Evenings and the end at Belgaum!

Phew!! I am tired of documenting all the memories of our “legendary” trek! My loyal readers may have noticed that I have always wrapped up the previous Belgaum trek blogs with the second meal of the day! Now the time has come when I shall reveal what happened after the second meal of the day! The time has also come to tell you what happened on the last day of this trip…!

Well, on the last day, we had some more adventure through water sports!! We did river crossing… we crossed “through” an aggressively flowing and deep river and on the rope through the air. I am sure you might be wondering, who were the brave ones to cross the turbulent river first and tie the rope on the other side. Well they were our experienced guides and organizers who knew swimming and battling the currents. We transported ourselves on the other side safely anchored to a rope… and came back through the water again holding safely to a rope. For more information on how river crossing is done please Google.

The main aim of this write-up is to tell my readers, who were not lucky enough to be with us, our activities during evenings after the second meal of the day! We had a campfire on both days. The first evening was spent mainly playing card games like uno. Seventeen people sitting around a table and playing uno! Well, it always seemed like an eternity before your turn came! Then there was the dinner and then sound sleep…!

The second evening, each one one of us was dead tired. Sitting around the campfire, we played “Mafia” (for those who don’t know this game…kindly google!) while having lots of hot pakodas!

This was followed by games which, almost grown-ups, like us would never even dream of playing…The tiredness seemed to vanish in the laughter that followed these games!

We were divided into teams of two.

The first game was “monkey and the bone” where the bone was a 15cm long log which the player had to pass on the bone to his team mate after completing an entire round around the circular courtyard with the bone between his/her knees, so that the team mate manages to take it between his knees. The two people are not allowed to touch each other at any time… I think u can very well imagine 2 people trying to exchange a finger long log between themusing their knees…now that was the fun part!!The first team to have all its members jump around the courtyard following all the rules,wins!

The next game was to balancea foot long stick – all team member had to use only their index fingers to do this… the catch was that we were not allowed to tilt the stick in any way…

And the last game was called “fruit salad”. In this game all the players take up one of four fruits decided between them. All players sit on chairs in a big circle… all except one.. Who doesn’t know which player is what fruit… A moderator not a part of the players calls out a fruit and players who are those fruits have to exchange their seats… In this interval the seeker has to get himself seated on one of the chairs… the person who doesn’t get a chair becomes the next seeker..!

Sounds Childish yeah…We had a lot of fun!

Last day evening, after the second meal of the day, we started again towards our return journey to Belgaum and therefrom to Mangalore. That evening, of the 20^th of August, was another eventful evening.

It so happened that we had to book tickets in two different buses by the same travels due to unavailability…thus four of us had to leave at 7p.m. and the rest at 8.30p.m.

We reached Belgaum before 5p.m. Smitha had made arrangements for us to wait in a hotel during the interval. As agreed four of us went ahead by the 7p.m. bus…

Half an hour later, Nitin receives a call from Ram-one of those four who went ahead saying that “they are having trouble”…and the call disconnects.

We called them up again and were told that there are some issues with the bus. That’s all. At 8:30p.m. we board the bus for our return journey.

Since our pick up point was supposed to be the first stop for our bus, we got in and started putting our luggage on the upper berth. The lower berth beneath us was already occupied and the curtains were drawn.

Suddenly the curtains open and out come the four Gypsies who had left earlier  screaming and scaring us… I nearly jumped and screamed myself..!! A sweet surprise…and shock and questions followed !! We soon realized that we had booked tickets on the same bus which started at 7p.m. (first pick up point), took a tour of Belgaum, and landed at our pickup point at 8:30p.m. !! What a fiasco!

Well, all’s well that ends well… We were pleased to be travelling together… Soon, 12 people were playing uno in the bus… 7 grownups crammed up in a 2-seater lower sleeper berth, 3 squatting in the passageway and 2 more hanging upside down from the top!

The end!!

River Crossing at Belgaum

Of three states, volcanoes and guerilla...

Ages ago, the earth was a violent ball that kept spewing fire and lava at its will. Research shows that it was due to a series of many such volcanic activities in India that the Deccan Plateau was formed centuries ago even before the great Himalayas came into being. With time, the lava solidified into igneous rocks and stayed back permanently like a burn mark on the body of the earth…What looks like any other part of the earth’s landscape to the untrained eye is an evidence of what the Earth has subjected itself to, to create a geographically diverse India…!

On the morning of the 19^th of august, we started our 10 km long trek to the visit the underground volcanic caves near the Sada village on the outskirts of Goa near the Karnataka border. The rain, which was our constant companion from the day we departed from Mangalore, had intensified that day. After walking on a kutcha road along the border of Maharashtra for a couple of kilometers, we turned left got into the grasses. The vegetation started getting thicker and thicker. Before we realized, we were into dense forests. A steep ascend began on an obscure path. Actually, there was never a path, we had to make our own…It seemed as if no one had come that way for ages! This was the time when Geetika got hit hard by a thorny shrub on her face. She had to walk with swollen lips for the next couple of hours!Ouch!!

What we encountered a few minutes later caught us unawares. On that slippery way covered with dried leaves wet by the ever-pouring rain and enveloped all around with dense vegetation, we stepped on something mossy and stony. And then again the next step was something similar… It was only a few minutes later that we realized that we were climbing up stony stairs!!

Let me tell you more about these mysterious stairs in the middle of the forest on the slopes of a mountain…

Flashback: “After walking on a kutcha road along the border of Maharashtra for a couple of kilometers, we turned left got into the grasses.”

When we turned left, we had taken the way to a fort – the Sada Fort – a strategic fort on the point where Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra meet in the Chorla Ghat. Shivaji, once upon a time, ruled the Sada fort. The slope of the mountain itself forms the fort. The stairs lead to a tabletop on the fort, which may have been home to the Maratha warriors. The tabletop is vast grassland formed of a certain type ofigneous rocks. The view of the outskirts of all the three states from the top of the fort was breath taking. It was only then that we realized how high we had climbed. I was suddenly filled with respect for Shivaji…! How could someone hide, what may have been a city in those days, so cleverly!! How could any one find such a place and think it to be suitable to build a home there hardly bringing about any modifications in the surroundings! Brilliant!

Due to the incessant rains, the tabletop had been transformed into a mash up of muddy puddles, grass and rocks. We half walked and half jumped through these puddles for the next hour. Very soon we encountered an opening in the ground that went a couple of feet across. Creepers dropped in from the ground above. Droplets of water hung along the edge of the ground and dropped into the world beneath the ground continuously – a cave – we were standing on top of a cave – in fact, a group of underground caves formed by volcanic activity!

It was a drop of about 15 feet into the cave. We could have easily jumped in guided by the strong roots of the trees that could be seen lining the edge of the opening… :P But we decided against this daredevilry for obvious reasons!!

As we explored the surroundings of the opening, we found that a large part of the ground around the huge opening was perforated with many small ones. We also found a freshly shed cobra skin (the cobra may have been nearly 10 feet long judging from the length of the skin shed!).

Through one of these opening, we descended into the cave, cautiously one after the other following the age-old rule of “ladies first”. ;)An underground path through dense vegetation unfolded itself before us . The problem with this dense vegetation was that they were those plants whose touch can make you want “Itchguard” urgently. Moreover the highly slippery descend made it impossible not to touch them… We, the Gypsies, are used to such things though, none of us needed “Itchguard”.

More surprises followed. There is a Shiv Ling in the interiors of this cave and a small temple. According to our guide, the priest comes there once a fortnight to perform puja taking a less treacherous path through the village! Shivaji always built a Shiva temple in the vicinity of his forts…! This was for Sada fort!

To add to this, wild bears that inhabit the slopes of the mountains regularly visit the cave. (We almost missed seeing one that day!)

Descending down again after exploring the caves, we took another kutcha road to the Sada village. The Sada village is one of the many examples of regional conflicts. The people here don’t get land to farm because they are domiciles of Karnataka residing under the jurisdiction of Goa! Talking of Independence!

We passed the village and had to go via a very steep and slippery descend through thick forests for another hour to reach the Sada waterfall. It was on this way that my sandals, unable to survive the rough terrain, broke down and I had to walk the entire leechy, muddy and slippery stretch with bare feet… I managed to fix it only after reaching the waterfall so that the way back was much comfortable!

The Sada waterfall reminded me so much of the Shimbola albeit, a somewhat toned down version. We had seen another hidden wonder of nature!

The way back seemed longer. We were walking all throughout the day on rough terrain and it was nearly three in the afternoon by then. We were all tired and refreshed at the same time! All along this way we encountered milestones, which announced the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka. And all along the way huge iron gates were built, apparently to keep out wild elephants from the small village of Sada. On our way back we went to a point in Goa to see the spectacular and mighty Sural Falls. The Sural falls are 350 feet in height and a trek there is impossible in monsoons. I do not remember the name of the point in Goa where we went to watch the Sural Falls. But it is from here, they say, that a human face like form is visible in the rocks of the valleys from where the Sural falls drop down. We were not lucky enough to witness this due to the misty atmosphere.

It was 4 p.m when we started back to Delta where we were waiting for the three days, We had our second meal of the day slightly earlier at 5p.m that day…

…to be continued

P.S:

We saw the effects of cheap liquor in Goa when we went to the point to watch the Sural Falls. The entire area in inhabited ONLY by drunkards. WE were exceptions there…(They say that it was not like this a year ago… Ill-effects of promoting tourism in Goa maybe!) One of the drunkards, with an intention to drive us away from the viewpoint, started showing off his English oratory skills by speaking about “The Great Karnataka” which was visible from there. You can imagine the comedy!

Felt funny and sad at the same time!

The underground caves

(Photographs courtesy Arun Mysore)

Shimbola and the Niagara of Belgaum

18^th August 2012:

Imagine flying at a height of about 1000ft above the earth’s surface. Suddenly you see this huge well amidst thick forest. About 400mts in diameter, this well seems to be filled with turbulent waters whose source is unknown. Curious to explore this unfathomed well-like structure, you swoop down right into it, only to be caught in chaos of wind and water where the most challenging task is to keep your eyes open!Through the deafening roar of water, you struggle to keep yourself in the air. And then it starts raining heavily. For a split second, the force of the wind pulls you down and the next second it blows you up! You are suddenly filled with a fear for your life…! Very soon you are completely tired and you let the wind have its way… you land hard on some rocks at the bottom of the well-like structure!

Once there when you do manage to open your eyes, all you can see is water plunging down forcefully and rapidly from a height of nearly 200ft. You are filled with awe as you see droplets of water clinging to the rocks and flying upwards-defying gravity.

As your eyes and ears get accustomed to the forces in the well, you are close enough to touch a rainbow at just a foot distance from you... After this, you can only be pleased with yourself for daring to take the risk to get into this treacherous place!

You are at the bottom of a rocky valley… in thick forestswhere the turbulent water keeps on gushing, warning everyone to stay away from it…!

Welcome to one of nature’s hidden wonders - Shimbola!!

We were not lucky enough to be flying, thus we had to walk through dense forests and navigate some really slippery and steep ascends and descends to reach the Shimbola falls. There was a time when we were standing on the edge of a hill and the guide stopped suddenly. We could not see any way to go ahead. He then pointed out at the very steep slope and said, “We have to go down this way!” Well, where there is a will, there is a way.

And so we went, admiring the beauty of the hills. The varieties of Ivy that grew on the trees was a sight to behold. Raindrops glistened as they rolled down from the leaves. An occasional mist was swirling around the trees. Our guide was making way for us cutting the dense vegetation just enough to let us through. We were in some magical land on earth!

The real magic unfolded as we approached a clearing, which revealed a steep valley going down for quite a distance. At one end of this valley, water was plummeting down like huge buckets of water being emptied every second.

We cautiously climbed down the valley and stood as close as we dared to the aggressive waters of Shimbola barely able to keep our eyes open in front of their grandeur. Getting into the waterfall was out of question!

Someday if you are brave enough to visit this mysterious waterfall (I do not think that it has seen many human beings) do remember to stand with you back towards the falls and open your eyes to the sight in front of you… For once, you can stand and gape at real beauty and live every moment of it!! You will feel as being a part of some National Geographic sequence featuring rain forests made to look enthralling with exquisite camera angles!

It was half past two in the afternoon when we started back from the Shimbola to our next destination – the Niagara of Belgaum. Though we were travelling the whole night of 17^th and then trekking the whole day on the 18^th with only breakfast in our tummies, we were neither hungry nor tired! That is the soothing effect nature can have on you.

After walking for the next hour on surprisingly level and grassy path with a few shallow streams to cross in between, we reached the Niagara of Belgaum. After the mystical effect the Shimbola had on us, Niagara of Belgaum was relatively subdued. The only justification for the name given to these falls could have been its almost horseshoe shape and that it falls in a tiered manner, thus looking like a micro-mini Niagara! And the water being relatively safe, we could enjoy ourselves in the falls!

As evening approached, a thick fog started enveloping the dense forests. The way back was quite eventless till someone spotted a green wine snake perched on a plant. Two brave gypsies, Vikram and Arun strode to the front, Arun caught the snake with the expertise of a snake catcher and Vikram let the snake glide playfully on his arms…For those who are getting goose bumps reading this, let me tell you that wine snakes are generally harmless.

As we moved further through the thick swirling mist, someone came across a world shrouded in mystery…in the depths of a pond. The pond looked like another mass of water from a distance. On closer examination, we found that it contained algae- blue, green and orange going deep inside. The surface of the water was still… like that still water that runs deep! And we do not know what secrets it holds in its depths!

For those who know Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows… It looked like the corpse filled lake Harry crosses with Dumbledore to retrieve Slytherin’s locket!

We had lunch at 6p.m. that day.(I call it lunch because it was only the second meal of the day!)

...to be continued

The Shimbola Falls

                                                                                              

Post Independence 2012

Albert Einstein’s compliment for India: “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made!”

I, being one of those teeming average-at-mathematics Indians, use this Indian invention for one main purpose – counting the number of days before the next holiday arrives… Counting holidays was done throughout school, college and now at work! I’m writing all this because I couldnot describe the pleasure of getting a satisfactory count of 4 holidays nearing after the 14^th of august this year.

I’m proud of the Indian who taught us to count!

Now, what matters is not the holidays, but how we spent those holidays. Most of my batchmates and roommates decided that they should take the way home to Mumbai and Bangalore…

But few like me decided to take the path less trodden… Those few were the Gypsies!

And those less trodden paths were in the parts of Western Ghats on the point where Karnataka meets Maharashtra and both of them together decide to surround the tiny Goa! Living on the edge (read border) is an excitement in itself…!

That Friday , the 17^th of august, was one of the most restless Friday I have ever come across. I was counting every hour from the time I boarded the bus to work in the morning till the time the clock struck 5:00p.m which is when I ran to the bus bay to take the first bus going out of the Infy campus that evening. A few hours and a flurry of activities later, I was in the bus, which would take us to Belgaum in the next 8-9 hours. Overnight bus rides with friends and cards are always fun…(Sona faced the wrath of most “+” cards while playing uno and I was proved to be the most honest person in bluff master:P

Sahana was laughing as usual.)

Belgaum arrived early morning the next day and we stopped at Hotel Ramdev to freshen up and have breakfast. From there we were escorted by Hrishikesh of Infinity adventures (who was to be our tour guide/organizer for the next 2 days)

On the way we passed by VTU (Visvesvaraya Technical University ) which is the alma-mater for most of the engineering students of Karnataka and many of the Gypsies, having been a part of this university, paid their “due respects” and got themselves photographed in front of this historical institution.

After approximately two hours of journey in a mini bus, we reached Delta Jungle resort which was going to be our home for the next 2 days. Just beyond the habitable point of this resort, stood a 2 feet tall cubical milestone which had Karnataka engraved on one side and Goa on the other. It thus announced the borders of both the states. There, near the milestone, a picturesque, aggressively flowing stream made its way from Goa to Karnataka cutting through thick vegetation. In that vast expanse of greenery, there was no indication of borders except for the blackened, mossy milestone…!

Delta Resort, unlike the fancy name, is a cluster of a few cottages and a central courtyard. The entire resort can be mistaken for a small village in a thick forest. The cottages can be described as “one room-bathroom”(analogous to one room-kitchen ) with sufficient beddings, enough to fulfill basic needs of “gypsies” like us. This secluded place in the Western Ghats has the luxury of electricity only in the evenings after sundown. Mobile networks have to be “caught” like butterflies in flight even as these butterflies are visible only in a small 2x2 square feet area in the central courtyard!

Moreover, leeches found a way to get into the cottages even through closed doors! For the two and a half days when we stayed there, we were totally in the wild without any luxuries of urban life.

The continuous pouring rain ensured that we never dried up!

The food we were served here was, however, the best we could ask for in the middle of a forest.

I was feeling really glad about celebrating the Independence week in this wild nature, defying borders (so what if they were just regional borders!) away from the luxuries of my daily life!

We checked into our “one room-bathroom” cottages on that rainy Saturday afternoon, dumped our luggage, changed into our trekking gear and proceeded towards our first destination – the Shimbola Falls…

To be continued…

The milestone behind Delta Resort