Participants: 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, 6 wheelers, Trailers …
Contestants: Any user ir-respective of age
Vehicle: Any make, Local/Foreign
License: Not mandatory
Driving Skills: Not essential
Circuit: Bangalore – Mysore State Highway
Race Type: Death race
Timings: Open 24 hrs

The very good about this race track is that it is open to unrestricted public viewing and any one can participate from anywhere on that circuit and tend to increase on weekends. The track makes it’s way through small villages as well as some major cities, making it easily accessible to all the contestants.

Since I planned to push on updates on the track and the race status, I hoped into a Tata Indica and joined the already moving race group. I met the group at the Mysore intersection, one way coming from the city while the other being from the by-pass. Our driver was driving at 100 kmph, when I am being zoomed passed by 5 cars and when queried about the speed to him, he promptly said around 120-140 kmph. Our driver put his foot on the gas, and woh, we were also on par with them at 110 kmph. One Mercedes Benz and a Skoda Laura have just zoomed pass me at around 150 kmph leaving all of us behind trying to be the first. There is hardly and space between the two of the cars. If one puts on the brakes, I am sure the other would just ramp on the other. With both flashing indicators, they were just passing each one of us in the race track.

As we were cruising along on that speed, oh, what do I see! I see a cyclist trying to make it’s way on the the circuit. As far as I can see, he is seated on his Hero cycle, with one hand holding on to the cycle while the other hand trying to adjust his `lungi`, which does not seem be holding on to his waist. God, please don’t take his `lungi` off, else their might be a sudden increase in the Testosterone level in some contestants.

My driver would just shift the gears in order to lessen the speed along with the breaks. Oh what an idea, though it leaves the engine burning. As we are competing with one another, I notice a a group of villagers walking just beside the circuit, one set trying to cross the circuit and the other happily sitting by the side of the circuit gossiping, while our contestants are zooming by. Oh no. God save them.

The space that is between the cars is hardly a meter and everyone takes it granted that the former would not stop. The best part is that all the big vehicles would be driving on the extreme right so that other’s would have overtake through the left, a new overtake rule. They are the Big B’s of the road and would not give any indication while changing lanes making it difficult for us to shift and overtake. One needs to squeeze past them as we and fellow racers did.

I reached Bangalore and was lucky enough to complete the race and come out unharmed. Will update once again when I would be a part of the race. With government easing on the speed breakers rules on the roads, hope to have some more excitement as days go by.

This is Ophiophagus signing off for the day.

1. K.Parthasarathy
2. Sudhir P.
3. Puskar Paranjpe
4. Myself

Date: 12th – 14th February, 2010

Iruppu or Irpu Falls lies on the Karnataka side of Brahmagiri. According to legend, when Rama and Lakshmana were searching for Sita, they became thirsty. Lakshmana shot an arrow into the Brahmagiri from which the river sprang. The falls is also known as the Lakshmana Tirtha Falls, derived from the name of the tributary of Cauvery which starts from these falls, the Lakshmana Tirtha River. The Rameshwara Temple is situated on the banks of the Lakshmana Tirtha River, en route to the Falls. This temple attracts a large number of pilgrims during the festival of Shivaratri.

Brahmagiri is a mountain range in the Western Ghats of South India, situated on the border between Wayanad district of Kerala state on the south and Kodagu district in Karnataka on the north. Brahmagiri Hill, at 1608 m height, is a scenic place with lot’s of Shola’s and lot of wildlife.

Route Information:

Irupu is situated at 48km from Virajpet and around 260km from Bangalore. One needs to take a bus to Gonikopal from Bangalore and from there catch a bus to the falls. Once after reaching there, you would find the Rameshwara Temple at the base of it. You need to take a walk for about 3 kms from the temple base to the falls. The best time would be during the monsoon season when the falls would be filled with water, but however during our visit on the 2nd week of February , water was still in abundant.

A forest trail leads from the Irupu falls leads to the Brahmagiri Peak in Southern Kodagu. You need to take permission from the Forest Officials for enduring the trek. Moreover the important thing is that you need to carry your own food in case you are planning to stay at the forest guest house at night. You need to feed yourselves as well as your guide. Water is in abundance and you can have pure mineral water from the streams. It is around 10 kms from the falls to Brahmagiri. It is quiet a pleasant walk through the valley except near the peak where the steep is somewhat more. You will find lots of elephant dungs and in case you are lucky could spot one also. We were able to spot one Sambhar and tiger footmarks, which was 2 days old.

RFO Srimangala Contact Details/Phone number:

a. Srinivas Naik (RFO) – 09481989970
b. Pramod (RFO Office Assistant) – 09448813835
c. Pavan (Forest Guide) – 09900328596

Travel Itinerary (3 days)

1.   23:32 hrs – Take a bus to Gonikoppalu from Mysore Satellite Bus stand
2.   04:45 hrs – Reach Gonikoppalu
3.   05:35 hrs – Catch First Bus to Srimangala
4.   06:15 hrs – Reach Srimangala
The RFO office opens at 08:30 hrs, so you need to kill time which means you can have breakfast etc.
5.   08:30 hrs – The RFO office opens
6.   08:50 hrs – Get all the necessary approvals
Entrance Fee to the Forest – Rs. 40/- per person, Trekking Fee – Rs 600/-
Night Halt – Rs 500/- for 1 person, Rs 100/- per extra, Guide Charge – Rs 300/-
7.   09:20 hrs – Catch bus to Irupu Falls
8.   09:45 hrs – Reached Irupu Falls Base, get hold of the forest guide
9.   10:00 hrs – Start of the trek to reach the Forest Rest House
10. 12:15 hrs – Reach the Forest Rest house
11. 13:05 hrs – Start towards Brahmagiri
12. 14:30 hrs – Reach the base of Brahmagiri
13. 14:50 hrs – Reach the summit
14. 15:15 hrs – Start descending from the peak
15. 16:48 hrs – Reach the rest house
You need to wash utensils, collect dry woods to prepare your food.
16. 18:30 hrs – Start cooking
17. 19:30 hrs – Dinner over
18. 20:45 hrs – Bed time
19. 06:30 hrs – Get up and shoot some morning photographs
20. 08:00 hrs – Start descending from the rest house
21. 09:05 hrs – Reach Irupu Falls
You can spend 40 mins in the falls
22. 10:05 hrs – Catch bus from Irupu to Gonikoppalu
23. 11:30 hrs – Reach Gonikoppalu/ Eat and Drink
24. 13.57 hrs – Catch KSRTC Airavat to Bangalore
25. 19:45 hrs – At Kempegowda Bus Stand (Majestic)

One liner:

1. Partha – Bhison Prokandu Hati !!
2. Puskar – Misti Khabe?

Courtesy:

a. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmagiri_(hill)
b. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irupu_Falls

1. Abul Hasim
2. Myself

Date: 24th Janurary, 2010

The Big Banyan tree located in the village of Ramohalli, around 28 kilometers from the city. It was a single plant covering around 3 acres, but the main root cease to exist now. Locals say that it is at least 400 years old.

The Manchanabele Dam is further down another 9 kms from the place. The dam is built in the catchment area where the rivers Arkavathy and Kumudvathy meet. The place is all surrounded by rocky hills. You can have a leisurely walk on the cris-cross country road. You can have a dip in the waters also, which seems tempting.

Route Information:

Take the Bangalore Mysore highway. After Kengeri take the right after Rajarajeshwari Dental College and Hospital. You will come across the railway crossing. Follow the raod which will lead to the place. There is a direct bus also from K R Market, 227.

Further down from that place, you will find a circle. Take the left towards ISRO centre. You could find the huge antennas on the left. Move further down on the same road you will have a full view of the lake from the hill top (road) itself. It is almost 9 kilometers from the Big Banyan tree.

Images: http://ophiophagus.assamonnet.org/album/BBT_Manchanabele_Dam

1. Ashok Rao
2. Prem Chandra Gautam
3. H. S. Venkatramana
4. Abul Hasim
5. Myself

Date: 16th Janurary, 2010

Devanahalli Fort is located 35 kilometers north of Bangalore city, at Devanahalli in the State of Karnataka, India. It was originally built in 1501 by Mallabairegowda and later on passed on to Nanjarajaiah, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan. The birth place of Tipu Sultan is also located near the fort.

Route Information:

The fort is spread over an area of 20 acres. The roughly oval east oriented fortification veneered with dressed masonry has as many as 12 semi-circular bastions at regular intervals. A spacious battlement is provided towards the inner side of the fortification. The fort has entrances decorated with cut plasterwork at the east and west. The entrance is quite small. The bastions are provided with gun points built with lime and brick. The best part of the fort was that it consisted of 3 layers making in invincible for it to break, and hence I assume that the fort walls are still intact.

Jain Temple:

The Jain Temple is around 3 kms from the fort. You can take the left road from the Devanahalli bus stand. While traveling, you will find the temple on your right.

Sai Temple:

Further towards Chikbalapur, some where around 5 kms from the Jain Temple is the Sai temple towards your right. You will find the meditation centre also there.

Images: http://ophiophagus.assamonnet.org/album/Fort_Devanahalli

Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devanahalli_Fort

1. Anil Naik
2. Shrikant Gaikwad
3. Abul Hasim
4. Myself

Date: 25th Dec 2009

Karwar is the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India. It is a seaside town situated on the banks of the Kali river which is on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. The town lies about 15 kilometres south of the Karnataka-Goa border and 519 km north-west of Bangalore.

Goa is India’s smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located on the west coast of India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast.

Day 1:
A day at Karwar:

Karwar city was a small one. You could walk across the whole city on foot. The railway station is just 7 km from the main city Bus station. Road’s are clean and the best part was that, there were no traffic signals, Woh!

Rabindra Nath Tagore Beach, which lies on the by-pass to Goa, seems a lonely beach during the afternoon hours as we experienced. But as the sun was going down the horizon, crowds gather up to see the sunset. It was a great experience. The strong hitting of the waves against our body was a great feeling.

Day 2:
A day at Goa:

Beaches, Beaches and Beaches with bikini clad firangi’s, and Indian trying to match them.

Day 3:
A day at Devbagh beach resort, Karwar:

Devbagh resort is one of the few resorts from the forest departments of Karnataka. Actually it is just a few kilometers from Karwar city. You can either take a boat ride or a bus from Karwar itself. In case you are taking the boat ride you can see the Kali river meeting the Arabian sea. You can have a full/half day at the resort. Cottages/Tents are also available therein. You need to book the tickets in advance. The beach is some sort of a private beach wherein you are all on yourself. Water is crystal clear. You can actually find lot of small crabs all along the beach, though they are not at all dangerous. We had enjoyed very much. It is better not to venture out in the sea during the high tide.

After the visit from the resort, Shrikant and myself went to the INS Chappal, an Indian Navy Ship which is currently a museum at Karwar. We were able to see the machinery that runs an warship along with the ammunitions that it had carried while it was in commission, torpedo’s, gun’s and launcher’s. Proud of Indian Navy.

Day 4:
A day at Goa:

Beaches, Beaches and Beaches with bikini clad firangi’s and Indians trying to match them.

The good thing that I found was that, the beaches are being in constant vigilance by the Goa Tourism Department. Rescuers are positioned in many places with flags marking the area where swimming is to be carried out or not. This is being runned by the government through an organization named “Shristhi”. The rescuers are being well equipped with water proof walkie-talkies in order to communicate with each other and first aid kits. The only thing that the rescuers complained about was, that Indians would drink and swim in deep sea(some does not know how to swim), and would never follow the instructions specified, We Indians!. It is through their relentless efforts/vigilances of the guards like Anil, Madhav et all, that has made it possible for the Goa-n beaches to be safe and thereby reducing the number of mishaps that had occurred in the past. I salute them for their effort/service.

One liner: We should have control (Anil).

Lodging/Food at Karwar:

1. Hotel Navaratna Deluxe
2. Hotel Amrut

Last but not the least, a good place to visit with friends, eat and drink.

Goa Images: http://ophiophagus.assamonnet.org/album/Goa
Karwar Images: http://ophiophagus.assamonnet.org/album/Karwar
Devbagh Beach: http://ophiophagus.assamonnet.org/album/Devbagh_Resort

1. Shrikant Gaikwad
2. Myself

Date: 22nd November, 2009

Thottikallu falls is more popularly known as TK falls. The falls is on the Bangalore – Kanakpura road, hosting a a small shrine just beside it. The best time to visit is after the monsoon rains. We were lucky to find the falls in full flow. The falls can be reached via the Banerghatta road also.

Route Information:

The falls is around 45 kms from Mekhri Circle.Get on the Bangalore – Kanakpura highway. Drive on the road till you reach `Art of Living`. After you cross the centre, you will reach Thottikallu cross which is around 3.5 kms from there. Take a left from there. Drive all along the way till you reach a reach a rehabilitation centre for psychiatric disorder by the name `Adrutha`. Opposite you will find a road. Take a left therein. After around 1 km take the first right. Ask the locals in this area as you might miss this. The road is in bad condition, but work is going on. Follow the road which will lead you to the falls. The falls is around 5 kms from the Thottikallu cross.

1. Shrikant Gaikwad
2. Myself

Date: 1st November, 2009

Hesaraghatta Lake is a man-made reservoir located 18 km to the northeast of Bangalore. It is a fresh water lake created in the year 1894 across the Arkavathy River to meet the drinking water needs of the Bangalore city.

Route Information:

The lake is around 27 kms from the main Bangalore city located besides the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research. Ride via NH4 till you reach Vidyanagar. Take a right towards Hasaraghatta main road. Drive the road till you reach an arch stating “Indian Institute of Horticultural Research” on the right. Move further on that institute road towards the Central Bank. Just 200 meters from there, you find the lake on your left. Road condition is very good all throughout.

The other way is to go via Jalahalli -> Doda Byalakere -> Hasaraghatta main road. Road condition is not good.

1. Purushottom Suryarao and Family
2. Shrikant Gaikwad
3. Myself

Date: 1st October, 2009

Images:- http://ophiophagus.assamonnet.org/album/Gokarna

1. Shrikant Gaikwad
2. Myself

Date: 28th September, 2009

Chunchi falls is created by the river Arkavati and has rocks all along with path. Due to constant water flow, the rocks have shaped to different shapes. It provides a wonderful view for the nature lover and have lots from artistic view point.

Route Information:

Chunchi falls is located in Kanakpura Taluk in Bangalore District. There are two ways of reaching to there. One is via Santhanur. One needs to take the road to Sathanur Junction via Kanakpura. Take a the road on the left towards Mekedatu. One needs to travel some 18 kms to reach one the same road. One will find a marking saying Chunchi Falls to be 6 kms. Take the road on the left as marked. The other option is take the left after one reaches Kanakpura. You will find some sort of small circle (a small statue is there in the middle of the road). The right hand side of the road takes to Santhanur while the left hand goes to Sangam/Mekedatu. Take this road which will later get linked to the road towards Mekedatu as mentioned above. The road does not have any markings, so it better to ask the locals. They are quiet helpful in this regard. The place is around 95kms from Bangalore (Mekhri Circle).

1. Shrikant Gaikwad
2. Myself

Date: 27th September, 2009

Bull Temple is positioned at the southern end of Bull Temple Road in Bangalore. The temple is located in Basavangudi. The special attraction of the temple is a huge structure of bull made out of a single piece of stone. The temple is said to have been built by Kempe Gowda in 1537 A.D. A statue of Shiva is also there just behind the bull. The structure has a height of about 4 meters and a length of about 6 meters.

Route Information:

The temple is located at Basavangudi, Bangalore and is at the southern end of the Bull Temple Road. The best way to find the route is to do a search of http://maps.google.com and enter the keywords as Bull Temple, Bangalore. It is about 20 kms from Mekri Circle.