October 27, 2022
Residing in metro city implies yearning for tranquil weekends. Mind wishes to replace commotions of traffic with chirping birds and tall concrete pinnacles with mighty jungles. It is not practical to plan every weekend to distant getaways. Final expectation is to feel the rural aroma and refresh the soul. This can be realized even with nearby locations which can disentangle the mind and relieve the pressure.
Newspapers reported the event of Hesaragatta lake being on the verge of reaching full capacity (just short of 2feet). What else do we need :-). On this auspicious day of Balipadyami, we marked our journey towards lake to fill the eyes with brimming beauty. Being relatively near to house, our jaunt began at 4PM and reached comfortably by 4:45PM. The winter sunsets are always a hustle. So we had to reach early to offset the early sunset.
The lake was crowded and path was marred with traffic jam. The plan to move away from traffic was spoiled by the scenes which were recreated in this rural village. Nevertheless, the lake view wiped away every trauma that was set on mind.
The Hesaragatta lake is freshwater lake sourced from rainwater and streams of river arkavathi. Its rare to see this beauty reaching highest level primarily due to the source of water. Being spread over large area, the lake needs enormous water source to fill. Arkavati river which originates at nearby hills, will not have enough water to replenish the mighty waterbody. Only prolonged and monster spells of rains are the hope which did happened this year. Plenty of thunderstorm breaks coupled with heavy rains shoved the lake to reach full capacity. As of now, there are no chances of further healthy rains. Only the upcoming North-East monsoon spells can be of hope. Historically, NEM rains are not that strong in South interior karnataka. Hence chances of filling the 2 feet gap remains weak this year. Only magical spell can help. Otherwise, the wait will extend to monsoon season of 2023.
The positive hope of authorities is laudable. They have built fences recently around the boundary of lake assuming that lake would consistently fill every year! Fences also make sure to control the mad crowd drowning in name of selfies and adventures. Even the steps leading to lake from temple is closed for safety purpose.
You are not allowed to walk towards pumphouse. But one can see the measurement on the walls. Its hardly 2 feet away from completion!
The sun seems to be charming after being eclipsed on previous day. The sky too is clear and calm. The same skies were pouring ferociously a week back deluging the city. These rains were the ones which ushered the lake to full capacity. Today's skies were as if "My Lord! You see I am clean as Himalayan water. How could I be reason for all the mayhem created" 😁. Not a even single cloud presence in the sky. The skies roared like lion last week and are now silent like sleeping baby. It is amazing to witness the atmosphere magically turning from rainy to wintery weather in matter of 2 days. The night mercury level which was soaring at 20C is now slumped to 15C. Mother nature can be tremendously quirky. It can deluge the desert and even drought the rainforest!
The crowd was massive today. My wife's conversation with local revealed few information. It seems locals are eager to watch the lake overflowing. It has been long wait. If lake overflows, half of town would be under water but not residential properties. The entrance part of lake is the deeper part. This fills late but the other end is the place excess water flows out of lake. Most importantly, today's crowd is largely from local population. Here is the course when lake water overflows.
The Durgamba Devi temple located amidst the promenade of lake. People on occasion of festival were offering pooja to the goddess. The steps towards lake is closed to pre-empt the untoward incidents. When the lakebed was arid, lake filling to capacity was thought to be absurd. Perhaps, the real estate goons would soon pressurize the governments to mark the area as barren land. Fortunately, the nature turned the table by resurrecting the lake.
Offbeat, one can spot many aquatic birds here. Many raptors were also busy picking their dinner. Yet another reason for bird enthusiasts to be here. May be, we will see plenty of winter migratory birds landing around the lake area this year.
Most disgusting part was trash strewn all over the lake area. Authorities have not kept garbage bins as well. Please do not litter the place, kindly carry your trash bags.
Enjoy the glimpses from our visit
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