Mesmerizing views between Madikeri and Bhagamandala

This is why I love break monsoon season immensely. The rains are not much heavier to disturb our nature gazing and vegetation is not arid to send us to boredom. The nature is perfect during this term. The intermittent rains do not cause obstacle while interplay of clouds sun exposes beauty of region. The other advantage is the multiple layer of beauty in single scene. 

Surprisingly the rain pounded Bhagamandala was soaked in sun with high humidity. The Sun blazing over fields in western ghats is rare sight during monsoon season!  It was sweltering at elevation of 900m. The perspiration was unpleasant surprise here. My better half took picture of Bhagandeshwara temple while I paused car for a while over flyover. The newly constructed flyover has helped commuters to bypass the floods that obstruct the Bhagamandala-Talakaveri connectivity every year during monsoon season. The rivers swell and raise over the road stalling traffic for long hours. Thankfully flyover has helped commuters to large extent.

We headed directly to Talakaveri first since the entry is restricted post 5pm.

Below is one example where paddy fields in foreground, areca plantation in middle and far off Western Ghats. Such splendid combination. This was during our return journey during evening hours and the golden light was perfectly placed on the verdant nature. The break monsoon helps farmers to prepare for next level of cultivation. The paddy saplings are planted and roots become stronger before next batch of rains start. The Bhagamandala region receives 6000mm annually and hence without break monsoon it's impossible to explore the beauty with bombarding rains.

Gandhi Bazaar walk, disappointment and rants of taxpayer

We wanted to try different restaurant for Wifey birthday preferably vegetarian buffet. We had inquired previous day. The hotel staff that there is no table booking and its walk-in. Also confirmed that lunch  would prolong till 3:30PM.

The day started with frustration as google maps showed unusual route for certain distance which was clogged with non moving traffic. Finally this route merged with main route. I am still not learning as not to turn on maps for known routes. Perhaps this event was pre-cursor to annoying day

Unfortunately, we were disappointment as we reached the restaurant. The hotel stopped taking admissions from 1:30PM itself which is just 1:30hrs post starting lunch service. The restaurant supposed to be open till 4but they wrapped up by 1:30. May be overcrowding? We were at 1:30PM and there was still 2:30hrs of gap. Poor management I felt.

We had no choice than choosing the neighboring Dwarakamaayi restaurant which was another painful story. Dwarakamaayi cost was high but poor quality food. Lot of things we couldn't eat. Service is good but poor food. Bamboo biriyani is not worth the hype and price. Rabdi and crispy corn were good. Better try only roti curry. I felt Roti ghar would have been better choice than all these hypes if there was better seating arrangement. Difficult to stand and eat with kids.

Vidyarthi Bhavan was as usual crowded for no reasons. We have already lost interest in this place.

Smart city work resulted in wider footpath but narrow one-way road. Difficult to manage on this road.

Despite all blabbering, this place is ideal to enjoy the legacy of old Bengaluru. Gandhi-Bazaar is one such area where the aura of old Bengaluru can be enjoyed.

Flowers are always fresh here!

And the freshness also has dark side. The leftover ones. This guy also seemed to enjoy the afternoon nap over the modern footpath.  Also half of the footpath occupied by street vendors. The smart work was dumped with debris of vegetable and flower vendors.

How the legacy and modernity blends! Jalandhar street is also somewhere near TRENDS showroom. Due to disinterest, I did not catch both restaurant pictures.

The beautiful work is completely shrouded by overparked vehicle and overbooked street stalls. India is not worth squandering tax money on such superficial, worthless projects. Rather provide relief to tax payers. This is what frustrates honest tax payers when income tax department baits by sending notices on trivial FD interests. 

MLCP is being constructed in heart of Gandhibazaar which is good news. There is hardly any parking space currently here.

The best part was greenery of this place. Hardly any sunlight peeps through the canopy! The other best part is legacy of old Bengaluru. Perhaps, authorities should have promoted this street as heritage attraction than spoiling money in modernization projects.

We headed back to home toiling through the infamous Bengaluru traffic. Difficult to manage amidst BMTCs and Autos. We should have taken metro service instead. Now we know how lucky are residents staying near metro stations.

Final picture as why modernization doesn't fit here. Street cart serving breakfast and meals literally litters the clean ground. Problem is not people but politicos who use such people as votebanks than uplifting them. No one wants their progress to keep political agenda eternal.

The auto menace is always going to live in Bengaluru. The driver even though had gap in front refused to move further. He did not heed to my honk to move forward rather stared at me. I too stopped honk after first attempt. Who will fight with morons. The problem with autorickshaw drivers is we need to provide them way even if it involves breaking rules like jumping signal. They roar and infuse street fighting if you do not let them way even when there is no way. On other side, they drive in snails place in middle of road looking for passengers and don't let traffic to pass smoothly. Persistent honks only triggers monsters inside them than allowing smooth flow of traffic.

See that gap! Such gaps will make us wait for additional turn of signal.

Back home with terrible traffic. Dwarakamayi is strict NO from now onwards and is black-listed already by wifey. The stomach bloated pretty badly. The evening walk of 30mins helped us to reduce the bloat to some extent. But the effect of bloating remained till next day evening.

The clouds of Bengaluru during monsoon gives lethargic look. No Sun from long days. Hope it rains healthily in catchment areas this year

Fantabulous Western Ghats views from Naravi

This is our usual path of commute during native commute. The best part apart from views at Shirady Ghat is the mesmerizing sight of Western ghats from Naravi Town. The Kuduremukha ranges never ceases to amaze me. Even though the mountains draw our attention from Bajagoli itself, the focus automagically shifts to these pristine hillocks as we near Naravi town and prompts us to have mandatory stoppage. The open space enables us to have panoramic view of these mighty tropical forests with ease. There is no concrete structure here to obstruct views for now. Things are bound to change anyways!

It had rained heavily looks like at foothills of Western ghats. Naravi lies right at the windward side of Western ghats which means it receives heavy rains throughout the season except for months from December to February. Today also the view area was soggy and saturated. Somehow the enthusiasm did not deter me to step on slush and capture some photographs. Anytime great scenes here at Naravi except when haze is tremendous. Hope to enjoy the majestic views.

Here is a collage of all!

Biligiri Rangana Betta (BR Hills) descension scenes

Here I wrote about ascension scenes. The ascension was largely peaceful, descension was little fidgety. Here are some captures from descension next day. The first great scenes was nearby the lake which we constantly enjoying from hilltop. Now its time to relish its beauty closely!

The lake looked marvelous with nature elements especially tall trees. My wife took some pictures while car slowed. We did not dare to stop car since the patrolling was frequent. That scene was majestic and wanted many more perceptions. Unfortunately due to restrictions by forest department, we did not risk of stopping vehicle.

The silent winding road captivated us.

The captivation did not last long. Later we encountered the KSRTC jumbo in midway of descension. Its great scene to capture this vehicle roaring through the woods over cleanly paved road. Simultaneously, its painful if we encounter them in narrow roads.

Even though we did not spot any wild animal crossing the main road, we spotted monster wagon en-route to entry gate! He had his headlamp permanently to indicate that he is ruler of road. I had to move towards the shoulder to pave the way to this monster. While the trees adjoining the road obstructed the smooth passage of vehicles, these jumbos don't leave their space even if shoulder is wide. These demons don't budge and nudge the short wagons to shoulder. The shoulder is soggy and frail due to rains. There is high risk of tyres sinking inside the slush. But they are least bothered. If don't move vehicle sideways, the bus would stop over the road and forcefully push us to muddy road or make us to reverse the car till a smoother shoulder is reached. Such ridiculous behavior I have observed over the years. Leave the rant and enjoy the pictures :-)

The initial part was green and serene thanks to heavy overnight showers. The middle was same as previous day while the last patch was vastly arid due to lack of rains. It only rained in hilltop and surroundings. Nothing much in base.

Finally, we are back to base. It was fantastic stay with buffeting winds, heavy rains, glorious sunrise and what not beautiful bucolic world. With blessings of Lord Ranganathaswamy, our stay turned out to be safe and peaceful. Hope to see you again BR Hills.

Here are some sunrise scenes scribbled in post.

Here is a short video of overnight rains to relieve you from stress!