The big ugly brown bear that wasn’t

Have you ever heard about the big ugly brown bear? I am sure you have heard its story. No? That doesn’t surprise me because this is a story from a long time ago and yet not so long ago. Just over a hundred years ago, or so I was told, our planet was covered with forests. There were great big trees that had already lived hundreds of years. Among these forests, there were small and sometimes large clearings that were made for houses where humans like us lived. Of course none of those were as big as the cities we now know like Peterborough, London or Hyderabad. So among these forests there lived great big animals and small ones too. From furry rabbits to huge elephants, our planet earth was home to them all.

Now this story comes from up north. Where it is cold and snow stays on the ground for 6 months of the year. The country up north is now called Canada. Canada is home to some of the largest trees, tall and majestic, strong and mighty. Canada is just south of the Arctic circle, the home of the north pole and also home to the great white polar bears. Now the polar bears prided themselves on being tall, rugged, big, strong and yet beautiful and pristinely fair.

One day, a group of young polar bears ventured a little south to forage for food. While jumping in the river to catch their daily quota of fish, the young bears lost their way and  headed into the thick woods of Canada, where the trees were as tall as the sky and thicker than the big bears could hug. As they looked around to figure out how to get back to their home up north in the snow, they chanced upon an equally lost big brown bear. I am sure you have heard of and even probably seen big brown bears. You may even have a soft cuddly stuffed bear toy at home that are fondly called teddy bears. But bears are anything but soft and cuddly. They are ferocious and frightening. Now the polar bears looked up at the strange bear that looked a lot like them but was brown. And the lost brown bear too was puzzled by these bears that looked a lot like its brothers and sisters but were all white. But as their first reaction, they growled at each other from a distance behind the trees, showing their fangs for good measure. 

The polar bears outnumbered the brown bear and were confident and laughed at the little brown bear. The brown bear asked why they were laughing. And the polar bears told the brown bear of the land where they come from. Where everything was covered in snow and almost everything was clean and white. While the brown bear was obviously dirty and brown and of course ugly. The brown bear laughed and said where it comes from, the brown color helps her to be unseen among the trees. So that she can climb trees and drink the choicest honey. Now the polar bears were jealous and wanted a little bit of this honey that they had never heard of. So they decided to make friends with the brown bear, if the brown bear led them to a pot of honey. The brown bear happily led them on a quest for the best honey that the forest could give up. The polar bears were unused to the fresh fragrances of the early morning dew and the gentle breeze among the trees, as the brown bear sniffed its way to a big huge honeycomb. Then suddenly the big

bear stopped and looked up and started climbing the tall tree, for high up among the branches where you could hardly see, the bear knew the best honeycomb existed. Soon the polar bears climbed up too and were gorging on some of the freshest honey known to any bear. As soon as they had their fill, they opened their eyes and could see the snow covered land a little bit in the distance beyond the river. They now knew which way home was. The brown bear too could see its family in the distance and they all hugged happily as they prepared to head to their respective homes. Suddenly one of the polar bears turned to the big brown bear and flashed a honey covered smile and said, you are brown but you are not ugly. You are soft, cuddly and beautiful. And with that the bears parted ways and headed home!

That is the story of the ugly brown bear that wasn’t

Another trip down south

Just a quick recap of another whirlwind South India trip (mainly Tamil Nadu). This time it was purpose driven and we had a schedule to meet.

Chennai - 22nd Jan 2021

It all started with a plan to visit Tirupati. We heard the crowds were not yet thronging the temple town and it would be a good time to get in a quick visit. We planned our trip, and not without hitches, and decided to go to Chennai and drive from Chennai. We landed in Chennai on the early evening of Jan 22^nd. Roopesh, a friend’s son, came to pick us up and drove us straight to the Besant Nagar beach. 30 years ago, this was quite a deserted beach and now it was filled with hawkers and people. There we waited for Ashok his wife and daughter to catch up with us, while we went to greet the waves of the Bay of Bengal.

We walked back from the waves, with the sand in our feet, as it grew dark and settled down near a vendor, to have twisted potato on a stick (tornado potatoes). We planned our dinner as the others arrived. We headed to our dinner restaurant as we had to get to a temple after that for some temple duties too. While the others completed dinner, Ashok & I headed off to the TTD temple in Chennai to oversee the day’s closing and prep for the Saturday morning rush. After finishing up there, we headed home to get to bed early, as we had an early start the next day and a long drive to Tirupati. Meanwhile Raj and Madhuri, who were supposed to join us at Tirupati had their flight cancelled. Luckily they got an earlier one and we were back on track but that meant we would not have a leisurely drive but a quick drive to Tirupati. We arrived home, and found that the others had finished dinner and then headed off to Marina beach to have ice cream. The dream of getting to bed early, remained only a dream

Tirupati - 23rd Jan 2021

By the time we went to bed it was 1 am. We had an early start the next day, at the Chennai TTD temple overseeing the Saturday morning rush. We came back home and then headed out to Tirupati in a borrowed Innova. We had breakfast on the way, and couldn’t believe how rushed even the highway restaurants were. The road to Tirupati from Chennai hasn’t been the best, for the past 40 years, and there was no reason that would change. We had Kumbakonnam Degree Filter Coffee on the way, the same place, we had in 2018 July. It didn't taste the same. The pandemic had forced the old lady to give up the shop to a newer generation. The drive was slow, with traffic and pot holes after that. By the time we arrived at Tirupati, Raj and Madhuri were already waiting for us at the Minerva Grand there. We had a quick lunch and dropped them off at the beginning of the stairs for the long climb up to Tirumala.

I drove up along with Ashok to take the luggage up and ensure the room was sorted before the rest of the party could get there. Though we reached well in time, with the usual rush missing at the scanning below, the crowds were still not exactly non-existent. We found our room and got it cleaned. It was a huge three bedroom apartment with two large halls. Just as they finished cleaning, we got the call to pick the hikers up, as they had reached Tirumala. They made good time for people of a certain age! We got ready in the room and played some dumb charades with the kids and then it was time for dinner and bed. Early the next morning, we had our darshan. Though again the crowds weren’t the usual, they were not thin either. The governor of Telangana too decided to visit the temple that morning and our darshan was delayed. We made it out by 8:30, an hour behind schedule. While 3 of them who had a flight to catch, went their way, rushing off to the apartment and then the airport, we got our quota of laddus and headed back to Chennai.

Kanyakumari - 26th Jan 2021

On the 26^th the next part of our trip started. We headed off to the airport and caught a flight to Madurai. There another friend (Subba Raogaru) graciously lent us his car, a Honda WRV, for us to go down to Kanyakumari. We headed down to Kanyakumari from Madurai airport. The drive was going to be around 4 hours, we thought. It was a good highway and just over 250 kms. But on the way, we took a detour to Paramakudi and Akkiramesi. The rains had been more than plenty this season, even in the driest parts of Tamil Nadu. The farm there was flooded. 

We only spent a few minutes there before heading back out to the highway to Kanyakumari. What we didn’t realise is that the slight detour had added over a 100 kms to our trip. The farm was 102 kms from the airport and Kanyakumari was 265 kms from the farm. In the fading light we drove to Kanyakumari. On the way, we stopped at Tirunelveli, hoping to get a taste of some Tirunelveli halwa but we had no luck. We drove into Kanyakumari, as darkness fell and went straight to the beautiful, 120 acre Vivekananda Kendra. We had dinner there and went to sleep in no time. The next morning, we had to watch the sunrise at Kanyakumari. It is a very impressive sight and we really need a DSLR to capture the beauty of the moment. All I had was my old cell phone camera and I did the best I could.

 

Later that morning, we headed off to the TTD temple in Kanyakumari, which was built on land donated by the Vivekananda Kendra. It was inaugarated on the 27^th of Jan 2019 and this was it’s second anniversary and the reason for us to be there. Built on a corner of the Kendra’s land, elevated on a high pedestal, the temple overlooks the sea and is a majestic sight to behold. To get to the temple, you can walk through the kendra, beyond the peacock sanctuary and the goshala, or take the road outside the kendra and around it. The puja overran and by the time we were done with lunch, it was close to 3 pm.

 

Bodi - 27th Jan 2021

We headed off to Bodi, a place on the foothills of Munnar on the Western Ghats, to visit a friend. It was a long 300 km 5 hour drive on narrow roads with heavy traffic through small towns and villages. Yet the roads of Tamil Nadu are much better than most other parts of India and the drive wasn’t too bad. We spent the night in a resort like place. The next morning, we decided to drive out to get some tea. It was still early and just past 6. The resort was not yet awake when we drove out. Within a kilometer, we came to a check post with a lot of tea stall and breakfast places. It was the beginning of the ghat road up to Munnar, 63 kms away. Funnily Munnar is around 20 kms as the crow flies but 63 kms by road. The ghat road typically takes 3 hours. We went up a little bit to see the sunrise as the road was free of traffic. There in the middle of those mountain roads, we took a U-turn and came down to have tea. We were thrilled to be so close to Munnar. We knew where our next holiday would take us.

Trichy and home - 28th Jan 2021

After breakfast, we headed off to Trichy, where were to visit Sri Rengam Temple, a 200 km drive, before I caught my flight back to Hyderabad. That day was Thai Poosam, which meant the temple timings had changed. So though we were at the temple by 12:30, it was closed. We visited with friends and then after lunch went to the temple again. I cannot even begin to explain the size of the temple town. There were around 4 gates (at least by my count) that we had to get through to get to the main gopuram. Despite the rush on the holy occasion of Thai Poosam, we came out and were told that we would head off to another temple a little outside the city. We headed out on the 35 km drive and arrived at a very very small village with a small rock hillock. Carved into the rock was a quaint little beautiful temple. The village is Malayadipatti. The priest spent over 45 mins explaining to us the significance of the temple and the area, though most of it was lost on us, as it was in chaste Tamil. Yet, we were surprised that we understood around 70%. We couldn’t spend much more time there as it was already 6 pm and my flight was at 7:30. And it was an hour drive back to the airport. With the web check in done and airport authorities alerted, we drove back, as fast as we possibly could, as I was rushed through security and into the flight, for a comfortable flight back to Hyderabad.

Another Tamil Nadu sojourn done. I have received many requests from friends, to take them along, the next time I go. My answer is always the same, you pay and I am always willing!!! :-)

 

Road trip - Paramakudi - Day 1

We took a short road trip to Rameswaram and a few other places. The invaluable help I got from others who posted their experiences, especially on TeamBHP, made me feel obligated to record my own thoughts. Day One – 650 kms – Hyderabad to Krishnagiri

We left Hyderabad on a Saturday morning in July 2018, with the objective of visiting a farm east of Paramakudi in Ramnad district of Tamil Nadu. Beyond that we didn't have much of a plan.

We left Hyderabad (Gachibowli) to get on to the outer ring road around 9 am. We had breakfast just before Jadcherla at around 9:30 am. Though we are city warriors in driving, highways was not something we had a lot of experience in. We were two of us and neither of us had driven more than 400 kms away from Hyderabad in India. Though we had driven a lot in the US and the UK, we had not really ventured on a 1000 km trip in India. We soon were doing 120-140kmph on the beautiful stretches of Kurnool and Anantapur. One thing we noticed was that not all the sign boards were accurate. At one point it said 75 kms to Kurnool and yet we did it in 30 mins. We were definitely not doing anything over 120 kmph at that time.
Lesson 1 - The first lesson we learnt was the frequent stops for toll. Wished we had thought of Fastag before we left on our trip. Actually well ahead of our trip.
It cost us over Rs 700 to reach Bangalore. I am not sure if that is too much but it would have definitely helped, if there were better signs, fewer toll booths and fewer pedestrians and animals and all kinds of beings crossing the highway! But then again 700 is not too much to pay for a good road of over 500 kms.
We had not yet hit the Bangalore airport when the second life lesson hit us. Suddenly the traffic seemed to increase with vehicles taking U turns and we slowed down considerably to maneuver ourselves out of the traffic and as we accelerated after the lights, a police team stopped us. We pulled over and the constable said we had been speeding. He said we were doing 101 while the limit was 80 kmph! I really didn't believe I could have gone that fast in the fast developing Bangalore city traffic chaos but it gave us an opportunity to chat with him about the traffic, stretch our legs and understand the ways out of Bangalore. The policeman told us that they were the Bangalore city police and they had been stationed there since 2009, to stop people from speeding, when the airport started.
Lesson 2 - Know where police are stationed! With the Rs 300 challan out of the way, we hit the road again and found the car automatically accelerated to 100 without effort. We had to consciously slow down and decided to stop for tea. It was nearing 4 pm. We started again at 4:30 and Google Maps decided to take us via Bangalore city to Hosur instead of the outer Ring Road. So we were left fuming trying to navigate the horrifying Bangalore traffic. At a traffic light, where I had to take a right around the round about, a taxi to my left cut in front of me to take the right before the round about. So I followed him, accelerating hard, when a constable pulled me over. He wanted to see all my papers including licence, registration and insurance. I had done nothing wrong but he was collecting money from all non Karnataka registered vehicles. :-) Beware of Bangalore cops!!!
We then hit the electronic city highway which though crowded was moving ahead at a good pace. I remembered the Bangalore of the 80s when it was all about Ulsoor, Indira Nagar, JP Nagar, Vidhana Soudha, Brigade Road and MG Road. Simpler times. Tougher times, Different times, in their own ways.
Lesson 3 - Do pray to the weather gods. They were especially kind to us on the first day and for the entire trip.
Weather – Cloudy with spots of rain. Tolls – Rs 700+

We stopped for the night at Krishnagiri after covering around 650kms. 

Leaving Hyderabad on a road trip across Tamil Nadu

Bangalore in our sights

Continued! Go to Day 2 & 3

Road trip - Paramakudi - Day 2 & 3

Day Two & Three –
Sunday – 450 kms – Krishnagiri to Namakkal to Madurai airport to Paramakudi
Monday – 75 kms – In and around Paramakudi
Breakfast was a treat. Nothing special for most, but it was simple and refreshing.
We left with the morning truck traffic towards Namakkal, where a friend was waiting for us. Our objective for the day, was to reach Madurai airport by 2:30 to pick up a friend who was landing there at that time. Along the way, there were plenty of places to eat, lots of truck traffic carrying heavy goods, showing robust construction/engineering activity somewhere down the line which was very encouraging and greenery and beautiful mountains all around. We visited the very old Anjaneyaswamy temple there at Namakkal. The southern states revel in their respect for age old traditions and upkeep of these small historic temples that are yet so vibrant. We left Namakkal just before 12 for Madurai airport and had lunch at a small restaurant there before heading off to the airport. We lost our way, a little bit, as we took a wrong exit and had to get back on to the highway and take a U turn to get back on the right track. The flight had landed early and my friend was already waiting there. That day we paid around Rs 350 in tolls, the drive was more pleasant, the roads seemed to be safer, with plenty of places to eat. It felt a lot more relaxed compared to the previous day.
Lesson 4 – Trust Google to get you there but be prepared for some "off the beaten tracks" roads. A sturdy car really helps. Choose wisely. We left the airport for Paramakudi and midway, decided to go directly to the farm. The road from Madurai to Rameswaram is still under construction with only portions complete. Google kindly took us through narrow village roads that we didn't know existed, though we had been coming there regularly for 10 years! At the farm, the trees had grown tall and the peacocks were just heading off at the end of their day! After a couple of hours at the farm, we headed back into town and had dinner and crashed for the night in a small room we call home, in Paramakudi. We had covered over 1100 kms by now. The next morning, we were back at the farm checking and then to the near by temples. The first temple had a large dry pond, where peacocks danced hoping for rain. The priest invited us back on Aug 3rd where he said 1500 people from the village would renew their wedding vows! This was the 18th day of Aadi, from what I understood with my limited Tamil. We headed to Nainar Kovil where we had breakfast after visiting the temple. We then headed back to the farm and spent the morning planning the day's work including a visit to the bank, getting a JCB to plow some land, getting through some electricity board connections and then spending the afternoon fertilising the trees with Urea, Phosphate and other fertilisers. We headed back to town and spent a good hour with the bank manager freeing up funds, closing loan accounts and ensuring our work progressed unhindered. By then it was clear the electricity board and the JCB would not happen that day. So we bought our fertilisers and headed back to the farm. We had lunch at the farm cooked there by the local farm hand. We then got down to mixing and fertilising the plants. After 20 trees my back was done. It was back breaking work walking in ankle deep muddy water, and trying to get the fertiliser buried in the soil next to the tree, but not touching it! We had bought 200 kgs of fertiliser and after we had done around 50 kgs, we were done. Another guy was cutting off the lower branches of the trees with a sharp sickle to ensure the trees grow tall and strong. We considered that work to be easier but soon his hands were blistered! We then got back into the tractor and took a few pictures to at least pretend we had contributed as farmers. After dinner, which was the left overs of the morning lunch, we headed back to our room in Paramakudi.
There is a small village close to Paramakudi, on the way to Nainar Kovil, that weaves hand made silk saris. A good place to visit, if you want to see what villages in India can offer.
Weather – Cloudy, humid and hot. Tolls – Rs 350

A stop at Namakkal to meet a friend

Arrived at the farm

A peacock hiding between the trees

The tractors roof provides no cover against the evening sun scorching through the trees

Continued! Go to Day 4

Road trip - Paramakudi - Day 4

Day Four – Tuesday – 300 kms – Paramakudi to Dhanushkodi to Madurai

The next morning, we headed out to Dhanushkodi via Rameswaram. Breakfast at Shri Ram Hotel in Ramnad on the highway is a treat! We discovered Palm Sugar (thati bellam) there and since we knew the owner of the hotel, he came over and gave us a sample too. After a quick visit to the temple at Rameswaram, we went to Dhanushkodi via the Pamban bridge. The views were simply breathtaking. The sea was bright, beautiful and blue on both sides. The walk at Dhanushkodi with the sea lapping at our feet was refreshing. The beach dips precariously into the sea and you need to be an expert swimmer to venture more than 10 feet into the water depending on the time of day. As we headed back, we stopped at the late President APJ Abdul Kalam's memorial. It is indeed a fitting tribute to a great man. We headed back to Ramnad where after another short meeting we went back to the farm for lunch. Lesson 5 – Stay hydrated. The humidity gets to you. We left the farm and after a few cups of fresh lime juice at Nainar Kovil, we headed off to Paramakudi and then to Madurai. At Madurai, I started hunting for Kumbagonam Degree Coffee. Kumbagonam Degree Coffee was recomendded by my niece’s husband, who said it is a coffee to die for! I had no luck and we crashed for the night. We had spent hours on discussing where to head off next and ultimately decided we would go to Palani and Chennai and then Tirupati or Kalahasti. The advantages of an unplanned trip was, every decision could change at the last minute.

Weather – Cloudy yet humid and hot. Tolls – None

View of Rameswaram - On the way to Dhanushkodi

A view of Rama Setu - On the way to Dhanushkodi

At Dhanushkodi

Continued! Go to Day 5

Road trip - Paramakudi - Day 5

Day Five – Wednesday – 600 kms – Madurai to Palani to Chennai

The next morning, we went to the famous Madurai temple and then headed out to Palani. We were keen to experience the ropeway there. But Madurai traffic was such a dampener that our frustration levels increased with every bottleneck. After an hour we were able to get on to a highway and had breakfast on the way before reaching Palani just after 10:30 am. The guy taking the toll at the temple, spoke nicely and told us that the parking was free and gave us directions to the parking lot. It was only later that I realised he took Rs 60 but gave us a Rs 50 receipt! The directions too were not the best and we had to find our way out of a couple of deadends before finding a place to park. The ropeway was closed and the winch train had a huge queue. We were told the fastest way was to take the steps. The steps were on the other side of the hill from where we parked. I remembered reading on some site that it was 150 meters. That should not be too hard, even for us who were on the right side of 50. But the steps were steep and we were exhausted after the first 100 meters. We ploughed on and soon passed the 200 meter mark with no sight of the temple yet. We lost count but I think it is around 300 meters with 40 steps for every 15 meters in height. At the top, we were told the temple was closed at 11:40. We were wondering what to do, when we noticed a counter selling tickets for a special darshan for Rs 100. He said we would make it, if we rushed. We got three tickets and rushed there and it was only 11:50 but he said it was closed. But there was something else available for Rs 150. So we took that and after a long prayer and puja, we came out after an hour. We walked down the stairs again and had coconut water, and fresh lime soda to hydrate ourselves before the marathon drive to Chennai. Lesson 6 – Know the temple timings. In Tamil Nadu, some temples close late mornings and early afternoons. It was already past 1:30 and we had around 400+ kms to cover to Chennai. The roads to Dindigul were not the best but were not bad either. But after that it, was a proper highway. The only thing we expected was the same number of hotels along the way, as we saw between Hosur and Madurai. But as lunch time crept past us, there were no good places to eat. We found a place to eat after 3:30 and still had 300 kms to go. We started after 4 and despite doing 140kmph stretches, we could only average 90 kmph. From Tindivanam we started seeing boards for Kumbakonam Degree Coffee. Around 100 km from Chennai traffic became increasingly heavy and slow. Chengleput and Guduvanchery were blocked and we were wondering if the outer ring road would serve us better to get to Porur. But we knew the Poonamalee High Road would be no better. So we took the bypass and got off at Porur. We did the 450+ kms, with the last 100 kms in heavy crawling traffic in around 7 and a half hours.

We spent the night at an OYO room which was surprisingly inexpensive and very comfortable and spacious. Then we decided to cancel both Tirupati and Kalahasti and head to a relatively lesser known place called Gandi, with an Anjenyaswamy temple next to a dried up river bed.

Weather – Cloudy and humid and hot. Yet weather Gods were still kind. Tolls – Rs 515

Madurai temple in the early morning sun

The steep steps to the Palani temple

A way to catch our breath - Pretend to take photos of views from the steps of the Palani temple

Continued! Go to Day 6 & 7

Road trip - Paramakudi - Day 6 & 7

Day Six & Seven
Thursday – 300 kms – Chennai to Gandi
Friday – 500 kms – Gandi to Gandikota to Hyderabad
The next morning, we visited a small mango farm, though there were no mangoes, near Chengulpet. After that we headed off to Gandi via Tirupati. The drive to Tirupati was slow with traffic and not the best of roads till we saw signs for Kumbakonam filter coffee. We stopped and tasted the best coffee we had had in our life. As we left Tirupati and headed into the hills, the view became more beautiful. Google Maps again took us through narrow streets of small villages into the hills and reserved forests of Tirupati. The cool air and the mountains around us, helped refresh us during the long drive. We reached Gandi in the evening and stayed at the Harita resort. We had completed over 2400 kms since we left Hyderabad. BSNL mobile had spotty to zero coverage in that area while Airtel had a fairly good signal. The temple was beautiful as always, serene and peaceful. After an early dinner at 8 pm we called it a day. The next day was Friday and was going to be the last day of the trip.
Lesson 7 – Carry a couple of phones with different providers, to stay in touch
Lesson 8 – Save routes offline, so that you stay on route, even if you lose coverage for an extended period of time
Friday morning, we had a long darshan at the Gandi temple and left the temple at around 7:30 am. We stopped at a small village called Muddanur for breakfast at around 8:30 and as we searched for a place to eat on foot, after parking our car, we got an earful from a lady who said we shouldn't look any further and enter her hotel. We promptly walked in to the small hall where we had kharam dosa, Cuddapah style. She berated us for not stopping the car immediately in front of her hotel and parking at a slight distance and walking back past her hotel without giving her a second look!!! :-) The food was as spicy as Rayalaseema is reputed and known for. We headed out to Gandikota chastened and with a smile! The spectacular cliffs and the river below, has earned it the name of the Indian Grand Canyon. Gandikota has a charm of its own with its fort from the 13th century. We stopped off at the Harita resort to understand what else the place offered and if we could come back for a longer stay. We then headed back to Hyderabad. The roads again were through villages as Google chose a way through Nandyal. The road from Nandyal to Kurnool is not complete and was painstaking at places. We stopped outside Kurnool at the Oravakal rock gardens, with rocks that date back to the paleolithic era and paintings that go back 7000 years. We had lunch and then headed back to Hyderabad. We entered the outer ring road at 5:00 pm where we crossed 3000 kms and promptly got stuck in Hyderabad traffic at Gachibowli!

We were driving a 2012 Toyota Etios VD with 67000 kms on it. Crossed 70000 kms by the end of the trip. A shade over 3000 kms for the 7 days at over 17 kms to a liter. Spent Rs 2155 on tolls and over 12500 on diesel.

At the mango farm

Kumbagonam Degree Kaapi at last

Kumbagonam Degree Kaapi on a serene highway

The right coffee, served the right way!

Highway cuts through the ghats behind Tirumala

Gandi temple in the evening lights

Leaving Gandi temple in the early morning

Gandikota - Pennar river with the Mylavaram dam in the background

 

Gandikota - The cliffs, the river - With the gushing wind

 

3000 kms as we enter Hyderabad on the ORR