Footprints: September 2005

My trip to Shimoga and Lagadamane.....

Before starting off with work in july, i went on this wonderful li'l trip to Shimoga(akshu's place) and Lagadamane(her native).
It was just as good, or even better than my previous visit to these places in the beginning of second year of engg...i went there after 3 yrs to find little had changed...

I stayed at akshu's place for i dunno how many days! And had a wonderful time with aunty....i ve always told akshu, her mom is better suited to be an engg student than her!! :D

We went around shimoga on scooty, ate masala mandakki, watched sunsets over Tunga, visited a meditation hall - a pyramidal structure(really!!!), and chatted non-stop!! and when akshu slept , i talked with aunty! got a few tips abt painting from her.....(btw, i am HUGE fan of her paintings and i ve taken pictures of them!! can u beat that!!) we also went to Gajnur dam, with uncle chauffering us around! :) Had a whale of a time!!

And then of course, we went to Lagadamane......its just so difficult to not go there, and once there, it is even more diffcult to leave! Its a wonderful, wonderful place, with wonderful people- ajja and doddamma living there! The stay there is simply beyond words!!
So, i tried to capture as many details as possible...so that, looking at them will actually be close to reliving the whole thing!!

I have put a few(yes, a few- tho it is 50 odd snaps, coz i took close to 300 pictures!!) of those wonderful memories up here....dont complain if u dont have as great a time looking at them, as i had, living them!! :)

Me and akshu went to this temple in Bhadravathi.....really beautiful!!

Look at the 'star' platform, it is a Hoysala temple...not fully complete though!

Krishna..

All these flowers were present in akshu's place.... this was the first to catch my eye...a lovely flower and a lovelier colour!! :)

diving into a flower.....i am Alice for a few mins!! :)

a solitary beauty... :) my first attempt at a proffessional looking photo!! cant believe, i actually remembered to blur the background while taking it!!!

as usual, i could not stop myself from taking this pic! I just love the way those dew drops stay on leaves...

dew and petals...

Tunga river... I could spot the heron only through the zoom!! :D

Aunty n me! :) In the background is of course Ishwara!!

a white li'l beauty..

well...no guesses here!!

Water, frozen in time !

The confluence....

Koodli - where Tunga meets Bhadra...

Akhila and akshu at their best...akhila is trying to look as tall as akshu btw, in case u r wondering what they are upto! :D

Spot the 'not- so -obvious' butterfly! :D

On our way to Lagadamane....thats one of the gates!!

Us, the awesome threesome...walking from AraLasurLi bus stop to Lagadamane..

A tiny waterfall, on the way....

dont u think the journey itself is worth the visit.......?!! :D

Lagadamane...

Lagadamane....one of the places, i would love to go over n over n over again!!! It has a quaint beauty of its own....It is hidden amidst trees, has no power supply for the greater part of the day during monsoons, the only approach is by a 2 &1/2 km walk from the closest bus stop......it has stayed untouched by the outside world!! For me, it is the closest i ve come to living in a paradise.... once u get there, u lose your sense of time.....eat when u r hungry, sleep when u r sleepy....walk around in the green....and stay in the presence of Ajja and Doddamma! The experience is just beyond words!! I am really lucky to ve been there....all thanx to akshu n akhila! :)

This is how Lagadamane looks from inside...a open to sky quadrangle, with a Tulasi katte in the centre and the entire house around it...

Ajja and Doddamma....

Inside Lagadamane....'angala' and the dining..

we were lucky that it rained! visiting malenadu, without experiencing its rains is definitely not what we wanted......
Sipping hot coffee and listening to the pitter patter of the rain drops, you can spend hours watching the rain... sigh!!

Malenada MaLe....it is an experience in itself....no amount of description will do justice!! It is one of the "MUST DO" things in life.....enjoying the rain!

Its the most primitive form of rain water harvesting and even today, works most efficiently! the channel (made of beetelnut trees ) runs around the length of the house, collecting water from the sloping roof and finally delivering it to either a tank ,or to the plants....not drop wasted! wish we had such simple designs even now...

pitter patter rain drops....

rain water, forming tiny whirpools.....wish i could record the soft gurgle of the rushing water as well....sigh!

It had just rained, and we thought it was the best time to look around the 'thota'(garden). So we set out, wearing hawaii slippers and literally slipped our way through.....

thats the way to the garden( mind u ,its no petite Queen Anne! it is a typical 'malenadina thota' , with scores of leeches, red mud and a lovely feel of fresh, wet leaves...)

wow! what greenery....and so fresh!! phew!

akshu n akhila, having an umbrella fight!! :D

proof that we were there too... :) it was still drizzling and all three of us were trying to hold on to our umbrellas, keep our balance AND protect the camera !! :D it was quite a task!!