Wednesday, 9 October 2013

Delights of Dudhsagar...Heaven on Earth :)



Due to a crazy shift plan in office, I had off on Monday :P On a boring morning, with internet behaving crazily, I switched to TV in search of good songs. "Modala maleyante" song was coming in U2. Suddenly my heart started dancing, seeing my dear cutie Nitya Menon. Song speciality is it takes us to romantic world of Dudhsagar. Expecting romance in a boys trip is too weird to deal with. But an idea popped in my head about writing an article about Our Dudhsagar Experience. To start with, it was a once in a lifetime experience. When you are there, you feel like you are in a different world :).


                  Booking train from Bangalore, seemed impossible after analyzing all the statistics (Don't feel bad, it's not me. it's my math talking :P). As direct Friday trains were already booked for next 3 months. So we made an alternate plan, as per Akash's suggestion. We booked a train to Hubli (There are many Hubli trains available). After various misunderstandings (I admit I only acted crazy :p) and last minute droppings, Finally 11 members finalized for the trip. 


Fancy view of Hubli Junction
   
                  Story started when boarded the train in Bangalore at night 7.30 PM, on July 5, 2013 from Yashwanthpur. Seat number for one person belonged to a whole different block. But we made an agreement with lonely uncle. ( More like a request :P). Addition of Manja to the trip is like adding butter to Masala dosa. With unlimited mocking and pulling legs, Sleeping itself looked like a dream :p. With a minute time difference between closing n opening eyes, Train reached Hubli by morning 3.30 AM. 

  
               Train to Castle rock was at 6.30 AM. What to do for next 3 hours? Tasteless coffee kept us sleepy. Sharath kept charging his mobile on standing train :P We freshened up, had breakfast. Still time seemed like a test batsman. Adding to this boredom, finally train arrived at 7.30 AM. Two special photographers, Shishir with DSLR and Sumukha with two digital cameras, kept exploring the beauty of train station itself :P.


                  Maddy alias Madhav Reddy seemed little frustrated with Kannada talk, as he was the only Telgu guy there. Haunting green view from the train windows and little rain drops gave clue about heaven of Nature ahead there. Cool breeze and Sonu Nigam songs ! Ah...what a combination. We reached castle rock around 10 AM, where it was raining slowly.



Twin trains at Castle rock :)

                 Dudhsagar is 15 KM from castle rock( Though u will get hundreds of measurements in Internet :P). That 15 km and rain made an agreement to start an argument in the group. Some guys wanted to walk and some wanted to go by goods train. Apparently the word " I will leave in ten minutes" extended for over 2 hours and after a long argument with Goods train driver, he started going.


Ride in goods train

                     Let me tell you friends, that was one one best ride you will ever get to see in life. Standing on the sides of moving goods train, Continuously falling rain, Struggle to take photographs as camera kept getting wet, Fantastic green view along the way, Mind-blowing turns and crazy shouts. No one was worried about rain. It was one heavenly view. 



A scenic view taken from moving goods train

                     We kept waving hands for the walkers. Moving inside tunnel, just wow. While moving from green to darkness, you feel wonderful and terrified at the same time. Then when it moves towards green again! No words to describe that ride. 100 Megapixel human eye resolution is not enough to capture the moment!.



Crossing tunnels

                  Within one hour, train stopped. Then we ate whatever we got over there. Some guys gave their food also :p Already rain has made us fully wet, we decided to jump in a small waterfalls on the way. We slowly walked towards Dudhsagar, enjoying the scenic view.



Going mad @ Waterfalls

                    Finally we saw, the great Dudhsagar waterfalls. That beauty was unmatchable. With mist and rain, constantly hitting us on the train track, it was difficult to get camera on the way. But Showry and Raju, made it possible. We took photos, videos and everything. Better to enjoy the pictures, as I am out of words to describe the beauty.



A grand welcome to Dudhsagar

                     Well, discussions happened about future honeymoon in Dudhsagar. It was hilarious. We made a pact to come again. We continued our walk and we got one greatest view of the waterfalls. Everyone took crazy crazy photos there. Then we planned to head back (With arguments obviously :P). 



Yippieeeeeeeeeeeeeee :)

                     On the way, photography experiments performed by experts (Please don't try these stunts in home. Specially trained people can do in Dudhsagar only). I too got some interesting insects there. We came back, talking and discussing about romantic couples all over the place :p



A photography experiment by Shishir and Sumukha :)


                    You know ? there is only one train to get back. That too so many people standing near train stop and train will stop for only 5 minutes. Irrespective of whether you climb or not, train will move. Everybody climbed like climbing Volvo bus in Bangalore during office hours. Everyone got divided up in different coaches. We thought we lost Sumukha. His mobile was out of reach. Full of tension. But finally everything was safe. Journey continued for next day exploring Belgaum tourist location.



A beauty !!! 



                   I am going to limit this experience to Dudhsagar, even though our journey  continued for next day near Belgaum. But surely fun was unlimited. Let me tell you, Visit Dudhsagar once in life (With friends would be great. With a girl is more appreciated). Hope you enjoyed the ride. Thank you so much for Prashasti, Goutham, Nikky, Sumukha, Sharath, Shishir. Raju, Manja, Maddy, Showry for making this happen. That was one unforgettable experience :) Get ready for stories Manja and Goutu in the future :P Photography credits to Shishir and Sumukha :)



Mission Accomplished :)


Monday, 29 April 2013

Burning Candle


It was a cool Sunday evening in My Native village. Mobile phone was suffering with a near death experience!  Electricity was falling in love with darkness of clouds. Discussions of old stories by mom and grand ma, felt like back ground music to me. Everyone was waiting for either rain or power. I was simply enjoying breeze and beauty of green garden. But from inside I was angry on field owner, who kicked us out from playing cricket.

I waited for half an hour. But there was no sign of rain or power. Green beauty kept fading due to spreading darkness. No one was interested in going inside. I went inside searching for any books to read. I found my dirty and dusty High school diary, Sandwiched between Big Kumaravyasa Bharata and Bhagavata. I opened first page " Saalumarada Kombe Naduvali". A smile appeared on my face. It was a song, i used to sing and it was quite popular in high school. Many girls asked me to give that song. But i never did. I kept telling them " I will give while leaving school". I was so worried that someone could steal that song! Silly times na.

It was a folk song and had a meaningful story with it. You cant get it, when you Google it. As i say "some nice things cannot be found in Google " . Though story sounds effective when someone sings, i am going to narrate story to you now.

It was a rainy season. It was a first time rain experience for cute little bird. Her mother went out to get some food for her child. On the way back it started raining heavily. Mother kept worrying about her child. On the other side, kid was sensing fear. She felt cold. Before situation gets worse, mother came. Consoled her child. Let her to sleep by singing a song to her. All night rain kept coming. Mother covered her kid in her wings. Cared her with warmth and love. After all night suffering to save her child, mother felt sleepy in the early morning and fell asleep.



Sun started showing up slowly in the morning. Due to lack of sleep, mother slept for some more time. When mother finally woke up, little cutie was not there. She shouted. She cried. But there was no sign of her kid. Morning was new and inspiring. Small bird went after her dreams forgetting her mom. Mon kept crying all day. Still lines " Manadi marugittu, taayiyu manadi marugittu" lines keep haunting me whenever i sing this song.

Is this story so true in our life too? In spirit of chasing our dreams, are we forgetting our relations. During old days, entire family used to celebrate festivals. Now those days are gone! We are becoming so needy and greedy. Friendship is getting limited to Facebook. Love is spreading over android apps. I am not saying modernization is bad, But it's taking over culture too much.


            People now a days are getting strong by mind and weak by heart. Every relationship has a value. Why do you think rape cases are getting more and more these days? Root cause is relationship value. Having an independent life is becoming a trend!!!  Mother burns herself like a candle to give us education and we leave her when she needs us. She treats our dream like her dream. That is because she loves us. she cares for us. There is one saying " Love without is sacrifice is like a theft"!!!

I read a message from my friend Sumukha few days ago " We wish to earn loads of money, but we have the best of times when we have just 10 bucks in pocket. We wish to wear high brands,but we feel more comfortable in pajama pants after playing in rain.We wish to sit in Taj and Marriot with elite people, but we enjoy roadside foods with friends the most. We wish to earn big cars yet we talk our heart while walking down a long road. We have 64 GB songs, but a song on radio brings smile". So true na? Life is simple. Live simple and love everyone. 

And for your reference you can feel the lyrics of the song :

 ಸಾಲು ಮರದ ಕೊಂಬೆ ನಡುವಲಿ ಹಕ್ಕಿಯ ಗೂಡು,
ಆ ಗೂಡಿನೊಳಗೆ ತಾಯಿ ಹಕ್ಕಿಯ ಲಾಲಿಯ ಹಾಡು
ಮಮತೆ ಮುತ್ತ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ತುತ್ತ ಸವಿದ ಮರಿ ಹಕ್ಕಿ
ಬೆಚ್ಚನೆ ರೆಕ್ಕೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಮಲಗಿತು ಸೊಕ್ಕಿ...

ಸುರಿವ ಮಳೆಯಲಿ, ಕೊರೆವ ಛಳಿಯಲಿ ತಾಯಿ ನಡುಗಿತ್ತು
ಮುದ್ದು ಮರಿಯ ಜೋಕೆ ಮಾಡಲು ತಾಯಿ ನೆನೆದಿತ್ತು
ತನ್ನ ಕಂದಗೆ ಧೈರ್ಯ ಹೇಳುತ ಹಾಡ ಗುನುಗಿತ್ತು
ಲಾಲಿ ಜೊತೆಯಲಿ ನೋವ ಸೆಲೆಯು ತುಂಬಿ ತುಳುಕಿತ್ತು
ಸ್ಥೈರ್ಯ ಕುಸಿದಿತ್ತು, ಮನಸಿನ ಸ್ಥೈರ್ಯ ಕುಸಿದಿತ್ತು.....

ಮೋಡ ಗುಡುಗಲು ಮುದ್ದು ಮರಿಯು ಬೆದರಿ ಅಳುಕಿರಲು
ತಾಯಿ ಮನದಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲೆ ಮೀರಿತು ಮಮತೆಯ ಅಳಲು
ಬೀಸೊ ಗಾಳಿಗೆ ಗೂಡು ಅಲುಗಲು ಮನವು ಕನರಿತ್ತು
ಕಣ್ಣಿನಂಚಲಿ ನೀರ ಹನಿಯ ಜಾರಿ ಬರುತಿತ್ತು
ಭಯವು ಕವಿದಿತ್ತು, ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಭಯವು ಕವಿದಿತ್ತು

ಮಳೆಯ ಆರ್ಭಟ ಮುಗಿವ ವೇಳೆಗೆ ಬೆಳಕು ಮೂಡಿತ್ತು
ನಿದ್ದೆಕಳೆದು ಹಕ್ಕಿಮರಿಗೆ ಎಚ್ಚರಾಗಿತ್ತು
ತಾಯ ತನ್ನಲಿ ಕಳೆದ ಕಾಂತಿಯು ಮತ್ತೆ ಹೊಳೆದಿತ್ತು
ಎದ್ದ ಹಕ್ಕಿಯು ತಾಯ ಮರೆತು ಹಾರಿ ಹೋಗಿತ್ತು
ಮನದಿ ಮರುಗಿತ್ತು ತಾಯಿಯು ಮನದಿ ಮರುಗಿತ್ತು



Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Following Forest Beauties !!!

When we friends go for a walk outside, we look for some entertainment for eyes. Looking for beautiful girls across the streets is very common in young age. Dont take me wrong ok !! .Some people admit it and discuss about beauties. Some people look carefully when no one is observing them. But beleive me,
people who discuss much are having  less wild imaginations than people who observe secretly!!!

              Same story continued when Few days back me and my friend went for "sight seeing" in Bangalore. We went for so long, but it was a boring journey. After walking for an hour or so, not even a single beauty appeared ! Suddenly i shouted "look there, so beautiful". My friend suddenly looked all around. Asked me iin confusion " What is beautiful? I m seeing nothing!". Then i said " No no. not girl. it flew away. It was a plain tiger!!". That is the impact of butterflies on me!

              This hunt started in Jog falls, where my friend Nikunj asked  "Why dont u photograph ? you hav good skills! ". That day surprisingly i found Rice caseworm moth. Shot came so beautiful which increased my belief in photography. So i started my photography work with a small Nikon 8 MP digital camera.


Rice Caseworm Moth (Parapoynx stagnalis)
                                           
                    But fun increased when i got to know about project Noah...Sumukha Javagal introduced me to the world of Noah. Beleive me friends, its an amazing site. Being a non biology student, i learnt so much about nature, met with very nice friends from all over the world. It is a fun way of learning life on earth! Seriously telling, i am getting more interested in Noah than compared to Facebook!


                                                     http://www.projectnoah.org/
           
                    Following (falling for!!!) unreachable things is human nature. So i oriented more towards flying creatures compared to moving creatures like caterpillars,beetles,spiders. Its very fun to chase a butterfly u know? First beauty i encountered is Banded blue pierrot.  Early morning in my native, Mugudthi, a small village with beautiful nature, i went for photo hunt. Suddenly i saw a small butterfly.But it was moving so randomly. It was a tiny little cutie. So i never gave up. Followed her. In fact i followed her for around 1 hour. Finally got a very beautiful picture. One interesting fact about her is "mud puddling" (refer the link) !

                                              Banded Blue Pierrot (Discolampa ethion)
                                         http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/14686005
                                              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud-puddling

               Following a butterfly itself is very fascinating. Then we enter a phase where we excited to share it with friends.Identifications and discussions will happen in project Noah. Its an amazing experience to discuss there. We ll be glad that this pic will help somehow in some research. Even we can enjoy beauty of nature, we can get some fresh air. We may get frustrated by sitting in AC office throughtout the week. Then we go for nature watch, which is very relaxing. Seriuosly friends, its an all in one job. You can get lot of knowledge from Intelligent Anthropologists.

                                                        My Project Noah Collection
                                    http://www.projectnoah.org/users/Adarsha%20B%20S

               Next to my collection are plain tiger, which i was talking about and common mormon, which was taking off from the ground! After that a Broken winged damselfly caught my sight. It is Fulvous Forest, So beautiful and adorable. But what to do? Being in software, i returned  to Bangalore for work.



                                              Common Mormon ( Papilio polytes)
                                        http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/13590166


                 Quite amazed to spot Common Eggfly in our PG garden bangalore. But after few days, i got to know that there are many species which can be spotted in bangalore. Lot of creatures will be concentrated in small gardens of bangalore.Inspite of heavy traffic, Bangalore has some hope for small creatures. We just need sharp eyes !

                                 Great Eggfly or Common Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina )
                                    http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/16165188
           
                Next i saw Common wanderer or double decker, when i went to native back. At first i thought it is having four wings and i imagined so many things. But Ashish Nimkar explained to me that "All butterflies have pair of upperwings and underwings. Its lucky shot where you grabbed wings movement in different directions"!!!!

                             Common Wanderer (Pareronia valeria)
                       http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/16368140

             Blue tiger and dark blue tiger are two interesting butterflies which i spotted during Kumaraparvatha trekking! Blue tiger is actually moth. But it flies so high and so fast, that it looks like butterfly itself.
                                         Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis)
                                    http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/15771944
                   Still few are there in the list such as Studded sergeant, Red pierrrot, Pied paddy skimmer, Smooth eyed bushbrown, common lime and baronet. You can see the pics and for more details, you can always refer to the links.


                                       Common lime (Papilio demoleus)
                            http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/17020839


                                                                   Unknown still
                                         http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/16997878


                   Believe me friends, when we try to follow a "butterfly" (girlfriend) in city, we will face lots of problems. we keep spending your pocket money on her, we buy gifts for her we care for her, we take her out. If everything goes well, then good. Else relationship ends and we end up sad  and lonely. But look at this job! we will enjoy thrill of chasing them at first. After getting pictures, we can share them with friends. We can learn a lot and at the same time we can have a lifetime collection. We can learn photography and we can get as much as attached to nature.

But there are certain things you can only get from girlfriends, not from butterflies. Naughty friends out there, dont ask me what it is!!! :) :P