Quote:
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.”-Stuart Chase
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A very good friend of mine underwent a brain surgery late last year. Though the tumor was removed, he has not recovered his vision even after 9 months. Initially the doctors were somewhat positive, saying that though it may take some time, he should recover at least partial sight. But after a recent check-up, they mentioned that there hasn't been any significant improvement till date, so the chances of him getting his sight back are very low. Currently he is at home, with his parents, trying to keep himself entertained by listening to the TV and he certainly is trying his best to keep his spirits up.
Sometime last month, he was flipping through the channels and stopped on a Kannada channel showing a program which covers mysterious occurrences, miraculous places etc. That particular episode spoke about a small village, a hill near the edge of the forest, with a 'Anjaneya' shrine and a natural spring on top of the hill, whose water has some miraculous curative properties etc. Apparently they also interviewed some individuals who had been cured of seemingly incurable ailments after drinking that water.
He heard most of the episode, but he had missed the initial part where they had mentioned the route to the place. He could only recollect that the place was called 'Kabri' or something similar and that it is close to Kanakapura.
Having known him for more than 20 years, I know that under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have have paid attention to such 'superstitious' programs and would have flipped channels without a second thought. But he is in a situation where medical science seems to have run out of options; and there is willing to try anything that offers any hope.
A couple of days after this program was telecast, he mentioned about this place to check if we could get some water from this spring. Though my first thought was to dissuade him from being irrational, I felt that it is easy for me to pontificate since I am not in his position; and maybe I should not be passing judgements about stuff which I myself haven't seen or experienced. There are still a lot of things that haven't been scientifically explained. So who knows...
With the sketchy details he had mentioned, I and Mr.Patil tried to figure out more about this place. Googling did not help at all... emails to the TV channel did elicit any response and we couldn't reach them via phone. Then one day a casual conversation between Mr.Patil and his office cab driver veered towards this topic and when asked about this 'Kabri' village, he mentioned that there was indeed a place called 'Kebre' near Kanakapura.
Armed with this correct spelling, my colleague Shashi dug up quite a few details about this village and the route. Since I estimated that it would be a couple of hours drive from Bangalore, I planned a quick trip on a Saturday or a Sunday.
Things did not work out as planned, one weekend I had a viral fever, some other commitments took over the subsequent weekends... and last Sunday Mr.Patil was out of action with a flu and could not make it. With Sangeetha off to her parents house, I did not have any other plans for the day and decided to do the trip.
Since one of the other things on my 'To do' list was to catch up with Kiran, here was an opportunity to do some multi tasking! Called him up, mentioned about the plans and he was quite excited too... especially since he had seen this program on TV and was quite curious to check out the place!
On Sunday, 26th July 09, I met up with Kiran on Bull-Temple road and we headed off towards Kanakapura and then to Kebre. The route was as per the map below:
Drive time, from Bull-Temple road to Kebre: @2 hours.
Total distance covered (To & Fro): 157kms
Time required to walk up the hill: @ 1 hour.
Time spent on the top (Including the trek down to the cave): @2 hours.
Map courtesy:
MapmyIndia.com Online maps, GPS Navigation, Driving Directions, Local Search
Kanakapura road leads to quite a few interesting places...
Stopped to buy some water and took a couple of pics of this big guy...
We did not waste any time enroute, once we were close to Kanakapura, we stopped every couple of Kms to ask for directions. Crossed Kanakapura and took the road leading to 'Kodihalli'. Crossed Kodihalli and took the road to Kebre village and reached the 'Govina Kallu Betta' as this hill is called. Parked the Xing and headed up the path leading up the hill...
Thanks to the recent rains, the area around looks very green and inviting!
The path is dotted with shady trees...
This old lady from the nearby village is a regular visitor to this place and she mentioned that apart from the spring and the temple, we should also visit the cave where the idol was originally found...
The path winds its way up to the top of the hill...
Oye Dude.. wait for me!
After the place got featured on TV, quite a few visitors have been interested in the place... and a road has been laid through the fields to reach the hill...
A Ganesha shrine carved into a niche in the rock...
Since this area is contagious to the Bannerghatta National Park, there is quite a bit of greenery around and occasionally wild elephants can be seen wandering around in these areas...
Time for a breather... near the top.
Reached the temple on the top and saw this small pool of water in a hole dug up next to the temple... was this the 'holy spring' ? The priest at the temple clarified that the 'Sanjeevini Kola' was actually next to a Ganesha temple that we had passed on the way up. (Not the Ganesha in the niche in the rock, but another small & simple looking building close to the top.)
We decided that we'll collect the water on the way down. The next place to see was the cave where 'Anjaneya' is supposed to have performed penance... and where the idol now housed in the temple on the top was originally found. Kiran spotted a couple of kids loitering around and asked them about the 'gavi' (Cave). The Kids volunteered to show us the way...
Off they went.. hopping from rock to rock and we found it tough to keep pace with the kids as we gingerly stepped our way through the path...
Oh Come on! Walk fast!! At this pace, it will be nightfall before we reach the cave...
Hmmm... I just walked down this path...can I make it back up??
Oye huduga... innu yeshtu doora hogabeku?
Are you nuts?
Swalpa taalu guru!
Break time please...
An empty beehive...
Yeh kahaaaan...aagaye hum.
Second thoughts...
Hmmm!!! Looks interesting...
Contd...