Trekking @ ಶಿವಗಂಗೆ (Shivagange)

9:00am 11, October 2008

The quick planning on Friday night and we were heading north this time on the Tumkur Road.

Vidyarthi Bhavan
Our schedule got changed on Saturday morning as we woke up late ;) We planned a breakfast at Vidyarthi Bhavan on Gandhi Bazaar, a typical Udupi style hotel, the morning crowd was showing its popularity! It was a hotel of its kind, in the way the waiters bring the masala dosa. Stomach full we were on our bike and started the journey forward at 9:00am. The speciality of this trip was addition of a Honda Activa to our riding club and it was comparable in performance to our Bikes!! After a lazy start on the Bangalore traffic we were off to the Nelamangala(10:30am 42km). The toll road between Nelamangala and Tumkur is the drivers delight. My pulsar touched 95kmph without much effort!! We reached Dabaspet(53km) and finally Shivagange (60km) at 11:30am.

Lets the Trekking begin

Small gopura welcomes you to Shivagange, a small sleepy village with few houses. There are few temples on the way as you start climbing the hill. Honnadevi temple, Olakal Theertha (Where you have to put your hands inside a small hole and if you are lucky enough, you will be able to touch the water!! Strange Myth). Till here it was very easy climbing. Our trekking started from here. Halfway it is mud and granite hill and the other half is only large granite boulders. A mother carrying her small son on her shoulders, inspired us to complete the climb. The final ascent is really mind blowing with a 90° climb on small granite carved steps. At around 1:00pm we were on ground zero. There is a small temple of Giri Gangadhareshwara. There is another single stone Nandhi carved out of the granite. It looks like it is being placed on a granite pillar :) People of all age groups could be seen climbing the hill. You will be accompanied by monkeys on the whole trekking. Juices(water) and snacks available en route in many spots. The cool breeze on the top made us to forget the tiredness of the climb. The descent was quick and we were at the base camp in half an hour. Bidding adieu to Shivagange at 2:00pm we were on our journey back and had lunch at a roadside Daba.

The NICE road...

We wanted to avoid the traffic on Tumkur road and took the NICE road instead. The newly constructed 4 lane road took our breath away. The drizzling rain multiplied the riding experience on the express way. Highlight was my Pulsar touching 100kmph. We had to criss cross Magadi Road, Mysore Road, and finally the Kanakapura road(Total distance 30km). We got off at the Kanakapura road and joined the melee called B'lore traffic. We reached room at 5:30pm

ನಮ್ಮೂರ ನೊಡಲು ಚಂದ.....

We: Avinash, Girish, Naveen, Santhosh, Sathish, Shashidhar
Transport: Activa, Pulsar, XCD
Distance Covered - 150km

Tirumala Tirupathi Venkatesha...

13, July 2008

On the back drop of my cousins marriage we had the chance to visit Tirupathi.
It was my second trip to Tirupathi, but first in train. The Tirupathi passenger reached Tirupathi at 6:00am (Left Majestic, b'lore at 8:30pm - One of the longest journey :( route to Tirupathi ) And went to Tirumala engaing a maxi cab(Tirupathi - Tirumala 22km). After getting fresh we engaged the same cab to visit places around Tirupathi. We visited Hanuman Statue, Kapila theertha, ISCKON temple, Srinivasa Mangapuram, Padmavathi Ammam, Sri Kalahasthi(Pictures down in order. Tirupathi - Kalahasti 33km). It was good fun to tour around with cousins and relatives.

14, July 2008
The next day early morning we had Timmappa Darshan (AAD- Archana Anantha Darshanam 6:00am). The remaining day was spent on attending the marriage. We left Tirumala amid heavy rain to catch the Mysore Passenger train at 9:30pm, which will take us back to Bangalore.

Kaaveriya Madilalli...

6:30am 27, October 2007

On a chilly winter morning of October our Sumo was zipping on the majestic Mysore road. The following two days were memorable as we went off to see the most beautiful places on the banks of river Kaveri. The rain god was playing hide and seek through-out the trip, though never came in our way!!

The planning was done my chikkappa and one more chikki & Co. joined the trip. The small crowd of two family and my cousin added glitter to the trip. First place to visit was the Dodda Aladamara about 10-15 km from Kengeri off Mysore road. The road had gone completely bad and the driver had to virtually drive on water clogged road because of rain. It was 7:15am when we reached there. A tree of 400 years history and a temple was quite interesting to watch. After spending some time we were off to next place via Chennapattana, Madduru and Mandya.

Srirangapatna
After having small break at Madduru to pack Madduru vaDa, we reached SrirangapaTTaNa at around 9:30am. After cleaning our self :) in the river Kaveri (Anjaneya Temple) we went to the Bailey's Dungeon, a place where prisoners were held in the time Tipu Sultan. The Temple: The abode of Ranganatha Swamy has a history of several centuries. The hoysala architecture is festival to eye. The Ranganatha swamy in shesha shayana form brought the memories of my visit to SriRangam in Trichy (Apr 2003). Then we headed to the Daria Daulat, the summer palace of Tipu Sultan. A well maintained small palace in the center of a big garden (called Daria Daulat Bhaugh). We could see the Jumma Masjid and the place where Tipu was killed on the way to Daria Daulat. We missed Tipu sulthan tomb (Which I covered later when I visited the same place with my Team a month later: Mausoleum Of Tipu Sulthan and his family members in the middle of a lush green garden)

Ranganathittu
11:00 am -12:00 noon
Protected bird Sanctuary with boating facility at 12km from Srirangapatna. We had to be satisfied with watching only a few birds, as it was not a breading season.(Breading season is Jan-March something). The boating was fun with constant fear of alligator!! The few bird varieties were White Ibis (Japan), Red Wittled Livington, river turn, stone plower, spoon bill. Having enjoyed the boat ride, we were off to our next part of the journey.

Mysore - Zoo, Palace and KRS
Reached Mysore at 12:15pm and headed straight to Zoo (12:30 to 2:30). Quick lunch at nearby hotel and we were next to the majestic Mysore palace. My cousin, who is studying in Mysore too joined us. For our luck, we had the chance to see the Chair of Mysore Kings, Simhasana and the Golden Houda, on which idol of the goddess chamundeswari is carried during dasara. We also visited the museum nearby. Evening we headed Brindavan garden and the KRS dam (6:30pm - 7:45pm). The highlight of the evening was music fountain watched by thousands at Brindavan garden. We booked a dormitary at Royale Lodge near to St. Philomena's church and I went to have a quick look at the Shashi's hostel in Mysore. Finishing dinner there, I headed back to lodge. The day came to an end at 10:00pm

Mysore - Chamundi Betta
8:00am 28, October 2007
Before the starting of the second day, saw the the St. Philomena's church, one of the oldest church in Southern India. Next, on the outskirts of the city (6km) we headed for the Chamundi betta and had the divine darshan of Goddess Chanmundeshwari and the biggest Nandi statue. We had our breakfast at a roadside hotel on way to Nanjanagudu.

Nanjanagudu

10:00am-11:00am
Another beautiful place 25km away from Mysore, is the temple dedicated to the Lord Nanjundeshwara. The Brown colored gopura was the start attraction.

Talakkad
12:30pm
On a rugged road we reached Talakkad via T. Narasipur and engaged a guide to show the place. It was a place with great historic and mythological importance. The remains of a old Temple, acres of sand dunes in the middle of fertile land, a number of temples , the story associated with, all were all very exciting. Having lunch at the "house-cum-hotel" we headed for the Sangama at around 2:30pm. It is the confluence of river Kaveri and another river. River Kaveri flows very shallow here and is ideal to take bath and play around.
Shivanasamudram
Last leg of our tour included the visit to the falls formed by river Kaveri. 30 km from Talakkad on the way to Kollegala, we reached first of the two falls. It is called the Bharachukki (3:30pm). We had to walk down to reach the bottom of the fall, where river was falling with all its might. It is one of the widest falls that I had ever seen. There were theppa's available for a stroll, but we did not have time to experience it :(Nearby we have the Gaganachukki falls(4:30pm) which falls from a very high point. It has two views, one behind a Mosque and another near man made viewing point. We preferred the former, which had the choice of getting down to the water. Spending some time in the water we headed back to our Sumo(5:00pm), which will take us back to Bangalore. Final journey was around 125 km and we passed Malavalli (6:00pm) Madduru (7:15pm) and reached bangalore at 8:15pm. Having dinner at a hotel on the Ring Road, we reached home at 8:45pm.
It was coincidence that we visited many places which were associated with river Kaveri: Srirangapatna and Ranganthittu gloried on the river Kaveri, Mysore where it is in the stagnant form, in Dam. Talakkad, it just disappears and again come back in Sangama, in Peaceful form. In Shivana Samudra it falls in two different places. Finally in B'lore where it comes in Tap :)

The smell of the paddy fields and scenic mountains in the distance, the cloudy weather and the cool breeze, small villages, the cattles ,was appearing as if it was calling us...ಮರಳಿ ಬಾ ಕಾವೇರಿಯ ಮಡಿಲಿಗೆ.... (maraLi Baa.... Kaveriya Madilige)

Racing the monsoon...

7:30pm 2, July 2008

The day just went by finishing all the paper work, in my new office. Evening, I started off to my room and the rain started pouring with all its might. Knowing very well the B'lore rain, which stops in half an hour, I just stopped by at a Bus Stop. To my surprise, it continued raining for more than an hour or two. The crowd at the bus stop got bigger as time passed.

A bunch of students who joined crowd and the evening rain, brought the memories of my MTech days. The ultimate part of every ones life, to be a student. The sheer enjoyment, the exams, the results, the assignments, the lecturers, the internals, the copying, the GFs, the girls at the CSE classes, the breaks, the free times, the commuting, burning midnight oils...... The list just goes bigger and bigger...

My Batch
It was my privilege to have some of good people around me at the time of my Masters. Few (many!) were just out of BE, some who have passed many milestones in life and some who are just enjoying their life!! People from different corners of India: Kashmir to Kerala, Manipur to Andhra. And many from my own ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡು. Also it was good to have our lecturers, who were just like our friends.

The unforgettable experience of trekking to Kumara parvatha, the friends visit to my home, [not to forget the 1st sem result :( ],VTU fest [not so good experience], the marriage of my friend, the campus interviews and the big *$&@( thing! Still miss some of these memories, (Some have gone very far), but life has to go on. Chalthi ka naam gaaDi!!

I'm sure, the ever green memories will haunt me, time to time.

9:30pm
With the rain stopping, I started my Pulsar and started roaring on the traffic less road.

ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆಯೇ.. ಏನು ನಿನ್ನ ಹನಿಗಳ ಲೀಲೆ..

We can not define happiness or for that sake it can not be transferred from one to other. It has to be felt by heart. It comes from the people around you. Sometimes just the memory of few good people, will bring that happiness.

Mekedatu, Chunchi falls.....

21, June 2008

The sky was bright and the weather was good, the ideal setting for a trip to Mekedatu and Chunchi falls.

A week of discussions with friends as to go by bike or a car, and few people dropping out, we finally decided on a two wheeler ride to the falls and the Sangama.

Having breakfast at Vaishali (Jayanagar 9th block) we were off to a flying start at 8:45am. Except in the city limit the traffic was relatively low on the Kanakapura road. It was fun to ride with all five bikes together. By 10am we were nearing the Kanakapura (53km from B'lore). We had to take left turn at a junction after Kanakapura town. Except for a small patch of bad road, the entire stretch was relatively good. We reached the Sangama at 11:30am (88km from B'lore and 35km from Kanakapura).

The Sangama is the confluence of river Kaveri and river Arkavathy. As we had to cross the river to go to Mekedatu we parked our bikes on the river bank and walked in the knee deep water. Some cars (not all it was a Pajero!!) and some other bike raiders indeed crossed the flowing river. All ten of us boarded a jeep to reach Mekedatu (4 km from Sangama: both way journey they charge 40/head).

After a bumpy ride on the dakota jeep and the welcome party from the Monkeys, we were at Mekedatu at 12 noon. The natures beauty just left us spell bound. The calm looking river on the Sangama, suddenly started gushing through the narrow granite ridge. Is it the same river that we just passed on our bare foot? The nature is very tricky!!

There we could see all types of rock formation, the water has craved the granite at its will. There is only one stone that might be a part of a bridge like structure which goat might have used for jumping. (So the name Mekedatu - Goats Leap). But there was no sign of any goat nearby :)

The only spoiler of this natures creation is man: We could see all plastic bottles, liquor bottles across all the places. After spending some time there, we were back to board the bus. They have built a small gazebo for resting. Having snacks we boarded the dakota bus to reach the Sangama. Spent some time playing in silent river water.

1:30pm Chunchi falls

We were off to visit another place: Chunchi falls.It is 16 km f rom Sangama. (Take a right deviation after riding for 10km from Sangama-on the same route. Travel another 6 km of interior road). When we reached, there was no signs of falls to be seen for distance away. We took the help of two small boys(child labour!!) who guided us to the small water fall(2:00pm). The place was just hair raising: the deep crater, the small stream of water rushing down the boulders, the granite formation. Thanks to those kids, without whom we could not have reached this place :)

Final trekking to reach the bike was most tiresome, as there was no food or no water. When we returned to top it was 3:00pm. We reached Kanakapura at 4 and had lunch at a road side restaurant(Suchee).

As it rained in B'lore, weather turned cool and appeared as if the city was welcoming the heroes of Mekedatu!! The roaring engines came to silence at 6:00pm.

ನೆನೆದಿದೆ ಮೈಯೆಲ್ಲ ಸುರಿಯುವ ಮಳೆಯಲಿ

ನೆನೆದಿದೆ ನನ್ನೆದೆ ನಿನ್ನೊಲವಿನ ಸುಧೆಯಲಿ*

We the people : Myself, MoTe, Shashi, Avi,BhaTTa, PuTTa, Manja, Saithi, Gauthu, Chetu
Transport : Pulsar, XCD, Discover, Victor, RX135
Total journey 190km
* Thanks to my friend Girish Shetty for writing such beautiful quotes!

Anegudde

11, May 2008

Had been to Kundapur (36km from Udupi) to attend Friends Bro's marriage. Visited AaneguDDe (Also called Kumbashi) the famous GaNapathi Temple, on my return journey. Around 30km from Udupi(7km from Kundapur), two temples closeby are worth visiting. The Express buses are the life line of these areas and provide quick connectivity between Mangalore, Udupi and Kundapur.

Malpe: The Beach

10, May 2008

The "usual" monthly trip to hometown was made 'exciting' with a visit to Malpe. A quick plan from my cousins and we were off to Malpe in Chetak Scooter and TVS Scooty. A few changes here and there, and it was our own old Malpe beach, but the reverberating waves, the sand and the water, made each visit a memorable experience!

A lazy stroll over the sand dunes moved us away from the summer crowd. Our several try of not getting wet in water went in vain. Not disturbed by all these happenings, the SUN was in his work of “setting”. The sky was playing in colors of sun. Few minutes later, all went calm with slow disappearance of the shades of Orange.

With darkness slowly covering the sky, we started our walk back on the beach sand. Spent few time near the musical fountain.

Distance : 5km from Udupi

End Point: Not the end, just the beginning!

26, April 2008

A new feather in the International Village Manipal. A brand new lawn clad garden with fountains and lighting, on the edge of End Point. A 3km walking track surrounds it with Gazebo in between. Two stadiums come next to it. But the human creation can never beat the nature: the mighty Suvarna River just flows down under majestically. The sea breezes bring with it the much needed relief for the humid weather of Coastal Summer.

After spending some time with my cousin, chikka and chikki, and hoping they will not spoil the area with more construction, we started our journey back.

The students around us brought the memories of my visit to this place with my M.Tech friends......

Distance: 5-7 Km from Udupi. 1-2 km from Manipal Bus Stand(TC)

DoDDa Aladamara, Manchanabele Dam and Savandurga...

May 1, 2008 9:15 am

With the engine roaring like a beast, my Pulsar was picking up speed on majestic Mysore highway. With another beast in XCD also chasing, we were cruising on a Thursday morning on a pleasant weather, getting away from the urban life.

Only two days back we planned a quick outing to Big Banyan Tree and a unknown place called Manchanabele Dam. Thursday morning brought with it the outing spirit in us and we were off to it after a quick breakfast at Hotel Vaishali (8:00 am). With the divine blessings of Goddess Rajarajeshwari at Rajarajeshwari Temple (9:15am En route) we were off to Big banyan tree on Mysore Road. It took another 20 mins to reach Amruth Distillaries/Rajarajeshwari Dental College deviation(Right turn from Mysore road), which will leave us the fourlane Mysore road to a renovated interior road. Except for a final stretch of 3 km, it is a fantastic road to Big Banyan Tree (BBT) (10:30am About 30km from Jayanagar 9th block and 7-8km off Mysore road). The BBT has a history of 400 years and is spread across a 4 acre property and maintained by Thotagarika Ilake/Bank of Maharashtra. After taking few photos and spending few minutes we were off to our next destination Manchanabele Dam.

The road was under construction in some places and in others, no road at all, it was 10 km away from BBT (I remembered the fruit vendors words - daari sumaaragide DAMge) we had to take a left turn at a place called Chandrappa circle. Ups and Downs and a right turn of the road suddenly lead to a pristine beauty which left us spell bound. The panoramic view of the water reservoir and the background granite hills were just splendid and eye catching. There was no human activities to be found for kilometers away. We just just spent some time looking at the beauty and went near the reservoir (We have to take right turn for the reservoir and the straight road will lead us to the Dam) After passing the curvy road down for about 2.5 km we were near the reservoir. Without getting down into the water we just enjoyed the beauty on top of the big stones




We got back to the main road and further down about 2 km we were near the ManchanaBele dam (Maintained by Kavari Neeravari Nigama) The entry is restricted, but we could see few people entering the dam!! Most of the route was through small villages and BMTC(KSRTC) service is there till the dam! We were resting by now, as our planned trip was about to end, when one of the passer by told that the Savandurga is just 7km.





Bingo! we were on our bike again to explore one more place. The distant hill was not visible to our naked eye as the speedo meter showed 7km. It took another 7 kilometer (14 kilometer from Manchanabele Dam via Vire GowDana Doddi) to reach the Savandurga hills. The single large monolith hill was just amazing(Reached at 12:30pm). We planned just to see the hill and return back, but our instinct just overtook and we were climbing the hills!! As we were tired of the earlier trekking, we just restricted our climb to the ruined fort(half way mark). The 360 degree view was just picturesque. Prakruthiya madilalli, maanavana srusti naganyavo anisithu. With half hearted feeling of not reaching the top, we were back to the base. Visiting the Laxmi Narasimha temple and resting for a while we were back on track to B'lore. We will come again "Savandurga" to conquer you!!

Simhavalokana:

Pulsar started zooming again on the same route on our way back covering the same places that we visited (There was another route via Ramnagar, which would have taken 20+ km extra, but we wanted to enjoy the rugged road!!) We were back at Mysore Road at 2:30pm. The initial josh was slowly going down and we reached JP Nagar Nandini to have decent lunch. At exact 4:15pm bike came to a days final halt and we were back on our beds.

It was a refreshing experience for us, who were from small towns, different corners of Karnataka and now part of chaotic life called Bengaluru. The day which would have been spent sleeping, surfing net and watching TV was burned on a unforgettable experience....

ಸಂಜೆಯ ರಂಗಲೂ, ಮಿಂಚು ಗುಡುಗಿನ ಸದ್ದಲೂ, ನೀನೆ ನನ್ನ ಕಣ್ಣೆದುರು|
ದಿನವಿಡಿ ಕನಸ ಕಂಡರೂ ಕಣ್ಣು, ಮನಸಿಗಿಲ್ಲ ನಿದ್ದೆಯ ಮಂಪರು|| *















We : Avinash K S, Girish C, Naveen Bhat, Shashidhar RV
Transport : Hamara Bajaj - Pulsar 150, XCD 125
Food Beverages : Breakfast - Vaishali (Jaya Nagar 9th Block) Lunch - Nandhini (JP Nagar) Lots of Badavara Badami kaDlekayi.
Total tournaround distance : 120km
Remarks : Unplanned but picturesque, exciting and economic trip :)

For more pictures click Here

* Thanks to my friend Girish Shetty for writing such beautiful quotes!

Harima, the Japanese Restaurant.

With a manager, not interested in Indian food, what can we expect than an exotic Restaurant. This time it was Harima, the fine Japanese Restaurant (4th Floor, Devatha Plaza, same building as Casa Picola and Reebok Showroom. Near St Mark road/Residency road Junction, walk able distance from Office). The occasion was the dinner hosted by my US manager on his "twice a year" visit. Last dinner on a Chinese Restaurant still afresh in mind, I expected a decent dinner. But to my surprise, the menu had only Japanese foods starting from Sushi’s to Tofu, Japanese beer to Meso soup. I had to contend with very few veg items.

Few of my colleagues ordered Japanese beer, Asahi. Others ordered fruit mock tails and fruits juices. First to come was the Meso soup. The starters were Japanese sushis. Sushis are live fishes/prawns/crabs stuffed with rice and consumed as such. We may not like it as it is not fried or baked; our American was all praise. I had to watch all eat as there was no veggie items on the site!!

Then the main course had all types of Teriyaki’s. These are some fried dishes which we can digest! I ordered Tofu Teriyaki. It had a 2x2 inch fried Paneer at center with Baby corn masala spread across. The real delight was eating all these with Chopstick. Others had Teriyaki’s with different flavors like chicken, fish, prawn and all..

The dessert was a Wasabi ice cream. I was surprised to have a spicy ice-cream. It was like freezed south Indian chutney or a vanilla ice-cream with spicy flavor. With only half stomach full, I had food once again in my room.

The experience was nice, but may not try it again. One thing to note is, the food were very limited. May be Japanese eat less. Less spicy, less oily, all live foods, less fried/baked. May be that’s the reason, Japanese live longer.

Obtaining, one chopstick as memorabilia, we bid Sayonara to the restaurant

Samarkhand, the Afghani restaurant...

To celebrate our project completion, the company planned a lunch for our team at Samarkhand (7th March, 2008) Restaurant, on the infantry road. Our product line Manager from Beaverton was the host and the entire Quality team, one each from the documentation team, software and a manager accompanied us.

The ambiance of the restaurant had the touch and feel of Afghanistan, with low chairs/tables and paintings on the walls. Added to this are the Pathani style pajama outfits of the waiters/captains and the Afghani style utensils.

Much of the dishes were delights of non vegetarians, I had to be contended with few veggies ;( As it was a Afghani restaurant, dishes were a bit spicy and rest everything seemed to be a normal North Indian restaurant menu. We ordered for a Buffet Lunch(Rs. 750=00 per head) and ordered fruit juices (Fruit Punch Rs. 170, Lime Juice Rs. 120!!). The starters were so spicy, that the US manager started "sweating" (with face becoming red) with just two bites of Baby Corn Manchurian and Paneer Fry!!

As it was full buffet with unlimited food, there was more food than we could have consumed. The lunch ended one hour late at 3 pm and we were back to office by 3:30pm.

The Experience was multiplied, with half of the restaurant occupied with good looking chicks!!

Valentine's Day

I have written her name on my HEART because fate didn't write her name in my DESTINY

ಹಣೆಯಲಿ ಬರೆಯದ ನಿನ್ನ ಹೆಸರ || ಹೃದಯದಿ ನಾನೇ ಕೊರೆದಿರುವೆ

ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆ - ಅನಿಸುತಿದೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಇಂದು

click here

A journey to welcome 2008...

As the chugging train came to a halt, I could hear the porters voice, "Happy New Year, luggage etthlikke jana beka, Sir?"... English speaking porters! Welcome to Bangalore, the IT capital..

With this, my year end-eve trip to Solapur and Shimoga came to an end.

The year 2007 had been a roller coaster ride, with visit to as many places, in as many months. I also moved from Manipal to Bangalore for my Internship. So to end the year in a journey spirit, planned a quick trip to Solapur.

First leg of the tour started off with a train journey to Shimoga, to attend my best friend Pradeep(N)'s (28th Dec 2007) marriage. The midnight train from Bangalore to Shimoga(Shimoga Express, Off B'lore 11:40pm Shimoga 6:15am), passed off in good sleep. Woke up to a chilly morning in Shimoga. With relatives in all the places, stay was planned in my brothers in-laws place. The whole day passed attending the marriage. I could not imagine we were together from the day, when we used to steal mangos from MGM ground till his marriage. After lunch, bid farewell to friend and I'm off to the next part of the journey.

MalenaDa Mussanjeyali: Caught the KSRTC Karnataka Sarige bus to Bijapur (Sakleshpura-Bijapur 6:45pm Off Shimoga-Honnali-Harihara-Hospet-Bijapur). The bus was speeding, as if, it is competition to overtake the evening setting SUN. The route was comparatively good. After the evening dinner in a roadside Daba, the journey was passed counting stars and looking at the night moon. Soon, sleep overcomes everything.

Finally reached Bijapur at 5:30am, a new full fledged KSRTC Bus Stand (even Udupi doesn't have one). The first bus to Solapur (Mangalore-Sholapur KSRTC), left very soon. The bus was running, piercing the morning chilly weather. In two hours, reached Solapur(29th Dec 2007), where Murali uncle was waiting for my arrival.

The following three days passed like anything. The highlight of the three days is obviously the delicious foods that were relentlessly prepared by Shobha aunt. So many different types of Rotis, curries and sweets that were beyond my counts. The evenings were reserved for visits to Uncles Dawakhana, relatives and other places with Pacchu. Night were again reserved for movies, after dinner with Sudeep. Watched Taare Zameen Par, Welcome, Superman, X-Men 3 The Last Stand.

The last day of 2007: The year which sent me back Bangalore, the year started with Semester exam!! the year that is very close to my heart, the year which made many people close to me, the year which saw me on top of Kumara Parvatha, The year that made me win interviews, the year which saw the arrival of a new member to our family, the year in which my dad celebrated his 60th birthday (Shashti Poorthi) with full family, the year which made my entire family NRI!! The year which saw my sister buy a house in US. To sum it all, the memorable moment of 2007 will be Vismay, my nephew.

(31th Dec 2007) With the clock ticking to 12:00 I was standing on the railway platform with Pacchu to board the Karnataka Express at 00:10am, how memorable it was to welcome New Year on a railway platform!! The train arrived 15 mins late. Bidding farewell to Pacchu, I was back to my upper berth seat, which will take me to my Karmabhumi (B'lore). Reached Bangalore next day 1:30 in afternoon.

At end, I would like to quote a sanna kavana from my friend Girish Shetty,

ಕಣ್ಣಂಚಿನಲೆ ಕೊಂದಳು ಹುಡುಗಿ ಕುಡಿ ನೋಟದ ಬಾಣವ ನನ್ನೆದೆಗೆ ಎಸೆದು

ಮತ್ತೆ ಜೀವ ಬರಿಸಿದಳು ಬೆಡಗಿ ತುಟಿಯಂಚಿನ ನಗುವಿನಮೃತವ ಎರೆದು