India

India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the second-most populous country, the seventh-largest country by area, and the most populous democracy in the world.

Even though India is my home country, I have not yet explored the country in detail.

Visited States/Cities

1. Delhi
   • New Delhi (Red Fort, India Gate, Qutub Minar, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk Market, Humayun’s Tomb)
2. Goa
   • Panaji (Baga Beach, Aguada Fort, Anjuna Beach, Calangute Beach)
3. Karnataka
   • Bangalore (Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bannerghatta Biological Park, Nandi Hills)
   • Mysore (Mysore Palace, Brindavan Gardens, Tipu's Death place)
4. Kerala
   • All cities
5. Maharashtra
   • Mumbai (Gateway Of India, Elephanta Caves, Marine Drive, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus)
6. Tamil Nadu
   • Bandipur
   • Chennai
   • Gopalswami Hills
   • Gudalur
   • Gundalpet
   • Hogenakkal
   • Kodaikanal
   • Masinagudi
   • Mudumalai
   • Ooty
   • Pollachi
   • Sethumadai (Cotsvilla Resort, Topslip)
   • Theppakadu
7. Telangana
   • Hyderabad (Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Laad Bazaar, Hussain Sagar Lake, Birla Mandir, Golconda Fort, Secunderabad)
8. West Bengal
   • Canning (Sonakhali, Matla river, Sundarbans)
   • Kolkatta (Maidan, Victoria Memorial, Saint Paul's Cathedral, Birla Mandir, Howrah Bridge, Park Street, Chowringhee Mansion)

Hogenakal: The Smoking Rock

2006 September 23, Saturday

This is a short account of a one day trip on 2006 September 23, Saturday to Hogenakal from Bangalore and the exciting ride in the coracle through the beautiful River Cauvery enjoying the misty falls and the rocky surroundings. This place is one of the favorite shooting locations for movie songs and the famous song scenes in movies ‘Roja’ and ‘Ashoka’ were shot from here.

Hogenakal is a picturesque holiday spot in the Tamil Nadu state in India, situated on Karnataka – Tamil Nadu border, approximately 180 Kms from Bangalore. Here the River Cauvery flows through a wooded valley splitting and merging around rocks forming little islands and plunging into deep but narrow openings (chasms), making lovely misty water falls.

I and my three friends from Bangalore decided on a one-day outing to refresh ourselves, and Hogenakal seemed to be the best destination as it not only offers refreshing waters but also gives a chance for an interesting ride.

We started from Bangalore at 07:30 AM, from near Silk Board junction on Hosur road, in my friend’s Alto car. These days the internet gives whatever information you need, and we were also well informed about the trip and the destination, which helped us avoid unpleasant surprises.

So Hosur was the best place to have breakfast, and within an hour we were there. After Hosur, it was a smooth ride through the four-lane highway and before we knew, we reached Dharmapuri town. It was 10:30 AM, and we took a deviation to right following the sign board pointing to Hogenakal which was just 46 kms far from there. After some stretches of bad road, the ride was again smooth watching the typical Tamil Nadu villages and small towns (where you see sari clad women on bicycles). While entering the Hogenakal forest region, we had to pay Rs.40 as entrance fee. Just after that, there was another check post to collect Rs.20, without any receipts and reasons!

The ride through the Hogenakal forest was amazing with beautiful scenery all around. As we went down the hills, we saw lots of monkeys on the road sides.

We reached Hogenakal town at exactly 11:30 AM, and as soon as we got out of the car, after parking at the reliable pay and park place there, we were approached by a lot of people offering their services ranging from full body massage and fresh fried fish to boat rides. At first, we decided to avoid them to get a feel of the place before taking any services, and wandered around the place. But we were wrong. There were few guys who had settled on us and they started covering us from all around to make sure that we are not approaching any other agents. They convinced us that, there is nothing to see here by roaming around and the only option here is the ride through waters. Because of their covered approach, we couldn’t even do a good bargain, and had to fix the deal for Rs.700 which includes 3 hours ride through the waters in coracle.

Well… what is this so called coracles? Here the best vehicle to cross the turbulent waters is the circular basket boats called coracles. It is believed that the design of these boats has remained unchanged for hundreds of years and the only recent development is the replacement of buffalo hide with tar coated plastic at the bottom of coracle. It can contain seven to eight people and can easily move through the rippled waters.

We started the ride in coracles, at 12 in the noon. A boy named Gandhi (we still don’t know if it was his original name) was our boatman cum tour-guide. It takes a little acrobatics to get into the coracle, and we had to sit properly keeping the balance of the coracle in mind. Another Rs.40 was charged from us in the name of the government fee. The first ride was to cross the river to a nearby island like place. Before we could get a feel of the ride, we were asked to get down on its rocky shore, to get the first glimpse of those lovely falls. The panoramic view of the entire falls area from the small watch tower was breath-taking. The River Cauvery spread all over through tree dotted rocky landscape, falling into a deep and narrow pass (gorge) resulting in numerous stunning falls.

Gandhi was strict on sticking to safety measures and always followed us while we were watching the falls, asking us to remove foot wears or setting limits to till where we can go.

Climbing down those mighty rocks, we reached at another gorge to start our second stretch of coracle ride. Gandhi walked all the way carrying the coracle over his shoulder to reach the water. Like different airports having different airport fees, here was another man with an Rs.10 slip for us, before letting us take off. Though the sun was shining with all glory above our head making us terribly sweat, the beautiful scenes of small falls and rocks all around, kept us active.

The next landing was on a calm place where we had fresh fish fried before us. Here Gandhi assumed a new role of massager. But he was very costly and the bargain started with Rs.450 per person for a special massage and Rs.250 for a normal massage. Finally he settled for Rs.100 and spent about half an hour per person giving a full body massage using the Navarathan oil we had bought earlier. The bath in the clear and refreshing waters after the massage was the most interesting part. Since the waters of the Cauvery flow through a forest of herbs, before reaching Hogenakal, bathing in these waters is considered to be good for health.

Our third stretch of coracle ride was after a long walk through the shores. Here we were taken towards another beautiful fall, and most of the ride was against the flow, where we saw the muscle power of Gandhi in action. Till we approached the fall, all we could see was the cloud of mist and spray emerging from the middle of the broad stream of river. That is how these rocks got the name ‘Hogenakal’ which means ‘Smoking Rock’. We got down from the coracle to see the source of this magical smoke, and were completely impressed by the beauty of this special kind of fall where water plunges into a deep and narrow opening.

After returning from here, we had to walk a lot again to reach another place to start our return trip which was our last ride. This was the longest, and at many places, Gandhi took us through swirling waters where we could feel the force of water through the bottom plastic sheet of the coracle. Another thrilling item was spinning the coracle and Gandhi did it nicely with full speed making us feel like as we are sitting on a top.

We were back on the land exactly after three hours and started the return trip at 03:30 PM after having lunch from Hogenakal town. We were back at Bangalore after four hours, with sweet memories of an unforgettable experience.

Hyderabad: The Charminar City

2005 October 22

While working at Bangalore, I got a chance to visit Hyderabad on a weekend (2005 Oct 22 & 2005 Oct 23) to conduct interviews for my company, as part of the recruitment drive.

Hyderabad is one of the largest cities in India, and is the capital of Andhra Pradesh state. Hyderabad and Secunderabad are twin cities, separated by 'Hussain Sagar' which is a man made lake.

Air Deccan was making waves in India since they introduced the first budget airlines connecting even smaller cities. It reached its height when they started selling tickets for Rs. 1/-. Now I have got a chance to see how really it feels to travel in this revolutionary airline. My flight from Bangalore to Hyderabad was at early morning and since I was carrying just a printout of my online ticket, I had to be there at airport as early as possible to avoid last minute disappointment. I really had a doubt about this printouts being used as tickets, but was surprised to notice that everyone in the long queues at the four Air Deccan counters were carrying online ticket printouts! The fare for my ticket was Rs:2085.95 including taxes. Even though it was displayed that we need to carry a photo identity card, the guy at the counter didn't bother to verify it and issued boarding ticket so quickly that I missed my chance to opt for window side seat. Check-in was hassle free and fast, but there was a delay of 15 minutes for the take-off. Having flown better world class airlines before, I was wondering how the experience is going to be in a cheaper airline.

The first thing I noticed after boarding the new turboprop ATR 72-500 was its widest cabin with comfortable seats, pretty well arranged in such a small 72 seat plane. There were only two air hostesses and they served food for those who needed. A sandwich and a fruit juice will cost you Rs:70/-, and you need to pay the cash to the air hostess. When I browsed through their in-flight magazine 'Simplifly', I realized that, this is one of their means to cut cost. Avoiding fancy in-flight free meals and having less number of crews, will not only cut down cost to the passenger but will also help them make their planes ready faster, for the flights. I was impressed with the magazine, service of the airhostesses and the over all flight experience. It took exactly 01 hour30 minutes to reach Hyderabad and the slow descend gave me a wonderful view of the twin cities.

There were pre-paid taxis and auto-rickshaws at the Hyderabad airport, with decent fares. My hotel was in Secunderabad and I opted for a taxi. During the drive, I had to admit the fact that Hyderabad is far better than Bangalore compared to the roads and traffic. Here roads were wider and free from pot holes, flyovers were completed (unlike ever ongoing constructions in Bangalore) and traffic was flowing smoothly. To go to office from hotel, I chose auto-rickshaw, and was happy to find that autos and auto-drivers were also far better than the ones in Bangalore. I was busy the whole day at office, and decided to go out in the evening.

My first destination was Charminar, which is as much the signature of Hyderabad as Eiffel Tower is of Paris. History says that Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, built Charminar in 1591 at the centre of the original city layout. It is believed to have been built as a charm to ward off a deadly epidemic raging at that time or to mark the end of that epidemic (I am not sure which one is correct). I enjoyed an auto-rickshaw drive from my hotel to the old city center in Hyderabad. Since it was Ramzan, the streets were busier and traffic was hectic. At a first glance, I was surprised to see that the Charminar is just like another mosque structure with four minarets, placed in the midst of a chaotic market place, and with no special charms. It is said to have 45 prayer spaces and a mosque in it, but visitors were not allowed inside. Slowly I started admiring it, after getting a good view from all the four streets leading off from Charminar. It stood as an elegant landmark, with a history of more than 400 years, and the brilliantly lit minarets were visible from everywhere.

Laad Bazaar is one of the streets off Charminar and is the most colorful shopping center of Old City. Traditional Hyderabadi glass & stone studded bangles, pearls and bridal wear are sold here. Bangles were amazingly beautiful but were very costly. Shops were busy with purdah-clad women and children who come in lots by cycle-rickshaws or auto-rickshaws. I spent a lot of time in these streets and shops, bargaining for a better deal and admiring the beauty of these bangles and thus being part of the busy crowd.

The famous Mecca Masjid was very near to Charminar. It was so named because the bricks were brought from Mecca to build the central arch. It was really huge and could accommodate 10,000 people for a single prayer.

I returned back to my room after 9PM in a bus, while the streets of Hyderabad were still busy. I remembered, my colleague had mentioned that, there are no safety issues while roaming around the city even after midnight.

The next day was also a busy day for me at office and it was after 4 PM, when I got a chance to see the rest of Hyderabad. I need to be at railway station by 7 PM to catch my train back to Bangalore. An auto-rickshaw guy was happy to take me along the places of interests in the city and we struck a deal that he will not charge any waiting charges while I will make my visits quicker and shorter. We first drove to Birla Mandir, the temple of Lord Venkateshwara, built in white marble which overlooks the city from the top of a small natural hill. The view of Hussain Sagar Lake and the city from there was amazing. The next stop was at this lake to see it properly. It is a sprawling picturesque artificial lake that holds water in all seasons. It separates the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The Hussain Sagar was built on a branch of the Musi River by Hussain Shah Wahi during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah in 1562. A major attraction at this lake is the 16 meter high, 350 tonne monolithic Buddha statue. It stands majestically amidst the shining waters of the lake, and there were boat services to get closer to it. Another leisure and entertainment centre adjoining the Hussain Sagar Lake was NTR Gardens.

Now I had one more hour left. I was confused on where to go next and my auto-driver friend suggested he can take me to Golconda Fort and back, provided I spend less time there. It was relatively far from the city and when the long ride ended on top of the Golconda hill, it had taken more time than we expected. Golconda is the most magnificent fortress complex in India and its origin dates back to 13th century. The fort is famous for its acoustics, palaces, factories, ingenious water supply system, etc. But I was not lucky to enjoy them and I had to satisfy myself by viewing it from outside.

My friend had told me not to forget to taste the world famous Irani chai and Osmania Biscuits, available in all the cafes, before I return from Hyderabad. So I used this last chance to taste them, and it was really refreshing and delicious. After that I rushed back to the Secunderabad railway station and was just in time to catch the Rajdhani Express coming from Nizamudhin, to Bangalore.

This was my first travel in this India's prestigious train and was happy to see that the services matched with that of an airline. We were served with tomato soups and bread sticks, before having a delicious full course meal that ended with a cup of ice cream. The army officer in my compartment gave a good company till we resorted into our comfortable sleeping berths with cozy blankets and bed sheets. We reached Bangalore the next day morning after a long but non-tiring 11 hour journey.