Bande Gundi KoLa (ಬಂಡೆಗುಂಡಿ ಕೊಳ)
Being in nature is one of the activities which gives immense
peace and happiness to our minds. Just a nature walks or hiking or watching
birds, animals fulfil this aspect. There are a lot of places around Bangalore where
half day or one full day activities of this kind can be done. One of these is a small hike to Bande Gundi KoLa
situated near Magadi. It is around 55km from my home. This place was suggested
by my friend Prasad who had been there last December.
Idea came in my mind last Thursday night and I discussed
with Shwetha on Friday morning over the tea. This being a small hike and gives
my kid Pratham a starting step to begin with, Shwetha readily agreed towards
the plan. We planned to go on Saturday morning after our maid finishes the
daily cleaning activity.
We had breakfast in nearby Darshini. We had Rava Idli and Mangalore Buns. It was very delicious.
We took Nelamangala route, towards Hassan. We took left near
Mahadevapura. Once we enter this road, it looked like entering the new world. It
was very peaceful with less traffic.
This road towards our destination is surrounded by picturesque
sceneries. There were a lot of coconut and areca nut tree gardens on the both
sides. In some areas there were Mango orchards. There was a Jackfruit tree
which was having more than 50 jackfruits. Shwetha was awestruck seeing that
many numbers of jackfruit in one tree. There were also a lot of farms where
farmers were ploughing and preparing for cultivation. These are the things
which is not seen in our busy city life.
After around 11 km, we took right to an unpaved rocky road (There
is a board indicating the way to Siddhaloka Ashram ). After some distance road
will become proper and within a km, Siddhaloka an Ashram (http://www.siddhaloka.org/) is there. There were no body at the entrance of the ashram. We came to know that we need to give prior intimation to visit ashram. We parked our car outside the gate where our
hiking starts.
Pratham was enthralled to see the nature and was running on the green grass which was like a thick carpet.
We need to go in a roundabout skirting the hills. There were a lot of plants and bushes on our path due to recent rains. The path was almost invisible and uneven. We made our way and went ahead. We went along with the fence of Ashram. After some distance of 50 meters, we came across the rocky hill which we need to climb. However, that was bit steep, so we took left turn to find out the suitable place where we can climb. After another 50 meters, we took right along with the bottom of hill. After some distance, we took one more right to touch the bottom of the hill from which we can climb the rocky hill.
The climb of the hill over its rocky side took less than 5 minutes. When we reached the top, the panoramic view was ultimate. It is surrounded by green plains, forests, another rocky hills.
There is a small pond over the top of the hill. As it is a rainy season, a lot of Frogs were there in that pond. Whenever we went near the pond, the frogs which were there near the border used to jump inside the pond. Some times the frogs were floating and were visible however when we went near, they used to get frightened and went inside. Pratham was throwing some grass in the pond and frogs used to think that they were insects and were running towards it trying to catch. Thus, frogs were playing hide and seek in that pond.
There is one small temple kind of structure on the top of
hill. Pratham climbed over it and was playing. Even we went and sat there. There
was a cool breeze which was giving soothing effect to our body. Pratham was
going up and down while we sat seeing his naughty activities. As we were the
only members, the place was so calm and only nature’s sound was heard.
There were a variety of butterflies. We could see at least 5
to 6 species. Shwetha was telling that here there are more butterflies than in
the Butterfly Park. Always natural environment will yield much of these than
the containment zone where they will keep them in restricted environment. There
were also a lot of birds. We could hear a lot of calls though some species were
visible viz. Bee-eater, Babblers, Collared pigeons.
After some time, we made our descent. It was faster than
ascent and we made our way back home. Pratham was telling that he wants to do these
kinds of trips quite often.
On the way back we came across a hamlet where a lot Sheep
were on the road. They were not at all moving. Of course, we, the human beings
have made road in their meadows. There was a cattle shed where two cows were
feeding milk to their infant calves. There were a lot of hens with their chicks
roaming around. There was a small cat doing circus over the pipe. Pratham
wanted that cat to be taken home. It was a very good experience being in a
village and seeing the domestic animals.
In all the villages we came across, people were friendly and
happy. Shwetha and myself were discussing; money alone is not the reason for
happiness. Even we were from a lower middle-class background and we were also
happy at that time. Normally we falsely assume that as we are having more money,
we are happy. However, it is the other way round. As money increases our needs
also will increase and after fulfilling that we tend to be happy and the cycle
continues.
Being with the nature, doing a small hiking all three of us
were happy. Even though it was just a half day trip, it was very good and
refreshing. Like this we should find happiness in small things and main thing
is we should pass this message to next generation.
With this happy mood, we came back to Bangalore
Panoramic Views from Top
