When I started this blog I was concerned about lot of things. I was concerned about everything from page template, content quality, and even the view count. Even though my idea of starting this blog was to share my happiness with people around me, it turned out to be something more. The number of people visiting my page, liking the posts, and sharing them started to bother me. Those statistical figures started to make me both happy and sad and I caught myself in a position where I was contradicting my own principles. I was never a person who really cared about how other people saw me and how well my thoughts were received by them. I have always despised those who tried to get attention but in the end I found myself begging for it. I found myself in the most pathetic state I could ever imagine. And let me tell you, these thoughts never happened to me overnight and they were completely the outcomes of prolonged observations, reflections, and thoughts about myself. Like most people, I, too, make the stupidest decisions when I am depressed or stressed and the solution I found was to get rid of the root cause of the problems. I thought about not blogging for a while and yeah I really did that.
I didn’t take my blog off the internet like those teenagers who deactivate their Facebook account but I really did something equally stupid then. I didn’t write about two beautiful trips I had made thinking that it would help me to bring myself out of the state I was at, then. However things do change and it is supposed to be that way. Recently I met one of my school friends and had a long chat and it was only when we were about to part he mentioned about my blog. He told me that he liked my blog very much and asked me to keep it going. When I reached home I really gave it a thought why I actually started blogging in the very first place. Then I thought about the number of times I have re-read my own posts about old trips. And whenever I did that, I got a feeling like reading someone’s experiences. Made me relive all those amazing trips I made. It was only then I knew why I started this blog in the first place. I just wanted to share the happiness that I enjoyed and I wanted to relive those days one day when I won’t be able to go to those places physically. That is the only reason why I am going to write about these two trips that happened long back.
SAVANADURGA
If you ever asked me about a place that gave me the happiest of moments in my life, I would doubtlessly say that it is Savanadurga. By the time I went to Savanadurga I had realized that each time I visited a new place I got this feeling that that was the best place I have ever been to. If you had been following my blog since beginning, you would understand that I speak about every place I visit with so much love. That might be because every square feet of land on this earth has to tell us its own unique story. The trip was kind of special to me since it was my first ride with my new riding fraternity ‘YRC’ and also that was my first solo trekking to some hill.
Savanadurga is a quiet and peaceful destination despite the high number of pilgrims that frequent the ‘Savandi Veerabhadreshwara Swamy’ and ‘Narasimha Swamy’ temples located at the foot hill. Located 60Kms off from Bengaluru, the hill located in Magadi road and is considered as one of the largest monoliths in Asia. Known locally as ‘Kaligudda (Black hill)’ and ‘Billigudda (White hill)’, the two hills that form the Savanadurga, the earliest record of the name ‘Savanadurga’ is associated with the 14th century record by ‘Hoysala Ballala III’ and is called as ‘Savandi’ then. The place holds historic significance as it has the legacy of being the capital of Magadi rulers, and witnessing several wars which resulted in transfer of power over the region between Magadi Rulers to Mysore kingdom and from Tipu Sultan to British Empire.
Even though the tourism associated with the region is mainly about pilgrimage that has been going on for generations, I found the trekking uphill to be more comforting and soothing. I couldn’t find the calm and peace which I felt when I visited the ‘Devarayana Temple’. The temples and the surroundings are overcrowded with pilgrims, tourists, and street vendors and is noisy for most part of the time but the number of people giving a visit to the ‘Nandi’ idol on the top of the hills seemed very less and the vast expanse of the hill also makes the trekking trails look virtually deserted. Maybe that was because of the time I went for the trekking.
I have always said that solitude is the best feeling once we get used to it and I just loved every second I spent in Savanadurga. Smiled at all random strangers, spoke to some, shared my water with people who asked for it, enjoyed the wind like I never did before. Trust me, it was a tiring trek even though it is not as tough as ‘Kabbala Durga’ and there were kids carrying loads of tetra packs and bottled water uphill on their head just to make a living. I respect the kind of hard work and I hope and pray that their experiences turns out for their own good.
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WE STARTED THE RIDE EARLY MORNING AND REACHED THERE BY AROUND 8:00 AM
IT WAS A HAPPY FEELING TO RIDE WITH THE NEW FAMILY. HOWEVER, THEY ALL CAME ONLY UP TO THE FOOT HILL AND WENT BACK SOON.
TREKKING BEGINS THROUGH LOVELY BUSHES
THE ENORMITY OF THE HILL HASN’T COME PERFECTLY IN NONE OF THE PICTURES BUT IT WAS HUGE AND BEAUTIFUL
THESE ARE THE GUYS I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER. HE CARRIED THE LOAD ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP
THE VIEW OF TEMPLES AT THE FOOTHILL
MESMERIZING SKIES
VIEW OF MACHANEBELE DAM THROUGH THE REMINISCENT OF AN AGES OLD FORT
THE HILL HAS BEEN USED BY DIFFERENT EMPERORS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES AND I AM NOT REALLY SURE WHETHER THESE CONSTRUCTIONS ARE FROM THOSE ERA.
THE HILL OVERLOOKS MACHANEBELE DAM AT A DISTANCE AND THE VIEW IS JUST BEAUTIFUL. I LOVE THIS PICTURE FOR THE GRADIENT IT MAKES.
THE TOUGHER THE GOING GETS, THE BETTER THE FEELING GETS.
THIS WAS ANOTHER GUY WHO SOLD JUICES AND WATER ON THE HILL AND HE WANTED TO BE CLICKED. HE ALSO CLICKED A FEW PICTURES OF MINE AS WELL.
MACHANEBELE DAM SHOT WHILE COMING BACK FROM SAVANADURGA
SAVANADURGA SHOT FROM A DISTANCE
SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA TAKE A BREAK, STOP AND LOOK BACK. IT ALWAYS FEELS BETTER TO REALIZE HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME.
