Dec 9, 2024
Arrived at Ajjampur-Sokke. Met my hosts Sri Rajanna, Sri Vinay and Sri Mohan of Sokke. I was taken on a tour of the two temples of the village- Ishwara Devalaya and Sri Lakshmi Ranganatha Swami Devalaya. Then we drove to the nearby Gondavalli to see the Hoysala period Sri Yoganarasimha Devastana. On the way back to Sokke we stopped at Gondedahalli Siddarameshwara Devalaya to see the inscription stones. Though the temple structure is modern, it's an ancient shrine. Within the temple premises are memorial-stones and inscription slabs. Mohan mentioned that Sokke was mentioned in the inscription. However, the temple gates were locked and it was past midday, no hopes of entering the temple until evening, or the next morning. We head back to Sokke, had lunch at Rajanna's place and rest. One more place was on the agenda was Hanne Gudda, a hill about 7 km from Sokke. That's Hanne Gudda sitting on the northern horizon.
On Hanne Gudda is an ancient shrine dedicated to Sri Ranganatha Swami which is believed to be the origin of Sokke Ranganatha Swami Devalaya. My hosts said that an early morning trek on the hill would be an enjoyable experience. Totally agreed. A small team was formed, pooja material was organized.
Dec 10, 2024
After a nice dinner and a good night sleep, I woke up around 5-30. I felt rested and energized. Vinay and I met up with Mohan and three other people at Ranganatha Swami Devalaya. Rajanna's Maruti Omni was comfortable for the six of us. I was riding an Omni after a decade or so.. the ride brought back memories of our journeys in Omni in the 90s and 2000s. It's one rugged vehicle, runs well on rough terrain and bad roads too. We reached the base of the hill by 6-45 am. We parked the Omni close to a natural spring called Ganagammana Halla and started our trek. That's the team (left to right); Anant, Raghu Swami, Vinay, Mohan Kumar and Halappa.
At this spot we were less than twenty minutes into the trek, I was already sweating and breathless. We still have a long way to go. After the rains, vegetation have grown back blocking the path. Also the surface was uneven, pebbles would come loose, had to be very alert in such stretches.
We reached a rocky outcrop between two peaks. From here we would be turning left. Our destination, Ranganatha Swami Devastana sits on the peak of the hill which happens to be the south-eastern tip of the 22.5 km wide hill-range. The entire rage is wooded, which meant that we have just entered a wild jungle. An early morning trek is not only pleasant but also safer.
That's Mohan Kumar standing next to a shallow pit.. not sure if that's natural or manmade. The rocky protrusion in the background is a huge formation. During the short break here, Vinay and Mohan told me that three quarters of a century ago this hill was a gold mining site. British engineers had made tunnels and laid rails for transporting ore to the surface. The project was later aborted probably due to economical feasibility. The rails and tunnels can still be seen but accessing the tunnels could be challenging due to shrubs blocking the entrances. Also, the tunnels could be infested with wild life so it may not be safe. Well, British had really tried to exploit our country in every little possible way!
Another look at the protruding rock. It would interesting to check the rock in close quarters but not for this morning. We continued our trek in the cool pleasant weather. Sunlight had just started piercing the layers of mist in its way.
Every hill has it's own ecosystem, part of which are a particular set of plants. Memories of visiting Bhutappana Gudi near Bhogasandra resurfaced. Raju, my host there had searched for kaadu-bikke-hannu a type of wild berry but the season had passed. I asked my hosts here if bikke-hannu grew here, the name itself was strange to them. Maybe it doesn't grow here. Later Mohan a name which could be another name for bikke-hannu. Where the ground was open to sky, it was covered with gold-silver grass.
By 7-40 AM, we reached this spot close to our destination, maybe 10 more minutes trek to the peak. These stones look like rough-cut slabs like the slabs of prehistoric megalithic tombs.
There are several shrines between here and the peak. The first one being Siddaru at the base of this Ficus.
The next one is Veerabhadreshwara shrine.
Before arriving at Ranganatha Swami Devastana we passed by Rushiyappana Kallugalu, a pair of natural stones worshipped by local people. The spot was littered with banana leaves and plastic bags, I wanted to clear them and then take pictures. Since we were tight on time, we proceeded to Ranganatha Gudi.
Here we come Ranganna.
The ancient builders had built this little east-facing structure and a wall around it. Stones were sourced from outcrops nearby. The ancient creation has gelled so well with its natural surroundings that it feels like part of nature itself.
Every Ranganatha shrine will have its own Garuda Kambha., usually directly opposite to it. But here dues to space constraint, it has been placed diagonally. At the base of the pillar is a relief sculpture of Hanuman.
That's Halappa standing peacefully while the pooja takes place. Pooje was performed by Anant as Raghu Swami chanted slokas of a mantra. The pooje was quite detailed; the idols were bathed in fresh water, arishina-kumkuma were applied, flowers were offered and arati was performed along with chanting of mantras.
As the pooje progressed, I assessed the possibility of flying my drone. Wind was manageable. The problem was absence of a flat surface, even a 2' x 2' patch was enough, but not even a square foot of flat surface for liftoff and landing. I decided to take the risk and launched the drone. The temple in the jungle.
This picture was shot with the drone directly above us.
Another aerial view of the peak, the surroundings and the plains below. On the left hand side of the picture you can see a group of stones. I guess those must be stones leftover when construction at this site ceased. From the aerial pictures, it feels like there are multiple trails to reach this temple but I feel the path we took is the most friendly one, others seem to be steep.
After the short flight I decided to land the drone. I took a minute just to decide the landing spot, a seating slab close to the temple. The drone landed okay but the slant slab did not offer much friction, the drone slid off and fell noisily on the neighboring stone. Luckily the drone survived the fall, no damages at all. Here's the link to the video on YouTube- Hanne Gudda.
Next to the spot where I sat was this piece of sculpture- the pedestal of the original deity here. The tiny figure seen on the pedestal is Garuda, Vishnu's mount.
Here's a collage of the original idol which was damaged, apparently by a bear, and replaced by a new idol. A deer horn has been placed along with the idols. Maybe a deer broke it's horn nearby and someone put it in the temple.
Ranganna's idol after pooje by Anant and Raghu Swami. Also a Hanuman idol is present here.
Pooje completed, we packed up and prepared to leave. One last look at the peaceful little temple.
We walk down to Rushiyappa Kallugalu. Surely there would be a story associated with these stones. By the look of the flowery offerings and the banana leaves left behind, the group must've been a big one, maybe 30 to 40 people. Looked like they prepared food too.
My hosts surprised me when they settled down to prepare a sweet snack of mashed banana, jaggery and coconut pieces. Even I was hungry I was okay to trek the way down since it's easier with an empty tummy. The snack was tasty, light on tummy and refreshing.
Around this time, maybe a little earlier, one of them received a phone call who was trekking up on his own. The last person, Pradeep, was supposed to join us at Sokke but arrived here late. We waited for him and then started the descent. Sun had risen and started beating down. One needs to be more careful while descending, one wrong step might end with a fall. I slipped several times but managed to regain balance. The 30-minute descent sapped out. We slowly headed towards Gangammana Halla wary that we had to reach Sokke as quickly as possible since I had a train to catch at 12-15 PM.
I had tracked our movements on the hill using Zeopoxa Running mobile app, below are the screenshots of the ascent and the descent. It's good to know these stats like start time, end time, elevation gained, elevation lost, etc.
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