Bengaluru Winter - Warm debris Averted shadows!

We are almost closing in on winter with Sun sliding to Makara Rashi. The transit of Sun to Makara Rashi astrologically signifies the shift of Sun trajectory towards North. Even though actual shift happens from December 22, in Hindu calendar, January 14/15 timeline where Sun transits to Makara Sankranthi is taken as reference point. From this period till next 6 months is consider auspicious for sacred ceremonies.

Before we wind up the winter, here are some winter vibes from Bengaluru Streets. Even though I personally not fond of street dogs, sometimes their demeanor is photogenic. I capture occasionally when I feel interested provided they maintain same pose. Most of the times, they either shy away or start barking. Here are pictures when the dogs were steady or lazy or were unconcerned during my capture.

The eternal real estate activity in Bengaluru city is boon to these street dogs. While the sound of construction, concrete dust , never ending blockage of roads pose high inconvenience to public, the dogs enjoy the stay over the rubbles and debris. It keeps them warm during winter. The direct sunshine over these debris is an added advantage to doze off for a while! The dappled areas are usually occupied by these canines!

You see them seated on warm debris averting shadows during winter. Its reverse during summer. They love the concrete base much since it keeps them warm. On other hand, they love moistened gravel during summer to escape from heat.

These puppies were warming up under peeping sun. They posed for my shoot as they saw me hoping that I would feed them :-) They were disappointed but not lost hope may be. Authorities spend hefty tax payers money to sterilize street dogs. All of them are swallowed by corrupt officials mostly. Nothing ever happens. Poor puppies looked strangled by cold winds.

This guy was napping on flag post in mid day under the sun. As soon as I started taking pictures, he woke up and yawned. Perhaps this is the season where Sun is in high demand!

One more guy from fuel station guarding his territory under Sun. Upon seeing an offender, he swiftly ran probably for short brawl. Fuel station employees generally feed these dogs. At nights, we humans too get stuck amidst the street dog brawls. Out of control, they frighten us or even bite us. Being non-vaccinated, their bites are highly harmful to humans.

While I love capturing their expressions, I am not big fan of street dogs nor pet animals. Street dogs I have strong disliking because they threaten kids and humans even in broad daylight for no reason. Even walking along residential streets during bright day causes anxiety mainly due to street dogs. I have strong disliking towards street dog lovers as well since they just support the dogs but do not possess sentience to their menace. The adamant street dog lovers do not even budge to proposed solutions as well. They just want general public to peacefully embrace the menace. Woke is everywhere!

Coorg Itinerary — Obeisance to Goddess Kaveri

The next stop as scheduled was towards Talakaveri temple. Talakaveri is birth place of river Kaveri and is located atop the hill nearby Bhagamandala. The ascension to the hill starts from Bhagamandala with entry fee. While driving on the flyover at Bhagamandala, we were blessed by magnificent view of Bhagandeshwara temple. Since there was less time, we started to Talakaveri first.

As usual, maps took us via Mangaluru road and later deviation towards Bhagamandala road. It was mix of bumpy and smooth drive with intermittent showers. Even though distance was 40kms, the curvy roads makes it impossible to cover the distance in less than 90mins. It was around 3:30PM when we reached Bhagamandala. The Sun was bright, clouds were scattered. Doesn’t give any sign of monsoon season. The only positive vibe was lush greenery and roaring rivers. The fly-over towards Talakaveri is complete and operational. Now the vehicles need not wait for floods to recede to cross the main road.

We reached the entry point to Talakaveri where authorities charge Rs.50/- for LMVs. The hill climb towards Talakaveri is about 8kms resembling ghat section hike. The road is good condition and contains multiple view points. 

After climb of 20mins, we reached Talakaveri with fog covered all around. The crowd was minimal and area was serene. There was silence all around.

Talakaveri temple consists of Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha. One platform down, lies the sanctum of Goddess Kaveri where she originates. The pond in front of sanctum is pristine with river water. The depth of pond is clearly visible due to its purity. Pilgrims are not allowed to step into the pond I believe. Only during Kaveri Teerthodbhava, pilgrims are allowed looks like. A drum is kept near the sanctum where pilgrims can fill Kaveri water to containers. The kaveri flows down to shivalinga nearby before making her way to further paths.

Tranquil stay of 30 mins, we left to Bhagamandala temple with final prayers. 

On the way, we took some scenic photographs of Bhagamandala overlooking from ghats. The Bhagandeshwara temple is clearly visible from the viewpoint. Also look at the scintillating landscape from break monsoon light. Absolutely gorgeous nature!

Here is short video from visit.

The view from Kunjarugiri Temple

Kunjarugiri temple is well-known by Udupi people primarily because of Goddess Durga residing here. The other reason is due to the wondrous views from summit. Especially the Mattu beach can be seen quite clearly during times of clean atmosphere. With good AQI, we can clearly behold gentle waves moving to shore from here. The other view is of Lord Parashuram temple situated in the tiny hillock adjacent to Kunjarugiri hill. The Parashurama hill is shorter than Kunarugiri and hence vision is downslope. We visited the temple during Navaratri time to take blessings of Goddess Durga. Also we were blessed by colorful Sunset views from Summit. The beach was not visible partly due to sundown and obstructed light. Hope you enjoy!

Coorg Itinerary - The unique Chiklihole Reservoir

Our next stop was Chiklihole reservoir. We were already elated after enjoying Harangi backwaters, now ready to explore yet another beauty of Coorg. The only skepticism we have with respect to reservoir is most of them are closed for dam-top visit. However, chiklihole reservoir turned out to be open reservoir with minor gates.

It was nice drive cutting through forests for 30 mins from Harangi dam. We comfortably reached the location. Only drawback driving in hill station is that short distances need considerable time. The hilly and narrow roads slows down vehicle. Moreover, the heavy rains grow plenty of potholes in roadway. Fortunately, most of them are still in good conditions.

We reached the spot where crowd was considerable. The large pathway over the reservoir leads us to the spillway which is specially designed here. Enroute to spillway, one can enjoy the majestic western ghats backdropping the lake.

We walked towards the spillway over lake promenade which is around 200mts long. As we reached, our excitement turned two folded. The excess water circles over the semi spherical spillway before joining the channel. My wife was super excited to watch this setup including kids. A special provision has been made over spillway to enjoy multiple glimpses of spillway and photograph as well.

The primary attraction of Chiklihole reservoir is the spillway which circles around the semi spherical structure and flows along the channel. I am not sure about the science behind the design. It should be some solid technique I firmly believe. Chiklihole looks like sourced from rainwater streaming down the mountains. The excess water discharge would reach some river hopefully Kaveri.

The view from road adjacent to reservoir is as well eye catching. We need to climb down around 30 steps to reach the bridge connecting road. I took some photographs as well. 

No public transport to this destination apparently. The closest is the main road connecting the reservoir which is approximately 5kms from here. Better commute via private vehicle. Here is time schedule of visit. Not sure if this has relevance since its open reservoir without any fencing. Just for your note

A happy visit again, we headed towards madikeri since it was already lunch time. Kids were and hungry and we too! We descended near the lodge and rested for a while. The hotel attendant guided us towards Paakashala restaurant since we were vegetarians. Parcel facility is available from nearby restaurant if you want to eat in house. We preferred Paakashala throughout our stay. Being near to KSRTC bus stand, the lodge has advantage of exploring multiple eateries nearby. The strategic location helps the business a lot!

Our next stop was divine destinations of Madikeri as planned. Here is short video from Chiklihole