August 2009, The Coorg Chapter
Place & Year: Coorg, Karnataka ,India / 2009
Prologue | Coorg was always been a place which I have heard a lot about. There was no concrete place in mind for almost until a day before me and my bro (Shrivathsa) left to Bangalore. It was a Saturday morning and we had reserved a ticket in Shadapti. This was the first time I am travelling in Shadapti train, may sound different for a person who has his Infosys training in Mysore. My friends Sujin and Janani always told that I will like this train because they provide a lot of eatables. We woke up early at around 4 and had a quick bath. Mom and dad also woke up with us just to assist. The cab that we booked the previous day arrived on time at 4:45. Thought we knew the roads will be all ours, we booked the cab a bit early just to make sure.
We reached Central station on time and boarded the train. I was actually surprised to see the interior of the compartment. Certainly did not resemble any Indian ambience. The whole train was air conditioned and good we got the middle seats of the compartment fitted with a table. The curtains were clean and surprisingly the toilets clean. As expected, they started serving lot of food. It started with a tea, followed by breakfast and then cooldrinks and a few more. All this in just 5 hours and we were in Bangalore. Kanda is the friend with whom we have planned for the trip, he stays in Bangalore. We were supposed to get down in Bangalore cantonment and not Bangalore junction. But the train rarely stops in this station unless there is a signal placed to stop it. We were luck and the train stopped. Kanda came in 5 minutes and dropped us home one by one in his bike.
Near the falls, Coorg (Kanda, Sriram, Srivathsa)
A Few Movies | My bro and me were pretty tired and took a small nap that extends to about 2 Hrs. By then Kanda had prepared lunch. We had lunch and decided to watch a movie. No tin a mood for cinematic excellence, we picked a sci-fi, ‘Knowing’. Movie is something that most of our friends enjoy and don’t say a ‘No’ to it whatever be it the time. As the movie proceeded, it sure grasped out senses particularly in a few accident scenes. It was around 4, we paused the movie for we had booked the tickets for ‘Public Enemies’ movie at 6. This may look weird for many people, watching movies one after the other, but a very natural stuff for the three of us. We always enjoyed Michael Mann’s movies and decided to watch this together month back. Kanda and Shriv went out for purchasing eatables for tomorrow and I again had a small nap. We got ready and again it’s Kanda’s turn to drop us one by one to the movie theater.
It was a mall and just before the theater entrance was ‘Gangothri’, a famous place that serves sweets and chaat. I was not able to resist and we grabbed some chaat, finished it in no time and entered the hall. The movie was worth the money, though may not win the Oscars this year, it is sure to be nominated in various categories. We returned home and after dinner, continued the movie ‘knowing’ that we left half way in the afternoon. Kanda double checked with the cab driver to come on time the next morning and we hit the bed.
On the Road to Coorg | Woke up early again and packed our bags. We almost took everything we got from Chennai and filled the car dickey. The driver was a teenager, evident from his looks. Shriv and I don’t speak Kannda, Kanda being in Bangalore for quite a while can manage with the language. This driver did not know Tamil. I plugged a Rahman cd into the player. An obvious choice to refresh the ambience. It was almost a 4 Hrs drive. We stopped at a place for breakfast where they served food in conventional way with waiter wearing dothi’s. The food was not just good but was great. If you plan to go to Coorg, do not miss this place. After filling our tummy, we set out for a long drive with lot of scenic beauties crossing. We also stopped at times to click a few snaps here and there.
Irupu Falls, Coorg
After about three hours the car went over hills and it was here when a government bus brushed our car door. It was drizzling and the weather was cool. After a small fight, our young driver could not bargain for more than 500 and we got back on our way. Finally we reached Coorg at around 1 and wandered around for a hotel. The nice ones were expensive and the others were not good. Then we came to a hotel that provided quality rooms at decent price. We checked in and rested for a while. Slowely I went to the window and opened it. It was here I realized that we were in a small valley. The mist covered the hills now and then and vanished in a few seconds. It was brilliant. We always did expect much on food. There was a restaurant that this hotel had where we had lunch. Though the service was delayed and not very appreciable, the food was good. After picking a Boucher having the list of places around from the hotel, we set out to roam around.
Irupu Falls | Our first destination was Irupu falls. It was still drizzling, pouring at times. The weather was pleasant than ever. I loved Coorg at first site, may be because the weather was apt, drizzle and with the closest people of my life. We parked the car and walked down a slippery, steep and curved path. On both sides were thick green foliage, probably coffee plantations. I picked my SLR to click a few so called ‘Photographic’ scenes. Since it was drizzling, I did not risk experimenting there. After a kilometer of walk, we could hear the sound of water gushing, so refreshing. As we turned over a curve, the waterfall showed itself, huge amount of water swelling down the mountain. It was the conjuncture of two or more water bodies. Trees covered almost every direction. A bridge was available to watch the falls. We also walked close to it through a narrow pathway and had a close look.
A view from Raja's Seat, Coorg
Omkareshwarar Temple | Rain slowly intensified and we got back to the car on time. We then reached Omkareshwara Temple. By now the rain settled. This place was very serene and beautiful. There was a huge pond which had a deity in middle. One has to walk up a few steps to reach the core. It was Lord Shiva decorated right then, a magnificent site. The architecture was so fine and delicate. We came around the temple spending some time and returned to the car.
We had a hot tea for refreshment. Waited for the rain to stop which again started pouring. Our next destination was a fort which was almost a mystery. We spent about 15 minutes just around the fort finding where it is. Finally we reached a place that looked like an entrance. Shriv had a digital cam, Kanda a camcorder and me with an SLR started to shoot almost everything. The place was almost deserted with only a couple of them trying to explore the place. As we walked around, the fort revealed a lot of great structures with almost everything covered with algae. After the rains, the algae gave a touch to the fort’s beauty.
Raja’s Seat | Then it was a near by place called ‘The Raja’s Seat’, named so because the king used to sit there and view the whole place. At least that’s what the sources said. Decorated with a few croutons, this place was least expected to turn into such a beautiful view. It was the edge of a mountain which delivered a full view of Coorg. A never to be missed place. We clicked a lot of snaps here. On our way back to the hotel we picked groundnuts and rested for a while. Had dinner in the hotel itself and went to sleep.
On the way... to Talacauvery
Thala Cauvery | The plan was to wake up late and go to few places. I woke up pretty early as compared to Shriv and went to a near by shop to pick some things. The mist was covering almost every place. Visibility was less than 200 mts. During breakfast, we called Kutti, a friend of ours who was suppose to join us for the trip but dropped due to various reasons. Then we started to ‘Thala Cauvery’, the origin of river Cauvery that server as water source for most of the south Indian states.
Before we left from Chennai, my dad was specific about us going to this place. I was not very interested. The rain has not stopped yet, it continued to drizzle and sometime pour heavily. After crossing a lot of villages and farm grounds, we slowly started to climb a mountain. The mist was covering the far peaks. After 2 hours of travel we reached a place that showed like a huge entrance to a temple. The whole place was like completely covered with mist. We stepped out of the car and we could only see whiteness around. As we walked towards the entrance the mist slowly cleared revealing magnificent temple in the middle of the mountain. This was almost as one would describe a heaven. In a few seconds the mist again covered up. From then on the mist revealed the magnificence around for a few seconds and then covered up the place again.
Talacauvery temple entrance
Then we came to the place where the legendary river of Cauvery was born after walking a few steps. It was not more than square feet in size. There was a small deity in front of it. A sage was sitting beside it chanting Manthras. Common people are not allowed to touch the water. You can get a bottle and get it filled from the Sage. We filled up ours and walked to the other deities. The visibility sill remained a few feet with the mist clearing occasionally. It was still drizzling. I could not believe the amount of spiritual ambience that was present. This was something that I never expected. We prayed and walked to the stair that is built towards the right corner of the temple and a steep one. Very few people notice it and try to have a look and we did. As we walked up the slope, the beauty of the surrounding mountains showed out with the mist clearing now and then. The temple from a higher elevation looked splendid. We captured most of it in pictures.
The talacauvery temple full view
As we reached the top, most of them would be disappointed with what it is, a maximum of half a km radius space of land and nothing more. But it was a treat of thought and feel for all three of us. The wind was chill and the mist crossed us all the time. Green plantations and patches all around with a windmills placed on distant mountains. It was like reading a poem. Do not miss this place when you plan for ‘Thala Cauvery’. As we came out of the temple, we had Masal Vada and tea that was almost the essential thing in that weather.
Buddhist Monastery
Way Back Home | We returned to the same hotel where we stayed for lunch and started back to Bangalore. We had plans to visit a Buddhist monastery on the way. Not very sure of the route, we used the help of various people on the way and made our way to the monastery. This is the first time I’ve been to a monastery, very attractive and colorful. Towards the entrance, we could see a lot of monks whom I presume stay there and are there for some training and would return as priests. The main temple has three big statues colored in gold. The floor was so clean that the idols reflection was so clear. There was pin drop silence inside. We did not spend much time here since we were running out of it. From here we hit the roads straight back to Bangalore and it was almost 12 after we had dinner. Inspite of the tiresome journey, we loaded all the photographs and videos and had a look at it only to sleep like logs. Me and my bro spent the next day at home having good time with Kanda and took a train back to Chennai that night.