Shiva Ganga - Nandi and the Footprints

Shivaraj, my teammate at Infosys suggested this place - ShivaGanga. Saturday morning, left from Airport road to Majestic and further to Yelehanka. Since we couldnt get the car as planned, we had to return back to Majestic stand. Finally, a bus onwards to Tumkur side. We were going North of Bangalore. Dozed off , all geared for the hot journey ahead.



A two hour journey , I could see the drynessall around and as we left the city , there was this distinct presence of Banyan trees on both sides of the road. Had seen this sight too many whenever I had gone to TamilNadu. We were on the Bangalore-Pune stretch and reached our destination in atmost two hours. An auto ride to the foot of the hill. Had tender coconuts , our energy drink....it was a hot hot day after all....

The first climb over the hill seemed moderate. We reached 'Patala Ganga' and went into a narrow slit in the rocks where there was a stream flowing. Lot many stories were told about the stream and its origin by the people around. The water was cool compared to the heat outside. Had to remove the shoes and now I could feel the steaming hot rocks. But then, in a few minutes got used to it and thought it better to walk barefoot. Jumping around for a shade in between to cool my feet , the walk among the hotbed of rocks was a different experience indeed. There was this carving of a goddess on the rocks and a small temple in between the rocks.No lights inside, coudnt see anything. We had to crawl inside.Even the mobile lights were of no use. Pitch dark , but then we did see the lamps burning and a priest came as if out of nowhere and gave the prasadam. We did a pradakshinam, crawling in the dark , using our hands to see where to take the next move. In another ten minutes we were outside again.

Kept climbing and could see many smaller rock cut temples, definitely old, scattered all over the hill. Many were in ruins and lay undisturbed, monkeys clamouring around waiting to snatch a food pack or bottle from tired unwary passersby. Another small climb uphill, we had our prasadam with us; saw this loner monkey coming down at us from uphill. And soon we were watching the loner go off with all the sweets and bottle of water we had with us. Left with no water, we took off for the next half of the journey, occasionally stopping by whenever questioned by the primate pack; just wave your hands out and prove to them there is nothing you have to offer them and they will be gone. Moved on and reached another small spring in between the rocks with numerous beliefs and stories renting the air. We got the theertham from a spring supposed to clear one of all his sins.

Relieved of all my sins, left happily for the next and final leg of the climb. It had turned very steep by now, the rusted iron railings never gave any more confidence to us amidst the strong winds making us feel as though the railings had turned to ropes! We could see lot many Nandi statues of various sizes scattered around , some magnificently laid out on huge rocks, others hidden away from site. There were also these housing areas , could have been where the soldiers used to rest. Scorching heat, we were happy to find an old man selling buttermilk. Never counted how many we had, but am sure he was certainly happy with us spending money over there.

Way on top is the temple , a pillar and lot many engravings all along the rocks. It was told to us that the soldiers had carved their names all over and it had remained there upto this day. The priests here were at war with the primate group, there would have been at least fifty of them.Spoke to the priest there and it surprised me when he said he was unaware of Infosys, the IT boom and how Bangalore had changed.

It was five in the evening then , rested there, slept for a while enjoyed the strong breeze and finally started our descent down. Took an entirely different path downhill, someone had put arrow marks to show the path. We came upon a footprint preserved on a rock, dunno if anyone had ever noticed it. How I wished I had a camera then! Was completely drained off, it was a hot day after all. Bought some grapes from the roadside and gulped them down during the bus trip back to Bangalore city. Was too tired to care about whether the grapes were clean or not!This was definitely one of the best short treks I ever had....

Hyderabad - Walk through the Galli

Infosys, Bangalore. 2003-'04.
A . A trip from Bangalore to Hyderabad -a three month training session for the entire team landed us in the Land of the Nizams!

Two friends who snare at each other, then it becomes really difficult to maintain order. Harper, usual self, his looks-can-kill attitude and Aarthi who just reached in time to hop onto the train. The train took off around 1800 in the evening; reached Hyderabad early morning. For someone from Bangalore, the first thing that comes to mind would be the wide and neat roads and the slower traffic as compared to Bangalore."Our office was situated somewhere near the Gatchi bowli stadium; we used to catch the huge commuter rickshaws which could easily more than twelve people."

Loads of Beer and Rick rides:

Loads of beer and meat with Harper and Jeevan and then cramping into rickshaws at night on our way back.....The nights usually ended up like this.

The Multiplex,Book shoppes and the PanchaGutta

That was one big happening place at that time. It was around Christmas time and Xmas bells were ringing at most of the stalls. Well, all malls have the same story..so nothing else happened other than window shopping.Another thing distinct in memory are the numerous second hand bookstalls around Pancha Gutta. This place was classy, different from the old city image but we did not visit inside.

Charminar and the Mecca Masjid


Unaware of the riots that broke out near the Mecca Masjid, we went to visit both the Charminar and Mecca Masjid! Just below the Charminar, I could see the smaller Devi mandir created at the corner. Its anyones guess why riots do happen over here in this part of the city. The visit to Mecca Masjid asked for more. I had gone with Shivraj and was just peeking inside the mosque, when someone invited us inside for prayer. Was thinking of a way to escape the situation when all of a sudden Shivaraj starts questioning the person on the very existance of Islam. I do wonder why he ever opened his mouth then! Our luck, the person answered calmly and even took us in to visit the graves of the former kings that were buried there. He even blessed us , though later on when he asked for a fee of 200 did I realize what his motive was;he finally settled for a 30. Outside the mosque people were selling old coins, most of which were forged, bangles,corals and other jewellery items.




Koti and the Jain temple

Went to Koti to get some of the famous coral stone necklaces for home. On the way , saw a Jain temple and decided to visit. It was the first time to a Jain temple, though I did get confused amidst the numerous gods all across the place. Took a walk in the crowded area. Made up my mind to visit Charminar some other day again, but alone....



Walk along the Gallis ...Alone.

Came alone this time. Went stright to the smaller streets behind Charminar. It was around 1400 then. No one was there to bother , so became more courageous and ventured far within into the community. Amidst the muslim houses , did see a few houses sporting the saffron flags and few smaller temples . Walked well for an hour and then went back to hotel. It was a good experience for me; bemusedwith the life among the smallest of the streets behind one of the most famous monuments of the country.




Golconda fort...Attacked by the Bees

The fort seemed majestic to me, though it was completely in ruins. It was the first fort I had been to and the immense expanse did show the importance of the fort in those times. I do remember reading the boarding there , saying it belonged to the Warangal tribe and then changed hands until Aurangzeb conquered it.

Along with Shivraj, ventured a bit away from the group. We climbed upon a few rocks and lo we were in between dried vegetation and grasses. Moved a bit more and glimpsed a man and his two kids carrying bottles of honey with them.Little did we realize what was to happen next. A swarm of bees emerged and filled the air. I could just glimpse Shivraj running for cover. Got caught in the swarm, could listen to him shouting at me to run over, but couldnt budge; was in total shock!. Pulled the shirt over the head and just laid down on the ground. In another minute, the commotion ended and they were gone as fast as they had come.Am still amazed why we never received even one bee sting!

Birla Mandir, Hussain Sagar Lake and Salar jung Museum

Climbed up all the way to the Birla Mandir. The view from the top was good since it covered the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad; the Hussain Sagar lake was in full view as was the Buddha statue in the middle. Salar Jung Museum is one good place to learn about the history of the city and the Nizams. Spend well over two hours there for there were countless treasures that one could feast upon!

Nehru Zoological Park and the Rural Handloom Fair at ShilpaRamam

It was big enough, but definitely not well maintained. Tried my ricks to identify animals through there pug marks, dried faeces and territory markings. Shivraj did believe me, much to Harpers agony and ever since hes been complementing me for this wild behavior. Then there was the Jurassic Park! I don't really want to comment on it. At the exit there was this museum which was showing videos of animals. We made the mistake of paying to watch the so called Documentary. There was just another family with a wailing child.....

The rural hand loom fair was our last stop before catching the train back.Bought a lot of art works, a woodwork painting, some kurtas, some clay work and there was also this amazing tableau of a rural village set up. Amazing it was to watch each hut representing each community that had existed in the past....Good time we had o'er here -the trip was overall, well, - dry and painstakingly silent one!!!!