Escapade to flood hit North Karnataka

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The movie Twister is very familiar to many. So are the many documentaries about storm chasing. What we cousins did was virtually the same – not that audacious though. It was supposed to be a trip to the temple towns Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami along with Gokak. The plans were good and everything had been set. Enthusiastically, the 6 of us – Me, Sumanth, Suni, Dinu, Ananda and Arvinda – gathered at the majestic bus stand for the 8:30 bus. The bus was right on the time – for the last time! The only thing that kept our sides from then on was bad luck.

After what seemed to me like a tea break, I woke up to find the bus to be stranded in Chitradurga, waiting for a mechanic to arrive. An hour or so evaporated. Finally, after the repair, I slept. Yet again, after a couple of hours of sleep, I woke up to see the bus being grounded. This time, a traffic jam! Mining lorries queued up for almost 2 Kms. By the time the bus moved, it was 8 in the morning and we still had half way to cover. Knowing that we would be a good half a day behind schedule, we reworked with the plan. But, our luck was such that whatever we decided would become futile. Ignoring the ill fate, we began to play Uno for the rest of the journey. The almost empty bus helped us. By 12:30 in the afternoon, we came to a place called Belur. We had a bridge to pass through. It was flooded. Remember I had said we were going to troubled places; well this was just the beginning. The entire North Karnataka was facing a flood situation. In fact, the places we were visiting were isolated. We got off the bus after 16 hours of journey. Wading through knee high flowing water, with our bags we reached the other side. Bad news awaited us. Another bridge, across river Mallaprabha, had been flooded. We booked an auto (what they called Tum Tum) as he promised us to take to Badami via a different route. But he said we should pass through 3 such small bridges. Taking our chances, we cashed our chips. The first two were a cake walk. Me and Dinu tested the ground and gave the go ahead for the auto to pass. But the third one was way too difficult for an auto. Dejected, we had to come back. The last of the cards we could play with was to catch a train. So, we went to a station called Mallapura. It was 3:45 by the time we reached there. Luck continued to elude us. We missed a train by 15 minutes. The next one was a good 2 hours later on. Rain started to pelt. The wind was chilly. The wind only grew and didn’t show any signs of slowing. Finally, at 6 in the evening, after 2 hours of enduring the harsh weather, we got into the train. For the first time in the day, we believed we would reach Badami. After crossing a few “pools” of water, we reached the hotel. The cozy beds awaited us. After eating our stomach’s full, we fell asleep – in relief.

The next day, the first thing we decided was, to return to Bangalore in the train that evening, if it continued to rain as it did the first day. But, the rain on the second day had lessened. In fact, it was a clear day, save for a few clouds. We booked a taxi and decided to visit Aihole and Pattadakal. Little did we know that they were isolated. Instead, we visited Mahakoota and Banashankari. The way to Mahakoota was cut off. I mean literally. A part of the road, under which the water used to flow, had chopped that part entirely. We had to pass on a “pipe-bridge” to reach the temple. Mahakoota is popularly known as the “Dakshina Kaashi”. The temple had a unique rustic feel. There was innumerable number of Shiva Lingas. After the visit and a brief photo session, we headed to Banashankari. Enroute, we started to receive calls – worried calls. The only news on TV was about North Karnataka. Everyone had become worried. But, the place where we were was quiet safe. In fact, we had started to enjoy this adventure. Once at Banashankari, we visited the temple and headed back. On our way back, we visited the bridge that had held us the first day. River Mallaprabha was in fury. The bridge’s portion was barely visible. The only part that we could see was the highest part of it – the pillars.

With the rain God showing mercy, we could see the Badami caves. The caves would have been seen in about half an hour had it not been for the guide. With the explanation, the caves seemed all the more beautiful. There were four caves. One is the Jain Basadi; one is for Shiva and two for Vishnu. Of the remarkable carvings, the Nataraja with 18 hands, Sheshaaseena, Shantha Narasimha, Vamana incarnation of Vishnu would remain etched in your minds for a long time. What’s special about the Nataraja sculpture is that it depicts the entire 81 postures described in Natyashastra by Bharata Muni (with permutation and combination with the 18 hands). Another wonderful notion was the Sheshaaseena. The posture portrayed, was how Pulakeshi, the king used to sit. So, what the people fathomed in those times was that the king was a human form of God.

After visiting all the caves, we visited the Bhootanatheshwara temple in the Agasthya Teertha Lake. This was the same temple where Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai get married in Guru. And after a short trek to the Upper Shivalaya, we were finished with Badami. The same day, we reached Alamatti. When we were almost there, it started to rain – for the first time that day!

The surprise package was Alamatti. We had thought of leaving Alamatti by 9, after seeing the Dam. But, it was not to be. We were told the park was a must see. Once there, we got to know, there were not one, but three parks to visit. Reluctantly, we got to the first one – Krishna Park. It was awesome. The statues that were displayed were very close to real life. Very realistic. The next one was the Lava Kusha Park. Being inaugurated only 10 days ago, it was beyond awesome. No prizes for guessing the theme of this park – story of Lava Kusha. The scenes displayed in this park were such that even the very minute details were taken care of. The dam from the park was a sight to behold. The last and the biggest of all, was the Rock Garden. With time running out, we wanted to finish this as soon as possible. But, yet again, things were not as we expected. This was huge. And good. An entire zoo had been created – in rock. There were even scenes of villages in one part. But the finale was the ultimate piece of creativity displayed. The view from atop was breathtaking – An Indian map at the center, with rays protruding out, like the sun.

What we had planned to leave Alamatti by 9, was now 12. We left for Gokak falls. By 3, we were in a Khanavali at Gokak. For the first time in 3 days, we tasted ‘Jola rotti’ and ‘sajje rotti’ – what we had waited to feed on. After eating to the brim, we headed to the much anticipated Gokak Falls. Another waterfall, Godachinmalki, was 12 Kms away from Gokak falls. So we decided to visit that first and then see Gokak falls. We had been told that we needed to trek through a couple of farms to reach the falls. With about 2 Kms to go, we had to wade through waist high fast flowing stream. Encouraged by the villagers, we crossed the stream and walked towards the falls. We were the only 6 people going towards the falls. Had we strayed, there was no help! The path too, didn’t show any mercy. Pools of water had to be passed through. Not to mention were the muddy path which was hard to set foot. But having gone through such trouble, the climax was thrilling enough. The sheer volume of water made a chill run down the spine. Standing at least a good 50 meters away, we were filled with a strange feeling of fright and ecstasy. Never had I seen such quantity of water. Relishing the scene, we had to hurry back. It was 5:15 in the evening. The walk back took nearly 40 minutes. By the time we reached Gokak Falls, it was 6. Darkness had slowly begun to encompass us. Gokak falls too was flowing to its fullest. The sound of the gushing water was intense. Sadly though, we could spend only a few moments here. With the return journey booked, we had to be in Hubli by 10:30. With no intentions of taking chances, we left Gokak by 7.

All we were hoping was a trip to the temples. What we got was an adventure that we had not even dreamt of. This was an experience of a lifetime. Here is a quote that reflects our trip in a nutshell.
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered

Here is a link to some of the photos…
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/bharaths9688/BadamiTrip#