Harish's Weblog

It took me really long time to include one more post in my blog. This post is about my safari in one of the National Parks of India, which is situated near to Bengaluru. Yes, I am talking about Bannerughatta National Park. I got an opportunity to visit this place along with my friends (Nithin Kamath, Muralidhar Kudva and Pranesh Kumar).

How to Reach?

Bannerughatta is well connected with road. There are plenty of Bus services available from Bengalure. The BMTC has very good bus service from Majestic, KR Market and Banashakari. Also you can catch private bus from Banashakari. BMTC provides Volvo Bus service to the National Park. The route number 365 and 366 buses will directly reach the National park.

The Journey

We started at 9:15 A.M. from Banshakari along with bus route number 201 which goes to Domluru. We got down at Jaideva Heart Foundation, and caught a bus from Bannerughatta road. Unfortunately, the bus we caught didn’t go to the National Park. We got down at Bannerughatta village and started walking towards the National Park. The park is situated at a walkable distance from the village. The weather was perfect for a walk; it was drizzling and fantastic. We reached the park at around 10:30 am.

In the Park

As an entrance fee you are charged Rs. 35/-, but if you are interested, you can have the thrill of Safari, Grand Safari, Nature Walk (Short), Nature Walk (Far), Elephant Ride etc. with additional charges. We decided to go for a Grand Safari. The fee for the Grand Safari is Rs. 125 (it includes lion safari, tiger safari, and bear safari).

We started the safari at about 11:00 am. For about an hour we saw the wild animals in their natural habitat. We could see bison, deer, elephant, bear, lion, and tiger. The park authorities have maintained the park very well. It is a plastic free zone. No plastics are allowed inside the jungle. You will find sign broads stating – “Plastic Free Zone” here and there.

After the grand safari, we went to the park. The park has got a zoo, where all rare species of birds, animals and reptiles preserved. One can see various kinds of birds, mammals, reptiles and lot more.. There is museum inside the park, where lot of information about the wild life is collected and preserved. There is a small theater, used to show the documentaries and short films about the wild life and jungles.

The world of Butterflies

The butterfly park is very attractive and beautiful. You can have a short and nice walk to reach the butterfly park. The distance between national park and the butterfly park is about 1 km. You have to pay an additional fee of Rs. 20/- as an entry fee. The park has got everything about butterflies and moths. It is maintained very well. The closed huge green house like environment with lots of flowers and fauns and artificial streams is well suited for the butterflies. If you are lucky you will find some rare variety of butterflies and moths. You have to struggle a lot to find the butterflies in the jungle like environment. The butterfly park has got a museum, which shows lot of information about unexplored world of butterflies. It has collection of various kinds of moths and butterflies. There is an exhibition, which throws light on the life cycle of the butterflies. Really, I came to know about lot of things about this small and beautiful creatures of the world.

What if You are Hungry?

No need to worry about your stomach. There are lot of canteens which are ready to serve you. We went to one canteen inside the park. It is KSTDC’s canteen. They charge a reasonable price for the food. Meanwhile you have other choices outside the park. So don’t worry about your stomach.

Some important tips.

Bannerughatta National Park is a plastic free zone. No one is allowed to carry any kind of plastic inside the park. The park security have done good job in this regard. If you carry any kind of snacks inside the park, the security will take the plastic cover and give the contents within it in paper bags. In spite of that, I have seen lot of plastics. It is our responsibility to avoid the use of plastics in the park.

There are clear instructions given everywhere in the park that one should not feed food to the animals. I have seen lot of people violating this rule. There are no proper security measures to take care of these things. So if you find anyone doing favor to the animal by giving eatables please stop them.

It is my favorite hangout place. Yes it is one of the coolest place of Mangalore. Whenever I get free time during evening, I used to spend in this place. Lot of memories of my life is associated with this place.

During my high school days, I was introduced to Someshwara, a small coastal village near Ullala. I done my high schooling in Anandashram High School, Someshwara, which is located half a km from Arabian Sea. A school which has glorious history of more than 50 years in the field of education .

This village is called Someshwara because of Sri Somanatheshwara Temple. A historical temple built during the regime of famous queen Rani Abbakka Devi in 16th century.

I and My Best Friend (who went to ‘other world’) used to spend hours together in this beach. However busy we were in our personal/professional life, we never used to forget to meet on every Saturday. The place as around 8 Km’s from our home. I relied on my Bike to travel this distance. We used to stay in the beach till the Sun goes down.

On 2nd May 2008, I went Someshwar almost after a year, to attend the Old Friends Meet held at Ananadashram High School. All teachers of our batch plus some students had attended the meeting. Almost after ten years we met each other. Some faces are changed and some are unchanged, some are married and arrived with their children.

It was my honor that, I was invited to this Meet. The meeting began with the breakfast with friends and teachers. After the breakfast, we had a reintroduction session, where we reintroduced ourself . After we finished with the introduction, we went to each of the class room, we sat on the benches in the same order where we used to sit during those days. After that the fun section began, a lot spot games were arranged for teachers and students . They also arranged soccer and cricket. After 7 years I played soccer – a favorite game of mien during school day. Totally, it was day of recalling all the memories and sharing best movements of those days with our friends.

After the lunch, we went to the school library. It was our routine to visit the library after the lunch during the school days. I read few books in the library. We also visited the PU college, which is built recently.

Evening we all went to Someshwara Temple and Someshwara beach. We spent almost an hour in the beach. We all Climbed the ‘Rudra Shila’ a big Rock near to the beach. It is one of the attractions of the Someshwara. We all had fun during trekking. Watching the sunset from this rock is amazing experience

Dinner was arranged in the Summer Sand Beach Resort near to Ullal. We all went there, it is around 2 Km from Someshwara. We had nice dinner in the resort. A musical event is arranged for us by our juniors. We had a lot of fun in participating in the show.

Altogether it was a great day in my life. It is nice to arrange this kind of meet. It will give immense pleasure to share your experience with your friends and also listen to some of their experiences. I personally learned a lot from this Meet.

Last weekend I visited a place called Antaragange, popularly known as Kashi of South India. This post gives a briefing of the wonderful and adventurous trip. Antergange is situated in Kolar district of Karnataka state. It is just about 4 Kilometer from Kolar Bus Stand, and 70 Kilometers from Bengaluru.

How to Reach

There are plenty of Buses which connect Kolara, district headquarter with Bengaluru. Both KSRTC and private buses will go to Kolara. Private buses, will depart from Majestic as well as from KR Market. It will take one and half or maximum of two hours to reach Kolar depending on the bus. From Kolara, the destination is near. It is approximately 4 kilometers. You can go by walking by enjoying the side scenes and nice environment (just like me) or you also have an option to opt for a auto rickshaw. The fair is Rs.30/-. But before getting into the rickshaw, please clarify about the fair with the driver. This route won’t go to the top of the hill. From the enter ace you have to climb approximately 350-500 steps. There is another way which is constructed recently, which will take you to the top of the hill.

Its Rocky

The hills of Antergange provide an ideal location for Outbound Training and Excursions. Scattered thorn scrub forests amidst volcanic rocks and boulders present an irresistible landscape, where different adventure activities can be undertaken. Activities include · Nature study, · Trekking & rock climbing, Over night camping, Night navigation, Cave exploration.

Main Attractions

Kashi Vishweshwara Temple is also one of the main attractions of Antargange. The name ‘Antaragange’ means “Ganges from deep” in Kannada language. There is Basava (bull) made out of stone, water streaming out from the mouth of a stone bull Nobody knows the source of water or the place from where it originates. Water is seen streaming out throughout the year. It is been said that the source of this stream is from the holy river Gangaa. There is small Kalyani (pond) near the temple. The main deity of the temple is Kashi Vishveshawra(Lord Shiva). The temple is made out of rock. There main Shiva Lingam in the temple. Along with the Main Lingam, there are around 4 to 5 Lingam in the side of the main mantapa.

Trekking

Behind the temple there is way to the forest. From this point you can start the trekking. You will find some stairs at the beginning of the trekking, but it will disappear as you go further. The path is full of stone, scattered cactus, thrones and Bushes. Ideal place for adventure. If you follow the pylons (power cables), it would be very easy to climb the hill. There are a lot of trees such as Nilagiri, Akeshiya, Amla. There are various spicies of cactus are available in this region. As you go to the top, you will find a nice view of Kolara city. There are volcanic rocks of various size. Some rocks are laid in such passion that it appear like natural caves.

Antergange is overpopulated by monkeys. They are wild monkeyss. They literally grab anything from the visitors. It is very dangerous to leave our belongings from our hand. Some monkeys are so clever that they grab the things from our hands. One should be very careful while transacting with the monkeys.