gathering at Eagleton Golf Resort - 3

 ...continued from gathering at Eagleton Golf Resort - 2.

The two-day gathering commenced on Sept-25th noon. The celebrations started as soon as ten of us had gathered and went on until lunch time. A late break for napping & resting followed by a game of cricket which I missed because I went for a walk. Another round of celebrations in the evening followed by dinner. By the time I hit the sack, it was close to midnight. I barely slept because of hourly trips to the bathroom, and before I went back to sleep I had a bottle of water.

Around 5-45 I got out of the bed, freshened up and went out out. First I explored the pool area, shot a few pictures with my mobile and then went for a walk. It felt nice to walk in cool weather, the resort roads were peaceful, I enjoyed the exercise. By 7-00 I met Anil at the resort entrance. After a few phone calls & minutes of waiting we were a group of six. Naveen was familiar with the resort's housing layouts here. He suggested a route which went deeper into the property. 

Naveen, Srini, Anil, Venky, Shivu

As we walked, Naveen suggested we must see the huge idol of Suryadeva on a hillock in the property. It was about 3 km from the resort. By the time we returned, it would be late for breakfast. So we decided to drive up after breakfast. Besides the statue there was a memorial garden with a pyramid shaped meditation hall which was worth a visit. We were back at the entrance... Eagleton's logo.

On the way to our suites, Anil or Shivu spotted a spider hinged on its web spun on the aerial roots of the Peepul tree in the pool area. I think this is an Oval St. Andrew's Cross Spider. 

The group met again at the dining hall during breakfast. The organizers took this opportunity to distribute the mementos- black sports jacket with a logo.

This is the view of the Suryadeva statue from the resort. Its about 880 meters away, straight line distance.

By noon six of us headed to the hillock but half the original group had dropped out, three others had joined instead. The route to the hillock zigzags through the housing layout and reaches the hill. The road goes right to the parking lot on the hillock. This is the view of the statue as we enter the garden.

A pre-wedding photo-shoot was in progress as we entered the park. While the to be wedded couple were resting, we requested the photographer to shoot a picture for us, of course with our camera. The sun was right over our heads. Had we come here 30 minutes earlier, we would've got a much better picture.

Another view of the statue. Suryadeva riding his chariot pulled by seven stallions, a charioteer at the reigns. A nice creation this is, superb workmanship.

A closer view of the Lord of Solar system.

At the other end of the park is a shrine. It's an artificial cave shrine dedicated to a Shivalinga. The little cave temple has a small hall with an open view.

On the northern horizon stands the one and only Savandurga, one of the largest monolithic hills of Asia. The sight of Savandurga brought back memories of my treks on the hill. Here's the link to a blog post about one of my overnight stays on the hill: Savandurga - overnight stay five.

Next on the itinerary was M Ashok Kumar Memorial Park. The park is about 11 acres, very well maintained like rest of the property.

The footpath cuts across the park. At the middle is a pyramidal structure.

Had I known about this park earlier, I would've come here for the morning walk. The other thing I missed is cycling. I did not notice the bicycles at the resort until checkout time.

Water lilies in a little pond near the pyramidal meditation hall.

Pyramids are supposed to attract cosmic energy hence the concentration of the energy is higher than compared elsewhere. When cosmic energy level is high, human brain functioning is better. Hence the idea of pyramidal halls.

The cover which appears like tiles is some kind of fiber, The construction is simple and neat, easy for maintenance too.

The interior of the pyramid. Its a plain hall with a continuous seating platform around the perimeter. 

The entrance. The framework is a fabricated tubular structure - easy to build and maintain. The other advantage of this system is the structure can be dismantled and relocated. Of course, civil work needs to be redone.

With this our tour ends and we head back to the resort. The gang had assembled in the party hall, with celebrations in progress.,, the row of beer cans is part of the evidence. There was more on the other side of the hall.

This picture exudes joy of friendship, the fun of being with childhood friends.

The last few hours flew by quickly. This was the final group picture. Of the 33 members, 32 were present, 1 missed it. This is my favorite picture of this gathering. This was shot by one of the resort staff members. I'd put the camera on continuous shoot mode and let him take more than a dozen shots. The pose by Vasant aka Kaka makes this picture special.

Before closing this post I would like to share a writeup by Srini with which he wanted to address the gathering but it did not happen due to last minute confusion & rush. Anyway, here it is for you to read & enjoy.

ಹಲೋ ಗೆಳೆಯರೇ,

         ಉಸಿರ ಮರೆತು       
      ಬದುಕುವ ತಾಕತ್ತು     
   ಯಾವ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೂ ಇಲ್ಲ.
     ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಬಾಲ್ಯದ  
 ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರ ನೆನಪು ಕೂಡ.. 
ಮರೆತು ಕೂಡ ಗೆಳತನವ    

   ಮರೆಯೋಕಾಗೊಲ್ಲ!

      ಮತ್ತೆ ಮರುಕಳಿಸದು

    ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ಆ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳು.. 
               ಆದರೂ, 
     ಮರೆಯಲಾಗದು ಆ 
 ಸುಮಧುರ ನೆನಪುಗಳು!

ಪದಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣಿಸಲಾಗದ 
    ಸುಂದರ ಬದುಕದು..
 ಅಳಿಸಲಾಗದೆ ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ
    ಅಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಉಳಿಯುವ 
           ನೆನಪದು!

  ವರುಷಗಳು ಉರುಳಿವೆ 
           ಕಾಲಚಕ್ರದ 
         ಅಣತಿಯಂತೆ,
     ಜೊತೆಜೊತೆಯಾಗಿ 
     ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದೇವೆ 
    ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ವರುಷ.. 
     ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಎಲ್ಲೂ     
       ಎಡವದಂತೆ!

     ಏಳೋ-ಬೀಳೋ 
   ಮುಂದುವರಿಸಿದ್ದೇವೆ 
           ಪಯಣ..
   ನೋವೋ-ನಲಿವೋ    
     ಅನುಭವಿಸಿದ್ದೇವೆ 
           ಜೀವನ !

    ನೂರಿರಲಿ ಬದುಕಿನ 
         ನೋವುಗಳು,
      ಮರೆಯಲಾಗದು      
       ಶಾಲಾದಿನಗಳ 

        ನಲಿವುಗಳು!

      ಜೊತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಳೆದ 
         ಆ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳು,
   ಕಾಡುವವು ಸಾವಿರಾರು     
         ನೆನಪುಗಳು!

   ಬದುಕಿನ ಪಯಣದಲ್ಲಿ  
       ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿ 
        ನೋಡಿದಾಗ,  
  ಬಿಚ್ಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ನೆನಪಿನ      
       ಸುರುಳಿಗಳು..
   ಬಲೂ ವರ್ಣರಂಜಿತ  
   ಹಾಗು ಅತಿರೋಚಕ..
       ಆ ಪಯಣದ 
     ಸುಖ-ದುಃಖಗಳ         
       ಸಾಗರದಲ್ಲಿ 
   ಮುಂದೆ ಸಾಗಿ ದೂರ   

 ತೀರವ ಸೇರುವ ತವಕ!

         ಈ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನದ        

            ಹಾದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ   
  ನನಸಾದ ಕನಸುಗಳನ್ನ, 
   ನನಸಾಗದೇ ಉಳಿದ  ವಯಸ್ಸಾದ ಕನಸುಗಳನ್ನ, 
     ಕಮರಿ ನೆನಗುದಿಗೆ  
     ಬಿದ್ದ ಕನಸುಗಸನ್ನ..

ಇವೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನು ಬೆನ್ನಿಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ತೆವಳುವ ಬದುಕಿನ ಜಂಜಾಟದ ನಡುವೆ, ವಾರಾಂತ್ಯದ ಮೋಜಿನ ಸ್ನೇಹ ಮೇಳದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಈಗಲ್ಟನ್ ಎಂಬ ತಂಗುದಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ದಣಿವಾರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ ಹಾಗು ಕುಂದಿ-ಕುಗ್ಗಿದ ಚೈತನ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮರಳಿ ಪಡೆಯುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ದಿನ ಸೇರಿದ್ದೆವು.. 
ಇದೊಂಥರ ಬಸ್ ಕಂಡಕ್ಟರ್ “ಡೈರೈಕ್ಟ್  ಸೀಟ್‌ನೋರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರೆಶ್‌ಅಪ್‌ಗೆ ಟೈಮಿದೆ ನೋಡಿ.” ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿದ ಹಾಗೆ,, 

ನಮ್ಮ ಬಾಳಿನ ಪಯಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ದಿನ ದಣಿವಾರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು  ಪುನಃ ಇಂದಿನಿಂದ ನಮ್ಮ ಪಯಣ ಮುಂದುವರಿಯಲಿದೆ.

ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗಷ್ಟೇ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಅರ್ಧ ಶತಕ ಬಾರಿಸಿ ಐವತ್ತರ ಸುವರ್ಣ ಪುರುಷರಾಗಿದ್ದೇವೆ. 
ಈ ಸುವರ್ಣ ಸೇತುವೆಯ ಹಾದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಠಿಣ ಹಂತಗಳನ್ನ ದಾಟಿದ್ದೇವೆ, ವಿಜಯದ ನಗೆಯನ್ನ ಬೀರಿದ್ದೇವೆ.. 

ಈಗ ಈ ಮಾಗಿದ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದಿನ ಪಕ್ವದ ದಿನಗಳನ್ನ ನೋಡುವ ಉತ್ಸಾಹವಿರಲಿ,..
ಹಿಂದಿನ ಅನುಭವದ ಬೆಳಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದಿನ ಹಾದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಯಿಡುವ ಜಾಣ್ಮೆಯಿರಲಿ.. 

50 ವರುಷ ಅದೆಷ್ಟೊ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳ ಸಂಪತ್ತು..
50 ನಮಗೆ ಸಂತಸದ ಸಮಯವಾಗಲಿ..
50 ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಅನುಭವದ ಹಾಡಾಗಲೀ.
ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಭವಿಷ್ಯದ ಆಶಾದೀಪವಾಗಲೀ!!

ಲೈಪು ಇಷ್ಚೇನೆ.. 
ಲೈಪು ಇಂಗೇನೇ. 
ಮತ್ತೆ ಸೇರೋಣ..
ಕೂಡಿ ನಲಿಯೋಣ. 

ನಮ್ಮ ಕರೆಗೆ ಒಗ್ಗೊಟ್ಟು ನೀವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಬಂದಿರುವಿರಿ.. ನಾವು ಚೆಲ್ಲಿದ ಬೀಜಕ್ಕೆ ನೀವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ನೀರೆರೆದ ಕಾರಣ, ಫಸಲನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಅನುಭವಿಸಿದ್ದೇವೆ. 

ಈ ಸ್ನೇಹಮೇಳಕ್ಕೆ ಈಗ ತೆರೆ ಎಳೆದಿದ್ದು, ಈ ಸಫಲತೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಹಣದ ಮುಗ್ಗಟ್ಟು ಬಾರದಂತೆ ನಮ್ಮ poolಗೆ ಹಣ ಹಾಗು ಮದಿರೆಯ ನಶೆಯನ್ನ ವರ್ಗಾಯಿಸಿದ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರಾದ ವೆಂಕಿ, ನಾಗ, ದೇವಿ, ದಯಾ, ಆಟೋ ರಾಜು, ಬ್ಯಾಂಕರ್‌ ಬಾಲು, ಅನಿಲ್, ML ನವೀನ್, ಡಾಕ್ಟರ್ ಮಂಜು, ಭಲೇ ಜೋಡಿ ವಾಸು-ನಾಗೇಂದ್ರ,..  ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಮುಂಬಿಯಿಂದ ಬಾಕರವಾಡಿ ತಂದ ರಾಜು ಹಾಗು ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿ-ದಾರವಾಡದ ಪೇಡ, ಘಾಟಿ, ಯಡ್ಮಿಯ ರುಚಿ ಸವಿಸಿದ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ-ಸಿದ್ದು...

ಇವರೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಈ ಸ್ನೇಹ ಕೂಟದ sponsors ಅಗಿದ್ದು - ಇವರೆಲ್ಲರಿಗು ಅಡ್ಮಿನ್ ಬಳಗದಿಂದ ತುಂಬು ಹೃದಯದ  ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು.. 🙏

ಹಾಗೆಯೇ, ಕಳೆದ ಮೂರು ವಾರಗಳಿಂದ ಈ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರ ಮೋಜು ಮೇಳದ ಆಗುಹೋಗುಗಳನ್ನ ಆದ್ಯತೆ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ಸಮರ್ಪಕವಾಗಿ ಹಾಗು ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯದಿಂದ ಕೈ ಜೋಡಿಸಿದ ಅಡ್ಮಿನ್ ಟೀಂನ ನನ್ನ ಗೆಳೆಯರಾದ ಬಾಲ, ಬಾಲು, ಶ್ರೀನಾಥ, ನವೀನ, ವಸಂತ ಹಾಗು ವೆಂಕಿಗೂ ನನ್ನ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು. 

             🙏💐👍

ನಮ್ಮ ದೋಣಿ ಸಾಗಲಿ..
ಹೀಗೆ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ..
ಹೃದಯ ಬಾಗಿಲ ತೆರೆಯಲಿ!
ಒಪ್ಪು ತಪ್ಪು ಎಲ್ಲ ಮರೆತೂ
ಸ್ನೇಹ ತೀರವಾ ಕಾಣಲಿ!
ನಾವು ಮತ್ತೆ ಸೇರುವ... 
ಎಲ್ಲ ಕೂಡಿ ಹಾಡುವ...
ಎಂದೂ ಹೀಗೆ ನಲಿಯುವ... 
ನಮ್ಮ ಸ್ನೇಹವ ಬೆಸೆಯುವ!!
 
ಚಿಯರ್ಸ್..
      ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್ ಖರೀದಿ
           @ಸೀನಿ_ಮನ
             🍻🤝🥂

I'm sure we will meet yet another time. Until then, wishing everyone good health.

.........

gathering at Eagleton Golf Resort - 2

...continued from gathering at Eagleton Golf Resort - 1.

This is a gathering of school friends who were classmates from LKG to X standard . at Saint Charles Borromeo School, Bhadravati. Not all were classmates for the entire period of 12 years. Some had left in between when their parents had to move to another city or some may have joined in between. I studied from LKG to II standard and left the school when my father took up a job at Delhi. Though we were classmates for many for just 4 years, that too at that young age where I couldn't remember most of the friends after quitting the school, the link with my school & Bhadravati remained. So when I met my classmates after 42 years at Arohas Eco Resort I'd gelled into the group in a few hours. That's the specialty of this group- the bonding is super quick.

The celebrations began almost as soon as 10 of us had gathered. Then there was a small break, few of us napped and rested. Around 4-30 a part of the group played cricket which I missed since I'd gone for a walk. We all gathered in a hall for another round of celebrations. 

Left to right: Naveen, Dr. Balaji, Nandeesh and Shivaprakash in the background.

Dr. Vijayanand, Nagendra, Dr. Balaji, Srinath and Shivaprakash.

The party mood looks rather sober in this picture. No, it was quite lively with multiple conversations taking place at the same time. Reminiscing the good old days.

Here's a collage of a few pictures, going clockwise starting with top-left: Shivaprakash from Hubballi; Vinod the poet from Bhadravati, Dayanand from Bhadravati & Prem from Mysuru, Girish & Biligiri.

Standing: Vasudev, Srinivas & Swarup. Dr. Manjunath, Dayanand & Vasanth. Prasanna, Gautam & Venkatesh.

Prasanna, Nandish, Gautam, Venkatesh & Rajesh.

Of the 33 members, 30 are present in this picture. The missing members are- Deveram, Balu & Nagaraj.

What started with a group of seven or eight grew into 20+ group shot!

Deveram was absent until now makes a reappearance. Vasu and Nagendra reminiscing some school time incident.

School and college friends had nick names. Here two names are quite prominent- Kaka and Rani. Neither of them are ever addressed by their original names- Vasanth and Swarup. Every nick name had some funny incident behind it. I was curious about what. This gathering I took the liberty of digging the past. As per Vasanth, it was probably in 5th standard, someone asked where his house was. His home was in VISL quarters, opposite to Kaka shop. He had barely uttered that and someone started calling him Kaka and the bane stuck! Swarup's story will remain confidential.

The day happened to be Vinod's birthday. The organizers had ordered a cake, a nice little one. Honestly speaking, I dread cake cutting rituals. Firstly, I can't bear to see food going waste and the other thing is the birthday person plight at being messed up. Shivu and Deveram suddenly became active, prodding Vinod to cut the cake.

Thankfully, the caking smearing was limited, something that could be cleaned with a few paper napkins. BTW, we have two poets in this picture- Vinod and Srini, I've seen one of Vinod's compositions shared in the group. I've read many of Srini's compositions, most were spontaneous. Srini would compose odes for birthdays, anniversaries, festivals, special days like friends day. He had even composed a few when Puneet Rajkumar passed away.

Deveram's childlike mischievous behavior continues. Adavi, Rajesh and Gautam watch over the conversation between Deveram & Anil.

A round of cheers from Posa, Rajesh, Darshan, Srinath & Gautam.

Around 9-30 or so we headed to the dining room. Dinner was a decent spread. As usual I had a few items.. salad, rice, curry and another dish. I skipped deserts altogether. After dinner we congregated again at the hall to continue the celebrations. This is a post dinner session just outside the hall.

Around 11 we wound up and headed to our suites, I barely slept because of the number of visits to the bathroom. Every time I woke up, I would gulp half liter water and go back to bed. It was important to remain hydrated. Shivu too slept lightly but Nandish was in dream land.

To continue reading this article, click on gathering at Eagleton Golf Resort - 3.

.........

gathering at Eagleton Golf Resort - 1

It was more than two years since my friends from St. Charles School, Bhadravati had met which was at Arohas Eco Resort near Sakaleshpur. Chatter of another meet was heard towards in July and August 2021. Finally on September 4th the plan was announced. I'm sharing a part of the message...

Hi all,
It’s official now..
The buddies of 86’ are gonna meet yet again..
After a memorable Get-together at Aroha’s Eco Hill Resort in May 2019, we have chosen Eagleton - The Golf Resorts at Bidadi, Bangalore as our destination for the Alumni meet this time. 
Kindly click the below link to know more about the resort:
www.eagletonindia.com
As planned we will have an overnight stay at the Eagleton on 25/26th of September 2021, & also we have sent an invite to the ladies of our batch to join us for the lunch on Sunday the 26th.. still awaiting their reply.

Cheers,

- Bala, Balu, Srini, Srinath, Meda, Vasanth & Venky. 

I was in no mood to travel to Bangalore, so I had no plans to attend the gathering. However, Srini's follow-up calls followed by more calls from a few friends motivated me to agree with just a week before the meetup. One of our friends, Shivaprakash, was a resident of Hubli, he booked train tickets for Sept-24th. The week flew by, I was set to meet my childhood friends again. I met Shivaprakash at Hubli Railway Station for the first time. We got to know each other as we waited for the train. The next morning at Yeswantpur Railway Station, we were planning to take Metro to Kengeri and then hire a cab to Eagleton. A call from another friend Nandeesh changed our plan, he would be picking us up and we three would be traveling together to Eagleton.

The route we took was a mess with all the construction works going on. I was happy not to be driving but felt bad at drivers' plight. Anyway, we drove on, by 9-30 AM or so we reached the resort. A fine looking eagle perched on golf ball welcomes the guests here.

Another view of the eagle. The resort is about a kilometer away from main roads on any direction. Its silent and there are small & medium sized trees to make the place look green.

We were the first to check in, remaining 30 members arrival was pending, most were on the way here. All suites in this aisle was booked for our group. The suites were comfortable. 

Our suite had a view of the swimming pool but the pools were off limits to guests due to Covid-19 restrictions. The huge Peepul tree made our suite special, no glaring sunlight and it was cool. By the time we freshened up and bathed, some more members including a few from the organizing committee had arrived. Along with them came the refreshments... solids & liquids.

We assembled in one of the suites, greeted each other and, the celebrations were initiated by Vasant aka Kaka. His name is a synonym to spontaneous quips. His presence is essential to our gatherings.

A few more members arrive. The bonding of this group is simply amazing.. warm smiles, affectionate greetings and all. Though I was out of touch since II standard I gelled into the groups easily. I guess its magic of the chemistry of small town childhood.

I was meeting a few of them for the first time, the ones who had missed the gathering at Arohas.

The flock grew, more intros. These guys spoke like how we spoke during school days. Absolutely no inhibitions. A very lively bunch.

The session was paused and we headed down to the reception area to greet our friends.

The reception lobby is spacious. At the center of the lobby is a life-size statue of Lord Krishna, standing on a pedestal. The multisided pedestal depicts each of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu i.e. Dashavatar.

This is Srini, one of the chief organizers. Their planning is meticulous, down to the smallest detail.

By lunch time 31 members had gathered. The two missing were Balu and Nagaraj, they were expected in the evening. Lunch was at the spacious dining hall with a view of the golf course. Food items were good, of course I normally have a few items and skip desert altogether. We decided to rest and charge up for the evening. We gathered on the terrace... this is our hero Deveram, the silently jovial guy. This time he had a mischievous smile all the time.

A group picture before we dispersed. Members of this group are into different professions... engineers, businessmen, doctors, lawyer, realtor, employed with private organizations, employed with government, and more. Also, here are two poets... Srini and Vinod ...poetry is their hobby.

I don't know if these guys had their own little group in school.

Srini and Deveram ...brothers in arms.

This picture was shot from the upper floor. Check out the look on Deveram's face, looks like he was scheming something.

I'd missed much sleep because of the journey, I turned into my suite for a nap. Around 5-00 pm I got out. Shivu and Nandeesh were still resting. I couldn't find any of the other guys, so I went for a walk right till the main gate of the resort.

Landscaping is basic but well maintained. These are Singapore Daisies. Apparently its considered as a weed. Yes, weeds grow easily hence it's been adopted into landscaping. In fact this is one of my favorite flowers. During my student days, I used to keep a flower or two in a little vase on my study table.

Some of the older trees have been left as is, like these Ficus which have created tunnel like effect.

I head back to the resort and run into the group at the dining area. It seems they were playing cricket close by. I missed some action and pictures! Anyway, we have tea and head back to our suites to get ready for the evening party.

To continue reading this article, click on gathering at Eagleton Golf Resort - 2.

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