mindmusings

While reading travelogues online I came across this small waterfall called Mookanamane falls. This is also called Mookanamane Abbi falls. Two of the blogs I read mentioned that this can be done in a day and so we chose one fine Saturday and left Bengaluru around 5.30 in the morning. Hassana-Mangaluru highway was smooth and rains welcomed us past Hassana. We stopped at some scenic spots to click the pictures. Roads increasingly started becoming bad to worse after Hethur and we couldn't go beyond 30km/hr. We finally reached the place which Google Maps pointed but there was neither a sign board nor anybody to ask and we knew we'd to walk for a km or so inside. Not wanting to take the risk we went back few kms and asked a localite in a bus stand and the lady pointed us back to the same place we'd seen earlier. One of the many views from the road We went in till some distance and found a house where there were a couple of cars already parked. So we did the same and st

Elaneer falls is relatively unknown and one of the main reasons why I decided to visit it! We stayed at Thangaali homestay  and the person there said that there is a short route (different from the Kalasa-Samse route) available to the falls and he will even provide a Jeep with the guide. After thinking should we go on our own or take the jeep and guide, friends decided it would be better to take the guide as we don't know the terrain. Jeep which took us to falls Scenic tea plantation on the way After some half hour drive where the path went through some scenic tea plantations and inside a jungle we finally reached the house of the person who was supposed to take us to the falls. Falls was visible from his house and looked quite high. We kept our clothes and other items at his house and started off. Guide was fully prepared with Wellies and full body rain coat! My friend got worried looking at his attire and asked should we also had come like that?! (we ha

World Wide Web true to it's sense connects everything across the web and shows us things and places which otherwise would never have been known so well. A friend while going through Facebook saw somebody's post on Paragliding in Kerala. He rang me up immediately saying something about Vagamon and I first thought he was talking about Vagator in Goa. And as it turns out many people don't even know this place exists! After some research came to know that this small hill station in Idukki is the Paragliding hub of Kerala!  Fly Vagamon  is the institute we flew with. Even the Govt. of Kerala promotes the activity and conducts a Paragliding festival once a year when you can fly for free! After a call to the Fly Vagamon came to know that the flying season will end in two week's time as weather and winds will not be conducive after 3rd week of April and flying will restart only in October next year. Not wanting to miss the opportunity we packed our bags and headed to Vagam

It was June and I hadn't yet started my Monsoon travels! After a scorching summer where at times days touched 40 degrees, Bengaluru was unbearable. It was still first week of June but literally every homestay we called up was booked for the weeked. After alot of research and calling up more than 15 places we finally got the accomodation at   Hidden Valley . (More about the place and Devigudda in another blog) Homestay guy suggested this small waterfalls called Shankar falls but said there is no guarantee about the quantity of water as the rains haven't picked up yet. We decided to give it a try neverthless and proceeded towards Aldur. After Aldur take the route that goes to Sringeri and travel for some 6 kms (after passing Bannur on the way) comes a small tea stall which is called Shankar falls tea stall. There was only one other car parked and we felt good thinking early morning drive was a good idea! After talking with the shop owner for few minutes we proceeded toward t

Hailing from Malenadu (the regions around the Western Ghats in Karnataka) no matter which part of the world I'm in, there always is this longing to return to my roots. But after many years of being outside, I realised that it isn't the longing for a particular place but a feel. Malenadu is a feel.  The lush green paddy fields, the silent streams and roaring rivers, those foggy winter mornings when coffee feels like a drop of elixir, Malenadu has everything that can bind you for a lifetime. It's difficult to explain to a city dweller how natural it is to spot a peacock in your backyard on a chilly December morning or how a green snake coiled around a hibiscus plant doesn't even elicit a cry of alarm from us. The talks of a tiger being spotted near Thyagarthi and how villagers were scared to step out after dark is still etched in my memory. Climb the hill in the backyard of my Granny's house and a cliff is named as Huli Bande meaning Tiger Cliff named so

ಈ ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನ ಕಥೆಗಳೆ ಹೀಗೆ. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಹಿಡಿದರೆ ಬಿಡದ ಜಡಿಮಳೆಯಂತೆ. ಹೊಂಡವ್ಯಾವುದು ರಸ್ತೆ ಯಾವುದು ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಯದಂತೆ ಯಾವುದು ಕಾಲ್ಪನಿಕ ಯಾವುದು ನಿಜ ಎಂದೂ ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅನುಮಾನ ಕಾಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಬೇಸಿಗೆ ಬಂತೆಂದರೆ ಸೈ ಸಾಗರದ ಹತ್ತಿರದ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೆರೆಡು ತಿಂಗಳು ಠಿಕಾಣಿ. ಅಜ್ಜಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ಸೌತೆ ದೋಸೆ, ಒಡಪೆ ತಿಂದು ಮಾವನ ಬಳಿ ಕವಳಿಕಾಯಿ ಮಾವಿನಕಾಯಿ ಕುಯ್ಯಲು ಕರೆದೊಯ್ಯಲು ಪೀಡಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಹೊಂಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಈಸುತ್ತೇನೆಂದು ಹೋಗಿ ಬಟ್ಟೆಯೆಲ್ಲಾ ಒದ್ದೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಬರುವುದು ಒಂಥರಾ ಪ್ರತೀ ವರ್ಷದ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವೇ ಆಗಿಹೋಗಿತ್ತು.  ಅಡಿಕೆ ತೋಟವೆಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ದಿನಾಗಲೂ ಏನಾದರೂ ಕೆಲಸವಿದ್ದೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಗೊಬ್ಬರ ಹಾಕಿಸುವುದೋ ಮರಕ್ಕೆ ಔಷಧಿ ಸಿಂಪಡಿಸುವುದೋ ಇಲ್ಲ ಕಳೆ ಕೀಳುವುದೋ ಹೀಗೆ. ಒಂದು ಗಂಡಾಳು ಮತ್ತು ಒಂದು ಹೆಣ್ಣಾಳು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತೋಟದಲ್ಲೂ ಖಾಯಮ್ಮು. ಆದರೆ ದುಡ್ಡಿಗೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ಇವರ ನೀಯತ್ತು ಬದಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಈ ವರ್ಷ ನಮ್ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ವೆಂಕ್ಟ ಮುಂದಿನ ವರ್ಷ ಪಕ್ಕದ ಸುಬ್ರಾಯ ಹೆಗ್ಡೆರ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುತ್ತಾನೆ.   ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಬಾ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದಲೂ ಇದ್ದ ರಾಮ ಒಂದು ದಿನವೂ ಕೆಲಸ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿದ್ದಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ಬಂದರೆ ತಿಂಡಿ ನಂತರ ಹನ್ನೊಂದರ ಚಾ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮೂರು ಘಂಟೆಗೆ ಊಟ ಮುಗಿಸಿಯೇ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದವ. ಅವನ ಹೆಂಡ್ತಿ ಸಾವಿತ್ರಿಯೂ ಮನೆಗೆ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುವವಳೆ. ಅಜ್ಜಿಯ ಸಣ್ಣ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿ ಕವಳ ಹಾಕಿ

ಯಾಕೋ ಬೇಸರ. ಮತ್ತದೇ ಬೇಸರ ಮತ್ತದೇ ಏಕಾಂತ ಹಾಡಿನಂತಲ್ಲ, ಎಲ್ಲ ಇದ್ದೂ ಕಾಡುವ ಬೇಸರ. ಇದೆಲ್ಲಾ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಯಾಕೆ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ. ಇವತ್ತು ಆಫಿಸಿನಿಂದ ಬರ್ತಾ ನನ್ನ ಅಪಾರ್ಟ್ಮೆಂಟಿನ ಬದಲು ಯಾವುದೋ ಮನೆ ಎದುರಿಗೆ ನಿಂತು ಕೀ ಹುಡುಕಾಟ. ತಕ್ಷಣ ಆದ realisation 'ಓ ಇದು ನಮ್ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲ' ಹಾಗಾದರೆ ಯಾವುದು ನಮ್ಮನೆ? ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಮೊದಲೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬಂದ, ಅಪ್ಪ ಅಮ್ಮ ಸಾಲ ಮಾಡಿ ಜತನದಿಂದ ಕಟ್ಟಿದ, ಈಗ ಬಣಗುಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನ ಗೂಡೇ, ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆರಡು ಬಾರಿ ಹೋಗಿ ನದಿ-ತೋಟ  -ನಾಯಿ ಎಂದು ಎದೆಯುಬ್ಬಿಸಿ ಓಡಾಡಿ ನಂತರ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಮರೆವ ಊರಿನ ತೋಟದ ಮನೆಯೇ, ವಿದ್ಯೆಯ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಗೆಳೆತಿಯರನ್ನೂ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಪೊರೆದ ಹಾಸ್ಟೆಲ್ಗಳೆ ಅಥವಾ guestನ್ನು ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಕಿಶ್ಕಿಂಧೆಗಳಂತಿರುವ ಪೀಜಿಗಳೇ? ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ, ಉತ್ತರ ನಾಸ್ತಿ. ಇದು ಮನುಷ್ಯನ limitationನೇ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಚಿಂತೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ್ದಿದ್ದಾಗಲೂ ಚಿಂತೆ ಇಲ್ಲವಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನುವುದೇ ಚಿಂತೆ. ನಾವು ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಸಲ್ಲದವರು ಇಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಓಗ್ಗಿಕೊಳ್ಳದವರು. ಗುಜ್ಜೆ ಹುಳಿ ಮಾವಿನ ತಂಬುಳಿ ಪಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ಹೊಡೆದು ಕವಳ ಹಾಕಿ 'ಹೋಯ್ ಊರ್ ಬದಿ ಮತ್ತೆಂತು ಸಮಾಚಾರ' ಎನ್ನುವುದು ತೀರಾ time waste ಎನ್ನಿಸಿದರೂ ಇತ್ತ MG, Brigade ರೋಡಿನ ಸಿಗರೇಟಿನ ಮೋಡ ಸ್ರುಷ್ಟಿಸುವ Whats up dude ಎಂದು ಮುತ್ತಿಡುವ ಹುಡುಗಿಯರೂ ನಮಗೆ ದೂರವ

There are some places that must be visited during the peak of their action- Udupi during Krishna Janmashtami (have done that and a blog will soon follow) or Jaipur during the Makara Sankranti Kite Festival or Mysore during Dasara. Though I've visited Mysore many times before, I'd never visited it during Dasara. For 9 days during the Navaratri, the entire city is filled with color, lights, people and celebrations. So last year i.e. 2015 I decided that it was the perfect time for a Dasara visit of Mysore. Though Mysore is just 145 kms away from Bengaluru, it takes no less than 3.5 hours to reach thanks to constant traffic. And there are eateries all through the way from Dominos to CCD to Kamath that your'e compelled to stop over to taste these foods. Inspite of all this, we did reach early and first headed to the flower show at Curzon Park organised every year by the Mysore District Horticulture Society and Horticulture Department. It wasn't even open and the guy a

People go to Goa for various reasons. Obvious ones being its beaches, cheap alcohol, foreign tourists, night life and some to get away from the chaotic city life.. Well the list goes on. However, we went to Goa for one and one reason only- Scuba Diving.  There are very few deep sea diving sites in India. Andaman & Nicobar islands, Nethrani island (near Murudeshwara- Karnataka), Pondicherry (recently started) and Goa. A&N islands was out of the question as it was far, Murudeshwara has only seasonal scuba diving (as with all other places infact, but this is even more so) and not very popular, we were left with Pondi or Goa. Diving sites and visibility is not very great in Pondi and the prices were expensive too. So that left us with only Goa.  After a quick search on Google and reading some reviews we finalised on Goa Aquatics. Now I sure am glad we chose Goa Aquatics as they were very professional and I had a wonderful first time diving experience.  We had called G

While searching for 'Off beat things to do in Bengaluru' I had once read this idea of a breakfast marathon in Malleshwaram. Now I must say something about Malleshwaram. It is not just one of the oldest areas in Bengaluru but there are so many things that only malleshwaram can offer. Even the street names are so melodious- Sampige road, Margosa road. Music to the ears! It still has plenty of trees with IISc. just around the corner and the small streets offer so much for shopping specially during festival times that you feel like visiting the place just to absorb it's life essence. Malleshwaram was the residing place of many famous people before- poets, scientists and players alike and for all the music lovers there is Chowdiah Memorial Hall quenching the thirst of art and culture. Along with all other specialties, Malleshwaram has some of the oldest and best eateries. After reading that post about the breakfast marathon I felt it was an excellent idea. Now I need to t