Our family trip: October 2006

The Idea:

The plan for an outing started off during Bharath's thread ceremony. Deepavali presented us with 5 back-to-back holidays. Although the initial plan was a simple outing of all us cousins, later on, it was thought to involve elders to help us financially and also to look after the luggage. Bharath felt that 'planning a trip' and 'actually going for a trip' was two very different things, and was pretty doubtful of anything happening at all. Suhas shook his dad and brother up and forced them to chalk out a proper plan. A plan slowly came into picture, Bharath got excited, and things began to fall in place. This would be Plan 'A'. If in any case Plan 'A' failed, we would initiate Plan 'B' - a trip to Aralaguppe, Arsikere, and Kempusagara which involved temple visiting, mountain climbing, and a moon-light walk along village roads. But slowly, Plan 'A' began to get a proper shape.

The plan:

What started off as just a concept on paper became a full-fledged plan. ATK booked a 22-seater vehicle (Tariff: Rs.12 per Km; Rs. 200 daily Bata; Minimum of 250 Kms per day). Shivashankar took charge of accommodation at Mangalooru (Corporation Bank Guest House). Prakasha and family were the fastest to decide (5.5 seats). The others included Shivashankar and family (4 seats), ATK and family (3 seats), Harisha, Ravindra and family (2.5 seats). Satish and family took a really long time to decide, and finally gave a thumbs-up (3.5 seats). But perhaps, the most thrilling moment was when Prashanth decided to turn up, changing decisions like the colours of a chameleon, and they took up 2 seats. Thus it was a total of 24 people, 20 adults, 3 kids, and 1 little baby.

The outline of the trip was as follows:

B'lore - Manjarabad Fort - Kukke Subramanya - Bekal Fort - Mangalooru - Udupi - B'lore

Departure was on 20th October (Fri) morning, and arrival was on 24th October (Tue) night.

Bharath would maintain accounts, Sumanth would jot down the kilometer readings and other details, Suhas would be the official photographer, Satish and Prashanth would be Trip Advisors, Harisha and Ravindra would be the clowns (Dept. of Entertainment), the disciplinary committee would be handled by perhaps the most capable person for the job - Prakasha, the ladies had the simple job of looking after the luggage, and the other kids were a part of the 'Alarm Clock Dept'. - ensuring everyone woke up on time everyday.

Trip members were as follows:

Adults - Shivashankar, Gayathri, Bharath, Sumanth, Harisha, Ravindra, Sudha, Manu, Prashanth, Raaji, Satish, Neha, Suhas, Sumitra, ATK, Rekha, Prakasha, Madhuri, Sudhanva, Raadhathhe

Kids - Chaitra, Nikhil, Sahana

The Baby - Navya

October 20th, Friday

A beautiful Friday morning, flagging off the start of our mega-trip!! The vehicle arrived at ATK's place at 6-20am. ATK & family, and Satish & family were the first to board the vehicle. The next pick-up point was Shivashankar's place, where the rest of them dumped their bags under the seats, had a little coffee, and set to embark on an adventure, as the bus left at 7-30am. Breakfast was on the way, a brief stop at Yentaganahalli - Idli Vada neatly made into individual packets. Once we fuelled ourselves, Suhas explained to everyone about their responsibilities, coupled with special applauses to Prashanth (for finally taking a positive decision and coming to the trip) and to Manu (who braved coming on her own, irrespective of what her husband decided). Music followed next, enjoyment to the young, headache to the elders. We reached Hassan at 12-30 pm (traveling a distance of 185 Kms in almost 4 hours), and Prakasha & family joined the troupe. Along with them, came lots of Hassan cucumbers, and a huge snack-bag, which thereafter, came with us, wherever we went.

Manjarabad Fort

The first place of visit was Manjarabad Fort, 57 Kms from Hassan (near Sakleshpur). We reached the fort at 1-30pm. Harisha immediately hid himself in one of the caves, making animal-like noises, and began scaring away the ladies, but most of his acts were futile. The fort, built by Tipu Sultan in 1782, was magnificent, and surprisingly clean. We were the only visitors there, apart from a guide, whom we simply called 'Guideshwar'. That was also our place of lunch - 'Puliyogare, Kesari Baath and Mosaranna'. After playing around for sometime, the 'Guideshwar' spent about 15 minutes with us explaining the significance of the Fort. What must set an example to the youngsters was Raadhathhe who had absolutely no problems walking up and down the fort with ease!! She was also given titles 'Senior Citizen', 'Freedom Fighter' and 'Radhabhai Naoroji' by Harisha, which became the reference names thereafter. After a round of tea-coffee in the petty shops below the fort, we left the place at 3-45pm.

Laughter session at Manjarabad Fort

View of the Western Ghats

The view-point

As we began descending down the Shiradi Ghats, we reached a place called Yesalooru, where we paid an unexpected visit to a viewpoint or a 'beauty spot' as it was called. Thanks to Prakasha, or else we would have overlooked the amazing place, where heaven meets earth. The looming Western Ghats, with its standing pillars of 'Doddabetta', 'Kumara Parvatha' and 'Pushpagiri' with a silvery stream called 'Girihole' stunned everyone for a moment. The mist formed canopies over the mountains, and the entire atmosphere was thrilling. Having started off our trip with such amazing sights, we returned back to the vehicle, ready for the rough journey ahead towards Kukke Subramanya. The NH 48 route had gotten pretty bad and prone to hours of traffic jams; so we decided to take another route passing through Shukravaara Santhe. The roads here were a little better, traffic much better.

Kukke Subramanya

We reached Subramanya at 7-30pm traveling a distance of 57 Kms from Sakleshpur that took us almost 4 hours. The first thing we did was to book 4 rooms at 'Ashlesha Lodge', as rooms were in much demand owing to the rush at Subramanya. The lodge was a part of the Temple, and so the rooms were booked at the Choultry Office near the Temple. Each room cost Rs. 150/-. Chaitra and Suhas paid a short visit to the Library-cum-museum that exhibited old artifacts. We decided to pay a visit to the temple first, which involved walking in a long queue without any shirt on. We hardly saw the God, when we were asked to quickly move on. Dinner was at the temple itself at 8-40pm, and I don't think there is any need to explain how the experience was. We were always scared of when the rice-cart would be accidentally pushed on top of us, and our poor stomachs could only get a brief taste of the food.

After dinner, Prakasha asked all the kids to take a walk towards the lodge, and he traveled princely in the vehicle. The unloading of the luggage started, and what Bharath and Suhas couldn't understand was how we fit in so many bags in one small vehicle. The bags kept on piling, and became an exhibit to the passer-bys. Finally, we dumped the bags and ourselves into the small rooms, filled with weird insects that really freaked out Suhas and the other kids. It was not really a peaceful night's sleep, thanks to Harisha and Ravi's card games, and during the rest of the night, Harisha entertained himself by waking up all those who had finally managed to fall asleep. Chaithra kept falling off the bed, Nikhil never failed to kick Suhas continuously, and the night wasn't something to remember.

October 21st, Saturday

Kumaradhara River

It rained briefly during the night, and the morning was fresh. The 'men' decided to have a dip in the Kumaradhara River. Prakasha, Prashanth, Rekha and others decided to visit the temple, and other women stayed on at their rooms. It was almost 7am by the time we came near the river (hardly 1-2 Kms from Subramanya). It was already filled with a lot of people, and we took our places away from the din. It was not the best place to have a bath, but where there is water, there is bound to be enjoyment. We splashed water on each other, and in turn were whacked with a jet of water flying from Harisha's mug. Later on, the ladies too paid a visit to the river. After 45 minutes of having fun, we dressed up, and moved on to have breakfast at Neo Cafe. The bun and pooris were really delicious, and finally some good food entered our digestive system. It took a while for everyone to get ready, and our vehicle left towards Kasargod at 10-30am. The journey involved listening to music, playing mind-games and knowing bits and pieces of history, of the places being visited, being provided by Suhas.

Madhur

Madhur was purely Shivashankar's idea, partly because it was a different kind of a temple (Kerala styled), and partly because they served lunch. Madhur is 8 Kms northeast of Kasargod, famous to the Srimad Anantheshwara Vinayak Temple. It was almost 1-40pm when we reached Madhur traveling a distance of 106 Kms in 3 hours. The temple was indeed of a different style, and looked pretty grand. It is said that the temple was attacked by Tippu Sultan of Mysore during his invasion and he felt thirsty and drunk the water from the temple well, which changed his mind and he left the temple without damaging it. There is a mark on the temple that is said to be made by Tippu with his sword. We promptly appeared for lunch and ate something that tasted about ok. There was nothing much to do around, we just took a glimpse of River Madhuvahini, and deciding not to linger on for a long time, we left by about 2-25pm.

Bekal Fort beach

The view of the sea atop the fort was breathtaking but not as much as it seemed in the movie 'Bombay' which was shot here. We spent about 45 minutes around the fort, clicking pictures from different places, and slowly everyone began to have the urge to walk along the seashore. The Bekal Fort Beach was a kilometer's distance from the fort, and was very refreshing. The volleyballs we were carrying around became useful now; Ravi's Frisbees were much in demand, and Bharath, Sumanth, Suhas flagged off their soccer practice in full swing. Slowly, everyone began getting wet, and within a few moments, every kid was drenched from top to bottom. As mothers got busy shouting at their children, Bharath, Sumanth and Suhas walked over to the open-shower, which was unfortunately right opposite to the Children's Park. The shower bath was so outstanding, we never wanted to stop it, but had to, because of the glares of the children playing in the park. It was 6-15pm by the time we walked back to the vehicle, drenched, but still excited. We still had to go to Mangalooru, our place of stay for the next three nights. It would be a 1-hour journey of about 50 Kms.

Bekal Fort

Our driver, who hardly spoke a word, was in our good books until here. But he lost his way when returning back to Bekal Fort, and we had to travel an extra mile. It was 3-30pm by the time we reached the fort traveling a distance of 34 Kms. The Fort was well maintained by the Archaeological Department and a ticket of Rs. 5/- per head was affixed to allow entry to the fort. The fort was right next to the sea, and is about 130 feet above sea level. It is believed to be built by Sivappa Naik of the Ikkeri Dynasty, and was later on occupied by Hyder Ali during 1763, and then annexed by the British in 1792. There is an Anjaneya Temple inside the fort, and a mosque built by Tipu Sultan outside the fort.

Mangalooru

It was 8pm when we reached Mangalooru. The search for the guest-house or the Corporation Bank Officer's Organization (CBOO Centre) proved to be a bit tricky, and Shivashankar did confuse the driver by providing him with a list of landmarks which mostly were restaurants, that the driver hardly knew, and he had to smile in the end. We finally did reach the place, and contrary to most of our expectations, the accommodation was splendid. The dormitory was clean, with 13 beds, a television, lockers and 2 individual rooms with attached bathrooms. Bharath had hurt himself during the soccer practice at Bekal Fort Beach, and was writhing with agony. The rest of them immediately drifted towards the top floor, to grab new clothes from the shopping area. After gifting themselves with shirts, dress materials, handkerchiefs and inner-wears, everyone set out to have dinner - not a traditional dinner, but ice-cream dinner at Pabbas. Sumanth decided to have the Pabbas Special (the costliest ice-cream according to the menu) and I decided to try out a new flavor called 'Bee Hive', only to realize that 'Gadbad ice-cream' had already been ordered for everyone. Mangalooru ice creams are always delicious and this was no exception. That night, there was another special item - Churmuri, thanks to Arsikere's delicious Puri; everyone joined in with the mixing of onions and other ingredients. Perhaps the ice cream wasn't enough for our stomachs; everyone ate Churmuri to their heart's content. As all peacefully slept that night, Bharath and Suhas shook hands, celebrating the end of the second successful day of the trip.

October 22nd, Sunday

We had a wonderful night's sleep, but had to soon wake up, thanks to Shivashankar, who kept repeating about the advantages of having an early start. For the first time, we had a hot-water bath. Everyone looked at his or her best, the kids smelled really well, thanks to Harisha's perfume, and all of us set out to first energize ourselves with some breakfast. Shivashankar, the walking directory of Mangalooru restaurants voted for 'Mohini Vilas' where we had 'Neer Dosa', which indeed tasted good.

Ducks at Pilikula Nisarga Dhama

Pilikula Nisarga Dhama

The Nisarga Dhama was 12 Kms from Mangalooru, situated near Moodushedde along the Mangalooru - Karkala highway. It is a very significant place with Botanical Gardens, Horticultural Gardens, Aquarium, Science Centre, Musical Fountain, Deer Park, Water Park, and lake with boating facilities, tiger safari and a children train. It extends to an area of 350 acres land along the tropical jungle on the bank of the Gurpur River.

Boating had not yet begun, and we decided to visit the so-called 'Colour fishes'. The place was well maintained, and entry to the park cost about Rs.10/- per head. The walk to look at the colour fishes became really long, and the sun began roasting us all. To add to our woes, the colour fishes were just ordinary fishes swimming in dirty mud-coloured water. After a little rest, we decided to float around the lake, as the boating services had started. Although everyone decided to take the ferry, Bharath, Suhas, Sudhanva and Sumanth rented a pedal-boat. Boating was nothing special, and the water wasn't all that clean. But the ducks decorated the place, and the presence of water was indeed refreshing. But what everyone was looking forward to was the 'Water Park'.

Manasa Water Park

The entry to the park wasn't that cheap, each full ticket costing Rs.190/-, but after a bit of bargaining, we were offered tickets at a discounted price. Presence of the ladies prevented us from renting a locker; we immediately changed into our swimming attires, Chaitra, Madhuri and Neha rented swimming costumes, and all of us jumped into the Kids' Pool. After a brief round of playing in the smaller slides, the guys decided to check out the bigger slides. Be it the speed slides, the tunnels, or the snaky curly slides, 'fun' was the common word. The girls too joined in, and there wasn't an iota of fear in anyone. Sahana needed no invitation; she jumped into the family tube, although Ravi stayed back at the kids' pool, fearing that he would drown in the 3 feet water. But Sahana's courage was contagious, and slowly Ravi too joined in to try a few of the bigger slides. The ladies, for once, fed up of looking after the luggage, began having a whole lot of fun in the waters. Harisha wasn't far behind as well. The huge man placed himself on a tube and began waddling around the kids' pool, when Bharath, Sumanth, Suhas and Sudhanva would suddenly attack him from all sides. But none of them could even budge the huge man, he threw them all into the water, and left them gasping for breath. An attempt to escape from his savage behaviour was futile. He effortlessly caught Suhas by the feet and threw him to the other side of the water. After lots of drowning, underwear-pulling and water splashing, everyone moved onto a fresh set of slides, where one had to lie flat on a mat, and swoosh down. Neha and Suhas were stuck in between the first time, but Bharath, owing to his weight, zoomed straight down with ease. Chaitra, after much thinking, decided to go for it as well. We played for almost 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Back to the CBOO Centre

As soon as we emerged out of the water, we began having sunburns. Suhas' back got red, Madhuri began getting pimples, and Harisha began scratching at the wrong places. Chaitra accidentally fell into the water, and panicked, causing much concern to her mother. Everyone slowly walked back towards the vehicle. Harisha, the innovator, covered his head with his underwear, allowing it to dry faster. It was already 3pm by the time we left the Nisarga Dhama. This place is indeed a full-day program, and everyone were really tired, and in no mood to roam around the botanical gardens, under the relentless heat of the sun. Lunch was at Janatha Deluxe. Everyone checked their weights in a weighing machine placed outside the restaurant, but a few like Bharath decided not to take the risk. It was a journey back to our dormitory; a nice sleep was what everyone wanted that moment. The sun can indeed lower your spirits, and the sunburns taught us a lesson to bring a suntan lotion the next time we plan a trip.

The journey back to the guesthouse was uneventful. The sleep was the most amazing one we had for a long long time. Everyone's batteries were charged up once again.

Us with Janardhana Poojari at Kudroli

Kudroli Gokarnanatheshwara Temple

As per Shivashankar's idea, we were to visit the 'Kudroli Gokarnanatheshwara Temple'. It was hardly 2 Kms from the guesthouse. Evenings are incomplete without a round of tea-coffee and we started our evening with it. Harisha helped himself by stealing a chips packet from a shop and innocently stuffed it into Suhas' bag. As everyone slowly walked towards the temple, a grand palatial structure, adorned by huge fountains, confronted us. The men considered themselves lucky to have met Janardhan Poojari - the ex-minister and draftsman of the Kudroli Temple, as soon as we entered inside. Although the fountain was majestic, yet, it splashed us with water and made viewing difficult. Janardhan Poojari ordered for the fountains to be stopped for a moment, especially for us, and it aided Suhas to click a few photographs of Shiva, Bhageeratha and the rest of the Gods. The surroundings were extravagant as well - smaller fountains, sculptures of tigers and cows depicting mythology, an imposing marriage hall and a well-lit Gokarnanatheshwara Temple. The temple doors were laminated, and glittered like gold. Elders felt that everyone needs to show gratitude to Janardhan Poojari, for giving us a tour of the place. That probably was a mistake. The politician that he was, took us all into an air conditioned chamber, and began lecturing us about himself, the growth of the temple, and the miracles associated with it (of how a patient whose both kidneys had failed miraculously recovered after Janardhan Poojari prayed for him at this temple, and how the temple itself was built on soil which was most unfit for any construction). Madhuri and Suhas kept cracking jokes, Navya was in her usual naughty mood, Bharath kept on throwing cashew-nuts into Suhas' mouth, while the others had no option but to listen intently and appreciate the architect of the temple. It was pretty late by the time we were relieved (not to forget the plenty more photos Suhas had to click of the politician).

Kudlothsava

The last place to visit for the night was the 'Kudlothsava' exhibition, which was almost entirely closed. Chaitra enjoyed a cotton candy, and Madhuri feasted on Gobi Manchurian, and we were out of that place, heading straight towards Udupi Krishna Bhavan, right next to Mohini Vilas. This was a plantain leaf dinner, and the food was all right. Back to the guesthouse, and back to a good night's sleep. Harisha still scratched his body, Suhas moaned about the burns on his back, and the sun had taken its toll on everyone. Chaitra and Madhuri were both a bit cross with Suhas, for apparently a very silly reason, while Sumanth kept walking back and forth, waiting for the clock to strike 12am. This was because, at 12am, Suhas would turn 22 years old. Thanks to Sumanth, Suhas felt special that night.

October 23rd, Monday

The trip until now had gone amazingly well. Somewhere, in everyone's hearts lie deep depressions that this would be the last day of touring. Shivashankar did his usual job of reminding everyone the advantages of leaving early. Breakfast was at Janatha Deluxe, and we left towards Moodbidri at 9am. The journey involved narration of poems on account of Suhas' birthday, by Sumanth, who managed to create beautiful words within minutes. Although Suhas was a bit unhappy with Sumanth for not noting down any kilometer reading until then, yet all that was forgotten soon, and Suhas had the widest possible smile on his face.

Moodbidri

It was 10-15am when we reached Moodbidri. Moodbidri, a Jain shrine pilgrimage is 30 Kms from Mangalooru. 5 centuries ago, a Basadi called 'Saavira Sthambha Basadi' or a 'Thousand Pillar Temple' was built here. The temple is worth a visit, and we did have a doubt whether there really were thousand pillars there. It was here that Harisha underwent a transformation, and became the first 'Theerthankara' of 'Kempusagara'. He earned a lot of respect from everyone, and his one-liners, though a bit dirty, and worth being censored, did not prevent us from laughing our hearts out. Each person took up a pillar, and lots of photos were clicked. Finally, we moved on.

Manipal

Visit to Manipal was unplanned, but owing to the extra time we had, because of an early start, we decided to have a glimpse of the 'seat of learning', the place with an international look - Manipal. It was 12-15pm then at Manipal. A visit to this place means a visit to the 'Pathology and Anatomy Museum'. A few of the ladies, and Prakasha decided to stay out of the museum, but the rest enjoyed the weirdness of the place. Dead and preserved fetuses, kidneys, cancer affected body parts, reproductive organs, skeletons, skulls; it was indeed a horror house. A few exhibits made us laugh, but most of them reflected 'death' and the horrors associated with it, and we were happy to get some fresh air outside. Suhas was extremely thrilled because 'Pathology' was a subject he always loved. On our way back to Udupi, we had a peek at the Kasturba Medical College building. Manipal was indeed a special place, where students ruled, a place truly with an international look.

Udupi and the Malpe Beach

Udupi

Udupi is a temple-town, famous to the Krishna Temple and Ashta Mathas. It was almost afternoon when we reached Udupi. We stopped near the Krishna Temple, and all one could think of was to have a small lunch, and then jump into a ferry towards St. Mary's Island. The temple was filled with people, and we were hardly interested in another temple-lunch. Rather, we followed a board named 'Woodlands Restaurant', and continued to do so for a long long time only to face a closed door with another board - 'Woodlands Restaurant closed on account of Deepavali'. Tempers had begun to soar. The sun showed no pity. It was a slow walk back to our vehicle, and finally, we found something to eat at Amanthrana Restaurant. Well, that was what we had believed. The servers took almost 30 minutes to serve a plate meal, and therefore had to face the wrath of the already angry Satish, Prakasha and ATK. After finishing a non-satisfying lunch, all hoped that a visit to the islands would improve our moods. But it was not to be. It was a Monday. On a Monday, there are no boats to take you to St. Mary's Islands as it is a Govt. holiday, and we were an unlucky lot not to find even private boats anywhere. The smell of the fishes already had begun to creep in. This was not a day to remember, and both Bharath and Suhas were saddened to see their plans being blemished by a day of sheer bad luck. The beach was the only place to be.


Malpe Beach

The waters would indeed cool us off, and that was where we headed. Malpe beach is commonly known for its nauseating fish smell. But the seashores near Odabhaandiishvara Temple are perhaps the best place to enjoy. Less currents, and a very flat ocean floor makes it the most sought after beach in Coastal Karnataka. It was a hot 3pm when we reached the sea shore, and found already a whole lot of people infesting the place. But the sea is a huge thing, and it can accommodate a whole lot of people, so we had no problems in finding our place to play throw-ball, Frisbee, and splash water around. The 'fun' began to take a proper shape now. Slowly, everyone began stepping into the sea.The floor was so flat that Bharath, Suhas, Sumanth, Prashanth and ATK braved to go deeper. Prashanth showed special swimming skills that made the rest of them hold their stomachs and laugh out. Shivashankar's skills in throwing and catching the Frisbee were a great source of comedy as well. Bharath and Suhas soon pulled in Madhuri and Neha, who earlier were reluctant to get into deeper waters, and they soon realized what they were missing out on. The ladies, not wanting to be left behind, courageously entered the sea. Sumitra held ATK's hand and enjoyed the waves hitting against her legs. The beach was indeed an anti-depressing agent. All the anger, the frustration and exhaustion of the afternoon was replaced by a lot of positive energy and new vigor. We had to be literally pulled out of the water, as it was dusk. Suhas took a few quick snaps of the setting sun, and they came out beautifully. All were salty, sticky, wet and tired, yet there was a smile on everyone's face - that was the important thing.

Krishna Temple

Our vehicle moved on towards the Krishna Temple - the place that we were yet to visit. The elders walked to the temple, the youngsters decided to stay on inside the vehicle itself. Suhas narrated the roller-coaster life he has lived and the colourful experiences of his college life. The kids also feasted upon four flavours of ice creams on account of Suhas' birthday treat. He indeed spent his birthday with his favourite friends, and doing his favourite thing - making everyone smile. Rockets decorated the night skies and it was a lovely sight from the window of our vehicle. Immediately, Suhas was re-imbursed for his expenditure on the ice creams, in the form of a monetary birthday gift from Raadhathhe. Dinner was at Surathkal, and the road towards Mangalooru was extremely horrible, and pot-holed. It was pretty late by the time we reached Mangalooru, almost 11-30pm. There was no doubt that everyone would sleep peacefully that night. Bharath and Suhas shook hands once again, the way the day had begun was a bit alarming, but Malpe beach had lifted everyone's spirits and it was the completion of yet another successful day. All slept well, only Suhas and Chaitra had a long talk, till 3-40am. Chaitra spoke about her best friend - Manasa, and Suhas was amazed about how much Chaitra knew, her knowledge and experience much advanced for her age.

October 24th, Tuesday

This would perhaps be the saddest day of the trip, the exact opposite of Friday - the day we started this outing. Everyone sadly packed their bags, took a few photographs in front of the CBOO Centre, and moved on towards Uthsav restaurant to have breakfast. Onion Dosa was what we had, although the elders warned us that it was a wrong thing to eat especially before a long journey. It was 10am and the vehicle moved on towards Arsikere, and we passed time listening to music, much against the elders' wishes. Navya, who had a mixed experience, of both having fun, and suffering from a persistent cough, turned hyperactive during the return journey and became a source of extreme comedy to everyone sitting on the last seats. Her spirit, the courage shown in the water park inspite of an initial fear, and every word she spoke, brought peals of laughter amongst everyone, and certainly no trip can be complete without her presence. The Mangalooru-Hassan NH 48 route had gone bad, and was always jammed due to movement of oil tankers, and our driver preferred the Mangalooru - Beltangadi - Mudigere - Beluru - Halebidu - Banavar - Arsikere route. It was soon time to take a feedback.

Feed-back

The trip initiated by the youngsters, responsibilities handled by the youngsters, and the leadership of the youngsters needed to be appreciated. Yet, there was a lot of potential for improvement. The opinions became very important. Most of them were extremely happy that they were a part of this programme. Shivashankar and Sumitra felt that more prominence needed to be placed on playing Kannada music in the vehicle, especially folk, classical and Janapada songs. Prakasha felt that more details about every place needs to be collected, and that much smaller trips, including a Bengalooru sightseeing trip could be arranged. Starting of a trip fund was an innovative idea proposed by Rekha although its practicalities are yet to be considered. ATK felt that the youngsters should continue showing the leadership qualities even during the trip, and should not leave all responsibilities to the elders. The kids couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had, Neha did not forget to complain that parents' still keep on pestering the kids even during trips, Sumanth was happy that we prevented pollution by missing out on bursting crackers this season; Manu wanted everyone to show more enthusiasm, even when visiting temples. Gayathri felt that the quantity of snacks brought was enormous, and ended up being wasted, and that only one family must be in charge of bringing snacks. Harisha wasn't happy about Chaitra not singing any songs. Bharath and Suhas reflected on past memories of how they started from scratch, hardly believing that a trip would ever happen, and how a plan turned into reality. Suhas especially was happy to have had an amazing birthday with his best friends in the form of his cousins, and reflected on how he could get rid of all inhibitions and talk freely with everyone, sharing his secrets, and having so much of fun on all the days. After the bouquets, came the bad news - accounts!! Bharath read out the expenditures, and how much each had to pay. It indeed worked out cheaper than what we had estimated. Music was what kept us occupied during the long journey. Special occasions included the anniversary gift presented to ATK and Sumitra by Shivashankar and Gayathri; Suhas presented a gift to Sudhanva reminding everyone about his birthday on 25th of October. The Charmudi Ghats with its splendid beauty captured our minds. All those who had 'Onion Dosa' for breakfast had to experience a bad feeling in the stomach; Sudhanva and Sumanth even threw up a bit. Neha slept for almost the entire journey. Harisha and Ravi's one-liners kept everyone amused for quite sometime. It was almost 3-45pm when we reached Arsikere.

Arsikere drop-off

We stopped there for coffee, juice and a something to fill our stomachs. We bid a sad goodbye to Prakasha and family, picked up Subanna from there, and moved on towards Bengalooru at 5-15pm. Surprisingly, Madhuri came with us, deciding to spend the remaining of her holidays in Bengalooru. There was a bit of an argument on where Madhuri would go, and finally it was decided that she'd visit Suhas' place this time. It was almost 8-30pm when we touched Bengalooru soil, and we left off Subanna at Nandini Layout; the rest of them got down near Shivashankar's place, and finally the last drop off point was ATK's place where even Satish and family got down. It was already 10pm, and Satish decided to leave to their place immediately.

The end (or is this the beginning?)

The trip finally came to an end, 5 days it lasted, and everyone would say that it felt like 5 hours. Rather than call it as an end, we prefer to call it as the beginning of a new high-spirited generation, the younger generation who now have stood up to shoulder responsibilities, who bring true meaning to family values and relationships, who are fulfilling their grandfather's dream of bringing everyone together. That's how family trips are, people who are fed up of city life, deserve to gift themselves such outings once in a while, to remind themselves what life is, and what nature is. Watching the setting of a sun, walking bare foot along the seashore, standing three thousand feet above sea level, watching clouds float past us, this is life!! This reminds us that in life, there is something above making money, something above buying jewellery, and something above competing with each other in this rat race called 'life'. This family bonding, the love for each other, the essence of being together, this is what makes our country so different from the rest. A country that is filled with 'hatred' is also a country that is filled with a lot of 'love'. The country called India!!

Trip details

Bengalooru - Nelamangala - Chennarayapatna - Hassan (pickup-point)
NH 48; 185 Kms; 4 hours

Hassan - Sakleshpur - Manjarabad fort
NH 48; 45 Kms; 1 hour

Sakleshpur - Descend down the Shiradi Ghats - Kukke Subramanya
NH 48; 57 Kms; 4 to 4 1/2 hours

Subramanya - Jaalasur - Mulleriya - Kasargod
100 Kms; 2 1/2 hours

Kasargod - Madhur
12 Kms

Kasargod - Bekal Fort
19 Kms

Kasargod - Mangalooru
NH 17; 45 Kms; 1 hour

Mangalooru - Pilikula Nisarga Dhama
Mangalooru - Karkala Highway; 10 Kms

Mangalooru - Moodbidri
NH 17; 35 Kms; 30 minutes

Moodbidri - Manipal
50 Kms; 1 hour

Manipal - Udupi
12 Kms

Udupi - Malpe beach (near Odabhaandiishvara Temple)
6 Kms

Udupi - Mangalooru
NH 17; 60 Kms; 1 1/2 hours

Mangalooru - Arsikere
Via Beltangadi - Mudigere; 225 Kms; 5 1/2 hours

Arsikere - Bengalooru
NH 206 to Tumkur, and NH 4 to Bangalore; 160 Kms; 4 hours