Mahimapura

There are really so many places around Bengaluru, one just needs the eyes to see! Our latest discovery was Mahimapura, off Tumkur road, before Dobbspet, on 2nd Dec, 2006 (actually it was a bit of googl’ing that pointed us to a very nice article about this place, by Srinidhi Raghavendra, who writes for DH; kudos to you man!).

We left home post breakfast, on Tumkur road. There was some traffic until Nelamangala, after which it was quite clear. About 45km from Bangalore, there is a huge sign pointing towards Mahimapura. We took a left there and after about a mile, we reached the tiny hamlet of Mahimapura. Instead of taking the flight of steps from the west, we parked our car on the southern side of the hillock, and started to trek. Its a small hillock, though a little steep on some sides, and took us not much time to reach the summit. One memorable thing about this place is the rocks, which display Mother Nature’s creativity at her best! No wonder, I hear that most of the kannada movie song sequences are shot here. Some samples … (of creativity – both nature’s and mine!) …

Muttatti

This trip was long pending, as we had planned to visit the Kaveri valley from a really long time. What started as a search of Igglur Dam (which I plan to discover some other time), led us finally to Muttatti. I must say, this *is* the closest dense forest one can find near Bangalore. At a distance little above 100 km (via Kanakapura), this makes for an excellent day trip, with all the required ingredients – forest, water, a good drive, and unlimited scenery!

The Kaveri valley is a very beautiful cradle, where mother nature sings a lullaby for eternity, her voice flowing with the waters, making all we children cuddle up in her lap.

Rangasthala, Muddenahalli, Bhoganandeeshwara

This was a very casual, unplanned trip to 3 totally unrelated places around Bangalore. We left home in a fully loaded Indica (5 ppl + lunch and water in the boot) by around 8:30 am. Zoomed on NH7 past Devanahalli and reached Chikkaballapur, which is about 60km from Bangalore. Asked for directions at the town center, and proceeded to meet Lord Ranganatha, peacefully asleep at his abode in ‘Rangasthala’.

TNS the great visits us!

17th October, 2006

Seetharam Gouribidanur (popularly known as TN Seetharam or TNS) has been the first and foremost of directors, who has attracted the urbanite kannadiga to the small screen, who, till then used to avoid watching kannada television. I am perhaps being critical about this, but, it is true.

His serials (Mayamruga, Manvantara, & Mukta) have dealt with issues which have very much been affecting the life of the common man a.k.a the ‘Great Indian Middle Class’. These serials have been able to appeal to the urban populace to look at different situations in life with a positive perspective. Personally, I feel TNS’s greatest success has been in portraying some of the most controversial issues of our times. By controverial, I do not point to any of the multi-million-rupee scams and scandals that have plagued our country, but it is about those smaller issues and mishappenings that go unnoticed due to lobbies, and media-coverups. It is actually these issues that affect our day-today lives more!

Beyond his enormous talent in direction, TNS is also an excellent actor, who has been the favourite star in his serials (by public opinion), portraying the role of a brilliant lawyer. Apart from his diligent way of dealing with hostile witnesses in the courtroom, I am a great fan of the style in which way he scolds his clients!

It was a pleasure to know that this great visionary of Karnataka’s small screen is a very close friend of one of our neighbours, Mr Chandrashekhar. We got the opportunity to meet TNS, that too at our place! We had a very lively conversation with this very down-to-earth person, including getting a clarification, that he does not scold his family members in real life in the same way as he does to the characters on small screen!

Some photos …

Manchanabele Dam

This trip was a picnic, that we had dreamt of having from a long time. We had welcome additions to our group – akka, and my sweet little nephew, Giri! The plan was to visit Dodda Aalada Mara first and then proceed to Manchanabele dam.

As usual, we left late, by 10am. Went to Malleshwaram, picked up akka and Giri and started on Magadi road. Magadi road?? you must be surprised, as the big banyan tree is located off Mysore road. Yes, of course, it was my idea … I, Columbus the great, wanted to explore the connecting road from Magadi road to Mysore road, via the big banyan tree. This venture costed us about 10+ kms, and about half an hour’s precious time. We reached dodda aalada mara by about 11:30. It is really nice to see a 400 year old banyan tree of that size. Giri was fascinated and it was nice to look at his curious and inquisitive eyes, as if he was seriously studying the branches of the banyan tree!

The only hope of food at this spot, the Mayura Yatri Nivas, alas, is no more. Apart from having bun-tea-aur-bubbly at the local shacks, you have no other choice!

We had plans of having lunch at Manchanabele, so we headed towards the reservoir, about 10+ km from the big banyan tree. Manchanabele is a very small dam, built at the confluence of the Arkavati and the Kumudvati rivers.

Chennarayanadurga

Somewhere on the net, I had read about the existence of ‘Nava Durgas’ (9 forts) around Bangalore. My quest for them has been on ever since. Chennarayanadurga is one of them. This fort located near Madhugiri in Tumkur district, was built by a local cheiftain in the 17th Century, and has been lesser known to even a veteran Bangalorean!

Hemagiri Betta, Kunigal Tq.

This was our first trek-to-be in 3 years since we came to Bangalore. It was during those hey days in Mysore, that we used to have extensive trekking programmes in the western ghats in Karnataka. Now, Bangalore had put us onto a life-on-fast-track, and we badly wanted to come out of that, hence this venture! Our first target, with the current setup, is to cover places of interest around Bangalore, which are lesser known to the junta. Read on to know more of one such place!

Our regular habit of googling led us to know of a place called Huliyurdurga in Kunigal taluk. Actually, we set off there. As usual, we left by around 08:45, and hit Tumkur road. Since it was not a Sunday, there was some heavy traffic near Peenya. After Nelamangala, we took left onto NH48, to reach Kunigal. NH48 is a 2-lane scenic highway that connects Bangalore-Hassan-Mangalore.

A day at the farm house

It was a really lazy weekend, and we had absolutely nothing to do. So mom and I decided to visit Kiran’s (my cousin) farm house near Bagalur. We left quite late, by around 09:30 am, and were on Hosur road in no time (it was a sunday). After crossing Attibele, we entered Tamil Nadu. We took the road to the left at Zuzuvadi which leads to Bagalur. A few kilometres from there and we were there at the farm by 11:00. Its a small farm, less than 2 acres, but we were totally carried away by the peace and tranquility of that place. My cousin has built an amazing farmhouse in the western style, complete with wooden floors and wall paneling. I recollected watching those amazing holiday homes on Discovery Travel & Living!

Nandi Hills

Its been a long time since I updated my blog … been kinda busy at work and the workout

27-May-06:
This trip was special for all of us, because we were to be accompanied by Akka, Anand and best of all, cute little Giri! We left home by around 07:00 and picked up akka and family at Malleswaram. We got breakfast packed from Ganesh Darshan (17th Cross, Margosa Rd), and took Bellary Road via Mekhri circle. Around 5 Km before Devanahalli, we spotted a deserted petrol bunk and decided to stop there to have breakfast. The weather was excellent with a cool breeze blowing across the plains. We enjoyed the sumptuous breakfast of idlis, vadas, and khara bath!

After Devanahalli, there is a road to the left that leads to Nandi hills. This should not be confused with the road to Doddaballapur (NH-207), which is a little before the road to Nandi hills.

The road to Nandi:

TG HaLLi and MAgaDi

07-May-06:
Fast asleep I was. "Wake up son!" … in my sleep I woke up and rubbed my eyes and … lo! there stood the Goddess of Travel! "Thou art not expected to waste weekends like this … wake up … lest I bestow upon thou my curse of …" I woke up in a snap before she could continue … ending my mid-day siesta! Then a retrospection unwound … another sunday is almost gone? … no way! Naheeeeeeeeen … yeh nahin ho sakta!

We got ready and set off … where to? lets see … Doddaballapur road, Bellary road, Mysore road, Tumkur road … all are pretty much seen, lets go towards Magadi road! I remembered reading some reports about TippagondanahaLLi, which had aroused some interest. We took the route through Malleswaram, West of Chord road, Toll gate, and hit Magadi road. A sunday afternoon paved the way through a relatively sleepy road through the city. Within no time we were in the country side, with a picturesque view of the hill ranges on the left and the small valleys on the right. We saw a huge lake near Maranahalli, which we thought will keep for another day. We moved on to the minor ghat section and pulled over on the side of the road for a view of the valley, which was by now quite 'gorge'ous! This happened to be the 32nd milestone (rather kilometer stone, but I will be referring to it as milestone itself!) from Bangalore. Not so deep down the ravine is seen the river Arkavati, which happens to be a tributary of the Kaveri, not much water though. A few more kilometers, we reached a narrow single-laned bridge, crossing the dry river bed, which had an entrance to the TippagondanahaLLi dam.

View of the Dam: