his company and his marvellous speeches when the situation calls for!

As it is based on true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government, it will be wrong from my part if I complain about the story. But I take liberty in criticising director's "extraordinary" story-telling skills- in portraying, maybe, one of Leonardo's best performances.   

If it would have not been for Leonardo, I would have gone with 0 out of 5! My review- this movie has dared to pollute cinema as a medium. This movie clearly inclines towards cheap B-grade movies. I term it as utter disaster. Unfortunate hole in your pocket. It's indeed a wolf! I go with 0.5 out of 5. Don't waste your time, take a walk in the garden instead!

Pot of Purple Flowers...

Man is structured with complex thoughts. More you simplify, more you make your life easy. I took out a leaf from my heart and the complete house(mind) was filled with joy. I saw the flower smile, the aircraft appear as an angel and the mirror transform to a pair of beautiful eyes. Drawing up a constellation, star gazing and looking at half-moon earrings- we live our life for these small moments of happiness, right?

Rays of mid day Sun sneaking in,
My room had lit up...

With the pot of purple flowers,
With the memories of your smile,
With the tears on moments we laughed,
With the blessings of Gods you gifted...

My heart took a deep long breath,
Ripples of my reflection in your eyes...
I could see you fly with the white angel,
And you smile in my Soul, my Soul...

Trip to Lepakshi: Place where Jatayu fought Ravan

After living through serious back aches and period of illness, caused mainly due to my massive two week north India trip, I was back to what I insanely love doing, travelling! And what a way to start, the experience just couldn't get better. Here is my travelogue- visit to beautiful Lepakshi.

“Ley Pakshi” translates to “Rise bird” and is believed to be uttered by Lord Rama to the bird Jatayu, who had fought Ravan in order to release Seetha, in the process incurring life threatening injuries, losing his wings, counting his final moments at this very particular place and waiting for Lord to arrive. Jatayu was cremated here and Lord Ram established a “Shiva linga” on top of it, one among atleast 4 of Shiva linga’s I saw here(I recall- some of them are established by Hanuman, Sage Agastya and Constructor Virupanna). This place has a massive footstep of Seetha (Locals believe that Seetha was 25 feet tall) on a rock and is filled with water all-round the year!

Lepakshi is located at a distance of 120kms from Bangalore and driving becomes pleasure in this AH 47 once you cross new Bangalore Airport at Devanhalli. We started at 8am and stopped for breakfast at “Kamath Upachar”, 4 kms away from Chikballapur, at 9.45am. Route was pretty simple after that- cross Bagepalli, enter AP (it is till AP!), you’ll see a signboard to Lepakshi soon after Konikonda, and then, 15kms of drive in a state highway (that goes to Hindupur, which houses thousands of weavers and you get silk sari’s for half price!) to the destination.

The Veerabadhra Temple is built on a rocky hill called Kurmasailam and today is spread over 2 acres. India’s biggest monolithic “Nandi” is the prime attraction (2nd biggest is in Tanjore and 4th is in Basavangudi of Bengaluru). The temple has over 4000 designs, many sculptural illusions and 80 pillars, out of which one is the mysterious hanging pillar that actually balances the complete stone structure. Hire a guide and you’ll enjoy the architecture and no doubt, you will end up praising our 8 feet tall (again a local belief!) ancestors! You get a feeling of entering a cave and the calm and cool weather inside is very enjoyable.

Built in 1538, rooftop of which is painted with herbal colors- stories depicting Shiva’s marriage, Ganesh and Ravan’s “Athmalinga” encounter, pictures of nobles of Virupanna who built this temple is mesmerizing. There is incomplete portion of a “mantapam” dedicated to Shiva’s marriage to

Parvathi in Kailasa. Virupanna, constructor of this temple, was a cashier of this province ruled by Achyutaraya, brother of great Krishnadevaraya. Due to unstable government and dirty politics, Virupanna removed his eyes off before the King would order to do so, and our guide claimed/showed that there were blood stains in the wall (I still don’t digest this!).

“Mantapam” remained unfinished as great Vijayanagar empire fell off to Bahamani rulers, who also damaged some idols. The “Halagannada” (mother of modern Kannada) inscriptions are also notable. Here, every pillar tells a story, every idol is artistic, the way the stones are carved out is just astonishing, beautiful paintings are breath-taking (Painting of Veerabhadra on the ceiling before the main sanctum sanctorum is the largest in India of any single figure), architecture at it’s best, peace and serene, less

than 2 hours to tour entire place, beautiful folk tales those are associated, spiritual bells ringing in the heart, indeed, what a place to be!

Every truth becomes justice,
Before it’s not too late…
We turned them into morals,
Immortalized in our sculptures… 

Today, I am staring at them,
Waiting for a story to unfold…
Staring at the antic glory untold…
Before it’s not too late…

[Photo Credit: Sharath P R, Thanks to Chikkappa [Ramesh], Chikkamma[Ratna], Doddappa[Karunakar] and Munna[Sharath] for being the part of this trip!]