Sunday, September 23, 2018

Elders' Meet, Day Out,...

The Evolution: A few months ago, a handful of elderly people started sitting and chatting in the evenings on the knee-high wall opposite the Club House main gate. Gradually the number began to swell. Soon the group began to indulge itself with a walk across to SLV for a cup of coffee. Later they upgraded it to a steaming hot Vada as well. Thankfully an attempt to try Kharabath was thwarted for fear of losing appetite for dinner and being grilled back home.

Getting charged: Now, everything falling in place - a well-knit group, time-pass discussions, occasional indulgence, and participation in the Badminton tournament - the members felt a fresh impetus to venture into an uncharted territory, a day’s picnic – initially a trial run in a 13-seater Tempo Traveller. The venue: Sivanasamudra, Talakad and Somnathpur.

Who will bell the cat? It is here that the buck game usually starts. Fortunately, Mr Krishnamurthy (6093), backed by experience, came forward.

The preparation: The group decided to engage the guy who had earlier carried an SFV group on an inter-State tour. Krishnamurthy, ably assisted by Kaleeswaram, 7211, negotiated with Grand Ragavendra restaurant for breakfast and lunch, ready to be picked up at 6.30 in the morning. SLV couldn’t deliver that early, they had expressed.

The trip: The members, attired in their best, waited at Oak gate at
6.30 am sharp. Beaming with happiness, we were eager to share with each passing by morning walker where we were heading, till it became a little embarrassing for us to meet the same people on their fifth or sixth round, and we still waiting for the Tempo Traveller, past 7.30. Thereafter we avoided eye contact with them.

The promised driver had safely switched off his mobile. So Krish pressed into action Plan B, and another Tempo Traveller picked us up - a patient and understanding driver. With occupants hailing the name of God in unison, the vehicle charged out of Oak gate at 8, instead of 6.30. Better late than never, we consoled ourselves.

A little later the search began for an ideal place for breakfast. In the interim, members who had brought token snacks began to distribute them. An hour later, the driver spotted an open space away from the road, stopped, and spread the huge sheet that he had, on the grass. Everyone did full justice to the breakfast – Idli, Vada, chutney, sambar, eggless cake, and bananas. We gave the excess to the old man and his cow that was searching for grass. One good deed a day. Maybe not, because what we gave was leftover. Anyway.

It was now time for Anthakshari. Soon, teams were marked: the two-seaters forming one team, and the one-seaters and those seated in the back row, the other. The songs could be in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, or any other language. It fell to my lot to inaugurate it. I did it with, Waqt ne kiya, kya haseen sitam; tum rahe na tum, hum rahe na hum. Mala, (Mrs Gera), lost no time to sing a number starting with Ma. Soon it picked momentum, with both teams in a frenzy to outwit the other. Till we reached Sivanasaumdra, neither team was found wanting.

The view of Sivanasamudra falls was as enticing as the Jog falls. Soon Chandrashekar, of 6172, swung into action with his I-Pad Mac. We then headed for Talakad where the excavated Marleswara temples have been preserved. Some of the members chose to take a ride in locally made boats. Again, Chandrasekhar captured the moments so well that others have named him the official photographer for future events.

We had lunch by the river. We were worried if the lunch picked up at 8 am would not have gone stale. It was fresh. More so the much-feared curd rice.

It was time to hurry to Somanathpur before it closed at 5.30. Too bad that yet another architectural splendour fell a victim to supremacy battle. Anyway, the Archaelogical Survey of India has preserved well the remnants.


With excellent tea on the way from a wayside shop, we reached home around 8.30 pm. A day well spent, everyone felt.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Activities Abound SFV

Yes, undoubtedly Ganesha first.  Last night SFVians reverently bade farewell to Lord Ganesha with a befitting visarjan ceremony, to the thunderous roar of Ganapati Bappa Morya, the occasional downpour notwithstanding. 

The earlier session was marked by a group song by SFV children, a skit well rehearsed and executed under the guidance of Smt Yamunamurthy, a popular Kannada artist of the All India Radio and a pride of SFVians, quiz on Lord Ganesha to children of all ages, puja by our accredited Shri Naveen Kashyap with his all-round knowledge of rituals and mythological stories in full display, and an orderly distribution of prasadam.

One apprehended that the unfailing evening rain would show up to keep SFVians indoors. Yes it did rain, but the residents ventured out regardless. So much so that, as an aside, one could witness in the Hall a musical chair for seat. If by chance one got up, say, to re-adjust one’s mobile in the pocket, one had to look back to ensure that the chair had not been removed since. The masterminds however kept hankies, umbrellas, or bags on the chair (read advance reservation) for their near and dear ones.

One saw more new than familiar faces. Among the new arrivals, I knew just two families, one in Maple and the other in Alder. One is a retired chartered accountant having moved in with his wife. Their daughter stays in USA. The other is from Alder. He said good-bye to his flourishing distributorship of a top brand of television and electronic gadgets to spend peaceful retirement with his wife; they occasionally visit their son and family in Australia.

The whisper in the hall was that if the attendance could be so huge with just 550 families having moved in, what would be the scenario if all 889 families shifted. “We will cross the bridge when we come to it,” responded the live the day friend.

On 8 September, SFV’s Knowledge Sub committee organized the inaugural session of Bodhisattva talks. Charity begins at home and, rightly, they are tapping first talents from within. Mr P.S. Satish, a corporate trainer, gave a pep talk on My Goal; How do I set and reach? We learn it was well received. Alas, I missed it, due to a prior commitment outside. Encouraged by the success, efforts are on for the next session.

A member, probably of the sub committee, approached me with a mandate to request me to address the next session on a topic of my choice. I thanked him profusely and cleared the air. I was no more than a mere wordsmith, and could, at best, give a talk on “Much Ado About Nothing.” Hope he got the hint.

By the way there is no dearth of intelligentsia here. I learn we have a few CEOs, CFOs, around, a lady who was Collector of Mysore until recently and now Commissioner of Tea Board, another who holds a doctorate in Chemical engineering… The list is endless. And if by chance one insists on a senior, you have Naveen Kashyap’s father who is head and shoulders above the rest. He has done yeoman’s service, having translated Upanishads and other religious books into Kannada – an onerous task. Our pranams to you, sir.


We just returned from an hour-long music session at Kaleeswaran’s place (7211) by Vijayalakshmi, fondly called Viji, my friend Hari’s (3192) daughter in law. She is here on duty travel. She gave some outstanding renderings of Carnatic music, Hindi songs and a Marathi Abhang. In between Kaleeswaran himself sang a Bharatiyar number as well as the song, Tere Mere Beech Mein from Ek Duuje Ke Liye. His mother, 92 years, a versatile singer in her days, proved equal to the occasion – she too rendered a few numbers. An evening well spent.

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Jog Falls: Nature Second to None

Armed with a briefing given by my friend, the three families set out for Shimoga last week.

Earlier, we had negotiated with Clarks Inn, a 3-star hotel, a good tariff where our forte, senior citizen card, was less effective, and the basic goodness of the manager more.

No sooner than we checked in at around 9 pm, we rushed to Meenakshi Bhavan where, my friend had told us, one got the best Masala Dosa. Alas, they had closed. Back in Clarks Inn we ordered fried rice, an enviable preparation. Aunty is busy attempting it for tonight. I shall keep my fingers crossed.

The Innova driver didn’t report for duty early next morning; he was running high temperature; so he deputed Bhaskar. A resident of Shimoga for 45 long years, Bhaskar, originally is from Palakkad – my place. That transformed my earlier setback into a glow.

He took us first to Ikeri, a 14th century Shiva temple with a mammoth monolithic Nandi in front, chiseled in granite. ‘More kingly than the king himself,’ I said to myself.  Unlike in Belur where invaders had defaced the idols rendering them unworthy of worship, and damaged the architecture to rob it of its grandeur, this monument was still in single piece, and pujas take place regularly.

Then the fun part, and we jumped with joy forgetting our age - to and fro ferry trip by Sharavati river with city bus, vans, cars, etc. loaded on to it along with humans, to Sikandur Sri Chowdeshwari Devi temple. The temple surrounded by thick, dense forest is a feast for the eyes; you almost felt like living there permanently. Of course the locals may tell a different story what with having to co-exist with mosquito- and other bites. Anyway, the temple provides a serene atmosphere, and the devotees are seated in batches with veneration right in front of the sanctum sanctorum to have darshan to one’s heart’s content.

We headed to Sridhar Ashram, also known as Vardhashram. By now each one had begun to delve deep into his bag for any possible knick-knack items. Unfortunately, the train journey the previous day had taken its toll. Seniors though, we were found to be nibbling more than most in the compartment. Guessing our plight Bhaskar reassured us that prasad - free lunch - would be served at the Ashram from 12.30 to 2 pm.

It was Ekadasi, so lunch consisted of Upma, loose paruppu kanji payasam, and curd. Our stomachs full we donated a little more than usual for the Ashram’s free-meals project.

Now the main event - trip to Jog Falls. And our worst fears came true. The clouds, hitherto scattered, began to consolidate and grow thicker, and systematically broke in - initially in drops, then drizzle, and finally into a blast version. We wrote off our rendezvous with Jog Falls as a wasted effort. Fortunately just a mile before it stopped raining as though someone from above heard us, and we had a good view of the falls. We spent an hour enjoying Nature’s bounty.

There were several other waterfalls, but the main four were called Raja, Roar, Rocket, and Rani. We clicked snaps from left, right and centre. Somehow something missing, we felt, and engaged a professional for a group photo, which he did to his best with the constraints of the objects in front.

Now a cup of hot cup of filter coffee before commencing our return journey, we thought. Alas, it wasn’t available. Bhaskar said that instant coffee was available at every other shop, but filter coffee was an hour away. We reconciled ourselves, and soon were into a catnap. He woks us up for coffee on the way, and finally we were back in Shimoga town. Once bitten twice shy, we hurried straight to Meenakshi Bhawan, lest we missed their famed Masala Dosa again.


Back home, our liberal sharing the joyous experience was cut short by a lady when she posed: “Did you go the Mahishi beach, Tyavarekoppa, the Lion and Tiger safari, or at least the Mandagadde bird sanctuary. No? Then what have you seen?...” making us wonder, as usual, if we did our homework well.

Share