The history of this gathering goes back to December 2020. A trip to a resort called Jhari Eco Stay in Chikkamagaluru district was planned by my friends from Vijaya High School, Bangalore. I couldn't join them. The five friends- Anil, Kiran, Naag, Skanda & Viji -had a great time at Jhari. Seeing the photos & videos of the gang chilling it out in the chilly weather, I knew I had missed a wonderful time. It was almost impossible to break away from the ongoing work at our apartment at Dharwad. My presence was required daily at the site to push the builder. Mid January 2021, after a simple house warming ceremony we moved into our new home. I wanted my friends to visit us and see our new home. July 2021 four of five friends- Anil, Kiran, Naag & Skanda -traveled from Bangalore to Dharwad. Viji couldn't break away from his office work. During that 3-day gathering we spent time together... two home cooked meals at our place, two late evening parties, an early morning bicycle ride, a visit to two historic temples and breakfast at a popular local eatery. It was a memorable gathering, moments of which remains fresh to this day. Despite the two gatherings, the full group was yet to unite in one place.
Beginning of January 2022 another gathering was proposed, tentative venue was Skanda's farm at his ancestral village. The proposal was on hold since most of us were busy, none of us could commit availability. A few weeks before this proposal cropped up, our friend Naag's trips to Bhoohalli became a hot topic. Bhoohalli is a remote village near a town called Sathanur about 80 km southwest of Bengaluru, situated close to Muttatti forest. The core of the topic was a little eatery called Sneha Jeevi Siddu Hotel whose menu consisted of South Indian dishes like dosa, idli, bonda, lemon rice, etc. Every visit to SJSH was rated 5/5 and the shocking part was the pricing. During one of the visits, a filling breakfast for two members was ₹70. We doubted Siddu's math but Naag verified the numbers, no errors found. Then we wondered if Siddu was giving discount. Naag confirmed no special discounts. The pricing was unbelievable!! Once we even had a con-call to audit the rates & billing. We went to the extent of telling that he was charging way too less but Siddu stuck to his numbers. We were stupefied by Siddu's honesty and simplicity. So, it was decided unanimously that we must visit SJSH for a breakfast once.
Months went by with no progress on the proposal. In between a plan came up that we spent a day & night at Bhoohalli, and visit two historic places in the vicinity. The two places picked by me were Kabbaludurga fort & Bheemanakindi a natural rock formation. Then I proposed that we meet at any of the resorts near Tumkur. Viji researched and shared a couple of names, one near Kunigal and another near Kanakapura. In the second week of June, during a joint call between Naag, Viji & I, the dates and place were decided- July 2nd and 3rd at Odyssey Retreat. Then we added Anil to the call. He too was okay. I think we kind of took the liberty of finalizing on behalf of Kiran, Skanda and BRS. I booked train tickets for both onward & return journeys. Couple of days later two more friends- Arun & Sam -two more friends confirmed their attendance. Great! The plan was cast- 9 of us would be checking into Odyssey Retreat on Sat afternoon, stay overnight and checking out on Sunday morning.
My onward train journey started at 5-15 am. The question was how do I reach the station that early. Autorickshaw was not an option. I decided to walk the 1.75 km way to Dharwad railway station. One week before the journey, around 4-30 am, I went walking to the station. It took me 22 minutes. Good timing. However, with two bags and an umbrella the timing might go up by a few minutes. So rounding it off to 30 minutes, I decided to leave at 4-30 am. July 1st morning. There was one worry though. What if it rains heavily. I can't travel in soaked trousers and footwear. I'll have to take that chance.
July 1st. I was up at 3 am. First thing I looked outside. It had rained little. Never mind. I cooked breakfast for Pushpa. Packed chapati and sprouts for myself. After the usual morning duties I was ready to leave. It started raining. Pushpa was concerned, told her its manageable. My trek to the railway station started with an umbrella raised, but raindrops were landing on my bags. My route runs over a hill which means half way is uphill and other half is downhill. Thankfully rain was light, it stopped after 5 minutes. Around the half way point, it rained again which lasted for 5 minutes. The downhill stretch passed quickly, it was a relief to step into the RS. I made it in 20 minutes! Intercity Express was already on the platform, I found my coach & seat. First thing I wiped the umbrella with a tissue and placed with the bags. Train departure was on time..
The journey was neither boring nor interesting... most of the I looked outside... vast farmlands, green crops, a peacock or a deer somewhere, went across several rivers and streams, Tungabhadra being the major one. The train arrived at Bangalore City station on time i.e. 1:55 PM, I made my way to Metro, a good 20 minutes walk. I alighted at MG Road Metro station, my brother & niece picked me up and we went home. Officially I'm at Bengaluru now. Brother, mom and I chatted until 6 PM. I had an early dinner and hit the bed at 8-30. I woke up by 1-30 am not to fall asleep again.
At 4 AM, I go out of the bed, went through the morning duties and packed up my bags and booked a cab to Basavangudi. Said bye to mom, came out to our apartment entrance, the cab arrived in a minute. It was nice to see early morning Bangalore roads... the familiar route... KH Road, 3 gates of Lalbagh, the jungle like garden of Madhav Rao circle, KR Park and Netkallappa circle. My destination- Anil's home -is a minute's walk from the circle. Anil was yet to get ready, meantime I went for a short walk, withdrew cash at an ATM, and had a hot glass of filter coffee. Back at Anil's place, it was a treat to see a noisy flock of parrots lined up on a wall. With so much green cover in South Bengaluru, bird life seems to be thriving here.
Our plan was to rendezvous at an eatery on Kanakapura-Inner ring road junction. Before that we had to pick up Arun. The route until Uttarahalli was familiar but I could see a lot of changes. Skanda and Naag caught up with us. We picked up Arun and reached the rendezvous point, Kiran and Sam had arrived. Then in a couple of minutes, Viji too arrived in his car. So 8 of us assembled as planned. The ninth man, Subbu would be catching with a few hours later.
Next on the agenda was breakfast at Sneha Jeevi Siddu Hotel, Bhhoohalli, a 72 km journey. We decided to leave Viji's car at Odyssey Retreat, a short deviation off Kanakapura road. I was traveling this far on Kanakapura road after 35 years, the landscape was nothing like before. Also I remembered driving Alwyn Nissan Cabstar at crazy speeds on this road... while returning from Mekedatu I had raced with a Swaraj Mazda at 120 kmph! I realized how wild a bunch of teenagers could be. A weekend morning traffic was not exactly light... and there were cyclists on this highway! These guys are brave to be riding with cars, buses & trucks passing by closely. Dharwad cyclists are still lucky to be riding on almost deserted roads on the outskirts.
A few kilometers after Harohalli we stopped to get a few pictures of a rock hill. During that brief stop someone noticed a deflating tire in Skanda's TUV. We drove into the first petrol bunk we saw to refill air. The pressure wasn't holding which meant either a faulty valve or a puncture. Across the road was a tire shop... a short break while the mechanic looked into the issue.
The journey continues... Kanakapura town had transformed, what was once a large village once looked more like some locality of Bengaluru now. Kiran pointed out Vasu Hotel a popular joint for Masala Dosa. Groups traveling to/from Mekedatu invariably stopped there. Memories of having eaten there came alive, I remember the tables placed under a tin-roof shelter. From Kanakapura we turned towards Sathanur, traffic was lighter on this road. From Sathanur we turned towards Bhoohalli. This stretch was peaceful, farms lands on both sides of the road, we passed through couple of villages before reaching our destination. On the way this peak came into view. This could be Kabbaladurga hill - this was one of the places on our original agenda. The other place, Bheemanakindi is also part of this hill. I checked out photos posted on Google Maps, both places are worth a visit. I hope to make it here some other time.
So, here's Naag with Siddu. He seems to be feeling shy facing us. His little place was actually packed with local customers as well. They too were curious about us. I guess the sudden attention was little too much for our friend. He was scrambling around trying to attend to us and the local people. While we waited we checked out the dosa pantry, Siddu's sister was at work, she swiftly went out of the frame when I aimed my camera. Our breakfast was masala-dosa, coconut chutnis (with & without garlic), bonda and tea. We wanted to have idli as well but unexpected local crowd had emptied out the stock.
SJSH has a big sign board, the red/blue letters on white background is superb. The hand painted font and color combo is original and artistic. The sign board states the time based menus, one each for morning and afternoon. Coming to the eating area, its a two row arrangement, fixed granite slab tables & benches, easy to clean & maintain. This hall might have been dim & stuffy if not for the sky roof.
The next task was to pick up Subbu who was coming by a bus. We spoke with Subbu about the meeting point, we would be meeting at a village called Gabbadi Kavalu on Bengaluru-Harohalli road. A few kilometers before Gabbadi, we stopped for sugarcane juice and also to let Anil catch up with us. Cloudy weather feels nice as long as your are traveling, the moment we stop it gets little uncomfortable, especially when sun plays hide-n-seek. Close to the spot was a unique looking tree... a tree shaped by vehicles. This reminded me of tamarind tree lined stretch on Dharwad-Kalghatgi road. The other group in Anil's car caught up. Sugarcane juice was great, very refreshing! Our journey resumed with Naag driving like a race driver. We stopped at Gabbadi and within couple minutes we saw Subbu get off a bus. Good timing. From here I drove the TUV, road view was great, engine & transmission felt smooth. It must've been a fifteen minute drive, we arrived at Odyssey, parked the car and stepped out vowing not to get into a vehicle until tomorrow morning. Even though we were an hour early, we were allowed to check in. Thanks to the friendly staff and Viji's organizing ability.
Odyssey Retreat is an interesting place. There were plenty of activities to keep the guests busy... swimming pool, rock climbing, sky walk, sky cycling, trekking, rain dance, basket ball, badminton, football, and many more. Our package included quite a few but I wasn't game for any, felt the same about my friends as well. Someone did mention about entering the pool but no such thing happened.
Our accommodation was a container dormitory. A new experience. The 10 bed dorm had two toilets, ACs and fans. For ten adults this space could be tight, we were just 9, so it was okay. Also we would be spending time inside just a few hours. We settled in, washed up and changed. I was eager to start the party right away, can't let hours pass in idleness. Party fuel was assembled on one of he beds with an announcement that inauguration was minutes away.
The party was inaugurated on the lawn in front of our dorm. Close to our dorm was the rock-climbing tower. So after a round, I got an idea of taking a few snaps from the top but we were skeptical if I would be allowed to climb up. Anyway, I approached the rock-climbing incharge seeking permission to climb to take pictures, permission denied. I requested them to take a few snaps of us from the top, thankfully it was accepted. So the container on the right is our dorm and we at the table on the lawn.
We had to pause our party for lunch. Menu had standard items offered by resorts, food was warm & tasty , I enjoyed the few items I had. Whoever designed the playout of this resort has done a neat job by keeping accommodation area away from the dining hall and recreation areas. The long bridge connecting the upper part and lower part of the resort is quite an attraction. It's a good stretch for group photos. Back at the dorm after lunch, couple of guys slept well while the rest chatted. I tried falling asleep in vain.
This group shot with all of us was taken on the lawn during tea time. Anil, Kiran, Sam, Skanda, Naag, Subbu, Arun, Viji and Sidd.
Weather was as sultry as it could get. I think it was after tea we spent some shooting at the basketball court. Not a single throw of mine scored a shot while Kiran, Sam and Viji did score a few. Back at the dorm rested a while. As we were preparing to resume the party, the skies opened up, the light shower lasted some 45 minutes. As it stopped a few of us were checking out the table & chairs on the lawn. Rest of the group sent a message that they had occupied a party shelter in the bonfire ground. Great! The party resumed. Kiran had brought a Bluetooth speaker with mic, we played a few songs. Kiran and Viji are enthusiastic singers, they sang a couple of numbers. Our talks touched younger years love stories... Naag and Viji narrated elaborately. Somehow the others escaped when Subbu changed the tracks during his turn. Arun spoke about his tryst with veganism, the topic sounded little serious. Then he amused us with Cuddapah Telegu, the focus was more on a particular word which is unbelievably versatile when it comes to fitting into any situation. I guess every language its own set of special words .. be it Dharwad Kannada, English, Hindi, or any other. At some point we tried to engage Naag with his "to be discussed later" list. The list was has topics ranging from saving forests & wildlife, ban on safari rides, Viji's upgradation, measuring convenience, some mansion Kiran spoke of, etc. Naag deftly deflected the topics!
A few of us had to force the rest to get up for dinner. As per the resort policy, dinner closes by 9-30 but the staff kept it open a little longer. Menu was almost the same as lunch, as usual I had a few items. On Viji's prodding I had a scoop of ice-cream. Normally I don't sweets after drinks, had to make an exception today. One pleasant surprise during dinner was the karaoke band. I think Viji and Kiran suggested a few Hindi numbers, the singer was good. I remember Arun asking for a philosophical Kannada number. The singer wasn't familiar. Then Arun asked for Shishunala Sharief songs. Again no. So we were back with Hindi numbers. At some point Viji took over the mic, his singing was impressive. Before the band closed for the evening I asked the band guy to sing yeh dosati hum nahi todenge... how can a friends party be complete without singing it!
After dinner we went back our adda. We had the bonfire lit and finished off the remaining fuel. Here's one shot with the bonfire blazing, the aroma of the smoke was heavenly.
I was groggy, feeling miserable. To shake of the grogginess I had a cold bath, it did help a little. We all had breakfast together. Back at the dorm a few of us packed our bags. Check out time was 11 AM but Viji and I decided to leave a little early. Kiran, Sam and Subbu wanted to tag along. So it was a quick bye-bye session and we were on the road. Subbu and I got off at the first Metro Station. Another round of hugs and byes. My energy level was really down, the only way to recharge was to get proper sleep. I alighted at City railway station stop. The 20 min walk from Metro station to the railway station felt like a 4 km trek. I reached an hour early, the platform was uncrowded, I could sit peacefully. However, the train was crowded, jam packed at times. Somehow I endured the 8½ hour journey, plus another 30 minute bus ride, plus a 5 minute walk to home. A hot bath, change of clothes and home food revived me. This was one of the rare nights of interrupted sleep.
This gathering, though a rushed one, will remain a memorable one.
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