Saturday morning. Bright sun greeted us for our drive from Sringeri to Annapoorneswari temple. There was just five to seven minutes of wait in the queue, no tickets. We were allowed darshan for a longer period. Good darshans everywhere, we said to ourselves, bringing to close the pilgrimage part of our trip.
We drove to Nature Valley…., the resort where we had booked. Both the cottages were adjacent to one another and right in front of our balconies ran a small stream with crystal water flowing with a gentle sound to remind us that we are in the inner circle of Nature.
We had breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, and dinner. By and large they were good. The ambience was such that we felt like spending more time with lush green mountains surrounding and fresh air in free supply. The two ladies chose to walk up to the other side to soak their legs in the stream. As they did that, we took snaps of them. In the evening we took a long walk.
Sunday morning. We had our last breakfast at the resort and bade farewell to Nature Valley hosts and their staff for having taken good care of us. ‘‘The End’ of our pilgrimage part,” announced Kannan, “and Now begins the ‘pleasure’ part.”
With just less than two hours to Kudremukh, now began the drive to the full-fledged forest area. We spotted a snake, either in the family way or having just finished a sumptuous lunch at a friend’s place on the opposite side of the road, returning home swinging along in slow motion on the road, absolutely oblivious to the traffic. Anand stopped the van, and also signalled the vehicle in the opposite direction to do so till the reptile disappeared into the woods. Other species that chose to give us darshan included a well-fed mongoose and lots of peacocks. As we drove deeper and deeper into the forest, we saw on our left an arch-type of metallic display – Bhagawathy Nature Camp. Yes, our destination. We drove for a kilometer inside to reach the office and ‘our’ wooden cottages.
Mr Shanmugam originally from Shivamoga, welcomed us with a genuine smile. He apprised us of the various options we could have during the stay. “But first you have coffee at the Dining Area and then we will talk in detail.”
Rivers Tunga, Bhadra, and Netravati originate from a village not very far from our resort. The Bhadra rivulet passes by our cottage. We could take a walk, he suggested, but cautioned us not to make noise. That aroused our curiosity - whether there were leopards, tigers, elephants and other wild animals in and around. He said leopards and tigers were in single digits (if I heard him right), and a solitary tusker is known to be roaming around and had gone as far as Kolar. “How about cobras, we learn this area is the habitat of king-size cobras.” Agumbe is the capital of king cobras, he corrected. We heaved a sigh of relief. “Strange, keen to visit forest, but want to stay away from some of its natural inhabitants,” you must be wondering. Yes, we are humans after all.
“So near, yet so far. Can we go to that village, the originating point of these three rivers,” we asked Shanmugam, all eager. “Some time ago one person attempted and succeeded. One had to crawl or creep through a small hole to witness three small streams not very far from one another, but the hole is infested with different species of snakes. Also, one had to crawl back in reverse mode. So, no one is being allowed. Six security personnel are on duty 24x7.
We had booked for the Jeep Safari - from 4.30 pm to 6.30 – a 14-mile to and fro trip to the top of Kudremukh – around 1200 ft above sea level. It would be a bountiful Nature, landscape, and lush green safari, and not an animal safari, Shanmugam had clarified earlier. And it was - and to our total satisfaction.
Ajit, the 30-odd-year old driver asked me to sit in front; the impact of bumps would be less. At the top, it was no less than being on top of the world. Kannan got into his elemental best. “Athimbar, this is how Sunil Dutt would have rendered his lines had there been film-shooting here,” and began an old Hindi song. Chitra picked it up and completed, thus making it a sort of Rafi-Lata duet minus background music, make-up and cinematographer. Taken in by this, I attempted one myself which is more like a verse than a song: Sochha tha pyar hum na karenge…” only to be snubbed by my better half: “Then who asked you to?”, just to re-establish it was I who sought her hand.
Before getting back into the jeep for the downward drive, Kannan went into a final spiritual mode. No wonder. After all, standing on top one does feel closer to God Almighty. He chanted excerpts of what Arjuna had recited when Lord Krishna gave him Viswaroopa darshanam - “…forgive me just as a parent would forgive his child, a friend his friend, and a lover his beloved…”
Monday, final day. As planned the guide took us for what they call Nature Walk from 6.30 am to 8.30 after which we would have breakfast and vacate. The guide stopped by a tree and asked us if we could see the ants go up and down the tree. They work 24 x 7, take food to the honey-comb-like nest on top - and let us identify the location - where the mother ant feeds the tiny ones as she simultaneously guards them.
There are 135 varieties of grass that grow there; how they absorb the rainwater slowly to ensure survival till next supply. Scientists have studied how one particular species of female insect is blind and how it bites humans.
Then he explained the types of snakes. One type of Russell’s viper changes its colour to that of grass as soon as it swallowed a prey. The snake would lie down there for hours till it digested it fully. It is at this time you could rush and bring your friend to show him the species, sure to be there still.
Then with a pair of binoculars he showed us one type of bird sitting on top of a branch. As we spotted it, another joined and we announced that there are two. He said the one that just landed was another variant, one with a long tail and another short – like Suzuki sedan and hatchback…
As Anand started the van for homeward journey, we felt all the staff there enjoyed their tenure despite absence of internet connectivity within a radius of 14 kilometers, restricted emergency medical facilities… Yes, the secret of success lies not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do. Bravo! Three cheers.
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