I had an opportunity to drive alone to my native village for yet another time. Since Shiraadi ghat was under maintenance, I decided to drive via Sampaje ghat. Deviating from normal route, I diverted the course towards Nagarahole. After enjoying the breathe from breathtaking western ghats along with wildlife and flanked by tall woods, I reached Kutta. My excitement peaked as I saw signboards depicting 12kms towards the destination of wish. As we descended 3kms along narrow hilly road, the vistas of Brahmagiri mountain ranges fascinated us. From parking lot, we enjoyed treading along the trails of verdant nature for almost 750m and experienced true serenity. The roar of Lakshmana Teertha river magnified as we reached the mincing Irpu Waterfalls and it was time to relax "Breathing" in unsullied oxygen emanated from tall woods. I bow with respect to one of the UNESCO recognized heritage site. Breathing the soothing air from western ghats is free service for lungs and keeps away from illness. Especially such destinations filled with plenty of medicinal plants act as a natural means of curing illness. One has to experience as how the nostril opens up freely after spending quality time in our lovely rainforest.
THE VERDANT TRAIL OF RAINFOREST
IRPU WATERFALLS
IRPU IN HDR
THE BRAHMAGIRI RANGES
Its time now to breathe in some beautiful uplifting music. On this occasion, I would like to share wonderful music connected to theme. It has been long time I heard these melodies. I have used this platform to revisit and hear the beautiful melodies for one more time.
Russian musician Laker pulled up perfect breathing melody titled "Breathing". It has melodious outset of leads from 0:52 blending with violin at 1:28. The best part is orchestral riff (not able to recognize the instrument from timbre, seems like some kind of brass instrument) from 2:50 to 4:10 where one can breathe-in natural air seated in middle of dense western ghats. The breakdown begins from 4:11 leading to winding culmination at 5:06. I rewound that orchestral melody almost 4-5 times; Such a splendid feeling, just like symphony of waterfall plunge!
Brazilian duo Puma Scorz & Sunset provided a slight different touch with reduced tempo but melody more or less same as original. The best part is string melody from 2:07 to 3:02 which depicts perfect breathing atmosphere.
Magdelyana provided peaceful touch to original version sparing bassline and adopting ambient instrument. This music conjures up a feeling of breathing deeply in midst of splendid western ghats with the ambient music caressing your soul along with chirping birds, gentle movement of clouds and symphony of waterfall plunge. As the ambient melody percolates over the soul, breathe in pure air from western ghats and exhale the stock of anxious city smoke.
Out of three, the original is still the best for me. I am cursing myself since I heard this off-late. I thought that Brazilian duo had an edge but the original is awesome!
ಅನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿತವಾಗಿ ಪೋಷಕರು ಊರಿಗೆ ತೆರಳಬೇಕಾಗಿ ಬಂತು. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದಿನದ ಬಳಿಕ, ಅಪ್ಪ ಕಾರು ತರಲು ನನ್ನ ಬಳಿ ಹೇಳಿದರು. ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ್ದೆ ಅವಕಾಶ ಎಂದುಕೊಂಡು ಒಬ್ಬನೆ ನಾಗರಹೊಳೆ ಮೂಲಕವಾಗಿ ತೆರಳಲು ಯೋಜನೆ ಹಾಕಿದೆ. ಇದರ ಪರಿಣಾಮ, ಒಬ್ಬನೆ ನಾಗರಹೊಳೆ ಮೂಲಕವಾಗಿ ಇರ್ಪು ಜಲಪಾತಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರು ಚಲಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ನಾಗರಹೊಳೆ ಗೇಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಒಂದಿಬ್ಬರು ಅತಿಥಿಗಳು ನನ್ನ ಜೊತೆಯಾದರು. ದಟ್ಟ ಕಾನನದ ರಮಣೀಯ ನೋಟ, ಆಕಾಶಕ್ಕೆ ಏಣಿ ಇಟ್ಟಂತೆ ನಿಂತಿರುವ ಉದ್ದನೆಯ ಮರಗಳು, ಆಗಾಗ ಕಾಣಸಿಗುವ ಸುಂದರ ಜಿಂಕೆಗಳು, ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳ ಸುಮಧುರ ಕಲರವ ಎಂತವರನ್ನು ಮಂತ್ರಮುಗ್ಧರನ್ನಾಗಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಎಷ್ಟು ಬಾರಿ ಕಾರು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ್ದೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನನಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯದು. ಮಳೆಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ, ಭೂಲೋಕದ ಸ್ವರ್ಗವೇ ಎಂದು ಉದ್ಘಾರ ತೆಗೆದರೂ ಉತ್ಪ್ರೇಕ್ಷೆಯಾಗದು. ಕಣ್ಮನ ಸೆಳೆಯುವ ನಿಸರ್ಗದ ನೈಜ ದೃಶ್ಯಾವಳಿಗಳನ್ನು ತುಂಬುಹೃದಯದಿಂದ ಆನಂದಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಉದ್ಯಾನವನದ ಕಿರೀಟ ಮುಡಿಗೇರಿಸಿದ್ದೆ ತಡ, ನಾಗರಹೊಳೆ ಜನವಾಸಕ್ಕೆ ನಿಷಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಗಿರಿಜನರಾದ 'ಹಾಡಿ' ಮೂಲದವರು, ತಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ-ಮಠ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡರು. ಇವರಿಗೆ ಪುನರ್ವಸತಿಯಾಗಿ ಒಂದು ಮನೆ, ೩ ಎಕರೆ ಜಾಗ ಮತ್ತು ತಿಂಗಳಿಗೆ ೧೦,೦೦೦ ರುಪಾಯಿಯಷ್ಟು ಸಹಾಯಧನವನ್ನು ಸರಕಾರ ನೀಡಿತೆಂದು ನನ್ನ ಜೊತೆ ಇದ್ದ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದರು. ಇಷ್ಟಾದರೂ, ಕೆಲವರಿಗೆ ಕಾಡಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ಬಹಳ ಪ್ರೀತಿ. ಸುಮಾರು ವರುಷಗಳು ಕಳೆದರೂ, ಕಾಡನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬರಲು ಒಲ್ಲೆ ಎನ್ನುವವರು. ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಸಣ್ಣ ಗುಡಿಸಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಗೆಡ್ಡೆ-ಗೆಣಸುಗಳನ್ನು ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾ, ಸಂತೋಷವಾಗಿ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬದುಕಲು ಇಷ್ಟಪಡುವವರು. ಸರಕಾರದ ಯಾವ ಸವಲತ್ತುಗಳು ಇವರಿಗೆ ಬೇಡವಂತೆ. ತಮ್ಮಲಿರುವ ಭಾಗ್ಯವನ್ನು ನೆನೆದು ದೂರದ ಸರಕಾರ ಕೊಡುವ ಆಸೆಗೆ ಮಣಿಯದೆ ಸುಖಿಯಾಗಿ ಇರಬಯಸುವವರು. ಇಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಜನಗಳಿಗೆ, ನೀರು,ದೀಪದ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಠೆಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ, ತಮಗಿಲ್ಲೇ ವಾಸಿಸಲು ಅವಕಾಶ ಕೊಡಿ ಎಂದು ಸರಕಾರದ ಮೊರೆ ಹೊಕ್ಕಿದ್ದಾರಂತೆ. ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಮೂದಲಿಸುವ ನಗರವಾಸಿಗಳಿಗೆ, ಊರೆಲ್ಲ ಕೊಳ್ಳೆಹೊಡೆದು ಸಾಕೆನಿಸದ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳಿಗೆ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಬೇಕೆಂದು ಸದಾ ಚಿಂತಿತರಾಗಿರುವ ಜನರಿಗೆ, ಇವರಿಂದ ಕಲಿಯುವುದು ಬಹಳಷ್ಟಿದೆ.
ಇವರನ್ನು ಕಂಡಾಗ, ಡಿ.ವಿ.ಜಿ ಯವರ ಈ ಸುಂದರ ಕಗ್ಗ ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬಂತು.
"ಇರುವ ಭಾಗ್ಯವ ನೆನೆದು, ಬಾರೆನೆಂಬುದ‌ನ್ನು ಬಿಡು. ಹರುಷ‌ಕ್ಕಿದೆ ದಾರಿ - ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ"
ಎಷ್ಟು ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣವಲ್ಲವೆ! ಸಧ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ನಗರ ಜೀವಿಯಾದ ನನಗೆ ಇವರಿಂದ ಕಲಿಯುವುದು ಬಹಳಷ್ಟಿದೆ. ಹಾಡಿ ಜನಾಂಗದವರು ಗಟ್ಟಿಮುಟ್ಟಾಗಿ, ಆರೋಗ್ಯವಂತರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಘಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಿಸುವವರಿಗೆ ಯಾವ ತೆರನಾದ ರೋಗ ಹೇಳಿ! ಮೊದಲಿನಿಂದಲೂ ಮಾನವ ಕಾಡು ಜೀವಿ. ಕಾಲಾನಂತರ, ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಮುಂದುವರಿದಂತೆ, ನಗರ, ಹಳ್ಳಿ, ಕಾಡು ಎಂಬ ಭೇದಗಳು ಹುಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡವು. ಕಾಡುಗಳು ನಾಶವಾಗಿ, ಕಾಂಕ್ರೀಟ್ ಕಾಡುಗಳು ಎದ್ದಿವೆ. ಈಗ ಕಾಡನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಲು, ಸರಕಾರಗಳು ವಿಧಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಉದ್ಯಾನಗಳನ್ನು ಘೋಷಿಸಲು ಮುಂದಾಗಿವೆ, ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಮೇಲೆ ಬುದ್ಧಿ ಬಂತು ಹೇಳಿದಂತೆ.
ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕ ಗೋಪುರ
ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದೂರದ ಬಳಿಕ, ನಾಗರಹೊಳೆ ತಲುಪಿದೆವು. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಕನ್ನಡ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು ಜನಾಂಗದ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಖುಷಿಯಿಂದ ಆಡುತ್ತಿರುವುದನ್ನು ಕಂಡೆ. ದಟ್ಟ ಮಳೆಕಾಡಿನ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಇರುವ ಬಯಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಡುವ ಸೌಭಾಗ್ಯ ಯಾರಿಗಿದೆ ಹೇಳಿ. ಇವರ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಜಿಂಕೆಗಳು ಮೇಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಸಣ್ಣವನಿರುವಾಗ, ಜೋರು ಮಳೆಯ ಜೊತೆಗೆ, ಭೋರ್ಗರೆವ ಕಾಲುವೆಯ ಮಧ್ಯೆ, ತುಂಬಿದ ಭತ್ತದ ಗದ್ದೆಯ ನಡುವಿನ ಕಾಲುದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದು ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದುದ್ದು ನೆನಪಾಯಿತು. ಕುಂಭದ್ರೋಣ ಮಳೆಗೆ ಭತ್ತದ ಗದ್ದೆಗಳು ನೀರಿನಿಂದ ತುಂಬಿ ಒಂದಾದಾಗ, ಕಾಲುದಾರಿಯೂ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಜಡಿಮಳೆಯನ್ನು ಲೆಕ್ಕಿಸದೆ, ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿಂದ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಹಾಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು. ಅಂತಹ ಮಳೆಯು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವೂ ಕಷ್ಟವೆನಿಸುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಈಗಲೂ ಊರಿಗೆ ಹೋದಾಗ ಹಳೆಯ ಮಧುರ ನೆನಪುಗಳು ಮತ್ತೆ ಕಣ್ಣ ಮುಂದೆ ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತವೆ. ಇಂತಹ ಸವಿನೆನಪುಗಳನ್ನು ಮೆಲುಕು ಹಾಕಿದಾಗ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಉಲ್ಲಾಸಭರಿತವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಈಗಿನ ನಗರ ಜೀವನದೊಂದಿಗೆ ತುಲನೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಹಿಂದಿನ ದಿನಗಳೇ ಚಂದವೆನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಅನುಭವಗಳನ್ನು ಕೀಲಿಮಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಛಾಪಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ, ತಿಳಿಯದೆ ಕಣ್ಣಿನಿಂದ ಎರಡು ಹನಿಗಳು ಜಾರಿದವು. ಪಕ್ಕದ ಮನೆಯ ಸೊಂಪಾದ ಹುಲ್ಲನ್ನು ದುರುಗುಟ್ಟುತ್ತಾ ಕ್ಲೇಶದಲ್ಲೇ ಕಾಲ ಕಳೆಯುವ ನಮಗೆ, ಸ್ವಂತ ಮನೆಯ ಹುಲ್ಲನ್ನೂ ಪೋಷಿಸುವ ಯೋಚನೆಯೇ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಪರಿಣಾಮವಾಗಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಹುಲ್ಲು ಒಣಗಿ, ಬಾಳು ಬರಡಾದಂತೆ ತೋರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ತದ್ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ, ನಮ್ಮದೇ ಮನೆಯ ಹುಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಆರೈಕೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಕ್ಲೇಶ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ, ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮೊನ್ನೆಯ ಅನುಭವಗಳನ್ನು ಮೆಲುಕು ಹಾಕುತ್ತಾ, ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಬಸ್ ನಿಲ್ಧಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತ ಬರೆದ ಬರಹವಿದು. ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಪೆನ್ನು, ಪುಸ್ತಕವನ್ನು ಭದ್ರವಾಗಿ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೆ. ಮುಂದೆ ನಿಂತ ಕೆಂಪು ಬಸ್ಸನ್ನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ, ಈ ತಲೆಬರಹ ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬಂತು. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಕೆಂಪುಬಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಈ ಬಿಲ್ಲೆಯನ್ನು ಅಂಟಿಸಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕೆಂಪುಬಸ್ಸು, ಇರುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಚಲಿಸುವ ವಾಹನ. ಮಾರುದ್ದ ಹೆದ್ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ವಾಹನಗಳು ರೊಯ್ಯ್ ಎಂದು ಬಸ್ಸಿನ್ನು ಹಿಂದಿಕ್ಕಿದಾಗ, ನನಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗ ತಲುಪುವ ಯೋಗವಿಲ್ಲವಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ತವಕಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಮೆಲ್ಲನೆ ಮುಖ ಮುಂದಕ್ಕೆ ತಿರಿಗಿಸುವಾಗ, ಬಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂಟಿಸಿದ ಈ ಕಗ್ಗ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಕಂಡ ತಕ್ಷಣ, ಮನಸ್ಸು ನಿರ್ಲಿಪ್ತವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ, ಮುಖದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಣ್ಣದಾದ ಮಂದಹಾಸ ಅರಳುತ್ತದೆ, ಸುಖವಾಗಿ ತಲುಪಿದರೆ ಸಾಕೆನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
"ಶ್ರೀ ರಂಗಾಪುರ ವಿಹಾರ, ಜಯ ಕೋದಂಡರಾಮಾವತಾರ ರಘುವೀರ...", ದೀಕ್ಷಿತರ ಬೃಂದಾವನ ಸಾರಂಗ ರಾಗದ ಈ ಕೀರ್ತನೆಯು, ಎಂ ಎಸ್ ಸುಬ್ಬಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀಯವರ ಮಧುರ ಕಂಠದಿಂದ ಮೊಳಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು (ಇಷ್ಟವಿದ್ದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಆಲಿಸಿ, ಆನಂದಿಸಿ). ಬಹುಶಃ ಬಸ್ ಸ್ಟಾಂಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿ ಇಂತಹ ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದು. ಈ ಹಾಡು ನನ್ನ ಇಷ್ಟದ ಸಂಗ್ರಹದಲ್ಲೊಂದು. ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬಯಸದೆ ಬಂದ ಭಾಗ್ಯ ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಗ, ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಬಹಳ ಖುಷಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಬರಹ ಗೀಚಿದ ತಕ್ಷಣ, ಬಸ್ಸು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನೆಡೆಗೆ ತಿರುಗಿತು. ಸಂಪಾಜೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮಳೆಕಾಡುಗಳನ್ನು ಅನಂದಿಸಿದೆ; ಮನಸ್ಸು ನಿರಾಳವಾಯಿತು.
ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆಯದೆ ಬಹಳ ದಿನಗಳಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಇನ್ನೇನು, ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದಿನಗಳ ಬಳಿಕ ಶ್ರವಣಬೆಳಗೊಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ತೇರು ಶುರುವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ, ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಈ ಸಣ್ಣ ಬರಹ. ಅಂದ ಹಾಗೇ ಈ ಬರಹದ ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮನ ಪಾತ್ರಧಾರಿ ನಾನೇ ಆಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ!
Last time I shared few macro shots with the same theme here. The absence of Image Stabilization is the biggest drawback in the lens used. Despite the absence of IS, it captures splendid pictures in broader light. This time, I had been to uncle's house situated atop the hills with ravishing Swarna river flowing down the valley and beautiful western ghats at the horizon. They have planted lotus in two pots. As per information gathered from uncle, in morning, the lotus was bud and later blossomed into beautiful flower. We were late to view the transformation. It would have been wonderful timelapse to capture the blossoming lotus. Rather than fretting further, I was happy to capture some good shots after the 'Florescence' of lotus. Here are shots captured during my visit to his house.
I thought of using a different theme for the post. But co-incidentally, while editing certain pictures shot during the occasion, I was hearing to one of the finest original of Andy Blueman which is Florescence. Filled with ecstatic melody of French horn, violin, orchestral vocal and splendid piano progression, Florescence undoubtedly captivates the uplifting fans instantly. I hear to Epic and Emotional mixes quite often and feel the blossoming flowers in our village garden. This is time to revisit the excellence of Slovenian master in blog post.
Hear if you admire uplifting music:
1) Florescence - Epic mix : This has the finest orchestral melody which blends french horn and orchestral vocal. Watch out how he draws the blooming flowers into beautiful melody from 3:29 to 4:04
2) Florescence - Emotional mix : This one is my favorite. The emotional journey outsets with breezing piano progression from 4:02 to 4:56 conjoining the fascinating melody of violin which culminates to a heavenly breakdown. Also don't miss the orchestral journey from 3:00 to 4:00 which includes melodic piano, violin and drums.
Myself in liaison with auto-driver Mr.Ganesh, embarked on a treasure hunt in middle of dense western ghats of Gokarna. Unfortunately, there were no signboards towards the treasure we were looking for. From Gokarna bypass, we started our hunt towards the treasure along the Sirsi highway. We enjoyed beautiful Gangavali river intermittently along with breath taking view of Tadadi from vantage, where Gangavali river flows along the hillocks of Gokarna before merging with Arabian sea. But still no clue on reaching our treasure point. We traveled all along the dense canopy of rainforest seeking help of locals to reach our destination. Some of them were clueless while some were guiding us along right direction. At times I was apprehensive as if things would go awry. "Yenadru aagli sarra... ivattu nodkonde hogova" [Whatever happens today sir, we will not go back without spotting it!], uttered the driver with tenacity in local accent. 12PM, it seemed as if the Sun already switched himself off despite the presence of azure sky. The region was roofed with thick & tall woods projecting all the way towards the sky precluding the dazzling solar beam! After relentless hunt, we eventually spotted the signboard 5kms before culmination. Few minutes later, here we are almost near to the beauty and began strolling along the mud road. Initially there was no trace of our subject of interest. As we walked uphill for almost 1.5kms, we heard the crescendo of gushing stream of water. Asudden, we saw the 'Delight' which is none other than 'Delight'ful 'Vibhuti Waterfalls' hemmed deep within the lofty mountains, dancing in cradle of mighty rainforest, tumbling with tremendous kinetic energy. The 'delight' proliferated after drinking pristine water from the storming aqua. I was also delighted to end the year in delightful fashion. Far from stifled city life, here we find the tranquility in its purest form. Long live western ghats!
Hear the 'Delight' from Matt Bukovski on this occasion filled with emotional atmosphere and splendid violin. The delightful melody starts from 2:54 supported by emotional symphony from violin play. The melody from 3:46 is just heart-breaking with heavenly lead progression supported by the beautiful violin culminating in a emotional breakdown at 4:43 and melody prolongs. My heartfelt respect and kudos to the Polish musician. Hope it delights your soul too! Matt Bukovski - Delight (Original Mix) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdHPAhjzybg
Sara Pollino provided an excellent ambient transformation to the original trance version with extensive usage of orchestral instruments. The best part is from 1:56 to 2:56 wherein the piano, violin, wind chimes & cello, blend harmonically to create magnificent symphony. This is simply spine tingling stupendous work. While I was seated on one of the boulders enjoying the sprinkling droplets from gallons of water slapping the strewed limestone rocks, the chords of piano & violin resonated the aura of waterfall spot. Matt Bukovski - Delight (Sara Pollino Chillout Mix) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9DkbfZwDE4
It was 9PM when the city bus dropped me at St.John's circle. I had ample time to reach Majestic. It seemed as if flood gates were opened creating surge of motors with beaming head-lamp storming ahead towards respective culmination. Even around 9:15PM, the BMTC buses destined to Majestic were over-crowded with passengers, leaving me in disgusting state. I had to drag for some more time. Eventually at 9:30PM, an unauthorized private bus arrived (may be company bound) with cleaner yelling "Majestic... Majestic" at the crowd. I boarded the bus in hustle and grabbed a seat. The bus was jam packed. With all seats filled up (70 to 80), the crew would be making merry out of the collection while on contrary swallowing revenue of BMTC buses. They were charging Rs.25/- per head. This is everyday story though. The crew would have cashed up enough money to cater their bar bill (No prejudice, just an assumption!). 30 minutes passed, here I am in Majestic. Despite the staggering flow of wagons, the bus managed to reach quite early mainly due to ceaseless service till Majestic.
Old adage states "Idle mind is devil's workshop". For me, it becomes devils' metaphor at night, right in between doze while riding on bus. Especially traveling on BMTC spurs enormous mental chatters along with frustrating metaphors. Being gateway to Bengaluru, the aura of Majestic is ideal place to draw metaphors which combines both legacy and modern faces of brooding city life. The virtual aisles created by parked buses are loathing maze. You never know which way to proceed and when they open doors of hell. As Oliver Emberton here describes life as maze rather than marathon, I tweak slightly as to be dynamic maze. You neither know when it manifests in life nor its volume. Ignorance of such maze will cause disastrous leaks leading to surprise crash at latter point. Unless you free them when its incarnation terminates or you are lucky enough to revisit them for correction, it creates permanent mole in your life.
Back to present after brief boredom, hope you are not stuck in Majestic! Everytime, I set out on journey, I forget two things, namely scribbling pad and spectacle case. Spectacle case is essential for protection while I roll on sleeper bus. The scribbling pad is required to jot down the aforementioned devil's metaphor(s). This time too some of the metaphors were lost due to lack of scribbling pad. Consequently people like me end up hunting for stationary in a condiment stall at bus stand. Nevertheless, I remembered most of them after journey with a loss factor of 25%.
My bus was parked at the designated platform and it was brand new sleeper bus, cleanly maintained with courteous crew. I had booked lower berth to minimize the wobbling during journey. The amount of wobbling is directly proportional to the irregularity of bitumen surface and the elevation of sleep position from the ground (considering ideal suspension and perfect center of gravity design). This is what I call law of wobbling phenomenon. After the ticket check, I lied down on reserved bed and instantly fell asleep. As I set out on mission to land of stars, something intrusive happened. "Sir ladies idaare swalpa melgade berth adjust maadtira" (We have few ladies, could you please shift to upper birth). At the outset, it was annoying and at times I felt, reservation had no meaning. I explained them the law of wobbling but a reply arrived swiftly "Sir Ladies". I usually do not confront in such situations hoping someone would reciprocate the same to my parents (even though my parents never seek!).
We are now migrated to upper berth and honored to have elevated sleep which is not fun at all. Despite the perfect center of gravity design of bus, the conditions of road requires certain dynamic corrections to balance out the tremors. This is impossible to achieve in body design and imperatively offloaded to humans to balance. This also means eluded sleep for this night. Rather than sleep, its state of hibernation which means we wake up to similar state as previous night rather than refreshed one! With this setup, stars will be revolving around me.
That's end of short praeludium to my journey to Shimoga. I am not sure as how many more ramblings would crack as I continue my journey. As of now that's it for this post. Now its time to teeter till morning. Hope I will have minimal sleep atleast (again minimal is relative!)
Minutes later, the bus propelled towards the destination and myself to dreamland.
One more digression from mainstream blogging. This time, scratching few thoughts on my musical observations this year. Hope you enjoy!
The year 2014 has been great so far for orchestral uplifting trance fans with NewWorld, Time2Rest, Soundlift, Kelly Andrew and many more releasing melodious and inspiring tunes overall. The main highlight I believe is NewWorld's spectacular work of Ushio which amalgamates melodious piano, orchestral atmosphere with nature harmony. Also, not to miss the wonderful work Flying Higher by Soundlift again just incredible work. But my favorite tune lies in Nature Poesia by Time2Rest. OMG what a godly music :). Just perfect to depict the poem of nature filled with chirping birds, amazing leads, grand orchestral atmosphere. Can't miss this song even a single day. Bravo Time2Rest and kudos to the Ukranian masters :). The significant work of Kelly Andrew in his new melody Wonderland cannot be ruled out. One more added tune is Ahmed Romel remix of Leviticus originally crafted by Driftmoon and Andy Blueman. Unfortunately, even this year Blueman could not compile Away from Sun due to personal reasons. We could hope for release next year.
Why do I remember Andy Blueman? It is because of him orchestral uplifting trance evolved and others have just followed him :). He showed how the classical orchestral music can be united positively with trance to create everlasting uplifting melodies. Nowdays, Uplifting trance defaults to orchestral uplifting with many producers compose uplifting melodies atleast with minimal orchestral atmosphere. My innate inclination towards Indian Classical Music cannot fade away and I am expanding my horizon to classical orchestra by hearing to such melodies [ofcourse during my free time ;)]. The emotions musicians generate in uplifting trance genre with gamut of instruments can only be absorbed by hearing to them. The positive aspect of such genre is that composers appreciate each other openly and whole-heartedly when other does great job. There is barely any hatred in this category. This one fact I have noticed from my journey into this category of music from past 4 years. Ofcourse, people sneer at my offbeat inclination. They feel bewildered by my interest towards such occult music :). It is difficult to gain acceptance and consequently I have begun ignoring refuters.
The list from my side is here in increasing order of Rank. This list is from the collection of songs I heard this year and not the ultimate one. Since such musics are predominantly played in European radio shows, I definitely would have missed many more.
1) Time2Rest - Nature Poesia
This was originally composed 2 years back. With lot of tweaking, the song is eventually released on October 2014. This is such a heavenly music and my full respect to Ukrainian duo for the masterpiece. It comprises of excellent atmosphere with orchestral melody and nature elements. The music outsets with soothing violin followed by rhythmic bass. You can imagine driving in midst of dense forest (whichever you admire!). At 0:57, the poem of nature starts with the combination of violin and low pitch notes. Notice how the medley of high pitch violin with deep press of low pitch notes creates sublime environment :). A brief pause at 2:23 followed by chirping birds and breeze over mountains. At 2:32, the actual fun starts with light violin play, just imagine your stay in between dense forest with stream nearby, enjoying melody of birds and dribbling rains. The grand orchestral melody starts at 2:45 wherein you can take a deep breathe standing on top of valley enjoying the gentle flow of river with breeze caressing body and inhaling pristine air from the mountains. At 3:00, enjoy the moving clouds hugging the mountains shadowing beaming Sun intermittently. At 3:47, the thick clouds with gentle wind prepare for downpour. At 3:54, its time to drench in rains and enjoy the thundering waterfalls amidst the spellbinding nature. One more beautiful aspect of this music is the rhythmic bassline & cymbals do not superseed the serene nature ambience :). Hope you enjoy the music too!
Few weeks back, I was off to Sigandhur Chowdeshwari Temple near Sagar. The return journey to Udupi was one of memorable one with blissful nature, ravishing western ghats, the lush green paddy fields and exuberant rivulets & lakes. The primary eye-catcher was the Varaahi river near mastikatte meandering gently through the valley of evergreen western ghats. The unexpected rains & gloomy weather added extra charm to the entire scene. At this time, I realized dedication of Time2Rest to craft such an outstanding music. The soul was wandering at 0:57--1:20 when I stumbled upon such a tranquil nature. The emotions, ambiance of music were resembling that beautiful scenery of Malnad region.
2) NewWorld - Ushio
Have you ever noticed NewWorld producing imperfect music :). He is quintessential musician in orchestral uplifting trance nowadays alongside SoundLift & Andy Blueman. You can blindly appreciate his music even before you start and later sink in the ocean of orchestral melody :) [also find a way out to avoid drowning ;)]. The ingeniousness of young musician from US can only be felt by hearing to his music filled with stunning orchestras and melodic piano leads :). He never ceases to entertain fans with his magical musical talent! This music is one more example of his uber musical talent. The song is composed recently and has attracted numerous radio shows including future sound crown from FSOE-365. 'Ushio' welcomes with whooshing breeze and spellbinding crescendo of melodic piano with orchestral atmosphere followed by trance version. At 0:46, the emotional ensemble of strings is just mind-blowing. It is time to enjoy the blend of piano and violin at 3:36 leading to grand setup at 4:30. The breakdown starts at 4:56 with gamut of instrument conjoining, leading harmonious breakdown at 5:57 :). Just amazing piece of work with intelligent use of instruments :). Despite overwhelm of emotions, his "Outreach" still tops my list ;).
3) SoundLift - Flying higher
After resounding comeback tune "Freedom", the Portuguese musician codenamed "SoundLift" has once again delighted with marvelous music of "Flying Higher". You need to hear complete music to match with theme. Soundlift is brilliant in composing melodious tunes with soft bass. The orchestral melody comprising of drums, piano & violin from 1:26 to 1:53 with sound resembling flapping of bird wings is astounding. My favorite part is the beautiful lead progression from 1:53 to 2:50. He has one more Duduk version wherein he played the instrument on his own combining it with the actual version.
Original Version
Duduk Version
4) Blue Silence & Mat Chowski - Nothing to Fear (NewWorld epic intro mix)
One more masterpiece by Gordon. The young musician provided master touch to the original version with his exquisite talent. Starts with consoling leads and later with sensational violin & piano medley with use of wind chimes. The melody from 1:45 to 3:46 with piano, violin and leads just gets rid of your fear with consoling chords. The breakdown dawns at 3:48 with sensational mix of low & high pitch notes resulting in spectacular breakdown at 4:40 with high tempo leads.
5) Kelly Andrew - Wonderland
Starts with heavenly orchestral melody and later transitions to trance version. The actual melody starts at 3:34 with angelic vocal chords, melodious violin and piano leads which takes you to you to a wonderland of exotic destination. The breakdown starts at 4:42 with high tempo leads where you can enjoy being in wonderland and later culminates at 5:42 :).
6) Driftmoon & Andy Blueman - Leviticus (Ahmed Romel remix)
Starts with slightly intense bass and later beautiful violin play joins the rhythm. The middle part (2:18 - simply marvelous with fiddle of violin & clarinet creating stupendous melody. The breakdown starts at 3:17 with gradual increase in pace and later culminates at 4:11 with heavenly piano leads. This has been favorite of many trance fans since Ahmed Romel released the music.
Just few days back, I heard this wonder. As theme states, its absolute beauty especially the orchestra from 1:33 to 2:54. The captivating orchestra starts at 1:33 with French horn and later blends with violin. Watch out for that grand orchestra at 2:27 B-). The breakdown starts with melodious piano leads at 2:54 and later reaching finale at 3:49 with marching bassline :). What a beauty to end the beautiful year!
8) Sky Flight _ Allen Ma - Journal De Voyage (Original Mix)
One more beautiful track to the list as the year comes to end. Filled with emotional piano, melodic violin & flute and blissful atmosphere, this song really deserves to be in top of the list. It has great melody throughout the song duration. Listen and document the journal of journey towards the fascinating melody!
9) Mhammed El Alami & illitheas & Johannes Fischer - Breath Of Life (Original Mix)
The trio from Morocco & Germany pulled up a uplifting wonder called "Breath of Life". Everytime I listen to this it drives me crazy and feels like resting on top of mountains during monsoon season with heavy cloud movement along the heaven. OMG! what a lovely feeling such a euphoric breakdown. My full respect to the trio for their masterpiece! Half of my writing arise out of such impeccable melodies filled with infinite emotions. The blissful chords give rise to repertoire of metaphors in neural system which drives the arms towards the keyboard resulting in short writes!
From 2:25 to 3:13 enjoy your stay in beautiful western ghats with blissful melody of chirping birds, violin and bubbling wind chimes
From 3:16 to 4:13 enjoy the breath from the pure mountains with beautiful melody of horn, violin, wind chimes, piano leads and rhythmic orchestral drums.
Synchronous to the drums, behold the synergistic flight of birds flying freely towards their niche along the distant horizon with perfect geometric pattern over a beautiful serene river ornate with gentle orange sky lit by the golden hour Sun.
The lead progression outsets at 4:15 with lovely atmosphere along with periodic piano melody leading to a breathtaking breakdown at 5:10
At 5:11, watch out for the heavy monsoon clouds approaching the hillocks rehearsing for downpour and transforming the smouldered surface to greener canvas
At 5:38 enjoy the dancing sea tides slithering towards the shoreline
At 6:06 enjoy enthusiastic torrent of water marching their way towards the mighty plunge culminating in a thundering waterfall creating magnificent spectacle.
At 6:34 enjoy the sprinkling rain over the beautiful mountains
Architectures provide wonderful platform for composing HDRs. There are lots of perception to compose. Long time back, I had traveled to Belur and Halebeedu to revisit the Hoysala empire glory after 20 long years. My primary intention was for photography and rest includes deviation from city life, relaxation etc.. Even though it was winter season, the weather was unusually hot and humid. Consequently, the atmosphere was hazy too. To add to that, I did not carry my CPL filter (not sure why!). However there were clouds hovering around the skies which tempted me to grab few short timelapses. After fulfilling my thirst of photography wandering all around premise of Belur, I chose a platform to sit down and relax for sometime. Alongside my rest, I started intervalometer to capture a timelapse with the scaffolded pinnacle and huge premise as steady subjects. The movements were achieved by clouds and people. I believe, the clicks happened for few hours comprising of 250 pictures shot at an interval of 10secs. Eventually it turned out nice and the first part of video is timelapse from Belur. The psuedo movement is achieved by cropping the pictures using Motion Timelapser software
The second part is from Halebeedu. This timelapse was also consequence of aforementioned reason. The crux was to give myself a break :). I sat on a bench near Nandi statue and captured the timelapse. I did not carry tripod and hence could not obtain proper elevation. As a result, the frames are out of focus :(. Despite the loss of focus, the movements of clouds are appealing :). Overall did not turn up as better as Belur. I could have managed for some more timelapses if I had my own arrangements for transport. The gloomy weather coupled with time constraints tempted me to pack-up as early as possible. There are numerous HDRs composed during my visit which I will share in subsequent write-ups. As of now enjoy short timelapses from Belur and Halebeedu. Any suggestions are always welcome.
Music: New World - Let me Go, beautiful medley of strings and piano. Love the atmosphere in middle of tune and used it to fit my timelapse. If you are interested, hear full tune here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SciajNJBiJA
From Santosh Hotel we trekked downwards through deep dense rain forests, piercing through canopy, wading through streams, sliding along valley, slipping on leaves, crossing fallen woods, jumping across boulders, bending along entangled bushes and reached ultimatum. Excitement galore as we reached culmination. That was pure "Heaven on Earth" in middle of dense rain forests of Kollur. The water was pristine, the weather was calm, the plunge was energetic and devoid of any human activity. Fortunately we did not encounter any snakes this time! It was tranquilizer to watch the waterfall thundering down to the deep pool with high energy. The attraction was none other than the beautiful 120 feet Arishinagundi Waterfalls. What a magnificent splendor to watch in middle of deep dense western ghats. Every sweat drop is worth to reach this place. The only sound we could hear was from waterfall and chirping birds. Western ghats are home to many such splendid treasures. Due to absence of civilization, there was not single waste nearby waterfall. We made it this time with help of wonderful guides. We had to climb down for 5kms through thick forests with profuse sweating. It was "Heaven on Earth" as we reached this magnificent sight. Our strain was eradicated after bathing in ice cold water.
Do hear grand orchestral music from Soundlift "Heaven on Earth" on this occassion and feel the passion of western ghats.
SoundLift - Heaven on Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwICEe6q5Zo
Diverging paths from Bangalore were having tough times, thanks to the prolonged weekend. The holidays were keeping the city outskirts busy rather than the city itself. There was gigantic pile of motors lined up all along the highway leading to Mysore. The pathetic Shiraadi ghat road tempted us to drive along the longest Sampaje ghat road via Madikeri to Udupi. We dawned our day embracing normal traffic and later enjoying heavenly NICE road. 45mins later we were in Kengeri. The excitement peaked since we had crossed city at brisk pace but the zeal did not last long. The actual traffic snarls began showing up in few kms of drive. Our plan boomeranged with gazillion motors lined up all along the humps and town limits. The lousy traffic stagnated the smooth journey for more than 20mins as we entered town limits of Channapattana, Ramanagara, Mandya, Madhur. It was tough drive with the wheels barely scraping the asphalted surface, hands swaying around 1-2 gear, hardly any peddle on throttle, motor toiling along statically swollen & crumbled humps, radiating mid-day sun and melancholy of crazy honkers. The optimistic drive past Mandya was impeded by frequent pessimistic speed breakers. The cumulative delay was 3hrs. The journey which started at 7:30AM lasted for 5 hours and eventually reached Srirangapattana at 12:30PM. We were devastated by the abysmal traffic with full house restaurants adding fury to the situation and stomach.
A sigh of relief after Srirangapattana but still not hopeful of smooth journey due to traffic flow towards Madikeri. However, things were alright except for frequent humps till Bailukuppe. Phew man! That was tedious drive for no reason. The difficult drive was later overridden by the lush green hillocks. Yes, they are our lovely Western Ghats. Driving past Suntikoppa was heaven, piercing the dense canopy of rainforest (with Andy Blueman's rainforest music), floating the motor along hairpin bends. Moreover, the lack of humps, feeble traffic, well paved roads provided festive touch for eyes and drive. 2PM, we were in Madikeri and there is no need to explain the Joy. We were having roller-coaster drive descending the Sampaje Ghat with flat bitumen surface. As we descended 15kms, we stopped nearby glistening waterfall called Devarakolli waterfall. It was not surprise since we knew it from long time. The only new entry was its name which I came to know from shopkeepers nearby. As you know, Madikeri is famous for Abbey & Iruppu waterfalls. However, there are many other unknown waterfalls nearby namely, Devaragundi and Kalyala waterfalls (requires 1km trek). Devarakolli waterfall is not so prominent mainly due to fact tourists hardly descend down Sampaje ghat from Madikeri. In fact there is not much space for taking bath but nice hangout for few hours. The waterfall was at considerable glory since monsoon had just receded. It would be heavenly to watch during peak monsoon season though. At the end, if you are planning for Madikeri, just descend down Sampaje ghat to view beautiful shining waterfall. Don't worry, roads are fabulous and there is space for motor parking.
Here are pictures and a short video of visit. Hope you enjoy!
About the waterfall:
To give some heads-up, this is not official description rather my own narration. There was no info-board nearby and whatever mentioned here is based on my observations. Situated along Mani-Madikeri state highway right in middle of western ghats, the waterfall derives its name from the village Devarakolli. The waterfall seemed to have height of about 120feet. It has two stage zig-zag plunge followed by a short cascade. When I say zig-zag, the first stage and second stage are not visible at one sight but need to look them at different angles. Few shops situated nearby provides snacks and tea. The waterfall is easily accessible along the highway and parking place is available for vehicles.
SAMPAJE GHAT
From this place, we enjoyed smooth journey till Udupi (except for few stretches from Sampaje to Sulya). It was whopping 12 hr journey battered by the hectic traffic along Mysore highway. However, from Srirangapattana, we barely took 7:30hrs to reach Udupi despite 45 minutes of break. After the initial heck, the waterfall and western ghats added extra psychological smoothness to drive. The warmth the lovely rainforests deliver along with the beautiful waterfalls nestled in them can only be experienced and cannot be penned (rather keyed) down. End of day, we reached the culmination safely.
Just returning from visit to Ramadevara betta last week during deepavali festival. The Sun had lit the sky with deepavali lamp. The sky after rains, is lit colorfully by the sinking sun with golden light. I feel, this phenomenon has some scientific fact behind it. The Sunset coupled with stray clouds paint the sky with dramatic patterns during golden hour, few minutes after rains. The patterns are vivid if the rays of Sun pierce through the shattered clouds! This time, even in Ramanagara, the scene was similar. There was significant rain for 10mins and later on the sunset with clouds created colorful medley in the sky. The rocky hills and green fields added more charm to the entire scene. The lone upright slender tree added to the rule of thirds placement to the composition :). Overall a perfect scene to capture HDR images. I had GND even this time which again restricted exposure bracketing to 5. The final HDR was composed sparing the +2EV picture for all of them since +1EV had enough shadow details. The images were blend in Luminance HDR and final editing with Darktable. Not to forget the "auto-align" option in Luminance HDR which is very important when you compose HDR hand-held. Lot of tweakings were carried out in darktable to match the "Sunset seen in my eyes" :).
The title is used to depict the "Sunset seen in my eyes" that day hoping for colorful days with vivid outlook. I hope you enjoy the pictorical Sunset in your eyes too!
This time the musical credit goes to the beautiful work by Poland musician TrancEye - Sunset In Your Eyes. Just lovely piece of music with orchestral melody and spectacular piano. Here are special aspects of music.
--> 2:20 orchestral melody followed by medley of piano at 2:45 --> the silent piano melody 3:23 --> beautiful breakdown outset at 3:51
The orchestral atmosphere from 2:21 to 3:15 is just mind blowing with gradual tempo build-up around 3:35 which sets up perfect breakdown pattern at 4:18 :)
TranceEye - Sunset in your eyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv1fWYD24co
