Magical Malnad - Through the Third Eye

Home of coffee in India. Forested and verdant. Hilly with quaint towns. Malnad (or Malenadu) in Karnataka is one of those picture postcard regions.

Of shelter, slumber, sea and spirits

Aug 19, 2011 2 AM : At last I make it to Mumbai International Airport. A 50 minute flight delayed by more than 2 hours. Air India flight bound to Newark from Ahmedabad touches down at Mumbai. Wanted to reach home as soon as possible so that I can get some sleep before I take the 7 AM train to Ratnagiri.

Aug 19, 2011 4 AM : I am back on the street. 18 missed calls coudn't dislodge the Kumbhkaran in Honeypal, KP and Thanighai. With the bell not working, I was left with no option but to sleep on the chair near the lift or scoot. Attempted the former but the mosquitoes gave me ideas that Dadar station would be better.

Aug 19, 2011 11 AM : The last I remember was tea and poha at Dadar. Vaguely remember Abheek being with me. Had slept as soon as the train had come. Ameya had joined us at Thane. The scenes outside had changed from greyish concrete and morning haze to cloudy skies and spectacular greenery. Ah! Konkan during the monsoons is music to the eyes.

Konkan during the monsoons

Aug 19, 2011 5 PM : We were at Ganpatipule beach. After the train to Ratnagiri and a 30 km  rickshaw ride to MTDC, Ganpatipule and a bit of rest, we hit the beach. All this exhaustion coupled with getting rolled over by the waves, started getting our insides rolling for some daaru! (alcohol of course)

Aug 19-20 (If I knew the time I would know the date!) : We were back at the beach with beer and coke (Ameya).  Earlier we had walked to Abhishek Resorts (after some searching and asking) for some elixir (yeah it is ;)) and walked backed. Reportedly we tried to sleep on the road, and thought it a good place to sing.

Naa ghar hai naa thikana...

Aug 20, 2011 1 PM : We were again at the beach (Considering there is nothing else to indulge in at G'phule). We had chosen a cozy secluded part and were just whiling away lying on the water. The sea still managed to look a bit blue in spite of the sky being cloudy always. Ganpatiphule must be awesome in winter! What followed later was the best Malwani food we had ever tasted.

Can't better that!

Aug 20 (late night) : On the roads walking to the resort. The monsoon had been good to us so far. Kept away when we wanted to be outdoors. It was pouring in the afternoon when we were soundly asleep indoors! These night walks were the best part of the trip! We had the road to ourselves. There is no better feeling than siting on the middle of a lonely road!

Even the T was talli

Aug 21, 2011 1 PM : After packing up and the 30 km rickshaw ride we were back in Ratnagiri. The food we had here was nowhere near as delicious as the feast yesterday. The train from Goa was late in coming. Ah! Goa!! That paradise on the west coast. Always makes me look ahead to the next trip. But it was time to bit adieu to Ganpatiphule. Was looking ahead to the journey through verdant Konkan.

Walking away....

Aug 21, 2011 10 PM : At last I manage to reach home and get in. Success on the third attempt! Nothing great to look forward to except office. The ironies we face! Konkan is most beautiful during the monsoon and office is so unwelcome after a holiday! So I thought it's time to look ahead - beyond Ratnagiri - to Goa!

Credits : Abheek and Ameya

PS : We did manage to go to Goa pretty soon!

Rewind - October 2009 : Floods, River Crossing and a Black Dog!

Torrential rainfall towards the end of September had affected North Karnataka and parts of Andhra Pradesh. Floods had created havoc in 18 districts of Karnataka, displacing 300,000 people and severing major transportation links. Both the Konkan Railway and the Mumbai-Chennai lines were closed for traffic; Mumbai-Bangalore via Miraj was the only line operational.

All these events could not have been anticipated towards the end of August. I was frantically searching for a holiday destination midway between Mumbai and Chennai. An impending long weekend in the beginning of October was too tempting a prospect. After considering Jog Falls, Hampi and Dandeli, we zeroed in on the latter - Dandeli. The reviews were encouraging and the territory unexplored. Six of us - two from Mumbai, one from Pune, one from Bangalore and two from Chennai, had to reach a small inconspicuous town in Dharwad district - logistical challenge. It so happened that we were able to book trains to reach Hubli within one hour of each other.

The train journey was pleasant. We changed trains at Miraj to continue towards Hubli. The rains had got the country side blooming. The greenery was bewitching and the overcast skies and cool winds soothing.

Miraj - Hubli route

We reached Hubli by around 1 PM and only had to wait an hour for the contingent from the other end. After a wonderful meal, it was destination Dandeli. After much enquiring we landed in a deserted Bus terminal. The Dandeli bus was not expected for the next hour we were told. Apart from our talk, the only other person talking was the conductor of a Goa bound bus. He was enthusiastically shouting "Ponda-Madgaon, Ponda-Madgaon" every now and then in a bus terminal that was deserted. The gloomy weather and all the non-activity was the only reminder of the Floods.

The bus to Dandeli did arrive. And immediately it had six passengers. And even when it left there were only six passengers!

No one else for Dandeli?

The arrival of Dharwad atlast bought more passengers. The bus was full now and making good progress to cover the 90 km to Dandeli. It rained all along the way, but Dandeli welcomed us with a welcome respite and a clear night. We checked in at the State Lodge, a very decent place on the main thoroughfare. It was still early by Mumbai standards, but we immediately started preparations for the night ahead - thums up, ice, disposable glasses, chips! The protagonist had already arrived with us from Bangalore - a Black Dog Khamba!!

The rain had stopped, but the water was yet to recede. This put paid to white water rafting. In the morning we visited a local park and a waterfall. Adventure sports is one of the attractions of Dandeli. In the absence of white water rafting, we decided to go river crossing.



River crossing in the floods! Crazy!! But of course we were crazy to come all the way in the midst of a Natural Disaster. We were taken to Stanley's Farm, a nice secluded farmhouse by a river-side. The floods had ensured that the river was in full flow. There were only a handful of us for the "river-crossing". It involved hanging from a rope across the river with your arms and legs, and traverse it twice. Your body does touch the river midway. The most difficult part was climbing back up the bank, which required all your energy. With energy and money spent, we left Stanley's Farm but not before having a cup of hot tea to soothe our chilled limbs.

The next day we had to be in Hubli by 1 PM. We heard news that trains were being diverted via Hubli and Miraj as the Mumbai-Chennai line was cut-off. Our trains were left untouched and were operating on schedule. The Mumbai contingent reached Miraj without any incident and boarded the connecting train - but not before some Royal Stag to wash down the Black Dog!

The floods were still receding when we had reached Mumbai. The other railway lines were still closed. Looking back, I always get a smile thinking about it, that of all the places, we visited Hubli-Dharwad-Dandeli when Karnataka was experiencing its worst floods. The quaint little town with its woods and winding roads will never be forgotten.

Credits : Anand, Shankar, Bharath, Karthikeyan and Rajkumar

PS : Recently when myself and Shankar were driving from Bangalore to Goa, we hit upon Dandeli unexpectedly as we had taken a wrong turn. It was a moment for us to reminisce Floods, River Crossing and a Black Dog!

Hitting the road

So back to doing what I like best. Travelling! Road travel has never been my favourite and will never be; unless it is a bike. And I don't mind travelling long distances by bike. But I would always prefer a train to a car. that maybe because I am used to rail journeys. KKR may miss an opportunity to lose a match and squeeze some victories but I never miss an opportunity to travel!

So there I go again. Goa!! Third time in two years and I don't think I would get bored even if I go there as many times as Messi scores in a season. Same with train travel. I like beaches better than the mountains. That may be because beach is my home and mountains away. And there is no place like home!

It's always a pleasure to get away and be part of a sparse crowd rather than in the thick of it like in Bombay or Madras. It is a sea of strangeness outside of home. But not forever. No. It is all exciting to get your bag packed up for a trip. It is all fabulous enjoying a train ride. It is all fantastic to appreciate a beautiful landscape from a lonely road. It is all thrilling to be in the lap of Mother Nature. It is all fun to be together and have a whale of a time. But this is not a road that goes ever on. It winds back to that small island amidst the sea of strangeness. Sad though one maybe on the last lap of a journey home, ultimately it is to realise that there is no place like home.

Here we go again!!

This is my third attempt at blogging. Considering the previous two did not go beyond three posts, I would consider those failed attempts. Just hoping the law of averages works in my favour this time round. Success just means to continue posting day in and day out.

The reasons for not continuing blogging earlier, includes, but is not restricted to my attempts to focus on either cricket or travel. Considering that risk can be mitigated if diversified, I will attempt to explore many avenues including cricket, travel and even academics.

I have wandered and I have been lost. And I have wandered till I reached The West Coast Road in India. This blog is like that road. It has everything (except this self coined name). Winding roads, mountains, beaches, heavy rains, big cities, nightlife, quaint villages, delicious food and the list goes on ;). This blog is just a leaf of any of the innumerable trees on that beautiful road.

Enough for starters. Expect the next post soon (I hope so.)