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 14^th 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.