Sunset point near Forest Homestay

December 20, 2019
The distance between our cottage and the sunset point was a kilometer of ups and downs. We had tea around 5-30 and left immediately. Pradeep was our guide. A newly wed couple from Bangalore had arrived at the home-stay, they joined us for the trek. Our four-legged friends joined us as well, either following us or leading us. They knew our destination, smart guys. This is one of the uphill stretches. Just before this we passed by a group of village people heading back home after day's work. They were wary of us, I think Sri's mustache was an attraction. I told the group Sri was Veerappan's brother. Their eyes widened for a moment and turned back to take another look at Sri. Nice to have a light moment :) We passed by couple of houses, a bunch of village kids were playing. They seemed to be tribal people.

The twin peaks of Maradi. Pradeep told us that our morning trek will be to the peak on the left.

We covered the kilometer in about 15 minutes. This is the sunset point. The ground was black-grey rock covering an acre or two. Nice place to relax, lot of space to meditate. As soon as we reached one of the four-legged friends suddenly became alert. Sri noticed he was focusing his attention in one direction. He had spotted a peacock and Sri got a glimpse of it before it vanished into the vegetation. Sri went in search but ended up disappointed. Pushpa settled down at one spot.. there she is looking at her phone screen.

The young couple found a spot for themselves. That's the western direction. Sun was partly behind clouds which seemed to be still, hardly any air moved.

I climbed down a bit to see what lay below. It was getting steeper with every step down and the vegetation got thicker. The rock type had caught my attention. It looked like igneous rock. Up there the rock was solid, not many cracks. Down here there seemed to be lot of cracks and grass had grown on it. Or may it was dirt which had settled over the rocks which was convenient for plants.

The crisscrossing cracks covered with grass. There were signs of quarrying here, not much just a little. Beneath the dark surface is light colored rock. It seemed to be relatively soft.

The canvas of Nature in the sky. Sun was over the horizon. I felt we might not see the Sun go down the horizon because of the clouds. Also, it would be misty as the temperature dropped.

By now three groups had formed- 1. Pushpa. Braveheart and Lionheart, 2. the young couple and 3. Pradeep and Sri. All groups were stationary, I was the only one still moving around. The rock formations were fascinating, wanted to see most of the surface. One of the sloping sides was covered with mounds and channels. This spot would be interesting during rains.. water would be flowing in little streams.

As the Sun got close to the horizon, the clouds grew darker. A huge triangular cloud had formed over the Sun.

The rock formation was getting intriguing, as I went further down, the mounds were more distinct. Looks like liquid rock had hardened, uneven cooling must have made the surface uneven.

This particular formation looked like a fish's backbone. So many surface cracks.. surely this is igneous rocks, probably this is relatively new.

The same formation seen from the opposite end. I must come and see this place during rains. It would be like looking at islands and rivers.

Sri and Pradeep. In the background is the slope of the hill we would be climbing soon.

A close look at the rock surface. Beautiful, isn't it.

Scale model of a gorge. The white stain is the result of slow moving water.

A little pit. The dirt trapped in the pit was home to this grass. The specialty of plant life is they are beautiful even in death. The mix of colors is pleasant.. shades of grey, off-white and mild red.

A natural bowl. This seems natural but there a good chance this is man made. Prehistoric men are known to make bowls or plates in stone and ate out of it during a particular festival. Or the bowl was made to grind seeds or mix paint for artwork. Need to explore more to understand the place better.

Pushpa talking to Braveheart. She was talking softly, while he was pretending to be listening and some times looking away to imply that she was being ignored. Lionheart kept little distance though part of the group. I sat for some time but did not want to intrude the gathering.

Another day passes by. If you happen to see the sky and rock floor below, they are of the same color!!

The final moments of our sunset. We decided to leave as we had to walk through the jungle and reach the estate before dark.

Back at the cottage, we had Pradeep bring in wood and make a fire. It was getting chilly and sitting around a fire would be the best thing to do.

We had had a hectic day, and I hadn't slept the night before. We finished dinner around 9-00 PM, spent some more time at the fire, until we almost ran out of wood. At 9-30 we called it an evening and turned in. We needed a good night's rest for the early morning trek up a hill.

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The Forest Homestay, Maradi

December 20, 2019
Our day started at Horanadu, we spent an hour at Annapoorneshwari Devasthana, had breakfast and started our journey towards Aldur. Though the bus ride from Kalasa and Kottigehara wasn't a comfortable one, I kept my mind busy by looking out at the hills, valleys and jungle. Few kilometers before Kottigehara, Sridhar pointed out to a huge scar of landslide two or three years ago. The effect was seen down in the valley as well. Long tree trunks and huge boulders lay heaps in the stream bed, all washed down the hills by rainwater. Our journey ended at the private bus stand at Kottigehara. None of us were in no mood for another bus ride, we hired a Omni to take us  to Forest Homestay. It was ages since I'd  ridden a Omni. The driver was experienced, it was an hour and half drive. The last two kilometers of the drive was dirt track, max 5 kmph. The Omni had to stop 100 meters before our destination since the road was too rough for Omni. So that's the arch of Forest Homestay, Maradi. we walked in with our bags.

A gracefully curving concrete path descended towards the coffee estate house. We were greeted by two friendly dogs. They seemed to be siblings, same color, build and height. That's Pushpa making a video on the way here. The place felt serene, was happy that our journey ended and I declared that I'll not be travelling by vehicle for the next 24 hours.

That's the estate owner Nuthan Maradi's house. We were the only guests for the day. The host welcomed us with buttermilk. I shouldn't have had the cold drink.. but couldn't resist the creamy drink.

This is the view from Nuthan's house. The dirt road descends deeper into the estate. There are two cottages and several tents for guests.

We checked out both cottages and decided on this one. This has an open dining hall, the room has five beds and attached bathroom. This plateau is situated next the valley where a stream flows, the sound of water was a soft background music, like the Tampura in classic Indian music.

Sri and I went for a short stroll down the estate path to check out the stream. Sri remembers seeing this stream gushing down in full force during one of the rainy seasons. BTW, Sri has been coming to this place a dozen times over the past six years. I was impatient to explore the surroundings but the immediate need was to eat and get rest.

Back at the cottage. Pushpa was hungry. As we waited for the lunch to arrive, Pushpa wanted a quick bite and got some chikki from her bag. One of our new friends was hungry too. There he is watching Pushpa open the package. He made sure he got the first bite :)

Our caretaker Pradeep and his colleague brought lunch from the kitchen and set it up on the table. Chapati, vegetable curries, rice, sambar, rasam, pappad, curds, sweet, and few other items. We thoroughly enjoyed the lunch. We rested until 4-15 or so. Sri and I had planned to go exploring with our cameras. Pushpa wanted to stay back and watch "Big Boss."

Our host Nuthan joined us. This is a pond on the other side of the valley. Behind me is another plateau. Guests can play football or volleyball here.

Nuthan's boys were preparing this mud volleyball pit. They were readying this for a large group coming here for the weekend. With its two water bodies, this plateau might be attracting wild animals at night.

We wanted to explore further. Nuthan carried on with his work while Sri and I went into this jungle towards another pond. In this direction, there are two hills. We would be climbing one of them in the morning, not the one seen here.

What seems like a dying tree still has life in it. The tree is infested with termites, a small ecology within the tree.

The ground is quite hard here, light colored soil. The two to three feet tall grass is at the end of its life, will be completely dry in 15 days or so. Sri was looking for birds. In the green cover ahead is the coffee estate. Everything looks so peaceful.

This pond was a pleasant surprise. The mirror surface says its all. Peaceful. But Nature has its way. There are little green birds flying around stealthily. They hop on from one bush to another, one by one.

The triangular pond is accessible comfortably from one side. The other two sides are either high or too soft for a good foothold. The place was silent, just the sound of birds chirping. Even the air was still here.

Perfect reflection, isn't it. That's Nature's canvas.

The rocky shore of the pond is birds landing place as well. This spot seems to be a favorite for water birds. So many signatures left behind. Watching water has a calming effect. Gentle movements of black dots and tails caught my attention.

A fleet of tadpoles or call it a school of tadpoles. They are shy creatures, the moment they saw my camera lens moving towards them, they started swimming away. I really enjoyed watching them swim. I called Sri to take a look at them. He replied its a waste. What!

There he goes after the winged creatures. He moves like a cat, silently but his bright orange tee-short is a like warning flag for his targets. Nevertheless, he gets his shots.

This little bird with green tail feathers are super active. It was a group of four or five. This bird has moved its tail to its right hence not seen here. These birds would fly over the water, and suddenly dive and hit the water with a splash and fly up again. We saw it happen seven or eight times. Not sure if it was the same bird every time or if they took turns. I guess they were catching little water insects.

A heron perched high up on a tree. It was sitting still for almost fifteen minutes before taking off. Probably its did not like our presence.

It was almost 5-15, time to head back to the cottage and grab a cup of hot tea. The plan for the evening was to trek to a sunset point. That would be nice.. to see sunsets from a hill top.

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Horanadu the abode of Annapoorneshwari Devi

The first and the last time I'd visited Hornadu and Sringeri was probably 1976. Somehow I never got a chance to visit them again until Sridhar prompted Horanadu plan for December first week. After little discussion, we froze on Dec-19th. The plan was to leave Bangalore Dec-19th night by KSRTC, reach Hornadu 20th morning, visit Annapoorneshwari temple and then travel to Forest Homestay near Aldur. Sri booked the tickets. I'd not revealed the plan to Pushpa until a week to go. When I reveled my plan, mom told her plan of going out of town. Oh! Pushpa won't stay home alone, she'll have to join us. Another ticket was booked. How she poked me for trying to sneak away for the weekend.

Dec-19th morning, my nose started acting funny. By evening it was running. What a bad timing for a cold. Can't real travel in that state but I was in no mood to cancel the trip. Pushpa had packed the bags by the time came home from work. Dinner at usual time. We left home by 9-00 PM, took the Metro to KSRTC bus-stand. I was amazed to see the infrastructure connecting Metro, KSRTC bus-stand, BMTC and the railway station.. convenient for people commuting by public transport.

The bus left on time. Seated in the first row of Volvo B7R, we had a good view of the road. The journey was good until Chikkamagalur bus-stand. However, the cold air from the air-conditioner had worsened my cold, my throat was itchy,  Once the bus took the hilly roads, the bus was turning every 100 meters. The experienced driver maneuvered the agile B7R like a car. I was swaying like a tree in wind, had to grab on to the arm rests to stay still. Pushpa had curled up occupying both seats on her side. I was relieved to see her asleep. I did not fall asleep but kept my eyes closed, need whatever rest they could get. The roads getting more twisty, little after 5-15 AM, some of the bends were so tight, the bus had to be reversed little bit. The journey ended at 5-30, it was still dark. The bus-stop is right in front of the temple and the lodge we would be checking into was a minute's walk.

We checked into the lodge was simple and clean. Its balcony had a good view of the hills on the left, a valley straight ahead and the temple complex on the right. Horanadu as such is because of Annapoorneshwari Devastana, a sweet little place loved by people for its serene ambiance. This is how the day began..

Looking in the direction of the temple. Not many visitors at this time since the temple is not open to public. We freshened up and went down for a cup of tea.. needed one to distract myself from the nagging throat irritation and running nose. The weather was cool, air was clean, I was hoping to recover from the cold by end of the day.

The lodge was right besides the temple guest house. The water tank belongs to the temple which is fed by streams flowing through these hills, I think. There were fishes in the water, they keep the water clean, in fact its a small ecosystem in there. With the day getting brighter, the place was getting busier. On the other side of the temple is a three storied building which provides accommodation to visitors. A large group of children on a school trip had occupied the rooms.

This is the valley through which flowed a stream, the soft gurgling music mixed with the sounds of chirping birds..

Buildings on the other side of the lodge, they are mostly lodges and guest houses. Beyond these buildings are coconut & arecanut plantations, paddy fields, coffee plantation and jungles.

Quoting few lines from the temple's website- Sri Kshetra Horanadu: The great deity of Adishakthyathmaka Sri Annapoorneshwari’s Prathistapana was done by his holiness Agasthya Maharishi several centuries back. The hereditary Dharmakartharu of our family started 400 years back. Till the 5th Dharmakartharu, the temple was having a very small structure surrounded by full of natural vegetation and forest. Even then at least one or more people used to visit the temple, have pooja and were provided with free food (annaprasadam) and shelter and it is continued till date.

This is the temple's main entrance. A flight of steps rises to the temple courtyard. Photography is prohibited inside the temple.

The temple is being managed by a family for the past 400 years. The head priest is known as Dharmakartharu. The current priest is the VII Dharmakartharu. The name Annapoorneshwari is formed by two words Anna (food) and Poorna (perfect). Annapoorneshwari Devi is an avatar of Lord Shiva's wife Parvati, worshiped as the provider of food. I remember my parents telling about our visit here. The temple provided morning coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Such hospitality was seen only here. Now, morning coffee seems to be off the list. We entered the temple around 7-15, there was a queue of some 250 people, by the time got darshan of the deity it was 8-30. The temple is connected to the choultry where food is served. We had to wait 20 minutes for our turn. Breakfast was avalakki and coffee. The choultry is well kept and service was efficient.

This little building is the guest house. I'm guessing this is where we stayed during our visit back in 70s.

Having done with the temple visit, had another round breakfast, packed up & checked out, and came to the bus-stand with our bags. The next was shopping. Sri had a list.. coffee powder, spices, pickles, etc. Pushpa picked up coffee along with edible coconut oil, pickles and a chunk of halwa. We had one extra back full of our shopping. In the mean time a bus was ready to leave to Kalasa from where we had to catch a bus to Aldur. We hopped in. As we drove out of Horanadu, we got to see the beauty of the place.. the age old tiled houses, the paddy fields ready for harvest.. wish we had come for a walk. Anyway..

Horanadu has few coffee processing shops, fresh coffee at very good price. This is one place to be visited during a rainy season.

The bus reached Kalasa in 20 minutes. We had two routes to Aldur, via Balehonnur or via Kottigehara and Mudigere. On inquiring a bus driver suggested us to take his bus going to Kottigehara. It was a short-chassis bus, proven vehicle for these hilly roads. The journey was more than uncomfortable.. one side my cold was getting worse and on the other hand Pushpa was dull, the rock & roll drive was a torture to her. Its far too difficult to see her in that state.. I just kept praying the journey ended as quickly as possible.
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