A trek to Kodachadri (..the End)

Last night before going to sleep I had relispraed my leg as I had pain. In the midnight I woke up to the terrible pain I had in my right leg..i could not sleep…I pained hell..i tried to do any thing that was possible to get some relief..but my efforts went in vein..i didn’t know what to do..wanted to see the time left for morning but had no reach to mobile nor watch…could not know what time it was..i made up my mind to bunk sunrise trek next morning. I knew I could count on few fellomates who would have similar thoughts.. some how I could reach my bag and got a pill of pain killer and laid back praying to get some sleep..Thankfully I had good sleep..

I woke up to the alarm raised by Jai n Ram awakening ever one.. i was feeling better ..but myself and sudhakar tried to kid around stating we will not join and we will take the jeep along with Sampath back to Kollur we claimed we had the majority so …

After some humorous debate (sudhakar tried to delegate Jai to take care of the people who were to trek and he would take care of the rest to reach Kollur by jeep) finally we decide that barring Sampath and Jose all will join the trek..

Once every one was ready we stepped out the Base camp to start the trek..it was still dark out there and was a cool. Sudhakar and vasuki carried their torches…and the trek began..

It was the same route we went last evening for sunset trek..till the point where we had seen some trekkers who had put up the tent. From then we had to take deviation to reach the sunrise point. We cruised along cautiously as it was dark..the path was not very easy and a bit risky..we had to walk through the edge of the hill line and the road was very narrow..and slant.. it was fun to cruise along..
Finally we reached the top..and camped there..waiting for the sun to say GOOD MORNING!! It was a long wait..But was worth it.. view from there was so beautiful and pleasant..with the pleans t weather…entire hill range was in our sight..and as the darkness was fading away we could see some water bodies around some hills..more pleasant as to see clouds floating in between the hill ranges..it was simply soothing to have woken uto see the charisma of mother nature.. sky was painted with orange indicating the sunrise is minutes away..
While the wait was on Jai was setting up his tripod to click a picture perfect shot of sunrise…and JP and Nitin as usual busy getting each other clicked in their cam..few others also followed their suit…sudhakar was experimenting with Mobicam taking snaps of Anil and hilltops in the backdrop..the zoom feature of his mobile was simply superb..

Finally we could see Sunrays passing through the clouds…it was cloudy out there so we could not get a view that we were wanting….hence after some time we started to trek back…while we came down we found there were 6-7 tents were there…many people had camped last night there…we could see that they had camp fire and got food cooked (stove was lying around) there..they must have had a great time!!

As we trekked down ..enjoying the beautiful Sunday morning it reminded me of the Daniel Boone’s beautiful Sunday track..which fitted the bill..

We reached the base camp and got freshened up..but still many had not returned yet..so we waited from to come..they had stayed back for spending some more time..when they reached back…there was a long queue to get freshen up..once all were done we had a kings breakfast..Upma and tomato rice were on the menu..

As we were waiting outside while our accounts manager Mr Ram was settling the bill we found there was another team who were debating the issue which we had in the morning..To trek back or jeep ??? they even had a voting!!! Could not figure out finally what they choose..but we had chosen to trek back…after we arranged for Jeep for Sampth our return journey began!!

It was the most beautiful strip that we trekked..though the woods…there was a thick forest besides which we are climbing down…we had plans to trek though the Jubgle..but it was a protected area so had to take permission from forest dept in kollur..there was a false also there in the jublge..but coz of permission issue we trekd through the sidelines..the forest was not thick though…but was Class… we had some good time and enjoyed the nature thoroughly…the greenery around..trees touching the sky..sunrays beaming through the woods…humming birds..variety of ferns..rich flora

As we reached the base of the forest..we reached the civilization..we reached a tiffin shop which is popularly known as mallu’s dhaba….we had the National tiffin of Kerala..there…I forgot what is called..but it was very tasty.. its kind of idli..of cylindrical shape ..with coconut topping..was served with chana masala..it was tooo good..!!
We had walk for about 6 kms I guess to reach the main road, which we would lead to kollur by bus.. we had enough time..so ..Once we finished there we went a bit further…and caped under a tree’s shelter…

As we laid back there relaxing..jai and me prepared lemon juice in the water bottle..every one opened there bags to finish of the remains of eatables.. we had cakes, biscuits, fruits…ketan’s bhel…..it was very relaxing… It is at this time we all learnt the actual meaninig of word KOLAVERI!! whole world is going gaga about this song why this kolaveri di? like a viral flu it has spread..every other person is humming this song...but many really dont know the meaning..it was the case with many of us.. we had Bharani who knows Tamil so we asked him the meaning..he explaiined it with such an example that everyone of us understood it clearly!!! he was nicknamed as Kolaveri!!

We began to walk ..to reach the main road…once we were there we could get a bus without much wait…
The bus journey of abt 15 km to reach kollur was the most difficut jounrney since last day…we found it more difficult than trekking…none of had got the seats to sit..all were standing…. He was a speedy driver..it was a ghaat section…we were like pendulums hanging and swings in all directions…Finally we reached Kollur…

Sampth had taken a room and was settled there.. we joined him..all of had bath..got freshend up to visit the very famous Kollur Mookambika Temple..we took the Darshana and offered our prayers..after spending some time in the temple we came to the lodge..did the packing and were ready for final round of entertainment!!
Once done we checked out of the room to reach Hotel Adiga..we had our dinner there..and waited for our bus to take us back to Bangalore…it was long wait..we had good time pulling each others..playing pranks..Ram was the target..Binoy and me had hidden his bag only Jai knew this….it took Ram good amount time to locate his lost bag…
We just mellowed the sweet memories of the Trek…..finally the bus arrived and we were in..bidding bye to kollur and Successfully completing the trek with out any issues!!!

It was indeed a very successful trek..cudos to the organizers and all the trekkers who complimented each other every minute all through..every one jelled with one another..in any other case of a such a big group there is a tendency of smaller groups different opinions , personal differences..but Cheers to our team…which was ONE all trhough…it was great experience….

The memories will always be remaing..in our mind..we were carrying back some great moments…we thoroughly ENJOYED every bit of it…

I hope this Blog will help us relive the moments through rest of our lives…cant wait for next such treks…

Jai is already having a water trekking plans…hope to see that gets executed very soon!!!

Happy reading Happy trekking!!!

A BIG thanks to all for making this trek one of the most memorable moments of my life!!!

A trek to Kodachadri (..continued 2)

At last we are @ our base camp..the Bhattara Mane!!!

But as Jai kept saying since start, till we reach the sunset point we haven’t seen Kodachadri…so..we were still 1.5 – 2 kms away from KODACHADRI..Our DESTINATION!!!

Bhattara Mane: it’s house managed by the priest of the nearby temple was a kind of lodging..but with least amenities…yet good food !!

Once we were there, the person who was managing the affairs, seemed more like a Sales Manager than a priest.. the way he welcomed us.. listed out the facilities that are available ..etc.. We dumped our bags and laid down where ever we could some place. One small room and a common floor was our area of stay for the night.. while we were resting, Sudhakar gave me some tips on yoga to relax the body..mean while he found that there was a leech bite on his left leg.. it seemed as if it was @ the falls ..by now there was nothing…We all freshened up ..and were ready for the food!!

Luch was ready and was a buffet serving… Rice, sambar, sabji , garlic pickles and a papad was on the Menu. It was good…all of us had gooood food before we slipped back on the floor..@ abt 3/3.30 pm we continued our journey ….journey to our Destination…we could imagine what destiny has in store for us in the destination that beautiful evening!!!! It was a wonderful trek to reach the peak…

As we cruised up the hill range on the other side of the hill which lead to SUNRISE point we saw someone had put a Tent right @ the edge of the hilltop..when I saw it first thing I told Ram who was with me was Suuuuppeeer!!!! I wish we could camp there…wonderful place…you are on top..while its night you can view the whole sky with twinkling stars!!! Just imagine… you have bracing cool breeze which is refreshingly cooling your body, on a hilltop, mountain ranges around you , no one else except your companions around you, a camp fire providing some warmth and light, as you lay in the nature’s bed twinkling stars as if they are sharing/ talking to you..humming noise of wild insects around giving a musical touch to the night..Mannn..!!!tooo good!!! (bit of entertainment factor would be icing on the cake!!!) More over when you wake up in the morning it’s the SUN who will welcome you to the NEW DAY!! I missed it!! But next time around will defiantly plan for this.. for sure..i don’t wanna miss this beauty!!!

However though ..our agenda was the SUNSET and nor sunrise @ that point of time.. so ..we continued… Sudhakar used to ask in between the trek as “Guys ALL Ok ya???” which actually meant, Guys lets take a break!!!ha ha!!! We would stop at every kiosk..for either butter milk or water melon or juice..at one such kiosk we saw a cave..there was a small Ganesha temple was located in it..

As we continued…it was still sunny out there…so we camped just before the sunset point under a tree.. as we were chit chatting Sudhakar came up with an idea of Bucket ball/stone.. a small bucket was lying on a bush there.. we had a game..participants had three chances to throw a stone from where ever we were standing/sitting.. Ram, myself and some tried but could not hit the target!! But suddenly we heard a sound of a stone falling in the bucket…bingo!! It was vasuki’s left hand throw… However he was not the winner, guess why??? He threw from his left hand..rest used their right hand..oops!!! wondering ??? don’t!! As sun started his return journey for the day..we started to reach the peak to watch Sun set..

On top there was a Peetha!!! Its called the Sarvadnya Peetha!! Sarvadnya is a popular Kannada saint-poet of some 16^th odd century who’s sayings or tripadis( three liners) or vachanas as they are called..are very meaning full and till day popular!! One such vachana that trikes my mind is “ Sajjanara sasnga hejjenu Savidante, Durjanara Sanga Bachala kocche yantihudu sarvadnya!!! Which mean its like having sweet honey if you have company of Good People..but if u have company of bad/negative people its like a stinking sewage..

It is believed in Indian mythology that, guru Shankaracharya from Kerala meditated on this peetha to impress godess Mookambika and persuade her to come to Kerala with him!!!

Coming back from past to present… all of us scattered around and found suitable places for ourselves to witness the Sun to set behind the range of mountains!! Ram, Binoy and me settled at the peetha… Sudhakar and Vasuki were also sitting on the peetha but were busy over their Mobiles..it was like hitting a jack pot if your mobile catches signals there..few were try to move around in search of network..rest of the team settled on the hill top..Jai.. as usual ..with his cam capturing ..snaps ..and figuring our location to capture the sun set at best view.… Dinesh, Bharani, Nagaraju, Jose, Kevin were also busy giving poses and getting their photos in different angles different poses … JP and his partner Nitin were lost in their own world !!!

There we got to meet our Tollywood icon Rajani Sir!!! Rajnai Sir was holding the Sun in his mouth and not letting it set!! It was our own Mr B nagaraju was in a filmy/Rajany style posing for a photo shoot!!!

Also we had a Kollywood icon Mohanlal!! Mr. Sampath!! He too posed for the photo shoot.. with his cooling glasses on!! It was only on our return to Bangalore jai told me that his target in that photo was not the face but the reflection of Sun in the cooling glasses..But Sampath look good in this Pic .. kollywood hero!!!

It was a decent crowd that had gathered there to watch the sunset.. as time passed..sky turned orange, indicating we were just few seconds away for what all of had gathered there.. it was a amazing!!! Slowly and steadily the SUN had made his way back for the day..Disappearing behind the range of mountains!!! Seconds later we could hear loud noise of birds ..which propably were calling it a DAY!!!

Other public started moving down towards the base..we however decided to spend some time over there enjoying the beauty and pleasant weather… Rajesh was busy shooting the series of events in his handi cam… Anil was cool as usual..

Ketan was a surprise element.. he was the one who was apprehensive on trekking this long stretch.. he kept on saying he has never walked moe than 2 ks in his life!!! Even we thought he would find this trek difficult!! But he was always among the first to reach any point right from beginning!! It was really good to see his spirit!!! On the other hand we all thought Prashant , the Arnold Shivajinagar of the gang would find it very easy looking at this Gymmy physique. Hehad become Arnold indira nagar!!! As ram used to easingly ask him why has he become Arnold indiranagar from Arnol Shivaji ngar, he would take it sportingly and smile!!

It was really a wonderful experience.. all agreed that the hectic trek of the day paid off!! It was really worth it!!! Thnx to Jai n Ram for planning this location and Thanx to Sudhakar, Vasuki and Binoy to have supported the idea and being part of this adventure!!!! Thanks all..

As it started getting dark we started to walk back to our base!!! It already started to chill..moon was also bright ..we had couple of torches..which made our way back journey comfortable.. Once we were back…it was time for some Entertainment!! And Entertainment Manager Mr Binoy to take charge!!!!

Click to continue:   http://padmarajshahapuri.blogspot.com/2012/02/trek-to-kodachadri-end.html

A trek to Kodachadri (..continued)

We could see the peak which we had to traverse through... It was hot out there and the weather was dry, we were surrounded by the yellow grass and open land..we started our adventure by climbing up the hillock. It was pretty steep, elevated abt 80 degree angle. We kept on walking in the hot sun..the peak was never coming..but none of us lost it..by this time the group was distributed into smaller groups..few were leading ahead with Ram..few were cruising down the middle ..and rest were following with Jai at the end ensuring “AALL IZ WELL”….we took a little break on the way and had the fruits and water..to ensure we are not starving and not get dehydrated..this ensured all were in good health and high spirit..as we restarted our march..once we thought we are almost there….alas..the peak which we thought is our target..was not so..it was just a high land which actually is a base of another hill..like this we made our legs to march over 3-4 such structures..finally mine and few of our legs started agitation..shouting loaudly...”Emotional ayachaar nahi sahenge..nahi sahenge!!! All these days you kept us in AC rooms..taken good care of us..not given much work..even you made sure we don’t climb stairs and u use lift…And today you are making us to slog???” we some how managed to pacify them and we all halted under a big tree on the way..we waited for all to come…we thought of having some food/lunch before we took a start..sandwich, bread jam, oranges, apples, pears, cake, biscuits..were on the menu…it was a healthy eat out!!

Ram was eagerly waiting for this moment..not because he was hungry or tired..he was the one who was carrying the bread and other stuff..he would be relieved of this weight from his back..We had good time chatting, pulling each other’s legs. It was a good relaxation!! It was time to move on…we had to meet our target!!

The next 3- 4 kms were very hard. Its just boz our body had cooled down after the break and climbing up on the hill top was becoming very tough. ..especially for me..it was getting really tough with severe headache J in my right leg….when going gets tough, tough gets going!! (too much..aa…??) And Finally we reached the top ..heyy!!! finally!!!

When we saw from top the road that we had covered…. we felt sense of accomplishment!!! It was amazingly nice..we now landed at the jeep tack road, which would lead us to our base camp..Bhattara mane( priest’s house) @ kodachadri!!! The jeep track is the only road to reach kodchadri from Nittur/Kollur without trekking.. it was a muddy road..but not much of ups/down..when we made our way to our base camp it was abt 2.10PM…

At last we are @ our base camp..the Bhattara Mane!!!

to be continued....Click here

A trek to Kodachadri

Organizing committee: Jairaj, Ram, Binoy
Trekkers: Sudhakar, Vasuki, Anil, Rajesh, Prashanth, Jose, Sampath, Ketan, Kevin, Bharani, Dinesh, Nagaraju,Nitin, JP and me.

The route: Bangalore Bus 8.30 - KSRTC to Kundapur via shimoga / kollur__ Alight at Nittur__Trek on Road till Marakuttaka__after bridge take a deviation __walk till a stream__cross the Stream___walk till Reaching Hidlumane village___ Reach Hidlumane water falls__ climb the water falls through forest __Climb up the hill ___keep walking___ Climb up hil top to find Jeep track ___walk through___ Battra mane (Base camp)___Climb up to the sunset point and sarvagnya peeta …stay in base camp@ night__ Start trek back Battra mane (Base camp) next morning___climb down through forest___Reach kaka shop at basewalk till u reach Tar road__ Bus from Road to Kollur - 15 kms __ Return bus from Kollur to Bangalore - 9.00 pm Reach Bangalore 6.00 am

It all started few weeks back over a cuppa of coffee @ 5th floor stairs. Jai, Ram, Vasuki, Girish and myself ( I guess Suman was also there), were having coffee that evening, and were casually discussing about travelling in India. Girish said, he has travelled around many places across the globe but has not been able to see many places with in India. Jai shared his travel experiences during pre-OFSS days. During this point we all decided we needed to make a weekend trip. Ram suggested Kodachadri, as he n jai had already trekked this terrain, and that everyone would enjoy as it offers the combination of plains, high hills, waterfalls, forest and temple . So deciding on the place was instant without much effort.
It was decided that will go for trek to Kodachadri. Initially we thought of Jan 28, 29 as the dates. ( later it was rescheduled) Now it was time to put together the team. Girish opted out as he had personal commitments. Vasuki had concerns.( But eventually made it to final 18) We decided to place a formal invitation to the entire FCIS team to join us. We also coined an idea to form a trekking club..(may be with the success of this trek we hope to put it in shape soon)
For few days all were silent on this matter until on Rajkumar’s Malaysia Bon voyage lunch party. Binoy, Jai n Ram got to serious business and after series of Yes/No’s ..Sudhakar, Vasuki, Asheesh(could not make it due to his onsite travel), Anil and I were confirmed members of the team. It was decided that Ram N Jai will be responsible for arranging for travel, staying, food and above all Guiding through the trek. Binoy was vested upon by the responsibility of communication, coordination and most importantly ENTERTAINMENT.
Finally the final 18 ( including JP’ s friend Nitin) team was in place and the dates were decided as 04th and 05th of February 2012. Soon our finance manager for the trek Mr Ram collected the initial payment from every participant with the help of his collection managers Jai (D block Mgr) and Binoy (C block mgr). Tickets got booked and a formal mail to all the final 18, was sent by Communication Manger Binoy detailing about the schedule. Jai mailed about what to carry. On Thursday the 2nd Feb all of us met in the cafeteria in the evening for final briefing session. Jai told about things to carry, not to carry, tips of trek etc, Binoy briefed about the schedule for next 2 days. After a brief Q&A the meeting was over with every one anxiously expecting for the clock to turn 6PM on the following day. Was very happy to see Sudhakar and Vasuki , beating all speculations/ rumors ( especially, Prakash’s cautious advice to both) made it to the trek.
03.02.2012
5.30PM was the scheduled time of assemble @ the reception. Ram, Vasuki and Anil were to join as @ Mejestic directly. Rest of us were to start from office together. Only Jai n me were on time. Slowly and steadily every one came by 6.10pm. And the journey BEGAN…..
We caught local buses ( CVRaman Nagar – Lido – Mejestic) and reached majestic bus station at abt 7.30PM. Anil and Nitin were waiting for us. Vasuki also reached alongwith us. Later Ram joined. So all were ready to rock.
We boarded the Kundapur Bound KSRTC Rajahamsa bus @ 8pm. At about 10 pm bus stopped at a Kamat Restaurant for Dinner. We all had food there and went back to our seats. Some went to sleep few were chatting remaining were waiting to get sleep. There was an interesting discussion triggered by Binoy and Sudhakar over the full moon. Binoy’s seat was on the conductor’s side, he asked Sudhakar to see how beautiful was the Moon. Sudhakar who was sitting on the driver’s side and could not see it from his side and led to a humorous argument. ( RS/FS signoff, review comments etc..)
04.02.2012
At abt 3AM we reached Shimoga, and at 5.30am we got down at Nittur. Our starting point of the trek. We spotted Hotel Shridevi there to settledown. People who wanted to brush, get fresh and answer calls ( both nature and phone) did so(however only mobile signal available there was of BSNL which none of us had. Eventually few used mobile o the hotel owner to call their homes that they reached safely.) ...few lions ( who don’t brush/bathe) busy sipping Hot tea in the cold. Meanwhile break fast was getting ready. The hotel guy was preparing hot buns, wada and idli. Me n Jai were having dry cough so we had some Hot turmeric milk which gave us some respite.
While every one was busy in some activity, from no where an interesting question made the rounds in the air. “Who is Older??” was the question. The debate was on and the contestants were Ram, Sudhakar and Vasuki..All three were justifying that they are younger ( which they really are..at least after the trek results..)It was even agreed to have cat walk of the three and the younger lads of the team were to decide who looked old?? But interestingly while this debate was on some body from a corner pointed @ Anil that, he looked older!! And that’s it!! We had Anil’s weak point. He used to get irritated each time when ever there was any reference to age. Finally the debate was concluded stating that the fact would be known by itself @ EOD after we finish Day 1 of our ITR ( Integrated TRekking)
By the time all were ready having the breakfast clock ticked pas t 7.30AM…And everybody took their first step towards the amazing trek ahead…and the march began, on the road which leads to Kollur.
It was a pleasant morning ..cool breeze..fresh and natural air ( unlike Bangalore’s polluted air) empty road.. Greenery around..perfect for a trek start..
We had walk for about 3 Kms before we hit a diversion on the left side. There is a small bus stop on left hand side the main road. From there, there is a deviation taken by a mud road which we had to take.
Ram already had made a friend there who was accompanying him from the Shridevi Hotel. It was a four legged barking friend which denied to part away and followed us, especially Ram like a vodafone puppy.
After going some distance we halted to distribute the common luggage which ram n Jai were carrying. Fruits, cucumber, lime, sugar, salt, bread, jam..etc( they had carried enough..Which helped during the trek) was distributed among all to share the weight. People who wanted to change their dresses did so there. Caps were seen on all heads..warm jackets which helped fight last night cold were out..cameras made their presence felt..Once all was set, journey continued.. All were walking in almost same pace…mostly as one big group.. Jai was often seen absconding and we used to spot him with his best companion( or should I say second wife..?) his lovely NIKON camera. He was capturing all that he found interesting in the woods in his camera lenses. He was busy with that all through the trek.
While on the move one of the most memorable (could be other way round to Jose ) incident of the trek happened. Jai spotted a Hornbill & was taking its snap. People around were looking at the bird..when all the hell broke loose!! Ever silent Jose from Gods own country commented stating this was the “National Bird”. Somebody corrected him saying it was Peacock and not Hornbill. Immediately Jose said it was “The National Bird of KERALA” …every one broke into laughing to the max they can… “National Bird of KERALA” ..it still brings a smile on my face..from that moment on wards..there were several NATIONAL symbols of Kerala were discovered (national snack/breakfast/flag…of Kerala) . Jose would stare at any one who would refer this incident..
We passed through a small stream where Sudhakar n Vasuki took some pics out of their respective cameras..we came across a govt school on the way where children anxiously looked at our gang.. After some point we stopped at a KIOSK ( a road side shop) to get some chocolates.. while moving on.. it was Ram ‘s turn to play mischief. Most of us were trying to get rid of his Vodafone friend which was still following us.. By now it had got a companion..on the way another Dog joined..some time later couple of more dogs appeared and there was a fight between the two group of dogs..it disturbed sudhakr.he frustratingly said..if such is a case i have to go back to India..(we then learnt that for him ..any place outside B'lore is out of India...hmmm..Onsite effect!!!) While Sudhakar was walking from the front when Ram slowly got behind him and caught his leg with his fingers as if the Dog was biting him..with this unexpected event Sudhakar got baffled to see only Ram laughing all the way..
It was Fun watching the duo..even better was Sudhakar’s reaction towards the Dog. He tried hard to get rid of the dog. He even offered biscuit ( that to cream one) to it..but in vein.. ..He was a sport.. and we moved on.. we stopped at a house..it was so beautiful..it was surrounded by natural beauty.



Farms all around with forest in the sight and the mountain in the back drop..pleasure to watch!!! We got ourselves freshened up there a bit. We had buttermilk.. before we started from there.. we passed through farms..farmers were cultivating rice there. .. after passing through that stretch.. we encountered the most beautiful part of the trek..A WATER FALL.. !!
Barring few..all jumped in to water to take the natural water therapy massage.. it was refreshing!!! All of us had a great time.. after abt 30-40 mins in water we got ready to move on..some oranges had made their way into our tummies by then.. we had to trek along the falls till the top to reach the top. This was one of the most exciting stretch of the trek.. we had to climb up..no much of scope for free walk..only water marked roads…through the trees.. Amazing!!! There were couple of places in this stretch which really challenged our strength and balance.….. a slight miss could have led to slip down all the way..( though it was not risk to life scale) But every one passed it successfully…
Finally we reached the top.. it was a great feeling….but lasted shortly..when we saw the next stretch which we were supposed to trek.…we found ourselves standing @ the base of a hill.
to be continued…..http://padmarajshahapuri.blogspot.com/2012/02/trek-to-kodachadri-continued.html

Happy reading …Happy Trekking!!!!!