Trip to Shivasamudram......Nature's beauty & pride

A long weekend for Sankranthi seemed a plausible enough reason to run away to blore n run we did on 11th Jan, ’08. Away from our pending jobs n bosses n colleagues……..Boarded the Kacheguda Express from Hyderabad, landed in Blore Cantonment the next day early morning. We were welcomed to the rare sight of a very misty Yellahanka, oblivious to the fact that our throats were getting quite itchy, thanx to the chilling cold of the dawn. Saturday in the city was spent meeting up with old friends, treating our taste buds to yummyyyy cake fudge at Corner House (always a treat!!!!!!!) and trying yet another hand at bowling at Leela Palace, after of course waiting for almost 2 hours to get a free spot.

We sought for some adventure and this paved the way for a trip to shivasamudram waterfalls the next day. We decided to leave early morning but these are times when the Indian in us fails us. It was past 12.30pm when we finally left for our destination. There were total 8 of us, in 2 cars, Hyundai Verna & Alto. I may sound a li’l bitchy when I specifically mention the fact that I was a Verna passenger hehehe. Lemme first introduce the team…….jenny n myself from Hyderabad, Binoy from Chennai, and the rest non resident mallus in blore……..sujay, prakash, abey, robin n bets (Binoy’s sis, more popularly known as my best friend ;-)).

Now for li’l geography……Shivanasamudram (or Shivasamudram) is a small town in the Mandya District in southern Karnataka. For all those who are frequent blore travelers, I can make it simpler…….this is on the Blore-Mysore highway. In our excitement of trying to leave on time, we forgot the fact that all of us had had nothing to eat since the previous night dinner. And once on the highway, our tummies were rather quick to start expressing their hunger strike, growling and grunting. Unfortunately, there was not a restaurant in sight on the long stretch of road for more than an hour. We finally stopped at Kamat Restaurant, dwelling comfortably on the highway, and jam packed with tourists all the time. Queuing up has become a part of life, and so we were quite content to wait for yet another 10mins to get us a table. On the menu were North- & South- Karnataka thali. U get jowar rotis for North thali and puris for south thali. We opted for both. Lunch was ok, considering the fact we were starving. But once the tummies were contented, the eyes started their battle for a shutdown @ noon. All except jenny wanted to turn back and reach their beds. It was a lone battle that jenny fought against the others, but he ended up being the victorious. The others had no option but to give into his pressures and we again started on the long drive to the waterfalls.

A surprising discovery was the presence of rice fields on the way, reminding one of the lush greeneries of Kerala. It was such a beautiful sight and photography session of the same was not to be missed. 10kms prior to our destination, we stopped nearby a bridge. The reason: there was a huge hill behind the bridge and we thought it would make for a good photographic background. This indeed brought out the children in us as we all scampered for the middle of the road right when it got free of vehicles, positioned in such a way that the hill would be right behind us and click, photo taken. Then we would again run back to the roadside as the vehicles came charging down the road. The guys wanted to do it more differently, and they jus settled down on the road, in their classic meditation pose, and for a change, the oncoming gaadis waited for their photo session to get over. Somehow one got the feeling that these people were quite enjoying the madness of a group of eccentric youths.

It was back again to the car as our driver of the trip, Mr. Sujay (our guide too) took us to our next destination, Gaganchukki waterfalls. The Kaveri River splits here into two branches and each branch cascades down rocky cliffs. But alas, Kaveri river had decided to remain dry for the season and what a sight it was……there was not a drop of water to be seen. Jenny was jus on the way to become hanged by his friends. So much for his obstinacy to see the waterfalls. But so long as we had come here, we decided to make the maximum use of our cams and again click click and this time we had some of our ancestors for company.

We turned to our ever faithful guide, he drove for a further 10mins to Bharachukki waterfalls, and thank god, water was indeed flowing. Now the sight of this place really got our spirits soaring. We “jumped” down some 200+ steps to the foot of the falls. There awaited us the steep rocks, waiting to be climbed up on, scale the peaks and reach the apex. Now I know what Edmund Hillary would have felt on scaling the Mt. Everest, though this is jus an ant compared to the Everest. The climb was certainly exhilarating, slipping over wet rocks, grabbing onto your friends for dear life, and tagging along with them for the rest of the climb. Finally, when u reach the peak, u realize that all those slips n falls were worth it. U live life just once, u need to take such risks, so long as u manage to get out of it alive. But if that risk’s gonna be your last one, then u may as well don’t live to regret your decision. Betsy and Prakash remained sitting (they are the more mature among the lot) guarding our cams and mobiles. But for those of u who don’t mind risking your cam, pls do take one for your long climb. Days later, only these pics will remind you of the fun tremendous fun u had with your friends at the peak. It was now past 6pm and time for that long climb up 200 steps. It is always soooooo easy to go down something, but not to climb up L. It was especially difficult for me as I suddenly realized my itchy throat of yesterday getting heavier and more painful and my chest about to break up. Damn……next 2 days were gonna be in bed. The thought of a bed dragged me up those steps and noo words can express the joy I felt when I finally reached my car. I was still standing though panting badly.

We started our return trip and noticed we had traveled 140kms from Bangalore, more approximately from HSR Layout to the waterfalls and took us close to 4.5hrs. On our way back, we stopped at the Café Coffee Day on the highway itself, and treated my throat to a much wanted Hot Chocolate. We finally reached Bangalore at 11.30pm, all bushed out and just waiting for the bed. But not without getting some food in first. So it was with a very painful heave that we moved to Paramount Koramangala. It always amazes me to see that all the restaurants in Bangalore are crowded any time of the day. I pampered my throat to some hot soup and others had dosa-chicken curry, a very yummy combination they say. Should try it out some time. But not for the moment, as the sick worms were slowly making their way into my body. But what is sickness when the mind, as a whole, is warmed up from the beautiful scenery it has absorbed for the day. Our bloodshot eyes were further proof of not the strain of the day, but the quantum of fun we had had to tire ourselves out.