Witnessing the nature pregnant with beauty-Jog falls

                       After a very long break, we were again on high spirits to go for a long drive. Since there was a gap for the series of drives, my partner and the car had their speedometers needles at 0. They both are in need of a great destination and a bit of inspiration. When on the eve of Dasara, our cousins came to our place for holidays, we were thinking of leaving for a bit long drive but the Driver Lord Krishna (my Husband) is found in not very interesting mood. So the actual plan was to go towards Kanakapura road and return home by the night. Still my sixth sense was giving an alert for me so I packed one pair of clothes and a night dress pair and all other basic things like tooth brush etc for all of us. Further you'll know how greatly my sixth sense and the research of my husband's mentality for 4 years proved to be highly successful.       
                                   On the way towards the first destination, we stopped at a restaurant for breakfast where we met my classmate Prem kiran. He informed us that one week back he went on a bike ride to goa via shimoga and other places like jog falls. He inspired my husband saying that the beauty of the nature on that way was a fabulous eye-feast. After couple of hours we were on the road leading to Shimoga.the journey was fantastic with greenery all around. That night we halted at Sagar, 30KM away from the falls. There are few options in Sagar to stay at night with minimum facilities. The one we stayed was Choudeshwari. That night we had a feast of laughter that was just awesome with the non stop comedy of Mani.
                              The next morning, we started at around 7 o'clock on the fog filled roads with few beautiful pics captured. The different views of the falls reflected the artistic talent of god to bless the earth with fabulous beauties. We were lucky to get a photographer as a guide who gifted us wonderful pics to be cherished for a life time. The guide directed us to few points like Raja falls, rani falls and rocket falls out of which the first one is the best. None of us felt like leaving the place but had no other go. One can even reach the foot of the falls through steps, but we were told that it might  take a longer time to reach there. So we dropped that proposal. After having gathered considerable memories to treasure, we took the road to go back to Sagar. On that way we were blessed to get the samadhi darshan of Sridhara Swami at varadahalli who was the disciple of Samartha ramadasa Swami.

                                            

                        We relaxed for a while in the room and again started to Gokarna, more popularly known as Bhukailash. Due to the heavy crowd in the temple, we went for the 500/- ticket to perform NavaDhanya-Panchamritha puja to the linga in the shape of the ear of a cow. This place is also famous for its beach with forceful waves just behind the temple and om beach. Since we were planning to stay that night at Murudeshwar, we didn't spend time at that beach and again started on our wheels.
                                   Due to the festive season and long week end, we expected that there would be big crowd at Murudeshwar so we didin't take the risk of reaching there and just stopped at Hotel Panduranga at Kumti. That proved to be a correct decision when we found big crowd the next day. The gigantic gopuram, shiva linga and the epical relation to the Gokarna Kshetra are the attractions of this place.One can go to the top 18th floor of the gopuram in the lift facility provided there. After filling our bellies with idli and coffee in a restaurant on the sea shore, we started our return journey.

                                         
                                      Being festive season, the temples in Udipi and Dharmasthala are also heavily flooded with people so we just passed by them and were on our way back to home. Though it was late in the night by the time we reached home, the drive was fantastic with rain fall for some time and nicely laid lighting road. At last the trip proved to present us very happy memories and the beauty of the pics needs no mention.     

High on the tough top-Sholinghur

            Yesterday(5/6/2011) we started early in the morning at 5 o'clock to pay a visit to Lord Narasimha Swami at Sholinghur. From long back, this destination is in my husband's mind after a great deal of research about the temples of Narasimha swami. But the call of God to his adobe arrives at it's time. We both were at Krishnagiri by 6.15 and the breakfast session in A2B was not yet started by that time. We were satisfied with an average coffee there and again started our drive to reach the destination at around 10 AM. We searched a bit in the village for a hotel to have breakfast because we have to go and climb 1300 steps ahead. We were lucky to find one which filled our bellies with good idli and pongal and then we reached the foot of the hill to start our journey to the top.

                            Actually, this place has also got the name "Ghatikachalam"  which means even if we pray for a period of Ghatika(olden days time unit which equals around 20 min) here at swami, our wishes will be fulfilled. Even for a ghatika time if we stay here , that will benefit us with lot of punya as per the epics & history of the place.

                                              
                         We started with water bottles and few biscuit packets to help us on the way if necessary. The steps were not so steep and even the roof was laid well to protect from heat and rain. So the climb of 1300 steps was not so difficult. Even in such all positive conditions, we had a little trouble and miraculously god sent his help in an unexpected way.
                      After having leisure breaks on the way for lime soda (at 600 steps) and taking rest, we were on the top at 12.30. Darshan of the lord didn't take much time in a special darshan queue of Rs 10/-. First we were directed to Goddess Amrithavalli and then to Yoga narasimha and we found the idols really pleasant. After finishing darshan, we purchased pulihora and curd rice sold there and formally finished our lunch with them. Then we descended which was relatively very easy and fast.
                             We didn't dare to go and visit the lord Hanuman on the small hill which consists 400 steps. Paying apologies mentally, we headed towards one of the Arupdaiveedu- Tiruthani which is 20 KM from Shilinghur. This temple of Lord Subrahmanya is on a small hill which can be reached very easily on car. Even the crowd here is moderate and we finished special darshan in 15-20 minutes.

                                                        
                     In a short while, we were on road back to home. After crossing Krishna giri, there was a temple visible from the highway, being called the Ratnagiri Balamurugan temple. We didn't miss the darshan of lord here with around 150 steps to reach there. We later realized that we can reach the top even by car. But we thought, since we absconded the small hill there at Sholinghur, we were made to climb this.

                                         
Within a very short time, our 4 wheels and 4 legs were on road again to flood towards the sweet home.
                    Last but not the least is to mention about the monkeys at Sholinghur which equalled in number to almost the number of visitors. Everyone was given stick to frighten the poor little devils.

                                                    

The perfect combination of Yoga and Bhoga-Devarayana Durga

                       Last Sunday(8/5/2011), my husband's research took us to 2 great temples of Lord Narasimha swami. The location is called Devarayana Durga which is around 60 KM from Malleswaram and the route goes via Peenya, Nelmangala and Dobbaspet.

                                                                                                         
                                      We comfortably followed the direction boards to reach the temple on the hill -Yoga narasimha swami temple. We went certain distance on car and then our legs took the responsibility to land us on the top of the hill.  The steps were not so steep so one can easily reach there. Since the temple closes by 1 PM and we were at the foot of the hill at 12.45, we reached up hurriedly not to miss the glance of the god.

                                                The views from  the top of the hill were fantastic and we captured many angles. We went there along with my brother's family and his brother's family who came to bangalore for a short trip. Since the batch was big we had great fun all the way. While coming down, we had the darshan of Bhoga narasima swami too and then started towards our sweet home after having a light tiffin at Kamat on the way.

                                             

Under the weight of white falls-Shivana samudra

           The whole week, my partner keeps searching in mind (and team bhp) what should be the next weekend gate way. Last saturday(14th of may, 2011), after good research, we actually started with Somnathpura in mind , but at the end we were under the cool and heavy waters of barah chukki.         
                       We both started at around 10 in the morning. For safe side, we had our boxes carrying Pulihara(puliyogare) with us and even an extra pair of dress. On the Mysore road, we diverted left when we saw Maddur following the boards of shivana Samudra. Actually we had with us the route to reach Somnathpura but strangely we kept driving in the direction of Shivana samudra. The road between maddur and Malavalli is a bit bad stretch but manageable. To reach Somnathpura one should divert right after malavalli which we didn't do. so we were at last at the gagan chukki water fall which we earlier thought would be out next trip.  
         Gagan chukki fall was good but not as amazing as Barahchukki,may be because of the less rains these days. We felt it would definitely deserve a visit during heavy rains time.

                                                                
                               Then we turned towards Barah chukki-The place where you reach very easily but tough to get out-this has got 2 way meaning:the beauty of the falls may not let you go or the steps to come back are a bit steep and more in number too. Old people may feel a bit tired to come back.
But, after we reach the foot of the fall, just stare at the falling water and I'm sure one will forget the world around. Its awesome.

                                            

                                        

                                                          
                          Our next destination was again still not decided, but we were at Talakadu, since my partner didn't want to miss the pious river cauvery and our judgement proved worthy. By the time we reached there, it was getting dark but we took a guide with us who managed to make us understand the history of the temple with his manageable English.(all other guides are Kannada guys and we don't understand that) Though he charged 150/- it was felt deserved. There is a story that people believe happened many years ago regarding the history of Talakadu:
                              The beautiful queen of Bangalore(or some other near by kingdom couldn't understand completely) had great possessions of jewellery and beauty. After the king died, the king of Mysore wanted to take the authority on them and sent his army to fight. but the queen, being a great Pativrata, gave 3 curses: Talakadu must be dumped under sand
a whirlpool should come (the point of its origination was not understood)
The king of Mysore should never have offspring.(even now all the heirs of Mysore king are adopted ones)
                             As per the 1st curse, Talakadu was covered under sand and many years later the department of Archeology got it out .Even now we can see the total area having sand and even the temples were on the same location. there are very good temples and great history behind them. without that guide, we're sure that we could not at all do the darshan of the temples since it was dark and even the route seemed mysterious.
We strongly felt, we should have a 2nd visit during day time since the story was quite interesting. The pious river Cauvery was beautiful at the sunset time with reddish shade covering the calm water surface and cool breeze touching the depths of the heart.
                                 One more attraction on the route was the temple of Sri Ranganatha Swami which is called Madhya ranga
Adi ranga being-Sriranga patnam(near Mysore)
and antya ranga -Srirangam(Tamilnadu)
Some devotees believe that it is good if one can finish the darshan of these 3 temples in a single day and many people do that.

                                    

Deep into the falls-Chunchi falls

                      Last week end(30th April,2011), we both and my brother's family along with a forced bachelor friend started out on a trip to see the Mekedatu where the kaveri river flows so thin that a goat can cross over that. We travelled on the Kanakapura road till we reached a board showing direction towards Chunche falls.  So we were tempted to go in that direction since it was heavily raining at that time, we were left with no hopes to be carried till the Mekedatu.Before this, we had our lunch at the Pyramid Dhyana kendra which served a great Andhra style food and was a great place to spend time in meditation.
                                             

                                         
From a distance, the falls seemed so simple and quite normal but my great brother and his friend walked a bit further to find out a way which took us very near to the falls. The way went on rocks and between the trees which left us with a feeling as if we were on an adventurous journey. We were lucky to be lead by a villager present there till the actual point. the view from there was too good but we had to be very careful while walking on the rocks.

                                         

                                          

                                              
                                              At last, after enjoying a considerable time there, we left with an aim to reach Sangam where the Rivers Cauvary and Arkavathy meet. The place was not so neat which pulled my husband back from taking a bath there despite carrying an extra pair of dress. My brother and his friend enjoyed the force of flowing waters and were left with great content to be able to take bath in a sangam in the evening time(Sandhya kalam). By the way that day was my brother's b'day according to thithi.
                                         

                                           
                                Since the time was late in the evening, we were left with no hopes to reach the Mekedatu. So we started towards our homes with great enjoyment of scenic beauty and great drive in a great whether saved as great memories in our hearts.

Most awaited hit to NH7-Hyderabad

                       From the time we got our new car, My husband was very keen to drive to Hyderabad since he heard that the route was simply superb.That proposal got strengthened after my uncle came to Bangalore on his car. But we went on many other trips to popular places like Madhurai, Temples in South Karnataka etc.We were never left unhappy with any trip.Each one was a great memory to be cherished. Hats off to my hubby's interest to drive long, even after late night working hours and restless week days. The extent to which he awaits a long drive in the weekend is proved in the way we start for a drive. Actually we thought of waking up at 3.30 in the morning so that we can start at around 4. But my husband, who went to bed at 11.30, woke up at 1.30 and could sleep no more at all. I was totally against for the drive since he may fall short of sleep and get strained.But, my God, he was very much ready for what he had waited for so long time. At last I was left with no other way except to follow him wholeheartedly.
                                 Coming to the drive, We started at around 5.45 in the morning at home and picked up a friend on the way and exact drive started at around 7. We took a break for breakfast after 2 hours and went ahead on the great road with great enthusiasm. We had yet another tea break which was not so satisfactory. But the energy levels of 3 of us were on peak due to the excellency of the route. The tolls collected were seeming a bit high  but again that doesn't matter much to our minds.
                 At last we were at the Samshabad road at around 2 PM. Dropped friend there, who was supposed to go somewhere near Uppal. Again the road that lead to Gachibowly from Samshabad was the beat part of the trip that dropped us on cloud 9. That was 6 lane road on each side and it left us the joy as if we were on some road in a country other than India. We reached our destination at 3 O'clock and took rest for some while.
                            The evening and the whole of the next day were busy with visits to various friends and relatives. Some of them were only half-satisfied due to our express visits and not giving them time for lunch /dinner. we know well, that was out of their love for us that they pretended to be angry on that part. But we didn't mind much.
                                      On Sunday we again started towards the Garden city at 10.30AM with the friend picked up again on the way and this time too the drive was declared to be the most enjoyable.

Un executed plan

Planned a lot to drive to Kakinada ..........
In the last moment dropped it .....
Otherwise it would have become the highlight of all

3 day trip to 7 destinations

                      We both and my cousin's family were all set to go on a 3 day trip towards Udipi but with no exact plan in mind where to start and where to end even after being on the road. We satred towards Tumkur road and after lot of discussion and consultation with some experienced guys, decided to first go to Kukke. We reached there in the evening and after having a very satisfactory darshan of lord Subrahmanya, we started towards Dharmasthala with an idea to stay there that night. We reached there at around 8 o'clock, took room in the Rajatadri guest house near Bus stop and then started hurriedly to temple since we were told that the darshan closes by 8.30. We were extremely lucky to be the last ones allowed into the temple after a bit of requesting the guards there. The golden idol of Lord Manjunatheswara was really striking and even the  Godess is a great competetor to that. After filling the eyes and heart with such a darshan, now its the the turn of our stoamch. Keeping in mind the previous experience of our couple, we were hesitating a bit to go and dine in the temple annadana. But, to test our luck again, we sat there and this time the result was a happy one. The Rasam served was very tasty treat to the hungry stomachs.

                                            The procession going on at that time in the temple was really strange and great. Some were going ahead of, the Palanquin carrying god, with flag posts of different colours in their hands. Some were playing the drums being carried witht them. A priest wearing all the gold ornaments(may be of the lord) on his body was accompanying the palanquin. Some other priests were offering lumps of cooked rice with mantra recitation and an act like Samprokshana. Later an elephant was made to lead the procession group with chamara in his trunk to fan the god. The entire process was unique and we were told that such procession takes place there every monday and some other special days. We felt ouselves lucky to witness such a thing and do circumambulations to the temple along with the God.

 
                                        Even the rooms of the devasthan deserve great appreciation for their maintaince and neatnesswith required furniture. That night we had sound sleep with great feasts to body, mind and soul.
                                    Next morning, I was the incharge to see that everyone wakes up by 5.30 and gets ready by 7.30 atleast. Our neaxt hit was Udipi, the abode of lord Krishna as a boy. The very sight of the idol of the Lord here is very fascinating with great decoration of ornaments and flowers. By then, it was lunch time and we dared to experience the unique feature of this temple, one might have never heard of. The food here is served on the bare floor. We were in great confusion, till the moment the food was served before us, how that was possible, since the typical Karnataka food itself has Rasam and Sambar as it main dishes. But that was altogether a different experience at the end since we may not have the chance to do so anywhere or with anyone else. Again here, the taste of the food and the maintaince of the premises, despite serving on the floor, were really really good.
                                        With all smiles for the event happened, we were on the roads to reach Murudeshwar. This destination was a feast to nature lovers since one can reach the 18th floor of the gigantic structure of the rajagopuram. Thanks to the management for the lift facility. The idol of Lord Murudeshwar, with Arabian sea as its back drop, was awesome. The beach side restaurent offers a feel of the very pleasant atmosphere. The slightly spicy snacks in such a cool and windy surroundings leave one with unperturbed relaxation.
                                                 After making ourselves comfortable by filling our bellies, the engine was on raise again to reach Kollur, where a dumb demon Mookasura was killed by the Godess to derive her name Mookambika. The temple architecture says it all that it was an old construction but the darshan of the small idol of the Godess was a great blessing. With a dilemma for some time whether to start for Sringeri or stay there in Kollur itself, at last we stopped there that night since we have no idea how the route was. The next day when we were on the way to Srinigeri, our decision was declared to be the prompt one since the Agumbe ghat on the way there, was really challenging to drive.
                           Oh! What to say about Sringeri! For me, that is the heaven on the earth. The very beautiful idol of Sarada Mata- you can't turn your gaze away from that. Wish, the time stops there for ever. We even had the darshan of the peethadhipathi Sri Bharati Teertha Swami who was addressing some vedic students in the Guru Nivas. The mid day lunch was at the temple annadana complex which was again a master piece.
                                     The last stop of the trip was Hornadu which was 70 KM from Sringeri. The darshan of Annapurneswari is definitely a great memory to the spiritual journey of ones life. The route to reach here was like a puzzle since we don't know whether we're climbing up the hill or coming down. but the destination amidst hills on all its sides gives us great scenic postures. Even the drive is a great memory to be remembered.
                          By the time we reached back our homes, it was late in the night but since there were 2 drivers, we felt no stress at any moment. At the end, all are very happy to catch a trip that makes us smile whenever recalled.
                           

Madhurai and Srivilliputhur

                        On 20th of Feb, we both started at 6 in the morning for sanctifying ourselves by the visit of the temple in Madhurai.We had a short break in the middle for breakfast and then proceeded towards our destination without any break again. We reached there by 12.30 and relaxed ourselves for some time in the hotel. Most of the temples in Tamilnadu generally have an afternoon break and will be reopened in the evening time. So at 4PM, we went to temple and it took us around 2 hours to cover the entire temple. The temple is really gigantic and one feels proud to be a part of the country that has got such great architectural skills. The idol of Goddess Meenakshi is seen in dim lighting but we felt lucky to have a peaceful darshan for a considerable time. Even the darshan of Shiva linga, God Sundareshwar, was excellent and heart-filling. The temple has got five entry gates,one in each direction and the 5th being the simhadwara on the east side. One can enter the temple from any side of the above. The beauty of the temple is far out of reach of the camera lens. One has to just drink its glory with eyes. After finishing the mandir visit, we went to the Tirumala nayak Palace. The beauty of the palace can be seen only in the sound and light show organized every evening there in the palace. In that show, the complete story of the king Tirumala nayak is described in a film without picture(only sound and lights). We returned to our hotel with great glimpses to be remembered for ever

                                                                             
                                               The next day too, we started at 6 in the morning to give a visit to the temple in Srivilliputhur. The temple complex here is again very big where one has to get the darshan of Vatapatra sayi and Andal Amman. Here we had the darshan of Lord Vishnu in the middle of the sudardshan Chakra and Lord Yoga Narasimha one on each side of the same idol. The Kova here is very famous so we purchased  that and headed towards Bangalore with a lunch break at Adayar Anand Bhavan on the way. We were back at home by 4.30 in the evening with a long day remaining to relax ourselves after a long drive to a great place.
                               Over all, the roads to reach these places were simply superb and an average driver can go ahead at a constant speed of 120 on the entire stretch.

Great destinations in Bangalore

                 Last week end(12th and 13th Feb), we had visited some interesting places within Bangalore. Our first destination was Dodda Ganapthi followed by Dodda Basavanna. After having great lunch served at MTR,Lalbaugh, we relaxed for some time in the Lal Baugh garden. Then we proceeded to the samadhi of Sri Narayan Maharaj(Who is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Dattatreya) located at about a KM distance from the bull temple. Exactly opposite to that is located the Architectural miracle-Gavi Gangadhreswara temple.

                                             

This temple seems like a cave and the specialty of the temple is that the rays of the sun directly touch the idol of Shiva only on the day of Makara Sankranti passing amidst the Nandi's horns. One has to pass through a cave like part to get the complete darshan of the idols in the temple.

                                          
Our next stop of the day was at Ramakrishna Mutt where we had purchased many valuable books. 

                    Our next day trip was to the Kotilingeswara temple near Bangarpet. Here is the huge Shiva linga and many lingas(don't know whether the count reaches to 1 crore or not) and the temples of many gods and goddesses in the same complex.

                                               
From here the Golden Venkateswara temple was around 6 KM which was worth visiting. Here one has to have the darshan of the lord through a window of 6 passages believed to be the Arishdvargas. Here the temple is on a small hill and even the temple of Padmavathi Ammavaru is also on a hill opposite to this. The view from top the hillock was too good.
                 Thus we had a weekend in the city waiting for the next to be out of city.

A day out on a hillock-Melkote

                                        Yesterday(26th Jan 2011), we both started at 7 in the morning with the guidance obtained from team BHP and other sites to visit the place Melkote on Mysore route. Being highway, the route was great till Mandya and from there the route passed through many villages where one can enjoy the scenic beauty of sugarcane farms and bullock carts. We had our breakfast in Adigas restaurant near Maddur and were in Melkote by 11.30. First we proceeded towards the top of the hill and had the darshan of Lord Yoga Narasimha which was believed to be a swayambhu. The steps to go up are not very steep all the way but at some points they were. Having a own vehicle, one can go a bit more up to avoid some steps. The view from top of the hill and the atmosphere were simply superb. 

                                                   

                                             After having a satisfactory time spent on the top, we came down and went to Sri Cheluva Narayana temple which was again a master piece.It is believed that Lord Vishnu is fond of Alankara so the decoration in the temple was a proof to this belief. Then we instantly decided to pay a visit to Srirangapatnam which was 30KM from Melkote. This route again passes through some villages till some point and then meets the Bangalore-Mysore high way. The temple in Srirangapatnam opens at 4 in the evening. So we had to wait till that time to grab god's blessings. The idol in this temple was the sleeping pose of Lord Vishnu on the serpent king with Goddess Laxmi at his feet. That was a huge idol. 

                               The holiday being properly utilized, we then moved back to our abode, filled with ever fresh and refreshing thoughts.