No more leech, back to Marina beach

Thanks a ton to all those tour operators who quoted Rs. 4500 for our planned trip to Shimoga – we would not have had the maximum enjoyment at Chikmagalur without your support!

To carry on the fun the team had during the first ever GT Jaunt – the 2010 edition to Kodagu district in Karnataka, we zeroed in on Chikmagalur district for the 2011 edition. A coordination committee was quickly formed with Ajay, Siva, Kaushik, Mansoor and yours truly as the initial members. 36 people signed up (50% of the Tax population). Having planned more than 3 months in advance, we got the advantage of booking tickets in bulk using internet (all 36 had adjacent berths and seats all along). The plan was to board Kaveri Express on Aug. 12 Friday, get down at Bangalore on Aug. 13 morning, switch platforms to board Jan Shatabdi Express and get down at Birur Jn. The repeat will be done from Birur on Aug. 15.

A detailed study through internet revealed that there is a central agency that helps in fetching you accommodation and logistics at Chikmagalur area. We preferred a home stay and ‘Mugila Mane’ at Attigundi proved to be the best among the lot. The rate quoted was Rs. 2600 per head.

The ‘Coorg’ effect was very much visible – having done an over kill of advertising after the trip, we were able to fetch 14 more for the 2011 edition. As the days were nearing, moneys were collected and preparations became intense. A skit committee was formed and got a list of tasks assigned, an orientation meeting of the participants was organized to share trip details, dos and don’ts, weather and things to pack. The motto was finalized as ‘the Western Ghats are waiting for us’

Finally, it was all set for the Friday– we had a quick dinner at the ‘Bay’, took a cab to Taramani station. It was unfortunate that the ATVM was not working, we made Krishna stand in the looonnnng queue while I was trying some tricks to print tickets from the machine – it worked after a few attempts! Ajay remembered leaving his rain jacket in the cab itself, Siva offered to wait until he went back to the office to fetch it. A gang of 36, by the very sight of it, was itself massive. I knew I had a dicey, delicate and massive job in front of me in terms of crowd control :)

The fun started as soon as Kaveri started moving westward. High whistles, hyper dance movements and hilarious comments filled the chilled air blowing in due to the overcast weather on that Friday night. As the enthusiasm levels got optimized and everyone was trying to settle to get a sleep for an hour or two, we had a rendezvous with two gentlemen in their official robes – a vigilance officer from the Enforcement Department and an accompanying PC. As we had four people dropping out and four replacements for them – we had to shell out a fine of Rs. 1840 enroute. It could not have been avoided, and quite frankly, I was expecting it as the weekend was an extended one.

An RPM wappie did the honours for us dropping at Bangalore well ahead of time at 4 AM. We were received in Road 9 (pf 5) at SBC. Kaveri had an S15 instead of a regular GS to accommodate weekend rush. The early morning chill cut through our nerves and it was really a nice experience to begin with – the weather may even be worse as we climb the mighty Deccan Plateau further North West. An offlink WDM-3A #17795 KJM pushed the rake of Hubli Jan Shatabdi Exp into pf 8. I was drooling at a WDP-4B (40053) that was spooling up slowly to negotiate pf 9 and was hoping it would be the power for us, unfortunately, it didn’t happen.

The starter was pulled off sharp at 6 AM, the deemer let out a standard long-short whistle to chug along. By this time, the gang was wide awake and the fun started even before we crossed YPR. We were allotted the center 36 seats, 18 on either side with a dining table in the center – we made sure that entire compartment looked at us in awe. Siva’s six speaker mobile (I think he thinks it has a six pack abdomen!) was blaring out tamil songs in what is considered as a core-Kannada area! Ofcourse, the genre of songs played should have made everyone in the coach feel connected :)

I bought a pack of masala dosai and vadai to munch as the JS was cutting through laterite soil filled fields that sported various varieties of vegetation, facing the cool breeze that peeped in through the half-open windows. I was extremely lazy to shoot pictures enroute, but was motivated to move and occupy the door as we were asked to take the loop at Banasandra – I knew the legendary Malnad Express would cross us here. Bearing train number 6201/6202 (erstwhile 201 Dn / 202 Up) he is the first Express train of Mysore Division. “It would be an expensive miss if I don't take a picture atleast”, I told myself. As I approached the door, I was able to hear the sweet humming of an Alco revving up! I chucked myself out, got down and saw a KJM Alco clearing Home with our starters offering a frame for my picture as sentry guards. It turned out to be another offlink – WDG-3A #13035 long hood forward. We slowly moved out towards Arsikere Jn. The touch-down at Birur Jn was at 925, 10m LA. Track was part-doubled between ASK and DRU.

Sachin, the contractor, gave me a call to inform that a bus is waiting outside for us to board and that he will join us in a few minutes. We never would have felt even in our wildest dreams that this Siddharameshwara Travels bus would ruin a portion of our enjoyment, at that point of time! The Western Ghats was really waiting for us to unfold its arms, mystic mountains, milk-white clouds and mesmerizing view points. 5km from Birur towards Lingadahalli was the start point for pleasant views of the ghats. The initial view itself was a line of hills with their upper torso covered by mist. Somehow, the mist managed to form a straight-line at its lowest point.

A left turn at Lingadahalli to join the main road from Tarikere to Chikmagalur and a smooth sailing for a few kilometres took us to the foothills – it was a constant first gear drive through single road and numerous hair-pin bends thence. A good majority of the crowd went to meet their pet pals in their dream worlds – it would have been very difficult to anyone who keeps hearing the constant buzz sound from the bus, with cool monsoon breeze as an accompaniment while climbing steep uphill. We paused just a few km shy of Chikmagalur at Kaimara and took the road to Kemmannugundi from there (right turn). As if it was a name effect, everyone got up and took out their cameras at Kaimara! The road past Kaimara check post has been declared plastic free. Our homestay at Attigundi was around 10 km from that point. We managed to reach Attigundi by noon.

Day 1 – BB Giri:

Weather was around a pleasant 15 deg C. Sachin had prepared a sumptuous breakfast for all of us – hot and straight from the stoves. Balaji, Jagan, Ajay and I occupied a treetop house, Kishore, KP and Yogesh occupied the base portion of that house. The rest of the gang pulled into dormitories (a 22-bed dorm for boys and a 10-bed dorm for the ladies’ gang). While some were busy in Avani Avittam festival formalities, it was a hunger for photo-shoot sessions that was ruling the air very clearly. The gang got ready after a filling lunch to capture the BB Giri view point. The best advantage of booking a home stay in Attigundi was that we did not face a hardship of climbing up and getting down every day ex-Chikmagalur.

Nothing could stop us from enjoying – even the mist that reduced the visibility to a short 50m and brought down the mercury levels to 12 deg C. “What if the view point is covered by mist? We will enjoy the mist itself!”, was the energy levels observed. A photo-shoot session was followed by ‘mass-tea-drinking-and-letting-out-steam-out-of-mouth’ session. It became very obvious that the team was fully pepped up and there is no further attractions at that point of time. We all decided to explore the area, the surrounding environs offered lush green rolling meadows – by the time we finished our first round of beat, we ended up having dew drops on our hair follicles in the head.

A gang of six ventured further to trek along the muddy road to see Manikyadhara Falls, while the others settled to take a nap in the bus.

Late evening was reserved for a camp fire – one cannot miss a camp fire that is prepared when there is a soft drizzle in the air with all your gangsters fully prepared to make it eventful. Mansoor and Kaushik have prepared a list of awkward questions to be answered by anyone who gets caught during the ‘pass-the-ball’ game. People were given a choice of answering an awkward question or performing an awkward activity – a choice between devil and the deep sea! Sachin spiced it up by serving hot Onion pakodas and Chilli bajjis with tomato ketchup as side dish.

Day 2 – Mulliyanagari Peak:

Lofty mountain peaks with mist filled clouds as crowns, moss green rolling meadows looking like arms and fingers of those mountains, lonely trees providing a shade for the coffee plantations in them, chill breeze followed by slight sun light announcing that it is dawn – this is how I wanted my day to begin. However, Shanthosh played a spoil sport by knocking the door to check whether Balaji would join him for a walk! My discussions with people in heaven (we were really near heaven, given the altitude) got interrupted and I had to wake up – Jagan, Ajay and I cursed that their intended morning walk be curtailed short :)

After having an interesting Malnad style breakfast, we hopped on to the bus to proceed towards Mulliyanagari peak. Did I mention why Malnad got its name? here it is – Malnad means ‘maley + naadu’ – Place of rains!

Our bus was cruising down hill towards Kaimara, we took a turn before the town to climb again, another hill, towards Mulliyanagari peak. While negotiating a curve and allowing a van to pass at the same time, our bus got stuck in the gully that runs along the road on the hill-side (not on the periphery). As it was informed that it will take some more time for the bus to get ready, we decided to walk along the road for sometime and catch the bus as it comes – it did not happen. After frantic efforts in taking lifts from passers-by and taking an auto, the gang managed to reach Sitalayannagiri (3 km short of MG). I then discovered that the fraudster auto-driver had indeed dropped a gang in MG, got the money from my gang in SG and escaped! I discovered that the other gang (Padmini, Hema and Sagar) have got lost and that there is another peak 3 km away after climbing the SG peak by foot! After a frantic search, we were able to establish contact with the other gang and requested them to reach the bus safe. They ended up reaching the bus as an exhausted lot.

One drawback that we experienced in MG and SG is that there were no tea shops, stalls to sell snacks or rest rooms. Unplanned visits like what we did could prove laborious than enjoying the natural scenery. Incidentally, MG and SG are the highest peaks in Karnataka.

We managed to reach Attigundi by 4 PM. People got back their lives (!) and energy after a filling lunch. The untiring gang preferred to explore the Honnammadevi Falls in the main road to Kaimara to spend the evening. It proved to be a worthwhile thing deciding that! We all enjoyed like anything!! This place offers you to stand on the top of the falls holding a rail while your feet is in water – amazing thought!

Campfire was organized at 7 PM. It was the day to display our talents by organizing skits. There were two parody scenes enacted (one from Mannan starring Isaac, Ranga, Sowmya and yours truly, another from B.E.Baskaran starring Shan, Ranga and yours truly). This was followed by Praveen and Ranga’s cinema shooting exercise. After the crowd was ‘rofl’, Ranga chose to roll out his skit on a dance class. It was his day! As expected, Sachin served us hot onion pakodas and chilli bajjis to munch.

Soft chapathis and rice filled our tummies for the dinner and decided to call it a day then.

Day 3 – Dab-Dabbe Falls and the Return:

Day 3 was bright and sunny – the mercury rose to an almost 26 deg C, the sun shined in all its form like how India came out to shine on the very same day 64 years ago!

Late evening guide announcements the previous day made sure that everyone is up and ready by 730. Breakfast was a typical Malnad style Khaarabath and Kesaribath. We took the bus again and travelled a couple of km to reach a private coffee plantation. They own a private waterfall – named Dab-Dabbe falls. We had trek down a km or two to reach the main falls area. The path turned out to be extremely slippery and it was an act of bravery coupled with some simple circus tricks at the last leg of the trek. The waterfall was pretty high – it proved to be the highlight of the trip with morning sun basking on our face with cool waterfall hitting you on the shoulders! I did a cool-up (can’t technically use warm-up!) by sitting the flowing stream for some time and then decided to get to the falls area. I stood right beneath the main falls for more than 20 minutes – it was sheer bliss! Like someone playing Mridangam, Ghatam and Drums on your back all at once.

The climb back home was extremely annoying with a lot of leeches sucking blood from your toes – I convinced myself that I donated blood and offered food for the hungry and rushed up (rathadhanam and annadhanam!). After a round of lunch, we packed our belongings and boarded the bus to proceed to Kemmannugundi (enroute Birur). It proved to be an excellent journey altogether – the bus traversed through the jungles of Bhadra Reserved Forest and found its way through rolling mountains and cheeky little cliffs revealing a huge sight of smaller towns in front of us through its V shaped valleys. All that I had read in my high-school Geography was practically available in front of me!

Krishna Rajendra Hill Station is the official name of the attractions at KG. It comprises a Raj Bhavan (used to be the Summer capital), staff quarters, tourist bunglows, a horticulture garden and the famous ‘z’ point (pronounced as zedpoint). The road inside the hills was closed on account of a maintenance activity – this meant a 3 km arduous trek to z point. Due to paucity of time, we had to be contended with a look at the garden, a peep into the valley area and posing for a group photograph ritual. We started at 1545 and managed to reach Birur Jn at 1700. It was an all-down-hill journey all the way upto Lingadahalli and we took the route we took from Birur, to Birur. Evening snack was a typical Maddur Thattu Idly and Mysore Bonda with some chips packets to accompany them.

Rakesh Joshi (one of my rail friends in SBC) joined me here – he came to RRB by Siddhaganga that afternoon. As we were discussing about the mad UR rush that was in the platforms (“we will be chutney if this gets into our coaches of JS”), he commented that it would be best if Chalukya was let first ahead of JS at Chikjajur – and believe me, just as he closed his mouth uttering it, there was a PA that Chalukya is expected in a few minutes! JS finally arrived at 1745 (20m LA) behind WDM-3A #14084 KJM. This proved to be a super-smoker. The CLP was accelerating lazily upto ASK. I guess the LP change-over at ASK did the magic, the incumbent demonstrated his aggression right at LSS itself. He was hitting the horns as if he was driving a Scorpio car in a highway. To our utter surprise, we were 5m BT at TK (sch arr 2000 actual was 1955), and this did not stop here – YPR outskirts were reached 20m BT. We were made to halt at Chikbanavar and later at YPR (extending a scheduled stop) to allow Channamma out – we crossed the Kittur Rani Channamma (Exp) at MWM. SBC arr pf 9 at 2130, 5m LA. Rakesh and I had sumptuous food at Comesum atop pf 1 and then pushed ourselves to pf 5. In Kaveri arrived at 2350 (20m LA) behind GE EMD loco 20008 WDP-4 and handed over the proceedings to a regular Royapuram Rocker WAP-4 #22808. He started at odd hours ten minutes and took just four hours to reach KPD. I had a nice sleep (courtesy: 17 LB EW FF BE) upto AVD – waited in mainline from 615 to 645 to allow 20 Mail to take the stop in loop and proceed. MAS arr 740, 5m LA.

I don’t want to conclude this post with a typical “so ladies and gentlemen, the moral of the story is” stuff. Am eagerly waiting for the GT Jaunt 2012 edition and that sums it up all.

-Ara.