Chikkasiddarabetta

Satish, Anil and I visited this hill sometime in 2003. We left Bangalore early morning by Satish's Santro, took NH4 towards Tumkur, stopped for tatte idli breakfast at one of the village eateries. There was no road going right up to the hill so we parked the car in one of the petrol bunks. We crossed the railway tracks and walked to the hill. This tree stuck out from the surroundings. It was a thick-petaled flower.

We talked about college days; adventures, mad driving, friends... As we climbed the hill we spoke more about the hill. What it was like some years ago. There's a small fort wall on the top. The path to the top was littered with discarded plastic bags and chicken feather. There's a tomb of a saint close to the summit. People of a particular community visit to pay respect and pray. These pilgrims cook there.

It was not possible for us to reach the summit since we had to do circus... I mean climb steep faced rocks. This hill seemed to be a kind of a watch tower for Paleger soldiers. There's two a small stone structures; one within the huge rocks and another one built on one of the edges. The fall is a couple of hundred feet deep.

That's Anil kneeling a foot away from the edge and acting as though he's falling. Satish was screaming at both of us. He's like a strict father, doesn't like taking unnecessary risks. This natural Bonsai was opposite Anil's corner.

Standing on the edge was fun. Somehow Satish was okay with this.

We saw a passenger train pass by on Tumkur-Bangalore line, and traffic was moderate on NH4 which runs parallel to the railway line.

The entire area is full of rock covered hills. We could capture a hazy shot of Shivagange which is close to this hill.

We explored the top and found that lot of rocks had a peculiar shape on the bottom side. We wondered if it was the effect of the wind... Later, during my visit to Thenginkalbetta I learnt that this is the effect of sharpening curved metal blades on the rock. The person doing the job would lie down on his back, hold the sword above and rub it's curved edge on the stone. Due to constant rubbing layers of the stone has eroded forming this arch. Since this was a Palegar hideout, the soldiers spent time preparing for fights.

The sun was up getting warm. As we explored, we stood at an edge and could see the shadows formed on a rock below. It was fun to shoot it. The three of us in shadow.

and in real...

It was a nice little gathering after many years. The last time we went out together was in 1990, to attend a wedding at Tiptur. That was a wild trip, a late night party and a drunken jaunt to a haunted poultry farm. 
.........