[vijayols]

Some journeys are timeless like our monsoon drives to the Western Ghats.















We have been making it a point to travel with our without company to usher in our anniversary and this time we went to an elusive gem found by Kanthi called Manna Paapu Mane about 18 kms between Kudremukh and Karkala in Karnataka. A 200 year old homestay managed by Manu and of course the effervescent bhat trey (cook in Kannada) Srinivas and the lovable “bondu” boy from Bihar Akash.

We were laughing hilariously at the way Akash who epitomized laziness went about his work be it mopping the floor so-so slowly that it would take him a full day to even finish this massive house. It reminded us of the comedy clip of Vadivelu, whereas a contractor, he would manage a group of lazy guys who would slowly work away like hammers nails so slow that you could nap and even when you woke up he would likely be still hammering away! That clip always had us ROWL and looking at dear Akash reminded us of the same.

But unlike Vadivelu, who in his typical style would get frustrated, Srinivas was very coolly gently telling him to hurry up. Looks like we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Sigh! Isn't it so mundane to start from where it all began before we reach the best part of even such a short trip?

This story began on Thursday late afternoon when we set out by around 4ish from Whitefield but the silver lining was we did manage to escape the evening mad rush in this crazy city of Bangalore which we call home.

The plan was to try to hit Hassan or even further before we halt for the night. The highway to Hassan once we hit the bridge from Gorguntapalya is usually a breeze. This time though with the umpteen construction happening and several roads being forced bi-directional we had a scary experience. Following a goods auto, we indivertibly went on a lane which we thought was a forced one-lane road but was actually a normal unidirectional road with traffic speeding from the opposite direction catching us wrong-footed. To boot, it was raining and dark and the lights of the Ameo were poor, to say the least. We put our blinkers on and were relieved to find an opening in the divider to get to the right side of the road.

The highways have become a death pit with insufficient warning symbols/lack of reflectors or street lights and of course the never-ending deadline of road repairs or construction not to forget the surprise road humps with no warning. It's no wonder India has such high levels of road accidents. It's not enough to simply make wide highways and insisting cars to have 6 airbags which is welcome but these niggles just seem to be part of our chalta hain attitude.

With the incessant rains and low visibility, we decided to look for a hotel by the highway at Hassan. Phalguni Residency showed up on the search and we spent the night there.

Breakfast the next day was at Gajanana Refreshments - a popular joint serving Thuppa set dosa which was soft and yummy. The cleanliness of the tables left much to be desired though.

We chose to take the route through Belur -Ujire and avoided going through either Sakleshpur or Kudremukh. The roads were fantastic and smooth. It was almost like we were driving in Tamil Nadu or Andhra and not Karnataka. The rains had made the place green and there were so many waterfalls along the route and the mist was making the hues both dark and bright almost like playing hide and seek. This was the experience we love while driving in the monsoons in the Western Ghats.

We stopped for coffee at Growers a nice looking coffee shop and bought a bag of coffee powder.











We were on time for lunch at Manne Paapu Mane which we found with a bit of help from Manu our coordinator as google maps fell short of going all the way to the homestay.

The homestay as we discovered is a vibrant ecosystem and very artistic (most likely the good taste of the house owner artist Purshottam Udave). It Organizes Butterfly Fest (in November) and Frog Exploration (in the monsoons) as well as pottery/origami classes for kids.

Bhat trey Srinivas welcomed us with a lunch of hot sambar/rasam and chutney with red and white rice and papads. This was the standard food served but with his twist where he managed to make the taste unique and tasty for every meal. Tummies filled and fully satisfied we napped for some time before it was time for coffee and snacks.

Coffee made just right strong with jaggery on the less sweet side was so perfect we were in danger of getting addicted to it. There was hot bhajis which of course is the default food for the monsoons.

We then grabbed an umbrella and trekked up to the stream from the homestay. There was a path on the stream which was submerged which turned out to be a concrete bridge with lesser current than we had anticipated.

















We then decided to explore the road upstream but had to beat a hasty retreat as there were some annoying Horse flies which was on us in swarms. We then thought we could walk down towards the village and passed the temple on the right which seems to be locked. We found a small gate below and entered the temple which was deserted save the lone priest. Had a nice private darshan of the deity as it continued to pour.

The temple architecture was strikingly different to what we see towards Bangalore or Tamil Nadu. The temples in south Canara and Kerala had their own unique look. Wonder how diverse the cultures are just at such a short geographical distance.

We continued walking down and were followed by 2 dogs from the homestay and suddenly the dogs ran excitedly towards a young man on a bike. We stopped to greet him and learnt his name was Nisarg and was a Bangalorean staying here in this place on work and had rented a house where he stayed with his dog Noah.

Nisarg was an engineer with a PG in environment studies and now worked from here. He invited us for a cup of coffee and we accepted his invitation and visited him after continuing our walk for some more time. He stayed in a massive house which he took us for a tour of.

Noah was happy to be petted and was demanding our attention during our time there. Nisarg treated us to a lovely hot cup of flavorful coffee made with freshly ground roasted beans.

Time just went by as we marvelled at the exuberance of youth and the choice youngsters make to choose the path they love however unconventional it might be after initially going through the grind of engineering. To boot, he was an avid kayaker as he pursued research on river otters.

It was dark as we left back to the resort and needed the light from the mobile to navigate our way back. Bhat trey Srinivas had prepared a hot plate of dinner for us which we enjoyed. As a treat, we had a sweet which was Ragi Halwa tonight.

We spent time with the youngsters who were staying with us and surprisingly we found 2 Team-BHPias in the group (one of whom was @Aaychat). We discussed cars and life in general with them as we got a glimpse of how the younger generation views of life and the career choices they follow. What an end to an eventful day!

Tomorrow promised to be a great day and we hoped to celebrate our Anniversary with a 6-hour jungle trek in the morning with a local guide Srinivas. Plan was a post-breakfast 8.30 am start.

[vijayols]

Room with a comfy but hard bed.




The view from the balcony.The extra premium paid for this was Rs 500.


One of the co owner Subbamma the cat,


Burnt dried supari husk to ward off the mosquitoes

Rains through the night ensured power failure by around midnight but thankfully the weather was pleasant enough and not hot and sultry. They usually are powered by turbine power drawn from the flowing stream but was down temporarily with the motor gone for repairs.

In the morning we had planned to go for a jungle trek with a local guide Srinivas but unfortunately for us, Srinivas deemed the weather dangerous for trekking as it was slippery and leech filled.

We waited for a respite between pouring rains to start off for a trek. The jungle trek without a guide was off the table but Nisarg had told us about this 3 tiered waterfall where in the rains we could probably only cover the first. He assured us the magnificence would blow us over and we did find out to our delight he wasn’t kidding. So we went for a walk to the waterfall with Akash as our guide. We had to make our way through the estate to the waterfall. The roar of the river could be heard on our left as we set out with Akash to the first of the waterfall.

The ground was sloshy and the rocks slippery making every step an adventure of balancing. We felt like a finance minister balancing the budget as we walked towards the falls. The water which was flowing at our ground level as we started from just outside the property gate now plunged dangerously low and probably gained its momentum as it transformed from a demure mild stream into a roaring crescendo by the time we stepped down the small slippery steps towards the falls.

The steps in themselves were like mini waterfalls with water gushing down each step and completely wetting our footwear and the moss on the steps completed the fun.

We certainly weren’t prepared for the magnificent waterfalls at the end of the flight of steps. It was huge and wide and it was wonderful how much a drop in elevation made it gain this momentum. Kanthi being the more daring and adventurous removes her sandals and sat on the rock opposite the falls and was instantly soaked by the mist of the falls. Sat? No, sorry, stood with her arms stretched out like Shahrukh Khan as she was drenched with the mist.

Not that sitting in the strategically placed coconut tree trunk helped me stay drier than her. The wind was making the mist spread and felt like sitting in front of a giant water cooler fan.

After we gleefully sat there to our hearts' content enjoying the fun and the solitude it was time to explore further. We tried to make our way upwards hopefully to the next stage of the 3 tier waterfall but found ourselves moving away from the falls as the road deviated rightwards. The green grassy path where we stopped to pick and savour the tens of ripe water chestnuts strewn on the path led us to a house where we stopped for a few photos and made our way back to Manna Paapu Mane.

We crossed the stay house and went towards the bridge where we had gone yesterday across the stream. The youngsters who were staying with us were on the other side of the bridge which surprisingly today looked like the bridge it was supposed to be. Just yesterday when we stood on it unsure whether the water current of the stream which had submerged the bridge had now receded and we could actually make out the cement bridge connecting both sides of the shore.

How a day changes perceptions around here as the youngsters had avoided this bridge yesterday when submerged unsure of the current flow of the stream.


















The spray from the waterfall soaked us wet through and through




Enjoying a ripe waterchestnut.


What is malnad without good old jackfruits.








Its been ages since we played snakes and ladder.


Tip Tip Barsa Paani.







Following the waterfall visit we walked up the path and walked to the properties above our resort. The rainwear kept the annoying horse flies away.

The houses here are made with locally sourced laterite bricks and with mud plastering which a smooth finish and so so lovely with the green all around. We were back for lunch time and again Srinivas had whipped up some local south Canara food which we relished. The cuisine had a sprinkling of coconut milk in most of the dishes and the red unpolished rice had a unique flavour. It was a wonder how Srinivas could give the same dishes so unique flavors day after day.

Post lunch we met a group of frog researchers. The frog camp was led by a professor Gururaj from Shristi School of design Yelahanka.

A group of around 25 from Belwadi butterfly camp had come here to see the frogs. Believed to have over 30 species in around 500 metres of the homestay which can be seen at night armed with a torch. You can spot the frogs but need to watch out for the Russel vipers that are around which feed on the frogs. Learnt some interesting facts like the female frogs were much bigger than the males.



Snacks was fresh jackfruit chips which was again down right the best we ever had. A few more days here and the coffee would make me change over from being a hard core chai lover to one leaning towards coffee. We decided to take it easy and played an epic series of snakes and ladder which ended being tied 3-3.

Dinner brought in another to die for jackfruit halwa and before we knew it it was time to pack our bags and head back to Bangalore tomorrow morning.

Sunday morning post breakfast we bid adieu to Srinivas, Akash and the co-owners of the homestay the cat Subamma and the 3 dogs who chose to welcome or ignore us. No prizes for guessing who ignored us. The dogs welcomed us as if we were always a part of the house. Never cease to wonder at this wonderful quality of dogs who manage to accept the entry and parting of people into their lives with such nonchalance. We can learn so much from them to make our lives simpler and less complicated.

So what memories of the place we were taking back? The magical food of Srinivas. The clean room. The greenery around us. The rains of course and the wonderful co travelers.



Places around here if you have more days to spend.

1) KBdachadri Hills trek
2) Kudlu Teertha waterfalls
3) Sitananada camp jungle lodges for butterflies
4) Byndoor Kaosalli Waterfalls and cave waterfalls
5) Arshina Gundi Waterfalls
6) Arbi Waterfall
7) Trasi Beach
8) Kodi Bengre beach
9) Marwante Beach drone photos
10) Saint Mary’s Island
11) Thottam Beach
12) Kapu Beach and lighthouse
13) Ottinene beach
14) Kudrus River Islands
15) Someshwara forest
16) Butterfly parks
17) Karkala Gomateshwara statue
18) Chatru Mukha Basadi at Karkala
19) Kollur Mukhabika Temple
20) Hastha Shilpa Heritage Village near Manipal

Looking forward to many more monsoon drives.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[vijayols]

Sure @Adidya.

Would do the same.