[procrj]

Sometimes its important to stand still in order to move ahead. Its an oxymoron of sorts but I have realised that some of life's best experiences often come crashing into your mundane life. Remember that diesel loco in Inception which comes crashing onto the road? Well in my case it was not a diesel loco but a simple tank

The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn't any other test. If the machine produces tranquility it's right. If it disturbs you it's wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

Somewhere between Kushalnagar & Konnanur

(What makes his world so hard to see clearly is not its strangeness but its usualness).Familiarity can blind you too
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

I decided to break away from the familiar & strenuous Bangalore – Mysore drive and explore some new tarmac. What started as a drive to Madikeri became a monsoon drive through some serene & beautiful stretches of rural karnataka.

sometimes its a little better to travel than to arrive
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

SH121 – C.R Patna – Holenarsipura


What began as a detour turned into a mesmerising symphony. Blue skies that reminded me that I was just an earth bound misfit. Grouchy Grey turned to green as drops of rain caressed tender shoots to life. I stood beside sentinels of the wind while they churned through time – slowly taking your minutes and churning them into small pockets of smiles which you can use when you need.

SH121 – C.R Patna – Holenarsipura


A lost second on the highway of time


Sentinels of the wind

[procrj]

We want to make good time, but for us now this is measured with the emphasis on "good" rather than on "time"....
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

The mile markers slip by and I was busy having a good time. The smell of rain on wet earth, the contrast of red gulmohar leaves against dark green canopy, waters singing shine on you carzy diamond and the oneness of man & a well oiled machine.

Dead wood & new life marching along


Gulmohar trees – Arkalgud - Ramanathapura


Roll baby Roll – Holenarsipura - Arkalgud


Man, Machine & a tryst with Monsoons - SH121

There's this primary America of freeways and jet flights and TV and movie spectaculars, and people caught up in this primary America seem to go through huge portions of their lives without much consciousness of what immediately surrounds them. The media have convinced them that what's right around them is unimportant. And that's why they're lonely
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

Loneliness is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it makes you stop & think – should I focus on the stretch of tarmac stretching out in front of me or should I slow down and look at the green fields that make up this blur of green.

Beautiful SH between Konnanur – Kushalnagar


Slowing down and looking at the blur of green

To all appearances he was just drifting. In actuality he was just drifting
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

While drifting along, a wrong turn can take you the right place that makes you sit up and take notice. Like threads in a fabric, your good times begin to intertwine together and create a delicately balanced work of art. You try to hold on to this fabric of experience and end up with a smudged canvas.

A small lake near Konnanur


Cloudy with a chance of rain - Raja seat, Madikeri


Now you see me, Now you dont


Smudged canvas – All I saw in Madikeri

[procrj]

We keep passing unseen through little moments of other people’s lives.
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

Other people’s life was not very far at Club Mahindra Madikeri. While most resorts try and give you as much privacy as possible, Club Mahindra Madikeri seems to be inspired by college hostels and tries to ensure that you breathe in your neighbors cigarette smoke and eavesdrop on their conversations.

Pitter patter of rain was the only constant in this land adrift in clouds. I spent my days & nights listening to rain slide from one leaf to another before it silently drops down to the ground.

Club Mahindra Madikeri – Where time share means you share every second of your time there

You look at where you’re going and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back at where you’ve been and a pattern seems to emerge
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

Never before have I been eager to commence the journey back to civilization. I knew what awaits and the small joys of remembering & reliving good times only made the journey so much more memorable when compared to the destination.

Where I am – Kushalnagar – Suntikoppa


Where I was – Konnanur – Kushalnagar


Where I am going – SH121

We take a handful of sand from the endless landscape of awareness around us and call that handful of sand the world.
- Robert M Pirsig, Zen & The art of Motorcycle maintenance

And with this first handful of sand, I begin to reshape my world. A whisper of the wind, a dash of lightning, a swirl of mist and a murmur of a stream. Sometimes its hard to hear the music when the mind is wandering – so get off the road and let the blur take shape. Take a left or the wrong right and let the sands of time slip by.

[procrj]

Big shoutout to NPV & Androdev for sharing route updates and details of this alternate to Kushalnagar & Madikeri.

Route: Bangalore - Channrayapatna - SH121 - Holenarsipura - Arkalgud - Ramanathapura - Konnanur - Kushalnagar - Madikeri
Gmaps - https://goo.gl/maps/Vt3PH6R9vMG2

Road condition:
Bangalore - C.R Patna: 4 Lane highway
C.R Patna - Holenarsipura via SH121: beautiful roads, sparse traffic and a lovely drive especially with a fine mist of rain
Holenarsipura - Arkalgud: Good 2 lane road with a few patches here and there. All speed breakers are marked and can easily maintain 70-80 kmph on this stretch. Watchout for overloaded two wheelers.
Arkalgud - Ramnathpura: patchy roads with a few potholes closer to arkalgud. Some stretches are very narrow and if you get stuck behind a KSRTC bus, then you need to be patient. On the whole this 20 km stretch is easily doable in any car.
Ramnathpura - Konnanur: good roads with 1 km crater filled stretch in Konnanur town
Konnanur - Kushalnagar: is beautiful winding roads but has well marked speed breakers at every large village.
Kushalnagar - Madikeri: beautiful winding roads which made me wish for a low slung hatch

120 odd kms from C.R Patna to Madikeri can be easily covered in 2 hours & 30-45 minutes and the rest of the road to Bangalore is 4 lane, which makes this a great option when compared to Bangalore - Mysore - Madikeri route. Even on a Sunday afternoon, traffic is sparse and the drive is very pleasant.

What next?
1. Exploring somwarpet, shanivarasanthe & Mallali falls. Maybe even drive up bisle ghat - Inspiration
a. Fauji's old thread Anyone here who has recently driven https://goo.gl/maps/rafwrtYXRa92
b. addyhemmige's thread

2.5 acres and kadamane

3. Agumbe, Tirtahalli & Jog - has been on my to do list for a long long time

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ampere]

Beautiful thread. I think many are coming to terms with fact that journey is the destination. So long as folks have all the time in the world to soak it in while on the move for a holiday, you will end up getting to see such treats!

Nice!

[DragonHawk]

Lovely report there!

Beautiful road, compensating scenery add to that monsoon showers is all one would wish when you travel to footholds of rural Karnataka especially western ghats. Next time when you venture out to Madikeri try going via Arkalgud - Shanivarsante - Somwarpete - Madikeri. Minimum traffic, twisty roads, lush greenery and I bet you wont take other routes once you try this route.

[paragsachania]

The right time to be there at the right place and the photologue just talks about it - Monsoon Glory.

The best part of this drive is the route itself. Not a regular one for Bangaloreans, it ensures peaceful drive to destination with a lot of scenic sections till you reach.

Like DragonHawk says, the Arkalgud - Shanivarsante - Somwarpete - Madikeri is splendid. Have taken this couple of times during monsoons and once to reach Mallalli falls.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by ampere

Beautiful thread. I think many are coming to terms with fact that journey is the destination

Thanks amp. I think only a very small section of travelers enjoy the journey. Most of my friends are ecstatic when they see 4/6 lane highways and hate driving on 2 lane sections or explore unknown roads. I just think that their loss is my gain less traffic & hence more time for me to soak in the drive.

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Arkalgud - Shanivarsante - Somwarpete - Madikeri. Minimum traffic, twisty roads, lush greenery and I bet you wont take other routes once you try this route.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Arkalgud - Shanivarsante - Somwarpete - Madikeri is splendid

Will be driving Arkalgud - Shanivarsante - Somwarpete - Mallali falls mid july

Have taken this couple of times during monsoons and once to reach Mallalli falls.

Parag - any idea of the road condition from somwarpete to mallali falls? Was also thinking about driving Shanivarasanthe - Kodlipete - Bykaravalli - Sakleshpur on the return leg. Any idea how the roads are?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by procrj

Parag - any idea of the road condition from somwarpete to mallali falls?

Was good when we drove but remember that the Turn off for the falls is a rough road. You will need to drive a distance and park and then walk.

If the weather has been relatively drive, you can drive beyond this point.

Was also thinking about driving Shanivarasanthe - Kodlipete - Bykaravalli - Sakleshpur on the return leg. Any idea how the roads are?

I know that Somwarpet - Shahivarsanthe - Magilu - Ballupet - Bage is good except a small stretch near Magilu. Not sure about the condition of Kodlipete road though.

[STraiTDriVE]

Yet another travelogue and its getting very interesting with every excursion. Thanks for sharing.. Nice usage of Robert Pirsig’s quotes which was a bit different and aptly used..

[procrj]

The drive on SH121 just would not go away from my mind and I have spent a lot of time over the last week just sitting back, rewinding the memory of the drive and just drifting away on those beautiful roads over and over again.

A friend of mine had recently purchased an i20 elite and was itching to go on a drive. Thanks to the mid week holiday, we decided to start early and go somewhere. We were discussing options in the 200 km range for a day drive and our conversation kept drifting back to SH121 We zeroed in on Gorur dam yesterday evening and decided to start by 6.30 am.

While randomly zooming in & out of gmaps on SH121, I see this and time stops. A quick google search and I realize that this should be our first stop.


Manage to leave on time and after a quick breakfast stop at swathi delicacy, we cross Channrayanapatna, take the right towards Agrahara and glide onto this beautiful road!

Another red car with the sentinels


Instead of taking the left onto SH102 towards Holenarsipura, you take the right on SH102, which is also a beautiful stretch of tarmac with windmills all over the place.

Route map: https://goo.gl/maps/HZzGGmKafwq

Country roads


far away across the fields - the turning of the sentinels


The uphill stretch to the temple is new tarmac and the views on the way to the top combined with the weather made my day.

Even the road shoulder has a green carpet


Not gonna say a lot more about the temple and its surroundings - will let the pics do the talking.

Step up



All around town






Reluctant farewell



If you are in search of a place where you can put your feet up & and just relax, this should be at the top of your list if you are anywhere near Hassan.



to be continued.

[procrj]

After spending close to an hour near the temple, we drive down and get onto SH57 to get to Holenarsipura. On the road I see this Big sign board for Stay Simple Riverdale resort and I zoom in & see Sri Ramadevara Katte pop up on the screen.



I check out the images on google and this is what I see


Pic credits - google

I ask my friend to take a U turn and head back towards the stay simple sign board. A quick check with the locals and we head down the road with hope in our hearts.

katte road with a lot of kingfishers flying around


Railway line - connecting lives



At a fork in the road you see a small gate, which needs to be opened by the security for you to reach the beautiful parking space, which in itself in a great spot for a photo shoot.

Smile please


1870 - That's a long time ago


The water was just upto the brim and waiting to spill over. I start to walk onto the katte and the security guards ask me get back as they are not sure when water might be released from gorur dam. A few more days later and this place will be a sight to see.

katte - must visit after a month


After the disappointment at the katte, we head back on SH57 and head towards Holenarsipura - Arkalgud - Gorur. We reach Gorur dam and see that none of the gates are open (knew this would be the state as I had seen a few pics posted on FB yesterday) and decided not to walk up to the dam. Road from Arkalgud to Gorur has quiet a few potholes and broken stretches but nothing alarming as the i20 handled these with aplomb.

Instead we decided to drive to Shettihalli church and check out water level in the catchment. Gorur - Shettihalli is again a mix of good and broken roads and there was a small traffic jam near Shettihalli turnoff as a crane was clearing a few tree trunks that were blocking the road.

Gorur - Hassan


Like the Red keep, I will also be gone soon


After a quick drive over the bridge, we decide to head back to Hassan and grab some lunch. Post lunch plans were still under discussion but after a heavy lunch at A2B Udayapura, we decide to call it a day and head back home.

A beautiful midweek break comes to an end. Time to plan the next getaway

[NPV]

Originally Posted by procrj

Instead of taking the left onto SH102 towards Holenarsipura, you take the right on SH102, which is also a beautiful stretch of tarmac with windmills all over the place.

Route map: https://goo.gl/maps/HZzGGmKafwq

The places look awesome, thanks for sharing the lovely pictures
A question on the route you took:
Any specific reason why you did not continue on SH121 as shown with Red Arrows in the attached image ? Instead you continued straight off the SH121 and then took a right turn on SH102. You could have also reached the same place if you'd stayed on SH121, hence the question.

[kannan666]

Lovely photologue with really crisp pics ! Most of the time with travels of this sort, the journey is more enjoyable than getting to the destination, thanks for sharing !