Whims published... It's not an expert's opinion, It's not an online diary, It's not a web journal... It is just my whims published

For those who don’t know what Kaivara means in Kannada, It means compass. Hope you got the intended pun in the title at least now :)

I have a feeling that by blog is becoming more of a travelogue than my whims published. The way I am travelling / trekking, my blog can prove a quick handy reference for guys interested in travelling across Karnataka.

It was another hasty decision by Nazir to go to Kaivara on 22^nd Oct [SUN]. This time we were 5 of us. Bhai’s younger bro was a new addition to our gang. We left Bangalore around 12:30 PM, headed towards Kolar on NH7. We reached Kaivara by 2:30 approx. There are many temples in the Kaivara town. The biggest among them is the Brindavana of Kaiwara thathayya popularly known as Amaranarayana temple. There is a hill called Bheema Bakana betta in Kaivara. This hill was supposed to be named after Bheema killed demon Bakaasura in one of the caves of this hill. There is even info (read myth) that one of the caves of this betta still has the corpse of Bakaasura and the corpse of Bakaasura drips blood out of the cave during Shivarathri! If you manage to remember the name of the city in which Bheema had killed Bakasura from the bits and pieces of Mahabharatha you remember and succeed in getting the name as Ekachakrapura, Bingo! You guessed it right. Kaivara was Ekachakrapura during Dwapara yuga. How lucky Pandavas must be to visit every nook and corner of India during their vanavaasa :)

How on earth can we see a hillock and still not climb to the peak of it! But there was a second thought this time b4 starting the trek, as Bhai and his bro were on fast for Ramzaan. We had no doubts on Bhai’s capabilities but his bro was a bit of concern for us. He too nodded his head in agreement with Bhai when asked about trekking Bheema Bakana betta. It was not really strenuous to trek to the top of the hill. There is a statue (kinda) of Bheema on top. We even deliberately drifted away from the stony steps just to make the trek more adventurous..! We reached atop and rested there munching the food we had carried. I personally like the calmness on top of the hills. Its always a nice experience to enjoy the picturesque views from top of the hills and savour the sound of silence…

After getting down the hill, we drove towards Ambaji Durga also called Kailasagiri Kshetra, as it was recommended as a must-see place by a guy while we were trekking Bheema Bakana betta. Kailasagiri Kshetra was indeed a unique place with temples inside man made caves. We were astonished by the magnitude of the caves and the effort and of course the money spent on it. There are idols of Ganapathi and Shiva there. The carvings of few more idols were in progress. This place might turn out to be a huge tourist attraction in the coming years.

It was already 6:30 by the time we finished our darshan in the cave temples. We headed back towards Bangalore. We tried another never-done-b4-act this time. Quite crazy though… Let me put a statutory warning here: These stunts(!) were performed by not so professionals ;) only crazy guys who risk their lives to experience the thrill of it, can try it.

Nazir switched off the car’s headlights [he was the 1 who was driving, and also the only 1 who knows driving amongst us] leaving no trails of a car moving on road for other vehicles. Its an amazing experience. All you can see from the car is pitch black sky and twinkling stars and definitely not the road ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We could try this as there were very few vehicles coming from the opposite direction. Of course Nazir would have made sure that there were no sudden sharp curves on the road.. or may be not.. We seldom believe him ;). We kept repeating the act until we reached the highway.

I know these crazy things may prove fatal… but worth trying once.

Useful Info:
Location: Kaivara

Preferred transportation: 4 wheeler, Ideal for biking also as roads are good throughout

Distance: 80 Kms from Bangalore

Route: Drive on NH7 towards Kolar.

Few tips:
Visit Amaranarayana Temple
Trek Bheema Bakana betta [takes hardly an hour to reach the top]
Visit cave temples in Ambaji Durga / Kailasanatha Kshetra [7 Kms from Kaivara town]

Info courtesy:
Kaivara from Wikipedia

To a mythological place from Metrolife, DH

Was watching a Spanish movie called 'Obaba' in Zee English. Here is a conversation from the movie that touched me.

The scene -
A young teacher comes to a toddler's house for home tuitions. The boy keeps looking out of the window when teacher was teaching. Teacher asks him the cause of his worry.

boy: what should I do...? My best friends are not replying to my letters...
teacher: wait...

boy: wait until..?
teacher: until you forget them...!!!