Aditya Kavoor’s Blog

There are some amazingly awesome places in Karnataka which need the right guidance and facilities to attract tourists. One step forward in achieving this is made by Mr. Sampath who is responsible for the revival of tourists flowing into the Sharavathi Valley Backwaters. All you need to do is inform Mr. Sampath a week in advance, the number of people in your group and rest is taken care by him.

About the place: Sharavathi Valley backwaters is formed as a result of Linganamakki Dam constructed across the river Sharavathi which later flows down the hill and results in Asia’s highest waterfalls, the Jog. Due to the sudden rise in water levels because of the construction of the dam, many low lying areas around the path of Sharavathi are submerged resulting in formations of a number of islands. The slow flowing water provides the perfect platform for swimming, boating, kayaking and other water sports. A small hill of moderate trekking difficulty gives the aerial view of the wonderful backwaters.

Getting there: At a distance of about 300km from Bangalore, Sharavathi valley is a minimum of 2 days trip. Take a bus to Sagara and then hire a local taxi guy who takes you GubbaGodu, 20km from Sagara. Make sure you reach GubbaGodu well within 8 30am in-order to make the rest of the day enjoyable. Since our bus reached Sagara by 6 30am, we decided to view the Jog and proceed towards GubbaGodu. Heavy rains played spoilsport at the Jog and much to our disappointment, none of the gates of the Dam were opened.

Things to carry: Here is a list of accessories you *must* carry in-order to help yourselves during your stay in Sharavathi Valley.

1. A proper BackPack. (A bag which can be put on our back and other kinds of bags wont do).
2. A plate with a spoon for eating food. (Must)
3. One cup for drinking water, tea etc. (Must)
4. One light & thin bed sheet, Foam sleeping Mat will be arranged by them.
5. A small hand torche. (Must)
6. A 1 ltr. water bottle.
7. Well worn in sports/canvas shoes/sandals.
8. Toilet kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb)
9. Sun cap and Sun lotion.

Please carry only items mentioned here. Carrying extra stuff might just discomfort you.

Day 1: GubbaGodu – Mr. Sampath’s men were waiting for us with Hot steaming Idlis with Chatni and Khashaya. The experience of sipping hot Khashaya on the river banks is bliss. One thing needs a mention here. There are no basic facilities for freshening up in these islands. Be mentally and physically prepared to get yourself up and going amidst the woods. Atleast you can tolerate that to see nature’s heart. Boats were kept ready for us and we proceeded towards another island. Everything here is environment friendly and that means you should not expect motor boats. Rowing your way all through these islands is the only means. For the first half hour you would enjoy the rowing, but afterwards you need the villagers to take you through. I tell you rowing against the current is not an easy task. Half way through some of us dared to swim across the river and repented heavily for it. The distance what you see is actually way too much less than what it is, and we ended up swimming half the distance. By the time we reached the shore, there was nothing left in us. We could barely walk. Sampath’s men then setup tents for us and we took some time off to rest from travel fatigue and swimming disaster. In sometime Sampath’s men prepared lunch and for the rest of the noon we spent time admiring nature.

By 4pm we set out to another island which is said to have a wonderful sunset point. Again rowing ourselves through a rather calm Sharavathi we reached the place which is another treat to the eye. As the sun went down behind the hill we felt the much needed relief from city life. Took some amazing photographs and headed back to the camp island. To our surprise Mr. Sampath’s men had readied the campfire. Now you are in the an island lit by just the moonlight, pitch silence, campfire and surrounded 360 degrees by water admist a forest. This is pure awesomeness. Hospitality of the best of its kind when we served Hot tea and Mirchi(Chilli Bhajji) at the campfire site. Could not ask for more. Sung, danced and screamed like no one was hearing or seeing us and not to forget the heated argument on Rahul Dravid vs Adam Gilchrist. We were then served dinner and the tents were setup with mats for out sleep. Most of us just roamed around till midnight and just passed off.

Day 2: Awesome breakfast which included Ragi Dosa and Akki Rotti with hot Khashaya. We had boats ready for kayaking. Put on our life jackets and entered the water — fun unlimited. Half the day was already over when we were done with the water sports. Had awesome Pulav for lunch and left for the main Island near GubbaGodu. No sooner we reached there, we set off on another mission — trek the hill which gives a breathtaking aerial view of the backwaters with islands. With heavy backpacks we had to walk nearly 45 minutes nonstop to reach the base of the hill. After recollecting some energy we started the trek which takes not less than another 45 minutes to reach the top. I promise you every step is worth its weight in gold. The scene from the top is just not expressible. With some final photography with the lowest of batteries left after two full days of life with no electricity.

We literally ran our way down the hill to catch the last bus to Sagara and then headed back to Bangalore from there on. To say the least the effort of Mr. Sampath is just remarkable. The price he charges is very nominal. You actually feel that you really got more than what you actually paid for. Here are his contact details -

• Mr. Sampath Kumar
• prapancha@gmail.com
• facebook.com/prapanchas
• sharavathi.blogspot.com

For the complete photoset click here.

It was just another day and just another evening when it rained here in Bangalore. But then nobody knew the surprise that awaited just after the rain halted. Clouds cleared within no time and the Sun came out while the atmosphere still contained a few drops of water. Exactly at this time was the Sunset and Oh My God, what an amazing sight it was! The orange and the red spread across the horizon. Two eyes were too less to witness and enjoy those moments. The whole drama unfolded and happened within 10 minutes of time and Harsha managed to take some snaps of this once in a lifetime moment.

You gotta love nature and God’s creations. 4th of June, 2009 is going to stay in my memory for a long long time.

Find the Complete Photo Set here.

Profit and Loss is part and parcel of Life, but booking a Tatkal ticket in Indian Railways is a sureshot loss if opt to cancel it.  It so happened that my Dad asked me to book a ticket to Hyderabad just 5 days prior to the departure date. Since this is the peak season there was no chance of getting a Confirmed berth. My Dad insisted on booking the ticket in Tatkal which had about 10 available seats.

Indian Railways charge Rs. 150 per ticket as Tatkal charges. So, I had to pay Rs 313 + 150 = Rs 463. Just about 2 hrs later, due to unavoidable circumstances, my Dad told that he would cancel his trip to Hyderabad and asked me to cancel the ticket.

Just as I pressed the cancel ticket button, I got a shocker. 25% of the total fare charged on the ticket would be 25% of Rs 313 = Rs 78.25 is all that was refunded. Now, isn’t this fraud? This is open theft straight from the customer’s pocket.

Cancellation of a ticket booked under Tatkal -

A flat refund of 25% of total fare charged on ticket,excluding Tatkal Charges is granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets, which are cancelled up to 24 hrs. before the schedule departure of train.

A hasty decision from the traveller’s side cost him Rs 384.75. Thats a huge loss in just 2 hours I strongly feel that this is harsh on the customer for booking a ticket in Tatkal and then cancelling it. It would have been fine if the Railways kept the Tatkal charges for itself, but taking away 75% of the fare is just insane.

Now that the money is gone, nothing much can be done about it. A lesson for the future – Book a wicket in waiting list when your trip is tentative.

Suggested Reading: Hyundai i10 – Review in a nutshell

It was about the same time a year ago, my table was flooded with brochures, quotations, price lists and pictures of various cars. Believe me, there is so much of choice available here, deciding on a car to buy is a real task. Maruti Swift, Hyundai Getz, Hyundai i10, Renault Logan, Fiat Palio Stile, Chevy Aveo Uva, Tata Indigo CS and the list continues. Finally, its Hyundai i10 which was the family choice as against my love Fiat Palio Multijet.

The stylish i10 magna cost 4.12 lacs ex showroom. Since we paid annual road tax of Rs. 800, we saved big bucks there. The car has been rather used less and has completed just 5000km in one full year. This included one long trip of 600km and other small trips to Mysore. Having said that, i10 has not been free of problems. There were about 4-5 ocassions where I have made all the way to the service centre to get things fixed up which is a high rate for a new vehicle. Some key points I would stress upon – firstly the negative ones.

Clutch – Clutch and clutch plates are the most vulnerable to wear and tear. i10 surprisingly has a point clutch system which is a bit difficult to adjust for somebody like me who had been driving the old sturdy Premier Padmini for some years. There is no range in which you can release the clutch and it has to be released at the exact point to get maximum pickup and rev. One way its better and its only until you get used to it. Lady drivers and newbies would stall the engine without doubt. Do not use the i10 to learn car driving.

Electronic Power Steering – i10 has one of the best power steerings of all vehicles I have Test driven. The motor driven power steering [MDPS] gives you the ultimate handling experience esp. in crowded city traffic. But then, all of a sudden MDPS ceased to work. It started to feel like I’m driving the old Premier. How on earth can the MDPS stop working within 8 months? The service manager shook his shoulders off by saying that its a  small loose connection but then he actually had to replace the whole system. MDPS cost a whopping 25 thousand INR but was covered under warranty. My sincere advice to all – Do buy the 2 year extended warranty, so effectively you get 2+2=4 years of tension free driving. Hyundai has promised to give monetary benefit as compensation. I will let you know once i get it.

Braking – No car will come to a sudden standstill once you hit the brakes and so is i10. Braking in i10 is not a concern in city limits and slow speeds. But, once you zip into the highway and cruising at over a 100kmph, that is when your heart starts pumping more than normal. With the weight of 4 adults and 100kmph i10’s brakes are a drawback. Perhaps the ABS version would be more secure. Its high time that Indian car makers make think that ABS and airbags are no more a comfort/luxury feature, its a necessity. i10’s braking like most recent cars is Power brakes which would mean that the brakes are ineffective when the engine is off. So, when you are in a slope, do not let the car to move without starting the engine or else you might end up bashing someone on the road!

Engine - 1.1L with 63ps? Just not enough. Load it up with four adults and whatever little luggage that fits in the small boot of the i10, this car struggles to climb the slopes. Seriously underpowered is what I can say. Switch on the AC to level 2 and the car barely moves up the slope. Hyundai, give me 1.3 atleast. Wonder how a 600cc Tata Nano would react to such hardships As far as average is concerned, I get 15 in city and 19 in highways with AC off most of the times.

Seating and Comfort – Hyundai wins here. The front seats are very comfortable with the side arm rests at the correct position. The small little gear just below the Dashboard is just at the right place. The rear is pretty spacious too and three medium sized people can easily sit back and enjoy. But, what was Hyundai thinking when they put the Pushback knob to the left of the Driver’s seat? Any child/infant sitting at the back has easy access to the knob and if by any chance the child plays a prank and pulls the knob, the driver is gonna sleep and sleep forever.

Handling and Speeds – Hit Plain roads and i10 is a gem. Smooth as butter is what I can say. The MDPS responds superbly even at high speeds negiotiating curves with atmost ease. MDPS is also handy in city condidtions where steep curves are needed to sneek in between buses With its small but spacious design handling in i10 is not at all a concern. I have reached a maximum of 140kmph and i10 has stayed rock stable. i10 has a pretty good ground clearance. So don’t slow down and jump off small hitches on the road

Finally, Wear the Seat belt. Happy and Safe driving

Have doubts about Hyundai’s AFS or their commitment towards you? See this video -

You *really* need a fortune to witness this one of a kind snake festival – Nagamandala. Naga -> snake and Mandala -> Area in which the God is placed and is a tradition of South Canara. Nagamandala was organised by Avani Shankar Mutt, a place 1 km away from my home and who would miss such a once in a lifetime opportunity. Let me tell you, its a treat to the eyes, mind and heart.

Nagamandala is arranged at a very large scale. To say the least the whole process might need about 5 gunny bags of Coconut flower (pingara in local language, kannada). Nagapatri is the main priest on whom the Snake God resides until the process is over. There would be a sutradhari (Director) who leads the Nagapatri around the Mandala. This happens amidst the sounds of percussion – Chande and Nadaswara and lasts about 4 hours.

Rain played spoilsport due to which the audience was a bit less, but what I saw today is a lifetime rememberance. Afterall Agni and Naga(Snake) are two Gods we can see.

Click here to see the complete Photo Set.