Shivanasamudra and Talakaadu revisit with CPL filter :-)

01 Sept 2013


The cauvery river was raging during my July visit to Shivanasamudra waterfalls. This was direct consequence of 1.5lac cusecs of water being let out of KRS reservoir. Due to torrent, we were not allowed to step down to have close look of waterfalls. This time, even-though the rains had receded in Malnad region we were not sure about getting down to waterfall area. I had to face to ire of usual travel gang for visiting alone ;-). Hence we decided to visit Shivanasamudra on this Sunday. Last time when I traveled alone in bike, I faced wrath of mother with almost 30mins of discourse :D. This time we were four and hence Rajesh booked a taxi costing Rs.7/km. Everything was planned. Our main aim was to start early as 7AM and reach the waterfall site early to spend sufficient amount of time there. We were ready to start our journey around 7AM and the driver steered towards Kanakapura road.

All of us were in empty stomach and very much hungry. We stopped at Adigas hotel to have breakfast. We had hefty breakfast despite high price. Once done, our next destination was waterfall site itself. En-route we enjoyed the lush greenery which was consequence of recent rains in region. Especially, the hills after Kanakapura were beautiful to watch. While traveling, we were discussing variety of stuffs to pass time. The stage turned to be mostly political with LTTE topic elaborated for broad time ;-). I was quite since my interesting topics are Photography and Linux. I would have been thrown out of cab if I had initiated some topic on both :D. I was just a pure listener there ;-). Then comes Kashmir issue ;-). Also few Bollywood newses (which I am not interested) were part of discussion. In between, I was also testing the CPL filter and it had already started showing off with great results with bluish sky :-). I was pretty much now confident that it will be highly useful at waterfall site.

THE HOT POLITICAL DEBATE ;-)

As we neared the waterfall, I picturised the scenes of last month visit. Now the sight seemed relatively barren with very less water. We were under the suspicion that waterfall may be bereft of water. That ravaging streams and torrent were no more present. At around 10AM, we reached Bharachukki waterfall site. A waterfall festival organized by local authorities was being celebrated here which made us to walk for 500mts to reach waterfall site. The vehicles were not allowed to park proximity to waterfall site.

FULL VIEW OF BHARACHUKKI WATERFALLS

BONUS VIEW ;-) WATCH OUT FOR CLEAR SKY!

We were enthralled to see the waterfall site as we neared it. There was very good amount of water plunge and also we were allowed to step down too! At a distance, it looks to be of minimal quantity but as we stepped down, the plunge was really strong. Also the site was too much crowded too with visitors enjoying in water (including monkeys). One can take coracle ride close to waterfall area for Rs.50/head. People will be taken close to the waterfall plunge, but on our request he carried us very close to the waterfall. We were completely drenched including my camera :D. Fortunately camera withstood the sudden water gush. I did not cover with weather coat since this was candid ;-). Nevertheless we enjoyed that drench as well as the swivel on coracle.

DOWNSTAIRS VIEW!

CLOSE TO WATERFALL :D

ONE OF THE DIVISIONS

Now time for fun on water. Both Rajesh and Sudhir had backup clothes and hence they entered into water. I was bit disappointed since I did not have extra clothes. Albeit, I was experimenting with my camera with different exposures. Also diving monkeys were humorous to watch :D. Some monkeys even snatched food from visitor's luggage so beware of them. Some of them even know to open the bag zipper :-). Seemed like experience monkeys who know the design of backpack very well :D. The plunge was powerful past the stream. However a guard stood nearby the site blocking visitors who wished to visit the place. After nearly 2-3hrs of fun, we stepped up back to the top. That was really enjoying and everything happened as planned. The day was too hazy as well hot that we were tempted to have sugarcane juices. All of us had 2 full glasses of tasty sugarcane juice with lemon mix and cucumber to get rid of thirst.

DISTANT MILKY WAY :-)

MILKY WAY BEHIND WOODS!

ONE MORE MILKY WAY

MILKY WAY BEHIND WOODS++

SEE MY JUMP! YIPEEEEEEE....

DONT WORRY KID, THEY HAVE JUST COME TO ENJOY IN WATER

CROSS SECTIONAL MILKY WAY ;-)

GOODBYE! SEE YOU AGAIN

This time we went near the other view point of Gaganachukki waterfalls. From the primary view point, it was not possible to get down to site. From here, it is possible to step down but proper steps are not yet laid. Boys were tired and they refused to step down. I alone went down crossing strewed rocks to get good snaps of raging water at corner sites. I did slip for many times but managed to get to the rushing water jet despite of water bodies in between. It was really worth the effort to reach those areas. Later we left for Talakaadu temple.

ONE OF DIVISIONS IN GAGANACHUKKI FALLS

THE MIGHTY TORRENT

FRONT VIEW!

VALLEY AFTER PLUNGE

THAT GUSH!

That powerful water was no longer present this time, however we enjoyed the beautiful landscapes with turmeric plantations, sugarcane fields and cattle. There was huge group of sheep every now and then. I did not take their pictures but driver narrated the story behind them. These shepherds are from far off place and they travel for long distance to feed the cattle. The vegetation in their areas is not so lush and hence they travel till Kerala to feed their cattle. Intermediate villagers do not allow them to settle down since it would adversely affect their needs for cattle. Some of the farmers allow the migrant cattle to gaze in the field of restricted area and in turn the excreta of cattle acts as fertilizer for their lands. I was really amazed to see their stamina and hard work. These people have tougher life than us and still they manage very well. They carry luggage on donkeys and camp in current place they are in. Their main food is raagi bowl which can keep stomach happy for longer time. The only months they visit their home is during February-March time-frame and every year the same cycle gets repeated. Unfortunately, I don't have any picture of them [bang on my head :-(].

VAIDYANATHESHWARA TEMPLE

THE SIDE VIEW

CAUVERY RIVER BASIN, TALAKAADU

In an hour time, we reached Talakaadu temple. We had darshan of Lord Vaidyanaatheshwara and walked on the sand path too! All four were hungry and had lunch in one of the Udupi Mess nearby temple. Last time, I could not have lunch here since it was exhausted. This time we had tasty full meals. The meal is served in banana plantations and was very much tasty too for Rs.60/-. Later we went nearby Cauvery river basin which was again deprived of water relative to my last visit. Last time, the entire parking area was under water while this time very less in amount. It seems due to heavy overnight rains (the heaviest after 10-15yrs) the cauvery had become bit more vibrant. After short visit to river area we headed back to Bangalore. Due to time constraint, we skipped Somanathapura again :-(. Around 8:30PM we reached Bangalore. Note that Kanakapura road is now somewhat patched and looked to be in good condition.

Thats it the end of our travel. Every-time I plan to trim down the write-up consequently ends up being more than small. As I type content in 'gedit', I recall many stuffs which I cannot miss. Hence turns out to be sometimes huge (like last one which ended in two parts!). My main intention is to archive these memories and cherish them forever. As a result, blogs eventually turns out to be lengthier :-). The only time taking is the editing and compressing of DSLR pics which are really huge. In the end, I feel really happy when blog is posted!

There is HDR and panorama shot in Bharachukki waterfalls documented here. There was nothing to capture as timelapse this time due to dearth of clouds.

I also found some time to compose the video. The main attraction this time was the cheap CPL filter I carried with camera pack. Some of the videos really came out well with filter without losing detail or sharpness and properly exposing the sky despite hazy atmosphere. Watch and enjoy the nature in full HD and experience virtual drench ;-). I will try to add video settings in subsequent blog posts. Comments and critiques on quality and perception of video is highly appreciated. As always composed using KDENLIVE under Linux Mint 15, wonderful open source software for *nix based systems.