Venture of a Sunday afternoon..

Late in the afternoon on Sunday (Oct 9, 2005), four of us gathered - Kanth, Pavan, Ravi (Kanth's colleague) and I. While having lunch we decided to go out somewhere.

Makalidurga is too far to start at 3:15 pm. Cubban Park and Lalbagh didn't enthuse Ravi. He wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than climbing up and down an at-least-a-100-meter hill.

We had to decide fast and we did. On two bikes we started zooming off on the Hosur Road. The weather was excellent and the traffic was bearable. In less than one hour, we reached Anekal.

Kanth and I were on my bike and, as usual we started our endless discussions. The presence of 'residential layouts' on either side of the road leading to Anekal disturbed us. The place is beautiful with lush greenery, and the undulating meadows with trees and fields makes a great sight; and here we have people selling pieces of that paradise and people buying them - only to change the whole of it into concrete jungle in an unduely fast course of time.

Anekal is supposed to mean, "Village of Elephant" in Kannada. With man on rampage, occupying every bit of land, whither go the elephants?
Six years ago, once in a while, I remember reading news snippets like: "leopard hurts a village boy", "elephants destroy sugar-cane crop", etc. from these areas.. some time later there were news reports of leopards being caught and elephants being electrocuted.. now there is no such news.
Villagers had their families safe, and their crops completely to themselves.. and now they are aspiring for "greener pastures" - selling their agricultural lands for residential townships! They have a ready market in middlemen that tap the Bangalore techies (and their colleagues) growing in numbers by hundreds everyday.

We crossed Anekal and reached the road that leads to Muthyala Maduvu alias Pearl Valley. There was a family of monkeys, probably on their routine rounds. They were completely lost in their world and didn't even care to attack a gourd vendor at the corner. Well, we bought a deliciuos snack of keeras.

The weather was getting better by the minute.. On the way to Pearl Valley, as we cross the tiny village after Anekal, suddenly the world around turns serene, green, windy.. the plains develop more pronounced undulations.. and turn into ravines that were once homes of elephants and leopards!! Of course, at least part of that land has already been sold as farm resorts - man need not fear any beast now.

Towards the west Ravi spotted a spectacle of sun and clouds. From beyond the clouds, the Sun was reaching the mountains and meadows with his golden rays. The rain-washed emerald plains and lush trees frolicked in added glory and extra beauty as the God of thousand rays caressed them. A lamb or two from a flock in the ravines bleated to the shepherd's call.

The photographer in Ravi lept out and captured the scenery through his Fuji lens.

We proceeded to the Pearl Valley. What happened there?? Read in the next post on this (Adventure of a Sunday afternoon)