Sept 16th 2024. This was my third day at Sridhar's farm at Bhogasandra village. One of the resident farmers Raju turned up at the farmhouse early morning. We had a plan to visit his betelnut farm which happens to be on the other side of the village. A walk would've been great but we had to come back soon so we had to go by bike. It was a five minute ride to Raju's betelnut farm where we spent about twenty minutes. As we looked around and chatted Raju asked if I wanted to see Bhutappana Gudi. I was fine and we hopped on the bike. We were riding on dirt paths which got rougher as we went deeper towards forest land but Raju didn't let up on riding speed. Carrying a load of 160+ kilograms, Raju's Pulsar showed no sign of struggle. The ridable path ended at the base of a hillock where we parked. The tree was a stone's throw away.
Here's the tree sheltering the shrine. This tree is called Tugali Maraa in Kannada. Its Botanical name is Albizia amara , also called Mimosa amara. That's my take based on a an hour long research which landed on this page. Tuggali leaves are small and dark green. It bears whitish-yellow powder puffs with long stamens and golden pollen. Tuggali Mara is a live pharmacy; its roots, leaves and flowers are used to treat several maladies including poisonous bites.
Here's the open-air teemple- Bhutappana Gudi. Basically it's a collection of naturally polished stones, probably picked up from a stream nearby. Bhogasandra people come here by walk carrying offerings and perform simple rituals.
People have tied brass bells out of Bhakti.
That's my host for the morning Basavaraju standing next to Tuggali Maraa. His Bajaj Pulsar is somewhere on the right hand side, out of frame.
These are Tuggali leaves. I think this foliage is quite new, matured recently. These leaves can be confused with many trees like Tamarind or Copper pod tree (peltophorum ferruginea) or any other tree with similar leaves. Tuggali Mara doesn't have thorns - this is to be noted.
We must've spent 15 minutes at Bhutappana Gudi. I was taking pictures and Raju had disappeared. To my call he responded that he was looking for Kaadu Bikke Hannu, a seasonal fruit relished by kids and elders alike, even peacocks love it. Bikke Hannu is a fruit of Gardenia latifolia family. Raju couldn't find any since the season was almost done. Perhaps had we moved deeper into the woods, we might've found some. The fruit has thick skin, inside is brown pulp which can be eaten raw. Several videos show up if you search on YouTube.
That's our man- Raju. He's an expert coconut peeler. I've seen him in action. He can dehusk a coconut in 8 seconds. Not just that, he can maintain that pace for hours. One of the other famers told me that he has peeled 3000 coconuts in a day!
Here's a Bikke Hannu tree, a small tree though.
We are on the slope of this hillock. Raju asked if I wanted to explore deeper. I declined, several reasons behind it. This is off our plan. Sun was rising and blazing, we weren't carrying water. We were hungry and supposed to be picking up Ragi Rotti from Raju's home and have it with Sridhar. And last of all, I'd worn a flip-flop. We dropped the idea.
That's the neighboring hill. In the valley between the two hills flows a stream.
We started our return journey. About a kilometer from Bhutappana Gudi is this smaller stream which feels like an oasis. We stopped for a couple of minutes to shoot pictures. This spot is good for a pinic. Perhaps, next visit we could spend a few hours here.
Bhutappana Gudi is on the other side of this stream. In fact this stream marks the border between farmlands and forest land.
That's Raju on his Pulsar.
We passed by Raju's plantation. Let me talk about it now. Raju's betelnut trees were just two years old but to my eyes they seemed like four. The plantation was almost weed free and the trees were rooted into 4 feet deep pits. The pits will be filled in gradually as the trees grow taller. That's Raju and a neighboring plantation owner.
That's Raju's rocket.
We headed back to the village, picked up Ragi Rotti & Chatni from Raju's home and reached Sridhar's farm by 9-30. All three of us famished, we attacked the box without any delay.
The following post will be dedicated to a few aerial shots of Bhogasandra farmlands, do check it out.
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