The sweet taste of rural life stayed back after the short stay at Sridhar's farm at Bhogasandra. Barely a week later another visit formed however the plan was to travel by train & bus. Having frozen the dates with Sridhar, I booked train tickets for onward & return journeys. Major portion of the distance would be covered in train and the remaining by walk, two-wheeler, autorickshaw & bus. For breakfast, instant uppit mix was made at home, quantity sufficient for 4 days. If not for uppit, Sridhar goes with cereals, oats, instant noodles. I'd skip breakfast rather than eating cereals or oats. With a day to go, I packed my bags, one for clothes, and the other for camera & refreshments for the journey.
Feb 6, 2023. The alarm for 3-00 woke me up. After the usual morning routine I was ready. Did some last minute packing like phone, charger, etc. Woke up Pushpa, said bye and started my trek to the railway station at 4-20 AM. The 1.75 km path goes over a hill, so the first part is a uphill, then a 300m flat stretch, the last part is downhill. The camera bag felt heaver with every passing minute, I must've changed hands a dozen times. It was 4-45 when I reached Dharwad station, Siddanganga Express was on the platform and settled down in my seat. The train departed as scheduled, at 5-15 AM.
I was tired and waiting to fall flat. This time, I made a bed of 3 layers- chaape, yoga mat and a folded quilt. Night weather was still chilly, so insulation was necessary. I slept well, despite getting up four times. Every time I stepped out and returned, my bed had chilled, a few minutes to warm it up and then I would be snoozing. The silence of the place was amazing, everything was still, so serene.
Due to ongoing track upgradation work between Hubballi & Haveri, the train was slow. Weather was pleasant, beautiful early mornings sights, spotted a small herd of deer in the fields, soon the train crossed Tungabhadra at Harihar, passed Bathi hill from a distance, had my breakfast of sprouts... after breakfast, I listened to music all the way to Arasikere. The train reached Tiptur station by 11-45, 30 minutes behind schedule. Tiptur KSRTC bus-stand is a kilometer away, I chose to walk. As I was crossing Tiptur main road, I happened to see a familiar face on my left. It took a couple of seconds to register that I was looking at Kumar whom I had met a few days ago when I stayed overnight. Kumar too equally surprised. He offered to drop me at the bus-stand where we had a quick chat and said bye.
Every bus going towards Tumkur stopped at Nittur and I caught one in minutes with plenty of spare seats. It was ages since riding a KSRTC bus on a highway, I chose to sit in the last seat, the ride would be little bumpy. My visit here had coincided with our PM Modiji's visit to inaugurate the helicopter factory near Nittur, also very close to Bhogasandra. For security reasons the stretch between KB Cross and Nittur has been restricted to general traffic. It was going to be a big event, thousands of people were expected to attend. So my bus would be taking a detour, it would be going to Turuvekere and then to Nittur which meant a 45-minute delay. I actually enjoyed the detour, just look out at the everchanging scenes. It was around 1-30 when I caught up with Sridhar at Nittur bus-stand sitting on a TVS moped. Riding a moped on a highway was something I'd never done. All kinds of vehicles ferrying people to the event venue were zipping past, it was a little scary but I got used to it in minutes. We stopped at Nandi Veg restaurant, had light lunch and continued our journey. The slow ride was fun, sights of slow paced rural life was so comforting. It was around 2-30 pm when we reached Bhogasandra Aralikatte.
Once upon a time every village and town had an Aralikatte. In the predigital times Aralikatte was the hub of information. As towns grew, they swallowed surrounding villages, many Aralikattes disappeared and the ones which survived lost their importance. Here at Bhogasandra, still a peaceful little village, we pick up a few things at the only grocery shop and have a soft drink. Meanwhile two mean were busy peeling raw arecanut. Sridhar lights up a chat with them. In the below collage, on the left is a heap of arecanut & husk, and on the right is a heap of arecanut. As I understand these nuts are dried and then sold to a wholesaler. In Uttara Karnataka district, arecanut processing is an elaborate process which involves peeling, boiling and drying.
Years ago, this 'dabba angadi' might have been the only shop at Bhogasandra. Now its just a relic. The 'box shop' has a tin roof and rubber lining to fill the gaps between the wall planks. Going by the reinforcements this had been used for a very long time. Hope people of Bhogasandra preserve it as an artifact. The cream colored building on the right is the village's milk collection center. Farmers drop of cans of milk which gets shipped to a mother dairy. Meanwhile another person joined the peeling work, they had to complete the work well before sunset. Also, a 48-day program at the Siddalingeshwara Devastana was in progress which was daily Abhisheka followed by Prasada. So village folk had their duties to perform at the temple.
From Bhogasandra Aralikatte, Sridhar's farm is less than a kilometer. The little shed on the right is our lodge and the white structure straight ahead is the house under construction. We changed into shorts and tee-shirts and relaxed until the sun lowered itself.
Sridhar and his advisor Shivappa had planned some work. A tractor had been hired to run the plough to dislodge weeds which had taken over the arecanut plantation.
While we waited for the tractor to come, we checked a few things at the house. In a remote location like this getting things done is a challenge, a bigger challenge when it involves multiple vendors. Sridhar was patiently handling the vendors who came up a myriad of reasons for not turning up.
The tractor guy turned up with his Massey Fergusson attached with a comb-plough. Weed growth was so dense that one dare not venture into it for the fear of serpents and venomous insects. On a tractor it was safe but there was a challenge.. drip irrigation piping. Shivappa had to follow the tractor moving pipes out of the way. On the southwestern corner of the plantation was a type of creeper which bore bunches of pale yellow colored hairy pods. Shivappa warned us to stay away from them. One touch is enough to trigger severe itching. We kept our distance. After a few minutes, the driver started complaining of itchy feeling on his arms. Apparently few vines got dragged, some pods broke and the hairy things scattered in the air which landed on the drivers arms. Despite the discomfort the driver completed one run.
Sridhar and Shivappa checking on saplings and irrigation pipes. Majority of the weeds were levelled, soil was now visible. Another run of the plough was needed but after a day. So we called it a day and headed back to the lodge. The driver washed his exposed skin with soap-water and then applied coconut oil, that gave him relief from the itch. We had a round of tea and Shivappa left just after sunset.
Once it was dark, I went out with a flashlight in search of a safe spot to finish nature's business. On the way back, I did not use the flashligh, moonlight was bright enough. A quick wash with soap-water was refreshing. We relaxed for a while, prepared rice and had dinner. Electricity supply is not continuous here. 3-phase supply is on a few hours per day. That's the time we could run the borewell pump. For the week, 3-phase supply was 9 pm to 6 pm. First thing we had to fill a barrel, a bucket and few other containers. Then adjust valve settings to send water to the drip system to water the saplings. This hazy picture of full moon was shot around 8-30. Not a bad freehand shot while fully zoomed in.
Feb 7th
We woke up well before sunrise, weather was still chilly, we could hear birds chirping, mist floating around the lower parts of the farm. Sridhar prepared tea, the hot brew kick started my system. I dashed off with a can of water in search of a private spot. When the guts clear out, it feels so great, ready to take on another day. A quick cold water bath elevated the sense of freshness. Sridhar too finished with his abulation. We walked down to the neighboring farm to fetch flowers. I was astounded at the sight of the Hibiscus plants. They were small trees!
The flowers were an offering to a picture of Narasimha. Time for breakfast. I prepared upit with my homemade mix. Sridhar fetched banana leaves from the farm across the road. Having steaming hot upit on tender banana leaves was so enjoyable. I believe the taste of food is enhanced when served on fresh banana leaves. Left over food was placed on a few stones next to the shed. A flock of brown bush warblers usually finished off the food in minutes.
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| ant-nest made of leaves | brown bush warbler |
Sridhar was eagerly awaiting the carpenter to arrive. The carpenter had been engaged to make & install window shutters and doors. Of all the vendors here, carpenter was prompt with his timings. The team came at 10 pm and started its work. Apart from that Sridhar was following up on plumbing, masonry, painting and electrical works... but the vendors were erratic.
I'd told one of my high school friends' group about my stay here. One of the friends, a native of Turuvekere, a resident of Bangalore, messaged about his trip to this side. It would be nice to have a friend visit me here. I asked my friend Kiran to come if time permits.
The day went by quickly. We were expecting the tractor guy to come around 4-00. He wasn't responding to phone calls.. I guessed he had had enough with the itchy creeper. Shivappa tried reaching him then gave up and decided to engage another tractor.
The carpentry team wound up by 6 PM. We decided to go for a walk, down the dirt path towards the edge of the jungle. This path runs more or less parallel to the stream and turns northwards. That's where is the last of the plantation. The other side of the stream is all jungle area which stretches right upto KB Cross-Hiriyur highway. The forest area is a mix of hilly and flat lands. It was past sunset, time to head back to the safety of our farm.
On the way back we saw a couple of peacocks at a distance, I did shoot a few pictures, none of them were worth posting here. Back at the lodge we had another round of tea, then freshen up, cook dinner, eat, fill water and hit the sack.
Feb 8th. The morning routine was more or less same... tea, nature's call, bath, fetch flowers, and have breakfast. In between we would look out for peacocks and foxes. The fencing poles were peacock's favorite spots. They would stay perched atop the granite poles for minutes together. Breakfast was upit again and there was enough stock for two more mornings.
Around 9 am Kirn messaged that he was in Turuvekere and he can make it here. I shared Bhogasandra lake's location and asked Kiran to call me when he was close by. Meantime, Shivappa had arranged for another tractor guy. Ploughing work was going on and expected to be done in an hour. Around 11-15 ploughing was done, tractor was ready to depart and Kiran was close by. I hitched a ride in the tractor upto the lake and waited under the tamarind tree. This semi-open structure is Siddalingeshwara Devastana. We had planned to attend the pooja & prasada event in the evening.
Lunch was rice with lemon-rice and tomato-rice powders. Post lunch I tried to nap but sleep evaded. It was okay when there was breeze. When air was still, our little shed heated like an oven. Sridhar never napped, he was supervising carpentry work. After the carpenters left we went down into the plantation.
We freshened up, changed into casuals and walked Siddalingeshwara Devastana. When we walked on the dirt track, superfine dirt would cling on my slippers' soles. It felt as though I was walking on a layer of glue. At the temple, things were getting busy. One group was busy inside with the rituals, another group were preparing to cook food and the third group was organizing seating, plates and water. We sat on the same granite bench under the tamarind tree with few other folks from the village. People assumed that I was a westerner until they heard me speak Kannada. I was introduced to quite a few people but names got mixed up. Even for Sridhar this event was a good opportunity to meet and mingle.
We walked back to the farm, 3-phase power was on, filled water and crashed out.
This story will continue in a taste of rural life at Bhogasandra part-1b.
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