Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Shivagange, Tumkur on August 1, 2009- part 3

The trek to the top of Shivagange which I presumed to be a bit tough in the end turned out to be not so difficult afterall. Probably I have improved my trek fitness after a few treks. We started our trek by 9 30 am and after 10-20 mins, we found ourselves next to a big rock which took some hiking. That rock was climbed by Bonda and Bhanu and others including me were waiting for them to return safely. I saw Govinda move slowly with the bag that we had got. So, I got the bag from him and resumed trekking. Within another 20-30 minutes, we were near the famous Olakallu theertha( which can be literally translated to Within stone water). That temple has a structure of small hole within which water keeps flowing . This structure is within the temple and adjacent to the interior shiva temple. It is said that if a person doesnt get to touch the water in the hole, the person has sinned. There was no power then, so moving into the temple was difficult considering the cavy architecture of the temple. So, the temple priest adviced us to go to the top and come back to this temple later when the power would have come. So, we resumed the trek again and saw monkeys all around. I have had a bad experience with monkeys so I was kinda skeptical about the experience with monkeys this time around also.
In the above picture, one can see the 2 monkeys in the background.

After an hour or so, we neared the top where the climb appeared to be difficult. I had given the bag to CC who led the trek then. Also, the steps which were provided to climb to the top were dangerous. Bonda was carrying a water bottle, which a monkey snatched from him and how well it opened the bottle cap and drank water after placing the bottle horizontally!!. It was a treat to watch. By 12 pm, we had summitted Shivagange with ease and I felt good. As soon we reached the top, the pure air which filled my lungs was blissful. Then we searched for a spot to sleep on the top. I wanted to revisit all the places which I had visited last time when I came in 2004(the first memorable trip with my engineering mates:) ). I quickly rushed to Shantala drop (which is a spot on the peak where queen shantala had committed suicide)After few minutes, we planned to have a photoshoot. We gave poses climbing a boulder there, few including me later gave bare chested poses for the camera and we planned to sleep on the top for a while cracking PJs and taking rest.

Then, we moved over to the other side of the cliff and took few photos. The best one was at the extreme end:
And the other good pic , next to the bull(Basavanna) perpendicular to the place in the picture above:The most uttered dialogue in this period at the top was from one of my favourite movies-The Shawshank Redemption. The dialogue said : "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free".
Then we came down the hill pretty easily taking break at a lot of places to have buttermilk, churmuri( a type of bhel puri) . Also, we went to Olakallu theertha, where we were fortunate enough to have touched the flowing water inside the stone structure.

It was a memorable trip where we enjoyed completely. Not a dull moment in the entire journey and hope I get to be part of many such memorable journeys. Will keep you guys updated on my adventures in this blog.
Adventure is here!!

7 comments:

  1. Hi Naveen, nice to read your commments, little bit more details about the route & importance of the place would've been good...coming to your dialogue at last "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free", were you thinking of suicide from Shantala drop or what ??
    look forward to more blogs from you from your future trips...

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  2. Hi Dhinu,

    Thanks for the comments. My blog is aimed at sharing my experience. So, did not plan to give the detailed route. Coming to the dialogue, it was aimed at people in Shivagange who were afraid of doing something cos they considered it risky.

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  3. Extremely detailed. Like Dinu suggested, it's always good to have the routes you took, the alternate routes and have suggestion of what to carry, the little things to look out for etc. :)

    ~My 2 cents.

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  4. kelsa maado andrae kathae barithya ...

    :) nice once maga ..

    -Pradeep

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  5. Really good to read this blog, it seems as if one is actually having a conversation with you! Way to go!

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  6. good one maga....nice to read ur experiences.... was with u the whole journey...!! way to go...:)

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  7. Thanks monty and ganesh. Your feedback is invaluable!
    @Pradeep- this is a hobby, not full time kelsa.

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