Prologue:
Hardcore Pessimists certainly have one thing going for them, all they ever get is pleasant surprises. Some of the best moments in life come when you expect the ordinary and then have your breath taken away.
Beauty always seems at its best when you behold it for the first time. I'm referring to Nature here....but the same applies to Catherine Zeta Jones as well.
The occasion was my friend Pushkar's wedding, so had gone on a day trip to Shimoga to attend the engagement ceremony. Would've loved to take the Bullet, but it was still recuperating from its seized engine, so traveled by the more conventional means of train.
In case that sounded confusing, I wasn't referring to a heroic death by gunfight. In case this sounds confusing, you're allowed to give an exasperated shake of the head and read on.
Onward journey:
Had met up with Pushkar's college friends a couple of times, so joined up with them and took the Saturday night train. Good journey, had an auspicious start with us stuffing our faces at Comesum. By the way, never knew it existed till then, so that was the first good surprise. Will go there henceforth whenever I'm sloshed and hungry. Train journey was made interesting with a game of Bluff played till wee hours (very wee hours) of morning. Unsuccessfully tried to put on my best poker face but still managed to beat a couple of the guys.
Reached Shimoga and after finding our pre-booked rooms (and associated loos) not entirely clean, proceeded to check in to hotel Southern Comforts, found after a bit of running around.
Laughing Clubs and Talking Shutters:
While on the hotel hunt, chanced to pass by the Shimoga Laughter Club and decided to check it out. First time I'm seeing one....the folks there weren't really laughing their guts out (which was what I presumed these clubs were about), it was more like a rythmic "Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha-Ha" chant, done after every 5 min of exercising. Sort of like the old Vittalacharya movies.
After checking in, went about searching for Balaji Travels to book my return tickets. Found the office which was closed (it was around 7am then), but the bus cleaner outside insisted I book my ticket right then. He proceeded to bang on the shop shutters to wake the clerk sleeping inside, after which followed the most unique conversation I've held. The clerk would mumble through the closed shutter, the cleaner would listen with his ear close to the shutter and act as interpreter between us and the clerk. After a long conversation, which included deciding of the seat numbers, the shutter opened and I was able to procure my ticket.
Trip to Sringeri:
After a bit of discussion, decided to hire a cab and visit Sringeri, an old temple about 100 odd kms away. I'm not much for temples and wanted to see Jog Falls instead, but common opinion was that you couldn't get too close to the falls during the monsoons.
Glad we did it, though. The drive was through the most scenic roads I've seen in a long time. Profusion of greenery all the way, with some great views of the river Tunga. Lots of coconut, palm and arracknut trees. Nothing like the ghats in the monsoons. Missed my bullet every minute of the way...would've been a great ride for sure.
Agumbe:
Passed through Agumbe to pick up Bhatti, who had come there directly from Mangalore and then decided to stop for chai. Agumbe is supposed to be the Cherrapunji of the south, and for good reason. The constant slight drizzle suddenly burst into a storm. Great sight, with water literally falling sideways from the skies, and animals running for shelter everywhere. In the meantime, had something like a sweetish pakoda, generally called a 'bun'...absoutely awesome. Unfortunately there were only two of them to be shared between 6 guys. Incidentally, Agumbe is also the place where Malgudi Days was shot.
The wierdest P:
Strange coincidence or sinister message....I'll never know. During the drive, stopped for a leak break. Found a tree, closed my eyes and waited for the moment of bliss, was almost there...and then the skies beat me to it. Started pouring down out of nowhere, so I had to rush back to the car. Guess thats expected at times in the hills during monsoons, but the exact same thing happened the next three times we stopped!!! No sign of rain, then the sky would tinkle down just before I did. Finally took the hint and did it at the next indoor loo.
Sringeri:
The temple was fairly good...actually it was better than that but have had my fill of architectural ruins at recent Hampi trip. What I loved was the river Tunga nearby which was in full spate. The temple has steps leading down to it, for devotees to bathe etc...and water level being high had crossed some of the steps, with the result that you could just climb down the steps and have the water come up to ankle or even knee level. Again, wonderful glimpse of nature at its best.
Later on had the free lunch at the temple. Food was..well...sad...but I'm not complaining. I think its an exteremely good gesture to give free lunch every single day to whoever walks in...pretty unheard of, actually.
Kuvempu's house:
Stopped on the way back at the house of Kuvempu, who was supposedly one of the greatest figures of all time in Kannada literature. The house has been preserved and renovated, converted to a museum of sorts now. Its built in the traditional South Indian style with sloping roofs and multi-layered levels, sort of like a Pagoda, with an open courtyard in the middle, but looks spanking new due to the renovation. So gives you a unique glimpse of what a new house would look like in the old days.
Spent some time there, then climbed some nearby hills to Kuvempu's favorite writing spot, where he supposedly got the inspiration to write. Easy to understand why, when you look at the splendid views all around.
Engagement and daru session:
Made in back in time for the engagement. Engagement ceremony was quite nice, not too long. The guys took some funny snaps of Pushkar holding a yellow toy duck. Pushkar lived up to his reputation later on, when we went to congratulate the couple, by generally not introducing any of us to his wife. Shilpa actually had to interrupt his conversation and ask for intros. All I can say is...glad he has finally got someone to sudharofy him...just hope Shilpa doesn't get tired out minding him all the time :)
Proceeded to hotel Jewel Rock after engagement for a quick daru session before my bus. Had a nice time, as I usually tend to do whenever I'm with my beverage of choice. Said goodbyes a while later and caught my bus. Was in slightly tull state so popped off to sleep immediately.
Retrograde Amnesia:
Final interesting incident of the journey was when the bus stopped a few hours later for the leak break. Wandered about a bit, and then almost managed to get back into the wrong bus (it was the same colour and it was pitch dark outside). The conductor asked me where I was coming from, and to my horror couldn't remember at all. I kept thinking "Hampi Hampi" and just stood there like a total idiot. He then asked me to produce my ticket, after which things were clarified. Got into the right bus shamefacedly and slept again, and thankfully woke to my senses once we reached Bangalore.
Anyways, totally refreshed after the trip, and thats increased my resolution to do a 4-5 day ride in Kerala during the August 15th holidays. If Shimoga was this good, imagine what Kerala will be like during the monsoons!
Hardcore Pessimists certainly have one thing going for them, all they ever get is pleasant surprises. Some of the best moments in life come when you expect the ordinary and then have your breath taken away.
Beauty always seems at its best when you behold it for the first time. I'm referring to Nature here....but the same applies to Catherine Zeta Jones as well.
The occasion was my friend Pushkar's wedding, so had gone on a day trip to Shimoga to attend the engagement ceremony. Would've loved to take the Bullet, but it was still recuperating from its seized engine, so traveled by the more conventional means of train.
In case that sounded confusing, I wasn't referring to a heroic death by gunfight. In case this sounds confusing, you're allowed to give an exasperated shake of the head and read on.
Onward journey:
Had met up with Pushkar's college friends a couple of times, so joined up with them and took the Saturday night train. Good journey, had an auspicious start with us stuffing our faces at Comesum. By the way, never knew it existed till then, so that was the first good surprise. Will go there henceforth whenever I'm sloshed and hungry. Train journey was made interesting with a game of Bluff played till wee hours (very wee hours) of morning. Unsuccessfully tried to put on my best poker face but still managed to beat a couple of the guys.
Reached Shimoga and after finding our pre-booked rooms (and associated loos) not entirely clean, proceeded to check in to hotel Southern Comforts, found after a bit of running around.
Laughing Clubs and Talking Shutters:
While on the hotel hunt, chanced to pass by the Shimoga Laughter Club and decided to check it out. First time I'm seeing one....the folks there weren't really laughing their guts out (which was what I presumed these clubs were about), it was more like a rythmic "Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha-Ha" chant, done after every 5 min of exercising. Sort of like the old Vittalacharya movies.
After checking in, went about searching for Balaji Travels to book my return tickets. Found the office which was closed (it was around 7am then), but the bus cleaner outside insisted I book my ticket right then. He proceeded to bang on the shop shutters to wake the clerk sleeping inside, after which followed the most unique conversation I've held. The clerk would mumble through the closed shutter, the cleaner would listen with his ear close to the shutter and act as interpreter between us and the clerk. After a long conversation, which included deciding of the seat numbers, the shutter opened and I was able to procure my ticket.
Trip to Sringeri:
After a bit of discussion, decided to hire a cab and visit Sringeri, an old temple about 100 odd kms away. I'm not much for temples and wanted to see Jog Falls instead, but common opinion was that you couldn't get too close to the falls during the monsoons.
Glad we did it, though. The drive was through the most scenic roads I've seen in a long time. Profusion of greenery all the way, with some great views of the river Tunga. Lots of coconut, palm and arracknut trees. Nothing like the ghats in the monsoons. Missed my bullet every minute of the way...would've been a great ride for sure.
Agumbe:
Passed through Agumbe to pick up Bhatti, who had come there directly from Mangalore and then decided to stop for chai. Agumbe is supposed to be the Cherrapunji of the south, and for good reason. The constant slight drizzle suddenly burst into a storm. Great sight, with water literally falling sideways from the skies, and animals running for shelter everywhere. In the meantime, had something like a sweetish pakoda, generally called a 'bun'...absoutely awesome. Unfortunately there were only two of them to be shared between 6 guys. Incidentally, Agumbe is also the place where Malgudi Days was shot.
The wierdest P:
Strange coincidence or sinister message....I'll never know. During the drive, stopped for a leak break. Found a tree, closed my eyes and waited for the moment of bliss, was almost there...and then the skies beat me to it. Started pouring down out of nowhere, so I had to rush back to the car. Guess thats expected at times in the hills during monsoons, but the exact same thing happened the next three times we stopped!!! No sign of rain, then the sky would tinkle down just before I did. Finally took the hint and did it at the next indoor loo.
Sringeri:
The temple was fairly good...actually it was better than that but have had my fill of architectural ruins at recent Hampi trip. What I loved was the river Tunga nearby which was in full spate. The temple has steps leading down to it, for devotees to bathe etc...and water level being high had crossed some of the steps, with the result that you could just climb down the steps and have the water come up to ankle or even knee level. Again, wonderful glimpse of nature at its best.
Later on had the free lunch at the temple. Food was..well...sad...but I'm not complaining. I think its an exteremely good gesture to give free lunch every single day to whoever walks in...pretty unheard of, actually.
Kuvempu's house:
Stopped on the way back at the house of Kuvempu, who was supposedly one of the greatest figures of all time in Kannada literature. The house has been preserved and renovated, converted to a museum of sorts now. Its built in the traditional South Indian style with sloping roofs and multi-layered levels, sort of like a Pagoda, with an open courtyard in the middle, but looks spanking new due to the renovation. So gives you a unique glimpse of what a new house would look like in the old days.
Spent some time there, then climbed some nearby hills to Kuvempu's favorite writing spot, where he supposedly got the inspiration to write. Easy to understand why, when you look at the splendid views all around.
Engagement and daru session:
Made in back in time for the engagement. Engagement ceremony was quite nice, not too long. The guys took some funny snaps of Pushkar holding a yellow toy duck. Pushkar lived up to his reputation later on, when we went to congratulate the couple, by generally not introducing any of us to his wife. Shilpa actually had to interrupt his conversation and ask for intros. All I can say is...glad he has finally got someone to sudharofy him...just hope Shilpa doesn't get tired out minding him all the time :)
Proceeded to hotel Jewel Rock after engagement for a quick daru session before my bus. Had a nice time, as I usually tend to do whenever I'm with my beverage of choice. Said goodbyes a while later and caught my bus. Was in slightly tull state so popped off to sleep immediately.
Retrograde Amnesia:
Final interesting incident of the journey was when the bus stopped a few hours later for the leak break. Wandered about a bit, and then almost managed to get back into the wrong bus (it was the same colour and it was pitch dark outside). The conductor asked me where I was coming from, and to my horror couldn't remember at all. I kept thinking "Hampi Hampi" and just stood there like a total idiot. He then asked me to produce my ticket, after which things were clarified. Got into the right bus shamefacedly and slept again, and thankfully woke to my senses once we reached Bangalore.
Anyways, totally refreshed after the trip, and thats increased my resolution to do a 4-5 day ride in Kerala during the August 15th holidays. If Shimoga was this good, imagine what Kerala will be like during the monsoons!
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