Silence in the Valleys
Before starting the journey to Mercara(the capital of Coorg aka The Scotland of India), we(myself,Dasan and Vinod-my cousin) had a master plan
-Dont plan anything, just Execute!!!!
Started at around 6.45 , we boarded a bus to Mysore at 7.45.We had heavy Idli(believe me, it was heavy!!) on the way.
Our plan was to get down at Srirangapattana and go to Mercara from there without touching Mysore.But, on confirmation from the Conductor we
came to know that all the buses go via Mysore only.
We got into a ordinary bus from Mysore at 12.45-1.We made sure that there are buses to Bangalore all the 24 hours.The driver of the bus was a very good candidate for participating in election-He was waving his hand to almost all who come against us.The route was free from traffic, though the road was un even.We were just behind the driver to give our valuable guidance if he requires any!!.Luckily for him, he did nt need it.On the way we saw Hunsur town and Kushal Nagar.We passed through the rich estates with coffee,pepper, cardamom and other spices.
Our expetation of a cool hill station was bit shattered by seeing a sleepy , bit old fashioned, less crowded town in Mercara.
We were relieved to see that there are no one to pull us into the lodges.We reserved our tickets back to Bangalore for next day 9.00 pm.
From "Popular Guru prasad,Udupi" hotel, we had our lunch.An old mallu shop keeper guided us to a lodge- "Hill Town".Bit costly, but neat.
We got fresh and went out.Walking in the light rain, we saw Madikkeri fort and museum.From a distance we could see Raja's seat-a place from where the Rajas used to see the sunsets.We went there.There was a small park with good view of the ranges.To richen the experience, there was a live concert of kannada songs about the Kings, I assume.Eventhough not able to follow the lyrics, a song starting with "Sollu sollu " is still hymning in the ears.
Now what to do....?It was only 6.00 and was getting dark.We headed back to the lodge.We enquired the watch man about the places to watch.He gave us a pamphlet about Kodagu-this was available in almost all the shops around there.The receptionist (dont worry-it was a man!!) gave us some info about the places and how to go there.
Now for the first time we had some plan.Start early morning -get a bus to Thalakkaveri(From where Kauveri originates),come back to Mercara , hire a taxi and see the places which we thought will be good(Nissargaddama, Dubare forest, Golden Temple of Tibeten monastry,Harangi Dam) .The whole will cost us 750-800 rs.
Our dinner was also worth mentioning filled with some anxiuos moments by a waiter who was literally splashing the plates and spoons.Our next table was occupied by some poor foriegners who got fried rice when they ordered something else. We expected something to happen.But he was lucky enough to get away with it. One more thing , he looked like our RJK..!!!!
The next day morning by 6.30 am, we saw ourselves in a bus to Bagamandala-a holy place with the three rivers unite.It was also called Dakshina Kashi -famous for Shradda.It was a very good, old silent temple with mythological importance. We missed the bus to Thalakkavery while having the tea.
There were taxis -but asking a good 100 Rs for up and down to Thalakkavery.After waiting for 1/2 hour we decided to go with the taxi(an omni van).Thalakkadu is the birth place of Kauvery.We collected some water from there.A steap set of steps were going up the hill.They were 360 in numbers.It was written that from the top , we could see Arabian Sea on a clear day.But the day was not clear .If the valley was clear one moment, it was covered with fog, the next.But watching from there was a very thrilling experience.Wind was blowing in brisk pace.A mallu gang was marking their achievement by doing No. 1!!!.
An old couple joined us in the van while returning.After reaching Bagamandala , we enquired the driver about the places we were planning to go.He was ready to come for 800 including Abbey falls which we were planning to drop because of shortage of time.We had our breakfast/lunch from there .The food was very good.
We returned to Mercara.From mercara, Abbey falls is 8 kms.It was in a private estate.Infact Abbey is enough(Abbey means waterfalls in kodagu).Eventhough it was a small falls, it was worth to watch. Dasan was wondering "If it was in our area, the owner of the estate would 've charged entry fee".
The slippery pathway to the falls was laid by empty packets of Lays....Charging ourselves with good sugar cane juice, we headed to our next destination-Dubare forest. Initially we could see some traces of good forest, with boardings warning about elephants.But it got thinner and we could see cultivated lands with human population.
Dubare was a dissappointment.The lack of water in the river, the boating service which will take to the next shore (where there is an elephant camp) and come back...did nt catch our curiosity.So we planned to return.
Next was a good feast to the eyes-Harangi dam.Even though the dam shutter was closed, the other side gave a good view.We walked above the dam to the next end and came back.Myself, being the official photographer of the team("Mookkilla rajyathu...."), had some good moments.
We left the decision to our cab mates about having lunch or watch the next place and then go for the food.The driver suggested that, since our next destination was near by it is better to watch it and then look for food.A 15 minutes drive from there took us to Nissargaddama.
It was a small island with thick bamboo forest .There was a hanging bridge to cross the river.We entered a magical world of bamboo.Wherever you look, you could see only bamboo.There were some artists trying to copy the nature to the papers.Without disturbing them and not getting distracted(The artists were girls, of course....!!) we started exploring the ways.They were twisted mud roads every where .We took one parallel to the fence .When we found a loop hole in the fire wall of the fence, we got through it to the river bed.But to some annoyance, the battery of the camera was over.We followed the way.We could see no end to it.If I say we were not tensed when we heard some elephant's sound from the forest on the other side of the river, I'll be lieng.We could feel some tension with no human being in the vicinity and thick bamboos blocking the view all over.Even the bamboos , made fun of us by making sounds..We decided to come back instead of walking around the island(it was 65 acres!!).After 10 minutes, we found ourselves among others.There was a small deer park and elephant ride inside this man-made island.
Now that, we had some time left and that we were hungry we went to Kushal Nagar.But the food was not Kushal.
We were on to our last destination-Byle Kuppe: The largest tibetan settlement in India.It was getting dark when we reached there.When Dasan was focussing the gate through the camera, we could see some monks coming back and peeping it to see the preview.The small kids wearing the maroon robes playing around, were really worth to see.We could see one carrying a pet rat also!!!.Once we entered the temple, we were speechless .The big hall filled with silence .Very few were sittinng in the front.And in the end of the hall there were three big statues .The center one was of Budda(40 feet high).The light , the silence, the wast ness, the nothing ness, What to say?the emotions cannot be translated to words.Photographer was confused-What to take, what not to leave,..............
We could see some young generation monks chewing gums.But when an elderly monk was walking, they all turned into silence.
More can be found about Byle Kuppe in this link http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/06/12/stories/2004061200560400.htm
Last, but not the least to mention-The good company of the driver Teja and his assistent Reghu.
We returned to Mercara,vacated the lodge, had our dinner from the same hotel from where we had lunch.. got into the bus by 9.00 pm
Now it was time to return.Back to .net, ejb, tax.....Back to the traffic,pollution,.........
posted by Madhu Kartha at
6:25 PM
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