TN Magic - In & Around Chennai

Chennai is almost home due to all those relatives settled there. We have been going for Chennai for ages. Yet all we would do is stay at relative's homes, visit a couple of temples and beaches and head back home. This time, we just couldn't capture the cat and opted to do something different. We forced my mom to see Chennai our way, like a tourist. Initially not willing, she gave in to our emotional blackmail & arm twisting. Her own words "this is the best Chennai Trip ever!".

Here is a list of places apt for Day Tours, Weekend Outbounds, beach vacations, pilgrimage, ancient history.

1. Adyar Poonga Eco-Park
2. Anna Nagar Tower
3. Amir Mahal
4. Connemara public library
5. Fort St. George
6. Birla Planetarium
7. Coovum River
8. Doveton House
9. Elliots Beach
10. Marina Beach
11. Freemasons Hall: for those inquisitive about the Illuminati and the Freemasons
12. Horticultural Gardens
13. Lighthouse / Aquarium
14. Nappier Bridge
15. Rajaji Hall
16. Regional Rail Museum
17. Theosophical Society
18. Valluvar Kottam
19. Victory War Memorial
20. Bharatiyar Memorial House
21. Guindy National Park
22. Snake Park
23. Government Museum
24. Fort Museum

Besides the above, there are many temples and memorials to visit in Chennai.

Best Regards,
Roopa Sreedhar
+91-9886162404

Adventure & Camping in Coorg - 1, 2, 3 Jan 2010

Adventure & Camping in Coorg - 1, 2, 3 Jan 2010

We had a blast for this new year. My brother had come down from Australia. 10 of us had gone to jungles of Coorg. We cannot enjoy being in nature unless we become one with it. We decided to camp in the same spot for three days. On our way, we traversed through the Nagarahole National Park in the hope to see a Tiger. Deer & Elephants were all we saw! A small hike to Irupu waterfalls warmed up the jagged muscles & made space in the tummy for a yummy lunch.

We camped in a coffee plantation and did a combat course in the jungle that dealt with crossing loads of obstacles in mid air. The physical activity improved concentration & endurance, and also brought into focus the need for flexibility of mind and body. Jungle paintball was an excellent team building and strategical game. If this was a simulation of the war on the hills, we could understand the army's plight to save our country. We could very strongly relate to the army, we met during our Ladakh travels. Coffee picking and drying was another stress buster. No wonder people in villages live a longer & healthier life.

Cooking was more fun than ever! Post Self cooked dinner, played Analytical Game 'Mafia' around Campfire through wee hours of the morning till we literally tickled our brains out!


The moon shone high up in the sky and lit up the entire camp in its silvery sheen. We had no need for torches that night. Giri set up his new Telescope and we queued up to see clearly the craters & their borders on the full moon. Excellent!

We were amazed at our own creativity and endurance. Over three days, in thick jungle, with limited resource, we cooked an array of dishes to include Yummy Vegetable Sambar, Rice, Sabzi, Papad, Rava Idli, Kheer, Upma, Sevayya, Puliyogare, Pullav, chutney & of course Unlimited Tea.

We lazed under a Bone chilling waterfall. While the Water babies Meghna, Deepti & Giri did not want to come out of water at all, the three musketeers Ram, Indri & Girish sun bathed on the rocks. Time did not exist. No pressures No Stress No next thoughts, ONLY the Present! Endlessly watching snails coming out of their shells. When we moved them even by an inch, we felt we were playing Gods in the snails' life and acting against nature. What if Gods from other planets were doing the same with us Humans? Loads of discussions on alternate history! On the way back, we played Anthakshari from Coorg till Bidadi! :) Everyone was a database of songs.
All together, a very memorable new year through a wonderful trip with even wonderful teammates.

Regards,
Roopa Sreedhar
9886162404

Mullainagiri & Kemmanugundi

Aye Captain! WOW! What a fantastic weekend it was  or was I only dreaming?
We were walking in the places where heavens met the earth with kiss of the clouds.
Chickmagalur being only 250 kms away, we chose to leave late from Bangalore. Everyone dropped into our house, parked their car, and loaded into a common vehicle. Reshmi, down with a severe cold and depressed about dropping out the last minute, wished us a teary farewell & a happy journey!

To wile away more time we took a long break at a Coffee day near Hassan! Yet we reached Chickmagalur in the wee hours. We freshened up at a lodge and had idly with many servings of piping hot yummy sambar!

We started the trek by 7:30. Perfect weather helped the pace. Furious winds were blowing our way almost pushing us off the pathways. Looking down was as exciting as it was dangerous. Rain Gods ensured our safety by not pouring. The National Geographic 1 & 2 went clicking their cameras and capturing the divine beauty in their lens.

The rocks in this terrain were totally different from anywhere else. They were naturally sculpted; multitude of colors & patterns shone from within the rocks. Further, up the hillock, we came to a huge crevice, almost forming a small cave. Here was our first big break. The sunny weather changed its mood. Strong winds brought clouds our way. We found ourselves cutting through the mist. The visibility dropped to 10 ft. Afraid it would rain, we quickened our pace. The weather changed its mind again, the sun shone bright, and we took an apple break. The self designated Captain, Yogi, marched orders to his soldiers. The weather was playing a game with us. Heavy fog enveloped us and visibility dropped to 3 ft. It was very exciting. We were almost close to the peak, when we heard a rumble. A land slide was happening. Thankfully, we were not in the way and were amazed spectators. The winds had picked up speed. We saw birds flying, the winds were so strong that, the birds were pushed back and dropped their feed. WOW! What a sight!

We managed to reach the peak without much difficulty. It was very relaxing. The temple of Mullaina Swamy or Shiva, was being renovated. There were many workers involved in the construction. The priest agreed to feed us. While our lunch was being prepared, we went to explore the caves.

Giri, Anand & Mahesh, first timers to Mullainagiri, went into the smaller cave. Their excitement knew no bounds when they were shown the deeper cave. The beautiful natural patterns on the rocks inside held us enthralled. The torchlights lit up the pitch-dark caves and opened a new world of wonder to us. The cave was clean and the bats flying past us had us ducking our head more than once. Karuna, Mahesh, Anand, Giri & I went at least 50 ft deep. Yogi refused to be tempted to try this adventure and relaxed at the cave entrance.

We then had simple, hot lunch at the priest’s place. Rice & potato sambar with buttermilk satiated all of us. Thanking the priest and getting more directions, we started our descent. Fog engulfed us again. We thought we were lost. Taking left & right direction in wilderness was confusing. After losing the path once, we were back on the correct trail. The scenery changed before our eyes. Every minute, the cloud magic waved by the winds changed the color of the hills. We were all so taken with the ambience, it was difficult to go back to concrete jungle. Anand and Giri took many pictures of the landscape. We completed the trek by 1:30. Though, it felt like 5 in the evening. All of us were famished despite the lunch just a couple of hours before. We made some fabulous sandwiches with tomato, cucumber, onion, ketchup, lime & chips. Yummy!

Our drive was waiting for us at the designated spot. We decided to skip Bababudangiri & go to Kemmannugundi. The bumpy drive could not stop us from dozing off. Captian Yogi, was awake, watchful of the road and the driver. We lodged into our rooms at the Kemmanugundi horticulture Cottage and ordered food for the night. It was very cold; the temperature had affected my phone too.

Dinner was very satisfying. The long day ended with lots of activities. The next day, Anand, Mahesh & Karuna went to another trek to Z-Point. Giri, Yogi & I took our time, and followed them after a while. We visited the rock garden. Life was back to Kindergarten Park again ;) Seesaw, Swing, etc.

Rose garden at Raj Bhavan did not have any roses, but the view from the highest point at Kemmanugundi was spectacular. Bhadra Reservoir could be seen from here. School children on picnic were playing gaily.

Lunch was another satisfying affair. We decided to try another route to avoid bumpy roads and left soon after. On the way, a signboard displayed Kalhatthi falls. Kal is stone, hatthi is climb, and one has to literally climb the stone to get to this falls. Another horticulture guesthouse very close to the falls inspired us for the next event. Yogi also promised to find information about kayaking in Chickmagalur. Next time!

Karuna, Giri & I went to see the temple. We had to wade through calf length water from the falls to reach the temple inside the stone caves. There were a lot of stone carved idols here, the water from the fall was flowing in a very different way from behind the idols.

We saw a strange event here. A young boy of 14 years of age was carrying a very heavy looking huge plate with an idol, flowers and things of worship on his head. A couple was pestering him to answer their questions and resolve their problems. Many people were dancing around the boy with more idols. The Goddess was supposed to descend into the boy’s body and speak. We did not stop to see the consequences and were back on our way.

I bought some very sweet local citrus fruits, the orange variety. Only Giri braved to try one, the rest declined and stuck to mineral water. We had avoided all bumpy roads and were fast approaching the city. The conversation in the cab moved from diverse topics, a debate about internet as a medium to arrange marriages; how Giri, Mahesh, Anand, Karuna & I decided upon our life partners; Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear Plant; Hasiru Usiru; etc. Very Interesting! Avoiding all crammed roads of the city, we reached home well ahead of scheduled time. The icing on cake was the Rainbow we saw at Tiptur. Our pot of gold on the other side of this rainbow was Mullainagiri!