Bababudangiri - A Stay that wasn't meant to be

Bababudangiri at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

At the very edge of the Western Ghats, in the district of Chikmagalur is a place holy to both Muslims and Hindus. Some call it Bababudangiri, others Dattapeeta. It screams "Up yours" to all the divisive forces which have been trying to split our tolerant and multicultural country on religious lines. It is perhaps the most beautiful place in that section of the Western Ghats.

Please note, I said - the most beautiful place in that section of the Western Ghats. Not the entire world. Just the Western Ghats. But if you know the Western Ghats, you'd probably say, "Every section of the Ghats is beautiful! You are a jackass to single out just Bababudangiri. You %$#@$%!!!". Point taken. But seriously man, go check out Bababudangiri. It appealed to this "average Indian biker", so I guess it will appeal to a lot other people as well :P

And so, without further ado, I shall dive right into the boring details ;)

We got to Chikmagalur at around 4 pm. We being - Jishnu, Kudz, Vance and yours truly. We had stopped earlier in the day at Halebeed and Belur, so we were pretty much already done for the day. Riding through the narrow roads of Chikmagalur is a little surreal. You see so many many Fiat Unos on the road. As if all the Unos of the world decided to congregate here. If you ever feel like buying a Fiat Uno, you know where to look! And if you thought Bangalore was a one-way traffic mess, you got to look at Chikmagalur.

But then, we saw that sign board on IG Road. Hang on. Lets rewind a bit, IG road? Before you remind me to fix an appointment with my optometrist, I did say IG road, and no, I did not mistake MG road for IG road. IG stands for Indra Gandhi. She was elected MP from the Chikmagalur constituency in 1978, and the folks here, they adore her, nay, love her. Of course! They even renamed their most important road, which incidentally is now a one way, in memory of their "Dear Leader". Freaky huh? Must be the only town to have its best road called IG road. Come one man, we are talking modern Indian tradition here. The best road in town has to be MG Road. Didn't they teach you that stuff in 6th Std. Civics?

And yes, Karkala was a part of that constituency back then. Something we like to remind Kudz every time we talk politics.

Back to the sign board. It said - "Kemmangundi - 40 kms". Just 40 kms away. Very tempting. But Kudz was, "Array yaar, ruk jathe hain yaar. Chai vai pee kay chalthay hain...". So, we halted at a road side joint just outside Chikmagalur.

40 kms, at the rate we were traveling, was doable in hmm.... well... half an hour. You see, we were between 100kmph - 110 kmph most of the time.... but well, thats another story... :)

You really don't feel like you are in the hills in Chikmagalur. Just FYI, it can get really hot in the summers. You can see the Western Ghats rising a little beyond the edge of the town. And we hurried on the plain smooth tarmac towards the rising range without a care in the world. The first zig-zag section on the road heralds the beginning of the ghats and the coffee estates.

A section where someone's bike would run out of fuel at 11.45 pm later that night. Muhuhaha.

A little after that is an almost unnoticeable fork in the road. You go straight ahead and you'll be in Shimoga sooner than you can list all the Indian Prime Ministers. That is not where you want to go. You want to go to Bababudangiri, so take that left turn and into the dark green canopy topped road. We visited this region in July, a month traditionally know for copious quantities of precipitation. Ignorance is indeed bliss.

At any clearing you could see these cloud covered hills, and a slight hint of drizzle. The sight was mesmerizing, as always. I have stopped carrying my camera with me on these trips. Don't ask why. And I am beginning to regret that decision. For what it is worth I take a few snapshots with my phone camera. Anyways, this section reminded me of the ride from Kalka to Shimla.

We almost got run over by this crazy mo-fo in a black Indica. This bass-gital was taking blind curves like he was Louis Hamilton himself. Jackass drivers make life difficult, but one learns to live with such incidents ;) One better learn! hehe..

We stopped to take photos and put on the rain gear. As everywhere, the local people got interested in these bikers with strange riding gear. They milled around, and the questioning session began, "Where are you going?", "Where are you coming from?", "Why didn't you take the bus?"

These are hard working, simple folk from rural India. Picking coffee for a living. They are the backbone of the Indian Coffee industry. Picking coffee is back breaking work. Most coffee workers in Chikmagalur are migrant workers from North Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. They live in a world so different from ours. It is difficult for us to comprehend their life, and for them, ours. Yet in a weird way our lives are interdependent. We love our coffee, and they help grow and pick that coffee.

We asked them, if there was some place to stay nearby and they said, if you are headed towards Bababudangiri, then you'll find rooms there. For free. And that is when we decided to halt at Bababudangiri.

A few hundreds of meters later, the road deteriorated. First more gravel than asphalt. And then more mud than gravel, and then just mud with the odd hint of asphalt hidden a few millimeters under the mud. The heavy precipitation makes this region prone to mudslides.
We found that perfect spot where you can see the plains below. For as far as the eye can see. The silver oak hid in the late afternoon shadow of the hills we were climbing. They covered acres of coffee estates. It was the just the place where if you peed, then your pee would probably not touch the ground below. I think at least a 50 feet vertical drop, and then sloping at almost 70 degrees for god knows how many more 100's of feet below! Jishnu, the motographer in the group had a gala time. See image below.


The ride upto this point is fairly sedate, nothing too exotic that you'd want to write home about. What transpires next is what really makes this ride worthwhile. The road snakes up the hill. 500 meters of straight roads a hair pin bend and another 500 meters of straights and another hair pin and some more. You get into this mental rhythm, only to have it disturbed almost instantaneously by this 10 meter pass. You go through and bham, you see the other side of the hill, the valley, and more hills rising in the distance. The mind takes a snapshot to preserve and remember. I can still remember that scene. Very vividly. Any attempts, by me, to describe that one fraction of a moment in time will fall flat. I felt like I was riding on the clouds, not through, not with but, on them.

The roads on this side of the hills were considerably more narrow, more muddy and more damp, and consequently more slushy. It didn't help that the cow herds were getting back home, and the road was the natural thoroughfare for even our bovine friends, so we had no option by to drive through these herds. Around 10 kms from that breathtaking entry into the hills, we arrived at yet another fork in the road. One leading to Dattapeeta and other to Kemmangundi. If we thought that the roads couldn't possible get more narrow, we were in for a surprise. The road got more narrow and it more slushy. Perfecto! The incessant climb up Dattapeeta was the most scenic section of that day. The clouds below, the hint of precipitation and the steady drop in temperature.

Before we knew what was happening we were at the gates of Bababudangiri/Dattapeeta. The gate proclaimed "No alcohol. No meat." Possibly keeping in mind the religious sentiments of both the believing communities. There is a parking fee to enter the gates. We got in and asked for the caretaker. The caretaker politely told us we were not welcome to stay there.

"The rooms are old. There is no bedding. There is no water. There is no rug. There is no pillow. If that is ok, I can show you the rooms. Food is at this canteen."

We stayed a while at Bababudangiri. The road doesn't end here. There are higher places one can go. But the caretaker warned us that it was getting late and there was no point going up these places when it is dark, plus if it rains then we are on our own.

We were so bummed, we didn't even take a snap at this place. I don't recall what made us turn back so fast, but we did. The ride back to Chikmagalur was the best ghat ride ever. We were quite slow to climb, but on our way down - we flew! No kidding! We were in that 80-90 range at most points bar the hair pins. Narrow or wide, tar or mud, it didn't matter. But in our defense, we were always in control. There was no rash riding, and well... alls well that ends well!

It was almost 7pm by the time we got back to Chikmagalur and settled in at the hotel. Different story that we checked out in less than 3 hours. :P But, that story is not for this blog.

So, is Bababudangiri worth riding to? Yes! I know I will return some day, but with proper camping equipment :)

Bababudangiri - A Stay that wasn't meant to be

Belur - Halebeed : Ancient Engineering

In the past 4 years I have visited Belur and Halebeed more number of times than any other place. Except Mysore. And every time I've been there, I've learned something new. Fascinating place. One could spend days, nay, years studying the two temples and still be enthralled.

My most recent visit was in July ;08 (12th-13th), during the bike ride to Chikmagalur with Vance, Kudz and Jishnu.

For those who came in late : Halebeed and Belur are two temple towns (~ 16kms apart) near Hasan. The temples built by the Hoysala Dynasty in the 12th Century. The temples took more than a 100 years to build. The sculptures are magnificent and painfully elaborate. Knowledge of Indian mythology is required to understand the meaning of the carved figurines. It is rumored that when the Muslim invaders came pillaging in the 16th century, the local rulers covered the entire Belur temple in huge mound of sand to protect it. For those of you who are vastu inclined, the temple is built in accordance to the rules of vatsu, complete with water body in the North-West. The works.

I am no historian, so my versions may be a little skewed. I am not a gifted writer either, so my accounts may not be as vivid as I hope they will be. I advice you to make time and visit these places. That is the only way you can remotely comprehend this splendor from ancient India.

Slip and slide
The figurines that adorn the exterior walls of the temple are not carved into the walls. Neither are they carved on the structural elements directly. Instead, they are carved onto a panel, and this panel fits into the wall. Like a LEGO brick!

Of course, it isn't exactly like a LEGO brick, maybe wall hanging is a better description. The front of the panels were sculpted and the rear had two hooks. The wall had receptacles where these hooks could fit in. Sounds like a very configurable temple! Wonder if they placed the statues at different locations for different occasions...

In the ancient days, people were not keen on stealing from a temple. You know, face the wrath of God was not what you wanted to do those days. Ever since the figurines started fetching a handsome price in the auction homes of Europe, perhaps the God's wrath idea started sounding like an old wives' tale. And pieces started disappearing with alarming regularity. Such was the severity of the problem, that the Archaeological Survey of India stepped in and cemented the remaining figurines into place.


Take a look at this image. They have connected two slabs of stone, as a carpenter would, using something similar to a sliding dove tail joint. Those slabs must have been heavy. They must have used elephants / mules to do the lifting or pushing. This totally impressed me.

Placement
Again, the placement idea was quite a hit those days. They even took a huge pillar and placed it. Yeah! Placed it. No mortar, no binding agent, just placement. Now, take a pen, and place it vertical on the table. Like that.



The temple vicinity doesn't experience high winds it seems, and even at the winds the temple experiences, the pillar has been stationary for the past 1000 years. How cool is that! Our guide informed us, that the only thing capable of felling this pillar is an earthquake. Hmm... point to ponder about.

Turning and the lathe.
A lathe is a machine tool which spins a block of material so that when abrasive, cutting, or deformation tools are applied to the block, it can be shaped to produce an object which has rotational symmetry about an axis of rotation. It is a bigger and badder version of the pottery wheel. In pottery you place the clay at the center of a wheel. Turn the wheel, and the blob of clay at the center also turns, now while the wheel is turning, you can shape the clay with your fingers into a symmetrical vase or pot or anything else you fancy.

The temple interiors are adorned with several load bearing pillars. No two pillars being alike. In Belur especially, the pillars are cylindrical, i.e. circular in cross section. The surface of these pillars is so smooth, you could be excused for mistaking it for polished metal. Even after all these years you can see your reflection in the dark stone. How did they do that? How did they get that perfect circular cross section? No one had a lathe back then.

The guide informed us that they used an elaborate contraption consisting of a giant pottery wheel, some horses to pull/rotate the wheels and an abrasive. Now let loose your imagination. I can almost drift back in time....

The clamor of chisel on stone fills the hot summer afternoon. Bare chested sculptors sitting in line, leaning over a section. A section they have worked on for more than ten years. Somewhere in the background you hear an elephant trumpet. The sound of protest as he pulls and heaves a massive block of stone. A little closer, you can hear the stomping hooves of an angry horse.

He should have been out in the field, training with the rest of the army. If only he hadn't thrown his rider off during the army selection. Luckily for him, he was still alive. They said hard work would break him in. But what kind of a life was this? All he did was pull. He pulled all day, and he pulled in circles. His life literally revolved around that black stone. When he had started a year and a half back the stone was a mere block. Now, under the watchful eyes of the temple architects, it was slowly taking a circular shape....

Ah... how idyllic life must have been back then. Simpler times, but one must remember the average life span was no more than 35, so i'd be over middle aged by now. :P Anyways, imagine how long it must have taken to get that 10 feet high 3 feet dia pillar into shape. Imagine the amount of coolant that must have been used. Did they use water? did they use some vegetable/animal oil? Questions, questions, and more questions. I can only wonder and speculate. Perhaps one day, some one will show me a blog with the answers, for I am too lazy to read an ancient history book ;) Or, for that matter, even search on google for the answers :)

Ball bearings
As if having cylindrical pillars was not enough, they decided to have a rotating pillar inside the temple as well. Like those revolving book shelf/tower that most book stores seem to sport these days. What did that thing have to do with the temple? For what joy did they install this revolving pillar? Was it a Tibetian Buddhist prayer wheel rip off? I can't even imagine, neither could the guide.

And guess how those things revolved? Its ok. Take a wild guess. Yes sir. Ball bearings. The pillar doesn't turn anymore. Why? Because the ASI damaged the top of the pillar during renovations some time in the early 20th century. So now all that remains is an old story, passed down from one generation to the next, of the revolving pillar. A story you'd want to believe when you see the pillar.

More tid-bits as an when I remember them.... I need some pictures of the circular pillar and the revolving pillar.

The grit and foresight of the Hoysala rulers is something a lot of us can do well to learn. ( I hate to sound preachy! ) It took them three generations to complete these temples, (well, one is still incomplete). The first generation most likely never lived to see the completion of the work they commenced. What motivates one to do such things? I don't know, but it most certainly isn't greed.

The ancient engineering techniques all seem so simple, uncomplicated, yet they have endured a thousand years. A thousand years which has seen the region plunging in and out of chaos, and these structures have seen them all. They will see the future unravel, for longer then any of us will. Humbling thought.

Belur - Halebeed : Ancient Engineering

Magadi - Savandurga - Ramnagara

Waiting of ages at endless traffic signals, or weaving through slow trucks, inhaling their toxic spew isn't exactly what I like. But, that is exactly what I have had to go through, every time I've taken the Nellamangala route towards Hassan. I don't favour potholes either!

That's why, last November, Kudz and me decided to "explore" other options. This was on the Diwali ride to Mangalore. And we "discovered" the Kunigal-Magadi-Ramanagara section. In July '08, we "discovered" the Bangalore-Magadi route. It was perfect announce ride material. Short, beautiful, and well laid.

So, when someone on the RTMC forum wanted to know if we would have an announce ride this September, and if yes, then where to, I had no hesitation in suggesting our "discovered" route. And, that is the route we took today.

We started from ISKON at 0630, with the almost customary 30 minute delay.

Took the Chord road - Modi Road - 1st/9th Cross Road route to join Magadi Road.
Since we were moving that early in the morning, we did not face the usual hustle bustle that one normally associates with the narrow Magadi Road. The road opens up after the intersection with the NICE road. A few patchy stretches here and there, but nothing one feels like complaining about. The road has enough and more turns, blind curves and even one hair pin bend! The environs were green and the cool air added to the feeling of being somewhere in the western ghats :) Ok, now maybe that was a bit too much...

The first regroup point was the old bridge on a right hand turn. The photographers got out their equipment and did their thing. The people who had to pee peed. Those who wanted to smoke smoked. Those who did not want to do anything did just that. Those who spotted the chai-shack had the chai. One micro-mini cup of chai for Rs 2. I remembered that "singular" event involving a similarly priced coffee while riding back from Belum, and the subsequent refund.. hehe... Anyways, we resumed after the Kutti chai break.

The 2nd regroup point was the at the left turn off towards Savandurga and the 3rd at Savandurga. At Savandurga, we didn't trek or do anything very Savandurga specific. It was just another regroup point. We found a clearing a couple of hundred meters away from the temple at the base and had our announce ride intro session.

What happens at these sessions, is that a regular RTMC rider introduces RTMC, gives the usual gyan about how we are a non-profit, non-affiliated, non-political, only-for-fun biking group. The two step eligibility criteria etc. etc. Then all the riders introduce themselves, after which the new riders ask their questions which range from who is the best mechanic to where do I get that riding gear :) Ditto for this ride. The other highlight was the distribution of - "Bharat Parikrama" DVD (A journey around India). Kart got a bag full of these DVDs to give away.

We decided to have breakfast at Kamath Loka ruchi, so headed towards Ramanagara on some more kickass windy roads. We halted before the Ramanagara - SH13 junction to allow everybody to regroup. We reached Kamath at 10.30 am. Breakfast was nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of glasses of watermelon juice, puri bhajji and some gup shup.

We left Kamath Loka Ruchi at around 11.30 am, and regrouped at The NICE road-SH 13 intersection. We were waiting in the boiling heat (in our boiler suit) when we recieved an SMS from Menon- "Vijay's bike tyre punctured. you guys proceed." So, we took a group snap, Ok! a couple of group snaps (Will post that up once I get it), shook hands and thanked each other for the safe ride, and went our separate ways.

The route -
Start: Bangalore, ISKON temple 0630 hrs
Via Point 1: Old bridge on Magadi Main Road (38kms)
Via Point 2: left turn off to Savandurga on Magadi Main Road
Via Point 3: Savandurga
Via Point 4: 500m before merge onto SH-13 at Ramanagara
Via Point 5: Kamath Loka Ruchi on SH-13 CAUTION: Turn right towards Mysore!
Via Point 6/End: SH-13 - NICE intersection (Kengeri)

The route was a little over 150 kms, including the city riding.
The good things - no one rode dangerously. No one belted the usual patrang way. One rider had a minor fall. But, we all got home safe. And that, is very important!

Magadi - Savandurga - Ramnagara