Trip to Gopalswamy Betta & BRT

Date: 23rd may 2009 – 25th may 2009
Place: Gopalaswami betta, Biligiri Rangana betta and Kgudi Wilderness camp

The forest has always fascinated me with its wildness. I love the forest feel—the smell of the mud, the fresh air—everything about it makes each moment magical and memorable. There are countless reasons to revisit Kgudi, but the excitement of spotting a tiger for the first time still lingers in my mind.

We [GNG] started early on 23rd May and reached Mysore by 10 AM. After having dosa at one of Gautham’s favorite hotels, GTR, where he always feels nostalgic, we set off for Gopalaswamy Betta. I am always curious about new places, so I was eager to see this historical temple perched atop the hill. The drive was about 87 km from Mysore—roughly an hour and a half—but I couldn’t take my eyes off the lush, green mountain ranges along the way.

Gopalaswamy Betta
We entered the temple, which felt like stepping into a historical monument. What captivated me the most was the Gopalaswamy Murthy, stunningly beautiful. Even now, I can picture the serene Krishna whenever I close my eyes. Gargi loved the place too, running around with uncontainable excitement, exploring every corner.

The view from the temple was incredibly scenic. We sat on a rock, gazing at the Nilgiris mountain ranges, lost in their beauty. I must thank my MIL for the chapathi rolls and gongora chutney, which we enjoyed right there on the mountaintop—it was one of those special moments I will never forget. After a leisurely stroll around the guesthouse, we set off for our Bandipur safari.

Bandipur Safari
It was much like other safaris I had been on, but a completely new experience for Gargi. She was thrilled to see peacocks, deer, and hares up close. We were a little disappointed not to spot a leopard despite two attempts, but the excitement of the forest and the joy on Gargi’s face more than made up for it. By the time we finished, it was late evening, and we had plans to visit Gautham’s friend Shivamallappa’s house in Gundlupet. After enjoying coffee at the Pagmark restaurant, we drove to Gundlupet. Initially, I was a bit hesitant about staying at Malappa’s house, but the warm hospitality of the family made me feel completely at home. We had a hearty dinner and rested for the day.

Date; 24th May 2009

We had our breakfast and thanked all of them who were very nice to us during our stay in their house. We gave them few gifts as a token of our gratitude. They happily bid us good bye . We also visited Shiva mallappa’s 150 acres farm and were amazed by his hard working nature and leadership skills. We drank coco water from one of the trees of his farm. Thanked and bid good bye to him .We were excited to go to Kgudi wilderness camp where we had to stay the next two days..



Visit to Navodaya

Kgudi wilderness camp is about 225 km from Bangalore via Mysore and chamarajnagar. Since we stayed at Gundlupet it was only an hour drive.

Special moment;
When we reached the gate of BRhills Gautham was all excited to see one of Navodaya schools in which he studied .He is always in praise of this school as it gives free education for rural children. He wanted to go inside and meet the Principal. As we went inside the gate the school guards surrounded us with a big question mark on their faces. After Gautham expressed his love and concern for the school they were very happy to take us to the principal’s house. The school is cut off from the world and I could feel the sacredness of the place .we were greeted by the principal with a big smile. After a small talk we were treated with fruit platter and delicious tea. What strikes to me the most is the love and affection strangers show to us in our country. Which happens nowhere in the world except in India. When we were about to leave the principal’s wife gave me a bunch of champak flowers and asked me to wear them and also mentioned that these were the flowers from the tree planted by Navodaya children .It sounded to me as you are the flowers and fruits of this giant tree Navodaya watered and nurtured by our  teachers. My heart was filled with joy when we bid good bye to them.



Kgudi Wilderness camp:
This is one of the very few resorts in India which is inside the limits of a wild life sanctuary .We had booked one of those tented cottages .It was a nice room with an adjacent bathroom with all the facility to stay comfortably. The ambience was also really good .We had lunch at Golghar and were waiting for the evening safari. It is truly exhilarating to climb on a safari jeep and look for wildlife. Exploring the most biologically diverse land is an adventure .BR hills rich wildlife habitat includes 250 species of birds with tigers, leopards, gaurs, elephants, sambar, chital, wild boar and many more. As we boarded one of the safari jeeps I was overwhelmed by the forest’s exuberant flora and fauna .The forest feel itself is just awesome. Spotting wildlife is like an icing on the cake. That is the reason that even though we couldn’t spot many animals because of the rains we were happy. We got down the jeep and walked into the forest guesthouse. Here they were playing a movie on wild dogs. Gargi who was sleeping all the while during safari suddenly became active seeing the bonda and coffee kept on the table .Hot coffee and bonda was’ The thing ‘ we wanted in this cold .We all ate together talking about the different events that happened in the safari. We made friends with almost all of them in the resort. Special mention to Ramesh and family who were lucky to see the leopard the very first safari. On the whole it was a lovely day.

25th May 2009

There was a knock on the door at around six in the morning. There was an attendant with a cup of coffee. We drank the coffee looking at the mountain right in front of our tented cottage. Man!!What a way to start a day. Later we left for morning safari boarding our jeep. Since it had rained yesterday this safari was unfruitful except for the fresh morning air. We had breakfast and started towards BRtemple. This temple is often visited by localites and it was a nice feeling to visit the temple again. This time interestingly Gargi distributed Rs5 coins to the beggars waiting outside the temple. They were so happy and blessed Gargi whole-heartedly. I in turn felt happy from within

Special moment
In the evening safari I have a very special moment to share. There were shortage of jeeps and we three opted for an old jeep. This time it was an old jeep with a new driver. As we went deep into the forest I felt conquered by the wilderness of the forest. All of a sudden we spotted elephants moving towards a swamp. There was one matriarch with two of her male cubs. They swam in the water and climbed on one another. They seemed to be relaxing and enjoying the dip in the water. After a while they saw us and mock charged at us .The resonating sound took the breath out of me .We ran into our jeeps and this one event is worth remembering. Back in the resort we met Ramesh and family who were lucky to see the leopard again which we missed both the times.
The next day we checked out and took a ride on the elephant. Gargi just enjoyed the enthralling ride. We thanked every one there and bid goodbye. The best part of the trip is yet to come. We actually bumped into Ramesh and fly again in one of the restaurants in the evening. They again made us feel J by telling that they saw a leopard beside the road on their way back home. Looked like they had already fixed few appointments with the leopard and as far as we are concerned there is always a second chance. According to me what matters more is when you are back home you have plenty of memorable special moment to share that reminds  you of the magic, serenity and wilderness of this beautiful place.