Trek to Kumara Parvatha-Part 3

We quickly settled down, put all our luggage into the tents and got into warm clothes. Now the next task ahead of us was to ignite the camp fire. All of us huddled together around location Raj, Sada and Kanthesh got into the task of lighting the firewood. :) With all the mist it was a tough one I must say. Finally with many special ingredients that Puneeth put along with the firewood we were able to put up a decent camp fire.

Our Camp fire :)

Most guys were exhausted and went to bed early. A couple of us sat outside savoring the beauty of Kumara Parvatha at night. The mist lifted after a while and we could see the entire hill range bathed in moon light. I was a marvelous sight and will stay in our minds forever. We decided to start the next part of our trek at 6 in the morning and went to bed. Raj and Sada being the wild life enthusiasts that they are went to the stream next to our camping site to try their luck in finding some rare amphibians and reptiles and they came back with pretty good pics :)

It was about two in the morning when Kiran woke up. In the process of getting out of his tent, which meant waking up Raj and Sada who were sleeping outside the tents in their sleeping bags woke all of us up. Then started the session of horror stories which didn't last long. As the tents were overcrowded all of us were cramped and we decided to get out of the tents and stretch our legs a bit. We noticed that the camp fire had died out. Raj tried to move the fire wood, lo and behold!!! Warming itself on the warm ashes was a shieldtail.

The rest of the night was uneventful.

Sada woke us up in the morning @ 6 and only a few of us were to climb to the peak. We decked ourselves up with warm clothes and came out of the tent. The cold was spine chilling!!! I wasn't able to speak properly, but this condition of ours did not last for long :) As the six of us started climbing the cold was no where to be found and we were panting and puffing in no time.

We clicked as many pics as we could on our way to the top. I this frenzy little did we realize that there was an alternate route to the peak and entered a forest nearby. The forest was leech infested. There were thousands of them. We had to run to save ourselves from them. No matter what they managed to get us :( especially me and Kantesh who were at the mercy of leeches. Pawan's leech socks were proving to be a boon.

This is why you should always wear leech socks!!!

We endured all this and went further in the route only to realize that it was taking us down the slope instead of taking us to the peak. So we turned back and retraced the path.

I and Raj stayed back while Sada, Kantesh, Abhi and Lokesh went upto the peak and returned back. Our trek finally remained incomplete. We came back to the camping site packed up our tents and started the trek back to Subramanya. Our last stop was at Bhattara mane.

Group photo @ Bhattara Mane

After having a relishing lunch there we continued our trek back. We reached Subramanya at 5 pm, caught the last bus to Mangalore and closed our eyes...

Trek to Kumara Parvatha-Part 2

We reached Subramanya at 10:45 AM (our plan was to reach there at 8AM, lets keep that apart). The next important thing was to find the starting point of the trek. We enquired with the locals and found out that we need to walk towards Anugraha lodge. For all of you aspiring trekkers here's the route to the foothills of kumara parvatha.

Route map, Courtesy Sadanand & Puneeth ;)

All of us were pretty excited on reaching the location from where we were supposed to start the trek. Raj was completely prepared with his leech socks on and shirt tucked in. If not for the Nikon D5000 in his hand some one would surely mistake him for a bandit :D The other guys who were wearing shoes tucked their trousers into the socks. I and Kanthesh who were wearing sandals were at the mercy of the leeches :)

We started the first phase of our trek at about 11:15 AM. The route from foot of the hills to Bhattara mane is a wonderful one. Most part of it comprises of evergreen forests forming thick canopy.

The thick canopy

We had done a lot of homework before leaving for this trek and we were completely aware that the Kumara Parvatha forests play host to a large population of King Cobras. We were keeping our fingers crossed hoping that we will get to see at least one of these elegant beauties in our two day trek. We were also hoping to see the Great Indian Hornbill :) its a sad thing to say that both of these prayers of ours went unanswered. Nonetheless we saw some exotic beauties on our way. I would like to share some of those in here.

A dung beetle :)

This dead tree was riddled with holes carved by woodpeckers!!

The elevation was exhausting and after about 4 KMs of trek the forest slowly faded out and the Sun shone mercilessly upon us. The climb became slower as each minute passed. I feel a bit ashamed to say this but I was looking forward to reaching Bhattara mane as soon as possible. The shola forests were uneventful, or at least we were not able to pay much attention because of the exhaustion. It was like the Software Engineer's lifestyle was taking its toll on us :) One thing that is worth mentioning here is the energy level that Chaddi had been maintaining. When all others were happy enough to find a place to sit he was hoppig and skipping all around the place.

After about 2 more kilometers we reached Bhattara mane at 2:30 PM. It seemed like an oasis in the middle of a desert. Each one of us spent 10 minutes soothing ourselves in the cool stream of water. What followed was one of the tastiest lunches that I've had recently.

Cooling our heels @ Bhattara Mane...

We were informed that if we were planning to reach Kallu Mantapa by evening we need to cross the forest checkpoint before 4PM. So, rejuvenated by the relishing sambar, rice and majjige (butter milk) that Bhattaru offered us we packed our bags, refilled our water bottles and started towards the check point which is about 200 Mts from there.

One important thing I would like to mention here, if u are planning to go to Bhattara mane for lunch u need to inform them before hand. Here is the mobile number on which you can contact them.

Bhattara Mane Mobile Number: +919448647947

The second phase of the trek passes through shola forests and they not offer any sort of shade.

The second phase of the trek.

Its better to start this phase in the evening. Half the distance was flat land and we cruised it with ease. Then came the elevations again and a series of cramps. Manju and Raj had been carrying the tent in turns for the entire trek (and we are thankful for that) until then and it had taken its toll. Both Raj and Manju suffered severe cramps. It was already getting dark and we could see thick clouds lurking in the horizon. So five of us Sada, Abhi, Lokesh, Kantesh and I decided that we will go ahead and look for the best place to camp for the night.

Sunset in Kumara Parvatha.

We found a picture perfect camping site near the Kallu Mantapa with a small stream just beside it. Someone had also brought in firewood for us (we had collected a lot of twigs on the way too). As soon as everyone reached the location we pitched our tents and sat down to relax. The mist slowly covered the entire hill and the lovely lady of night took the whole world into her arms...

Safe and cozy for the rest of the night... :)

Trek to Kumara Parvatha-Part 1

Last year when I first heard about the fun that Chethu and his friends had at Kumara Parvatha, I knew for sure that I had to visit this place. I mailed all the guys as soon as I came back from B'lore but we had to dump our idea as it was not the best time to go there.

One fine afternoon in November when most of us had been to Hotel Khushi to have tea, I brought up this idea again and almost all of them gave a thumbs up :) so we shot a mail to the remaining guys as soon as we returned to office and I must say that the response was really overwhelming!!! The next important task was to arrange tents for camping. We searched the entire net for any details about tents on rent in and around Udupi but in vain. Sada and Raj visited each and every shop that could possibly give out tents for rent but that turned out to be a futile exercise too. It had been raining incessantly for three days now and the non availability of tents was proving to be a show stopper. I, Raj and Sada finally bought sleeping bags just to make sure that all of us will have something to keep ourselves warm in the "Kallu Mantapa". Atlast Manju like the heroes in those hindi movies saved the day by saying that he would get the tents while coming from Bangalore :) one problem solved, but the rains had'nt stopped yet.

It was the D day. We packed all our bags before leaving for office on the 19th. We had decided to catch the last bus to DharmasthaLa from Udupi @ 7:20 PM. By the time we left office it started raining again and all of us were drenched, but the state of excitement in which we all were nothing could dampen our spirits. So as fate would have it, nine of us, Anroop, Abhi, Chaddi, Kanthesh, Kiran, Puneeth, Raj, Sada and I boarded the bus. Manju and Lokesh were to join us in DharmasthaLa.

We had lots of fun in the bus and were in DharmasthaLa in no time ;) We checked into our rooms and forced our eyes shut. In the anticipation of the fun that we would have for the next two days sleep was nowhere to be seen!!! The next thing I remember hearing was Sada calling out my name. He's always been our designated alarm guy oh and not to forget our designated Finance Minister too :D more on that later. Manju and Lokesh arrived early. All of us got ready had our breakfast and boarded the bus to Kukke Subramanya.

Standing 1712 mts tall Kumara Parvatha is the second highest peak in Karnataka and is considered to be the most difficult of all treks here. There are two ways to reach the peak, one from Somavaarapete and the other from Subramanya. From the Subramanya side the elevation varies from 40 to 70 degrees and is physically challenging. The total distance from the foot of the hills to the peak is 13KMs approx. The entire trek can be divided into 3 phases.

Phase 1. From Kukke Subramanya temple to Bhattara Mane.

Phase 2. From Bhattara Mane to Kallu Mantapa.

Phase 3. From Kallu Mantapa to the Peak.

Our plan was to start the trek from Subramanya side on 20th and reach Kallu Mantapa by sunset. The next day ie; 21st we would trek to the peak and descend back to Subramanya.

The adventure begins!!!!

ಪ್ರಗತಿಪಥದೆಡೆಗೆ...

ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ಯಾವುದೇ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ನೆಟ್ಟಗೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಡೆ ಬ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ ಎಂಬ ಕಾಳಿಂಗ ಸರ್ಪ ಹೆಡೆಯೆತ್ತಿ ನಿಂತಿದೆ, ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಾರ್ಯವಾಗಲಿ ಪ್ರಗತಿ ಪಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ, ಎಲ್ಲ ಕೆಲಸಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ವಿಳಂಬ, ದೇಶ ಪ್ರಜಾರಾಜ್ಯ ಆದರು ಒಂದೇ ಮನೆತನದ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ದೇಶದ ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾರಾಜಿಸುತ್ತ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ... ಜನಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತದಾನ ಎಂಬುವ ಹಕ್ಕಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದಿಹೂಗುವಂತೆ ಆಗಿದೆ.

ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾರತ ದೇಶ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಯಾರು ಎಷ್ಟು ಆರ್ಭಟ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ, ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ಕಡಿತ ದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಬೀಸಣಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಳಿ ಬೀಸಿಕೊಂಡು, ಮೊಂಬತ್ತಿಯ ಬೆಳಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ homework ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು, ಒಂದು ಬಿಂದಿಗೆ ನೀರಿಗಾಗಿ ಪರದಾಡುತ್ತ ಮಾತು ಮಾತಿಗೂ ತಮ್ಮ ಹಣೆಬರಹವನ್ನು ತೆಗಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾ ಕಾಲ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ನಾಗರಿಕನಿಗೆ ಅದು ಸುಳ್ಳು ಎಂದು ಗೊತ್ತು. ಎಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದರಲ್ಲಿ ಗೋಮುಖ ವ್ಯಾಘ್ರಗಳೇ ತುಂಬಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರನ್ನು ಚುನಾಯಿಸುವುದು?? ಯಾವ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಷ್ಟಗಳನ್ನು ನೀಗಿಸಲು ಸಮರ್ಥ?? ಸಮರ್ಥ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿ ಇದ್ದರೂ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಗೆಲುವು ಖಚಿತವೆ?? ಒಂದು ವೇಳೆ ಅವನು ಗೆದ್ದನು ಎಂದೇ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳೋಣ, ಅವನು ಆಮಿಷಗಳಿಗೆ ಒಳಗಾಗದೆ ತನ್ನನ್ನು ಗದ್ದುಗೆಗೆ ತಂದ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜನರ ಕಷ್ಟ ಕಾರ್ಪಣ್ಯಗಳನ್ನೂ ನೀಗುವನೆ?? ಅವನ ಸಹಚರರು ಇಂಥ ಪಥದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡಿಯಲು ಅವನಿಗೆ ಆಸ್ಪದ ನೀಡುವರೆ?? ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನ್ನನಾನು ಕೇಳುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.. ಇಂದಿನ ಸಮಾಜವೇ ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.

ತಾವು ಚುನಾಯಿಸಿದ ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಗಳು ಅವರ ಸ್ವಾರ್ಥಕ್ಕೋಸ್ಕರ ನಾಡಿನ ಏಳಿಗೆಯನ್ನು ಬಲಿಪಶು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವುದನ್ನು ಕಂಡು ಕಾಣದಂತೆ ಕೂಡಬೇಕಾದ ವಿಡಂಬನೆ ಇಂದಿನ ಜಾಗೃತ ನಾಗರೀಕನದು. ದೇಶ ಇಂದೇನಾದರೂ ಸಾಧಿಸುತ್ತಿಧೆ ಎಂದಾದರೆ ಅದು ಭಾರತ ದೇಶದ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಮನುಷ್ಯನಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ. ನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೆರೆದಿರುವ ಅನಕ್ಷರಸ್ಥ ಜನತೆಯ ಅಜ್ಞಾನವನ್ನು ದುರುಪಯೋಗ ಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರುವ ಪೂಂಜಿಪತಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಲಗಾಮು ಹಾಕುವ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ಈ ಅಸಾಮಾನ್ಯನಾದ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಿದೆ. ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಪುಟಗಳನ್ನು ಒಮ್ಮೆ ತಿರುವಿ ನೋಡಿದರೆ, ಅರಸರ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ದುರ್ಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಯಾವುದೇ ದೇಶದ ಏಳ್ಗೆಯಾಗಲಿ ಅದು ಸರ್ವೇಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ನಾಗರಿಕ ಆ ದೇಶದ ಅರಸರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ದಂಗೆ ಎದ್ದಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಿದೆ.

ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾರತ ದೇಶವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಗತಿ ಪಥದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಪಾತ್ರ ವಹಿಸಬೇಕಾದ so called "YOUNGISTAN" ಆದ ನಾವು ದೇಶದ ಆಡಳಿತವನ್ನು ಶುಚಿ ಗೊಳಿಸಲು ಮಾಡಬಹುದಾದಂತಹ ಕಾರ್ಯವಾದರು ಏನು ಎಂದು ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ ನನ್ನ ಮನಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿದಂತಹ ಒಂದು ಚಿಂತನೆಯನ್ನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮುಂದೆ ಇಡಲು ಇಚ್ಚಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.

ಬರಲಿದೆ ಭಾಗ ೨...

The Gluttony Song

Here is my take on the song "Saari umar hum" from the movie 3idiots :o)

Saari umar hum bhooke hi mar gayee

Ek pal toh chain se khaane do khaane do

Saari umar hum bhooke hi mar gaye

Ek pal toh chain se khaane do khaane do ooo

Naa nanana nana naa nanana naa nanana nana nanannananaaaa

Give me some idlis, give me some cakes

Give me samosas I wanna eat it once again

Give me some idlis, give me some cakes

Give me samosas I wanna eat it once agaaainnnn

Oily khaane ko cholestrol ke darr ne mitaya

"Dieting karr yaar" yeh khud doston ne bataya

Count rakh rakh ke kiya crunches, dibs or push ups ko saala,

Quaker oats ne toh pura pura muh kharab kar daala

Muh ka taste gaya, aur girl friend bhi gayi

Chalo ab toh chain se khaane do khaane do

(C'mmon everyone sing wid me...)

Muh ka taste gaya, aur girl friend bhi gayi

Chalo ab toh chain se khaane do khaane doooooooo

Saari umar hum bhooke hi mar gayee

Ek pal toh chain se khaane do khaane do

Saari umar hum bhooke hi mar gaye

Ek pal toh chain se khaane do khaane do ooo

Naa nanana nana naa nanana naa nanana nana nanannananaaaa

The Reignited Fire...

Unless u've been living in a forest or on top of the tallest mountains u'd already know about the paryaaya festivities going on at Udupi... This Lord Krishna's abode has been bustling with activity for past one month, the most important of it being the offering of the Navarathna Ratha (A golden chariot completely encrusted with the 9 precious gems). Keep an eye on my orkut account, I'll be uploading the photos shortly.

The 3rd paryaaya of Shri Shri Sugunendra Tirtha Swamiji of Puttige Math came to an end on the 17th of Jan 2010 and Shri Shri Lakshmi vara Tirtha Swamiji of Shiroor Math took charge on morning of 18th Jan 2010. For more details on the paryaaya click here.

The night of 17th and the dawn of 18th were completely marked with cultural programs organized at every nook and corner of the temple town, flute rendering by Pravin Godkhindi and Mimicry Dayanand's show which tickled the funny bone even at 3 in the morning being the most notable ones. I wasn't lucky enough to witness both these geniuses in action as I was to come back from Bangalore only on 18th morning.

The festivities were to continue even on 18th night so I returned early from work, went to the temple to get a glimpse of the almighty, where I was Joined by Manju, Chandu and Paban. We started searching desperately for any cultural programs but found none to our despair. So we spent some time loitering around in the temple premises, had masala dosa @ the famous mitra samaj and were on our way home when Pawan's (my roomie) mobile rang. It was Anroop (alias Chethan). There was excitement in his voice, he said "Dude there's a gig going on in the field next to the temple, its by the PSYCHO GUY"!!! We took a minute to comprehend what he'd just said. Once it sank in, it was pure adrenaline rush.

If it was Raghu Dixit then we had to attend this gig. We turned around and ran towards the temple, we'd not travelled far when we could already hear the familiar voice of Raghu and the guitar jamming in the background for the song "Neene beku" from psycho.We followed the direction from where the music was coming then lo and behold, brilliant spot lights beckoned us to the location where Raghu was performing.

Once we entered the location it was pure fun, I once for all wanted to get to the front of the crowd, where all the guys were enjoying like hell :) but for some reason unknown to me Paban and Anroop were in no mood to accompany me. No sooner did the pace of the guitar pick up for the Khidki song Paban got into the groove, then started the sessions of shouting, jumping and head banging. With our antics we did manage to turn some heads towards us :D

Over all the entire evening was marvelous, I've always been attracted to the guitar both as an instrument and for its style statement. Whenever I see a performance like this the thought of learning guitar ensnares me :) this time it seems like the urge to learn it is psychotic. Yesterday's concert has reignited in me a fire that had burned out, it has brought back to me a long lost love for music and guitar. So the next time u see me don't be surprised if I am playing the guitar and singing "No one will ever love u, like I do!!!"

South Karnataka trip ಪುರಾಣ (ಭಾಗ ೨ )

ಬೆಳ್ಳಂ ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಜನರ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ಗಳು ಕೂಗಿಕೊಂಡ್ವು. ಎಲ್ರು ದಡ ಬಡ ಎದ್ದು ಬಚ್ಚಲು ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ನೋಡ್ತಿವಿ ನಲ್ಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೈ ಕೊರೆಯುವಂಥ ತಣ್ಣೀರು. ಓಡಿ ಹೋಗಿ lodge ಮಾಲಿಕನ್ನ ಎಬ್ಸಿದ್ವಿ, 5 :30 ಇಂದ ಬಿಸಿ ನೀರು ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿ ಮಲಗಿಯೇಬಿಟ್ಟ.. ಪಾಪ ಅಭಿ ಕೊರೆಯುವ ಚಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಗೆ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಬಂದ.. ನಾನು ಒಳಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಒಂದು bucket ತಣ್ಣೀರು ಖಾಲಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಟ್ಟಾಗ ಬಿಸಿ ಬಿಸಿ ನೀರು, "ಲೋ ಮಕ್ಳ ಬಿಸಿ ನೇರು ಕಣ್ರೋ" ಅಂತ ಕೂಗಿ ಹೇಳಿದೆ, ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗು ಸಂಭ್ರಮವೂ ಸಂಭ್ರಮ. 5 :30 ಎಲ್ರು ರೆಡಿ ಆಗಿ ಚಾ ಕುಡಿದು ತೀರ್ಥಹಳ್ಳಿ ಬಸ್ ಹತ್ತಿ ಕುಂತ್ವಿ.

ಬೆಚ್ಚಗೆ ಇದ್ದ seat ನಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತು ಎಲ್ಲರು ನಮ್ಮ earphone ಗಳನ್ನ ಕಿವಿಗೆ ಏರಿಸಿದ್ವಿ. ಅಷ್ಟೊತ್ತು ಮಲಗಿದ್ದ ಸೂರ್ಯ ನಿಧಾನಕ್ಕೆ ತನ್ನ ಕೆಂಪು ಕಣ್ಣನ್ನು (ರಾತ್ರಿ ಹೊಡೆದ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಆಗಿತ್ತೇನೋ ..) ತೆರೆಯುತ್ತ ಎದ್ದೆಳತೊಡಗಿದ , ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನ ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯದ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವನ್ನ ನೋಡಿದರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಕುವೆಂಪು ಏನು ಯಾರು ಬೇಕಾದರು ಕವಿಗಳಗ್ತಾರೆ. ಮೌಡ್ಯತೆಯ ಕತ್ತಲನ್ನು ಚೀರಿ, ಜಾಡ್ಯ ಎಂಬ ಮಂಜನ್ನು ನೀರಾಗಿಸಿ, ಹೊಸ ಭರವಸೆ, ಆಸೆಗಳೆಂಬ ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾರಿಸುತ್ತ ಇನ ಬಾಂದಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೇಲೆರಿದನು.

ಇಂಪಾದ ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳ ಗಾನವನ್ನು ಕೇಳುತ್ತ ನಾನು ಹಾಗೆ ನಿದ್ರಾ ದೇವಿಯ ಮಡಿಲಿಗೆ ಜಾರಿಬಿಟ್ಟೆ. ಎದ್ದಿದ್ದು ತೀರ್ಥಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ. ಸುತ್ತ ನೋಡ್ತಿನಿ, ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನ ಎಲ್ಲ ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಬಸ್ ನಲ್ಲೆ ಇದ್ವು, ಹಳದಿ ಚೂಡಿದಾರ ಧರಿಸಿದ್ದ ಒಂದ್ ಹಕ್ಕಿಯಂತು ಮನ ಮೋಹಕವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ನನ್ನ ಮಿತ್ರದ್ರೋಹಿ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರು ನನ್ನು ಎಬ್ಬಿಸದೆ ಅವರೇ ಮಜಾ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು :o( ಅವೆಲ್ಲ ಇವಾಗ ಯಾಕೆ ಬಿಡಿ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಸಾಗರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ ತಿಂಡಿ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ಜೋಗಕ್ಕೆ ಬಸ್ ಹತ್ತಿದಾಗ ಸಮಯ 11:45 .

ಜಗತ್ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ಜೋಗ ಜಲಪಾತ, ರಾಜ, ರಾಣಿ ಮತ್ತು ರೊಕೆಟ್ ಕುಯ್ಯೋ ಮರ್ರೋ ಅಂತ ಇದ್ರು. ಟೆನ್ಶನ್ ತಗೋಬೇಡಿ, ನನ್ನ ಮಾತಿನ ಅರ್ಥ ನೀರು ಹೆಚ್ಗೆ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ರೋರೆರ್ ಒಬ್ಬ ಮತ್ರ ರಾರಾಜಿಸ್ತ ಇದ್ದ. ನೀರು ಹೆಚ್ಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ್ದರಿಂದ ನಮಗೆ ನೀರಲ್ಲಿ ಆಟ ಆಡೋ ಹಂಬಲ ಆಗಿ ಕೆಳಗೆ ಇಳಿಯೋಕೆ ಶುರು ಮಾಡಿದ್ವಿ. ಯಾತ್ರಿಕರಿಗೆ ಸಹಾಯ ಆಗ್ಲಿ ಅಂತ concrete ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲುಗಳನ್ನ ಮಾಡಿದೆ ಸರಕಾರ, ಆದರೆ ಮುಂಚಿನ ಕಾಲು ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡಿಯೋ ಮಜಾ ಈಗ ಇಲ್ಲ. ತಮ್ಮ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸವಿಲು ಬಂದ ರಸಿಕರ ಜೊತೆ ರಾಜ, ರಾಣಿ, ರೋರೆರ್ ಮತ್ತು ರೊಕೆಟ್ ಮರಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಅವಿತು ಆಡುತಿದ್ದ ಕಣ್ಣ ಮುಚ್ಚಾಲೆ ಈಗ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಎಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದರು ಪ್ಲಾಸ್ಟಿಕ್ ಹಾವಳಿ. Will we never change ??

ಎಲ್ಲರು ಕೆಳಗೆ ಇಳಿದು ನಮ್ಮ ಚೀಲಗಳನ್ನ ಒಂದು ಬಂಡೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಗುಡ್ಡೆ ಹಾಕಿ ನೀರಿಗೆ ಧುಮುಕಿದೆವು. ಈಜು ಬಾರದೆ ಇದ್ದರೆ ಜೋಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ risk ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಾರದು. ಎಲ್ಲ ಬಂಡೆಗಳು ಪಾಚಿ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ತುಂಬಾ ಜಾರಿಕೆ, ಅದು ಅಲ್ಲದೆ sudden ಆಗಿ ಆಳ ಇರೋದ್ರಿಂದ ಬಂಡೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಒರಗಿಕೊಂಡೆ ಆಟ ಆಡಿ ವಾಪಾಸ್ ಬರಬೇಕಾಯಿತು. ಹಿಂದಿರುಗುವಾಗ 1700 odd ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲುಗಳನ್ನ ಹತ್ತುವುದೇ ಒಂದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಸಾಹಸ. ನನ್ನ ಕಾಲುಗಳು ನನ್ನ ಭಾರದ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಯಾಗ್ ಭಾರವನ್ನು ಹೊರಲಾರದೆ ಸೋತು ಹೋದವು. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅಭಿ ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಯಾಗ್ ಹೊತ್ತುಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದ (Thanx abhi). ಅಂತು ಇಂತೂ ಮೇಲೆ ಬಂದು ಸಾಗರಕ್ಕೆ ವಾಪಾಸ್ ಆದೆವು. ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಎಂಟಕ್ಕೆ ಬಸ್ ಹಿಡಿದು ಉಡುಪಿ ಗೆ ಬಂದು ತಲುಪುವಾಗ ರಾತ್ರಿ 1 ಘಂಟೆ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಜನವರಿ ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಟ್ರಿಪ್ ಹೋಗೋಣವೆಂದು ಮೆಸೇಜ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಎಲ್ಲರು ಮಲಗಿದೆವು.