Night Trek to Nijagal Betta

Even though I love to write my experience in Kannada this time I am writing it in English, since I organized this trek and some Non-Kannadigas were part of it.

About Nijagal Betta:“Nijagal Betta” which is situated in Bangalore -Tumkur Highway(NH-4) near to Dabaspet. Foot steps are there so it is very easy to climb. We Can reach the peak in 1 to 1½  hours.

Ruins have their own charm and historical importance and Nijagal Betta is one of those which is a proof of ruined Kingdom. It is with full of ruined caves, forts and temples.

A mid-seventeenth century fort, build by Chikkadevaraya Wadiyar, adorns this hillock. Here in Nijagal Betta, it’s believed that a war was fought between Hyder Ali and Peshwa Madhav Rao.

In Durgastamaana (kannada novel by T.R.Subbarao famous as ತ.ರ.ಸು) there is a mention about Nijgal fort like how strong the fort was and how Chitradurga Paalegaara Madakari Nayaka who supported Hyder Ali acquired Nijgal Fort

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Night Trek, camping at "Kaurava Kunda" and "Jaramadagu Falls" KK/1-15th Sep2012

That was a" Gusty Windy Night Trek" (Saturday-sunday, 15th sep Posting this after a long time ) . after a few drop outs and last minute registrations finally 23 ASCENDers made it to the trek. A simple Trek turned out be an "ad-hoc" Adventure. we left the concrete jungle at 8.00 PM on saturday which was supposed to be at 5.30PM Thanks to "Bangalore City Traffic."  We started to trek from a village called  "Manchenbele" started moving towards "Kaurava halli" in the dark night lit with stars around us. there came a Question from one of the participant called " Varun" - Vinay last event was a Moon light trek to "Chennagiri", y cant we see any moon this time ?? so my obvious answer was " Dude that was moon light trek and this is a "No Moon" trek. there were Giggles among the participants and " pallavi" was trying to spot some "Ghosts" in the TAMARIND TREES" . "Pallavi even Ghosts are scared of you" Lolz.

The "trek" route was into the Farm fields, lakes, villages, and highways. Dogs greeted us as we entered Villages. Thank god no one Mistook our Group for "Dandupalya Gang" as the Dog barks wakened the villagers from their deep sleep. Thanks to our Doctru who Communicated to the villagers about our trek.

After loosing the trails a couple of times we finally made it to the camping place. the Camp Fire started tio Roar in the heavy winds at 3 A.M, the intro session happend amidst the chilling winds and warming camp fire which went on till 4.30A.M with some fun and entertainment. Then We people decided to sleep and started Erecting the tents, the wind was Robust and turbulent, it was a herculean task in Erecting the tent. the wind was soo turbulent one could feel the lift of his body from the ground. it was an amazing feeling. One amongst the 5 tents erected Flew off at 5AM and it was Our "Doctor Harish's " My sleep of 15min ( One hand holding the Tent grill tightly and with one leg lifted supporting the tent) ended here when i heard screams from every one " Tent Haroithu, Tent Haroithu" uffffffffffff............. Then we began folding the tent, in the process the wind almost lifted Varun and mighty Asst Professor Mr.Bagurrrrrrrrr...
Soon we finished our breakfast and started decending down, A small elephant Tata Magic was waiting for us which ferried 24 of us to the Destinations where we parked our vehicles, people sat on Roof mud gaurd and hanged on railings, One could imagine a  "Fevicol" ad people sticking on to a lorry :P.

Once Again Thanks to our "Doctru Harish" Who helped us park our vehicles and also handling the Villagers, he is been soo kind to us ( though made it a bit late to the start point). 1000 Thanks to him for all the help. And last but not the least to the entire team of 22 U were simply gr8 miss you and hope to see you all in the future treks.

Write up from Chaitanya Adumisili

Hi Vinay,

Here goes brief description & feedback on our trip:

Had nice nice trek with group of 23 to "Kaurava Kunda". This trek was of less duration when compared to my previous night treks. However, has excellent time while treking & on top of hill with group. Navigating is pretty difficult as we dont know the exact route & as it is night time. Saw how the villagers are very attentive if unknown people are walking through their houses in groups. 4-5 villages came out of their houses with big polls as their security. Breezes are pretty high and tents didnt withstand for that velocity. Had fun with group around campfire. Wish such treks comes in our way & BASC organizes them :)

 

 

Write up from Madhu Bagur

Hello Bangalore Ascenders,

It was on a thursday when i came across a mail for a trek in a known area of Chikkaballapur, But had never ventured before into it ( as same as our Vinay

--  first timer in all places). made up my mind by seeing the topic of driving to the point. As BASC has always been a good companion for having a nice trek.

So came to the final moments where we were supposed to meet at CBI junction at 5.30 as told by Vinay, As i stay in kengeri road, I and Varun n Srini decided to

reach the same road a little further after Hebbal Flyover. We were there exactly at 5.40 pm. We never knew that we wud have to wait for nearly 2 hrs for all to come n leave.

But all happens for good as we had a McD in Esteem Mall, Ate n even packed for further Trek also...

Now Coming to the main part as the information of the previous trek was over flowing from Srini n Varun tht they had done with "Doctre" n one more famous person for me was "PRIYA". coz of her driving skills n her chubbyness.. people were crazily telling there exp's with all the people of the previous night trek to channagiri where they had very less light and was out of trek through the trek.. So i was actually waiting in complete horror as it was an amavasya night also. coz the night trek that i have gone r in pornomi night's.

Later came the team in 3 cars n two bike in one was this priya abt whom to be precise i was spell bounded by seeing her. so the question i asked her was r u " The Priya"... LOLZ.... n Arun was like "OMG yene nin bagge ellargu gothu".... IT was nearly 8 pm by the time we left hebbal towards the hills....  n then i all got introduced i am really sorry i dont remember much names.It was Chaitanya,Srini,Arun,Priya Ravi,Doctor, pramod,Varun,Rama, PAllavi n many more not to miss Garima...

it was at night 10.30 when we reached a village outside chikkaballapur.. from where the trek had to be started... was nearly a 6-7 kms of road trek thru the night.. hill was small n was around 1.5 kms in height took around 1.5 hrs to complete it...By the time we trekked it was almost 3 AM..

Than came the time of Pallavi after the camp fire was prepared by Ravi,Vinay,Varun n many others.... All of them were like stop it pallavi plz.... she is one of a brilliant person i thought i had ever met... has so much knowledge... n rag u like anything..... all had there turn one after the other came to mine was pretty much less intense than others... but when pallavi came it was like feast for all the waiting foxes.... question after question was put to her but she being a confi person gave back nicely to all n sang a beautiful song as well....

by 5 am all wanted to sleep so had put up there tents... by the time we also slept ravi got a call for doctor telling his tent was facing trouble as it was too windy out on top of the hill.... by the time me varun n raam reached the tent.. the tent got completely blown.. so i and raam tried to hold it n fold it... at that moment it was a life holding scene for me n raam as tht tent opened completely n dragged us like a parachute without any preparations.... "that was an end for all our ideas in folding the tent...." gave us chills like never before....

by 8AM all were up and ready to leave by now an ace was waiting for us down the road to drop us back to the vehicles whr we had parked...

So was a very brief about the experiences which i had... But had still more experiences n will look forward go with BASC whenever they plan one.... 

 

A WriteUp from Pallavi in kannada,

 

ರಾತ್ರಿ ಚಾರಣ - ಕೌರವ ಕೊಂಡ( Kowrava Konda ) – 15.9.2012

ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಕೂಡಿ ಒಟ್ಟು 23 ಮಂದಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಅಸೆ೦ಡರ್ಸ್ ಇಂದ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಚಾರಣ ಕೌರವ ಕೊಂಡಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊರಟೆವು. ನಮ್ಮ ಚಾರಣದ ರೂವಾರಿ ವಿನಯ್ ಸಿ.ಬಿ.ಐ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಎಲ್ಲರು ಸಂಜೆ 5 30ಕ್ಕೆ ಬರಬೇಕೆಂದು ಇ- ಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದ್ದ. ಅಂತೆಯೇ ನಾನು ರಾಮ್ ನಮ್ಮ ಟೆಂಟ್ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಲೀಪಿಂಗ್ ಬ್ಯಾಗ್ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಎತ್ತಾಕ್ಕೊಂಡು 5 45ರ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಸಿ.ಬಿ.ಐ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣವನ್ನು ತಲುಪುದ್ವಿ. ನಮ್ಮ ಮಹಾನಗರಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ನ ದೆಸೆಯಿಂದಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಕಲೆತು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರನ್ನು ಬಿಡುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ರಾತ್ರಿ 7 45.

ವಿನಯ್ ಗೆ ಆದಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗ ತಲುಪಿ ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಮೇಲೆ ಬೋಂಡ, ಪುಳಿಯೋಗರೆ ಎಲ್ಲ ಮಾಡ್ಬೇಕು ಅಂತೆಲ್ಲ ಆಸೆ ಇತ್ತು. ಯಾವಾಗ 25ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಮಂದಿ ಬರ್ತಾರೆ ಅನ್ತಾಯ್ತೋ ಸಮಾರಾಧನೆಗೆ ಅಡಿಗೆ ಮಾಡ್ದಂಗೆ ಆಗತ್ತೆ ಅಂತ ಸುಮ್ನಾಗ್ಬಿಟ್ಟ.

ದಾರಿಯ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ತಿನಿಸನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ನಮ್ಮ ಡಾಕುಟ್ರಪ್ಪ ಹರೀಶ್ ಅವರ ನೆಂಟರ ಮನೆ( ಮಂಚಿನ ಬೆಲೆ) ತಲುಪಿ ನಮ್ಮ ವಾಹನಗಳನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ರಾತ್ರಿ 9 50.( ನಮ್ ಡಾಕುಟ್ರುಗೆ ಚಿಕ್ಕಬಳ್ಳಾಪುರದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲೂ ನೆಂಟರಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅವರೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸಹೃದಯಿಗಳು ಎಂದರೆ ಅತಿಶಯೋಕ್ತಿಯಾಗಲಾರದು). ನಂತರ ಬಾಸ್ಕ್ ನ ನಿಯಮದಂತೆ INDEMNITY BONDಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಂದ ಸಹಿ ಹಾಕಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು( ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನಂತಾರೆ ಅಂತ ಯಡ್ಯುರಪ್ಪ- ಶೋಭಕ್ಕನ ಮೇಲಾಣೆ ನಂಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ), ಅಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಸೌದೆಯನ್ನು ಕ್ಯಾಂಪ್ ಫೈರಿಗೆ ಉರುವಲಾಗಿ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಲು ಎಲ್ಲರು ತಲಾಗೊಂದರಂತೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಟೆವು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗೆದುರಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಹಳ್ಳಿಗರು( ತೀರ್ಥ ಸೇವಿಗರು) ನಮಗೆ VTU ಪ್ರಶ್ನ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಿಂತಲೂ ಕಷ್ಟಕರವಾದ ನಾನಾ ತರಹದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಒಡ್ಡಿ, ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಶಂಕಿತ ಉಗ್ರಗಾಮಿಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಸೇರಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟರು!!!!! :-(

ಆಗ ರಣಧೀರನಂತೆ ಬಂದ ಹರೀಶ್, ಅವರ ಗೌಡ್ರು ಸ್ಟೈಲ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದ್ ಆವಾಜ್ ಬಿಟ್ರು ಆ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯವರು ಉಸಿರೆತ್ತದೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಕಾಲ್ತೆಗೆದರು.

ಹಿಂದಿನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜಕುಮಾರಿನ ಭೇಟಿ ಆಗೋಕೆ 7 ಸಮುದ್ರ, 7 ಬೆಟ್ಟ ದಾಟಿ ಹೋಗ್ತಿದ್ರಂತೆ. ನಾವು ಹೋದ್ವಿ ಗದ್ದೆ, ಕೆರೆ, ಬಯಲು, ಹೈ ವೇ ರೋಡು, ಕೌರವ ಹಳ್ಳಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ದಾಟ್ಕೊಂಡು( ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ ಸಿಗೊದಿರ್ಲಿ ನಂಗೆ ಕಾಣದಾದ್ರು ಬೇಡ್ವಾ) ಅಮಾವಾಸ್ಯೆ ಮಧ್ಯರಾತ್ರಿ ದೆವ್ವ ಕೂಗೋ ಹೊತ್ನಾಗೆ (ಹಿನ್ನಲೆ ಸಂಗೀತ - ತಂಗಾಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ತೇಲಿ ಬಂದೆ). ಹುಣಸೆ ಮರದ ಹತ್ರ ಇಣುಕಿ ಇಣುಕಿ ನೋಡುದ್ವಪ್ಪ ದೊಡ್ದವಿರ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಮರಿ ದೆವ್ವನಾದ್ರು ಕಾಣದ್ ಬೇಡ್ವ. ಬಲೇ ನಿರಾಸೆ ಆಯ್ತು ಅನ್ನಿ( ಎಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ಅಂತ ಕನ್ನಡೀಲಿ ಮುಖ ನೋಡ್ಕೊಳ್ಳೋದು!!!)

ನಾವು ದೊಣ್ಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿದು ದಂಡುಪಾಳ್ಯದವರ ತರ ದಂಡಿ ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ಮಾಡ್ಕೊಂಡ್ ಎದುರಾದ ಚಿಕ್ಕ 3 ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳನ್ನ ದಾಟಿ ಹೋಗ್ತಿದ್ವಿ. ಒಂದೊಂದು ಹಳ್ಳಿಲೂ ನಾಯಿಗಳು ನಮಗೆ ಭವ್ಯ ಸ್ವಾಗತವನ್ನು ಕೊರ್ತಿದ್ವು. ಆ ಸದ್ದಿಗೆ ಎಚ್ಚರಗೊಂಡ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗರನ್ನು ನಮ್ ಡಾಕ್ಟ್ರು ಇಂಜೆಕ್ಷನ್ ಕೊಡ್ದಲೇನೆ ಸಾಂತ್ವಾನ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ರು.

ಬೆಟ್ಟ ಹತ್ತಿರ್ಬೇಕಾದ್ರೆ ಹಿಂದೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಕಟ್ಟ ಕಡೆಯ ಯೋಧರಿಂದ ಸಣ್ಣದಾಗಿ ಕೇಳಿಸೋ ಜಾನಪದ ಗೀತೆ(ರಾಮ್ ಹಾಡ್ತಿದ್ದಿದ್ದು). ನಾನು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಕೇಳೋಣ ಅಂತ ನನ್ನ ನಡಿಗೆಯನ್ನ ನಿಧಾನ ಮಾಡಿ, ಬೇಗ ಬೇಗ ಹತ್ತೇ ಅಂತ ವಿನಯ್ ಹತ್ರ ಬೈಸ್ಕೊಂಡೆ. ಸರಿ ಮೇಲೆ ಹತ್ತಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಅಂತಿಮ ಗುರಿ( ಫೈನಲ್ ಡೆಸ್ಟಿನಿ) ತಲುಪಿದಾಗ ಸಮಯ ಮುಂಜಾನೆ 3 ಗಂಟೆ.

ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಯಾಂಪ್ ಫೈರ್ ಹಾಕಿ ನಂತರ ಬಾಸ್ಕ್ ನಿಯಮದಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಸ್ವ-ಪರಿಚಯ. ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗು ಒಂದೊಂದು ಟಾಸ್ಕ್ ಇರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು ಮತ್ತು ಅದನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಕಡ್ಡಾಯವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಲೇಬೇಕೆಂದು ತಾಕೀತು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು.

ಅತುತ್ತಮ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ನೀಡಿದವರ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಇಂತಿದೆ:

ಡಾ. ಹರೀಶ್ ಬಾಬು- ನಮ್ಮ ಬಾಸ್ಕ್ ನ ಕಂಬ( ಪಿಲ್ಲರ್) ಮುದ್ದಾಸರ್ ನಂತೆ ನಟಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ.

ಹಲ್ ಡಾಕ್ಟ್ರು ಪ್ರಿಯ - ಬೆಲ್ಲಿ ನೃತ್ಯ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶಿಸಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ರಂಜಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ.

ಕಲಿಯುಗ ಕರ್ಣ ರವೀಂದ್ರ(ಅಂಬರೀಶ್ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳು ನೊಂದ್ಕೊಬಾರ್ದು) - ಚಿಲ್ಲರೆ ಕಾಸು ಸಂಗ್ರಹಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅದನ್ನು ಬಾಸ್ಕ್ ನಿಧಿಗೆ ದಾನವಿತ್ತಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ.

ಉದಾರಿ ಮೋಹನ್ - ಹುಡುಗಿಯರಿಂದ ಹೇರ್ ಬ್ಯಾಂಡ್/ ಕ್ಲಿಪ್ ಸಂಗ್ರಹಿಸಿ ನಂತರ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ!!

ಯೋಗ ಪಟು ರಾಮ್ ಮತ್ತು ಶ್ವೇತ - ತಮ್ಮ ಸಂಗೀತ ಸುಧೆಯಿಂದ ನಮ್ಮ ಹೃನ್ಮನ ತಣಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ.

(ನಾಳೆ ನನ್ನ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಹಬ್ಬ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿ ಬರ್ತಡೇ ಬಮ್ಸ್ ತಿಂದ ಜಿನು - ಇರಲಾರದೆ ಇರುವೆ ಬಿಟ್ಕೊಳ್ಳೋದು ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಇದೇನೇ)

ಆಮೇಲೆ ಸಾಹಸ ಮಾಡಿ ಟೆಂಟ್ ಹಾಕಿ ಮಲಗಿ ಹಾಡುತ್ತ ಇದ್ವಿ, ಎಲ್ರು ಟೆಂಟ್ ಹಾರ್ತಿದೆ ಅಂತ ಕೂಗಡೋಕೆ ಶುರು ಮಾಡಿದ್ರು, ರಭಸವಾಗಿ ಬೀಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಗಾಳಿಯೊಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಟೆಂಟ್ ಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ವೃಥಾ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು( ಇದ್ರಲ್ಲಿ ಅತಿ ಶೀಗ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋಲೊಪ್ಪಿಕೊಂಡದ್ದು ನಮ್ ಡಾಕ್ಟ್ರು ಟೆಂಟ್). ನಮ್ ಟೆಂಟ್ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನೊಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಇಬ್ರಿದ್ದ್ರು ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದ್ರೆ ಗಾಳಿ ನನ್ನ ಸಮೇತ ಟೆಂಟ್ ನ ಹಾರುವ ತಟ್ಟೆ( ಫ್ಲಯಿಂಗ್ ಸಾಸರ್) ಯಂತೆ ಎತ್ತ್ಕೊಂಡ್ ಹೋಗ್ತಿತ್ತೋ ಏನೋ!!!

ಟೆಂಟ್ ತೆಗೆದು ಬಿಸ್ಕೆಟ್ಟು ಅದು ಇದು ಹಾಲು ಮೂಳು ಅಂತ ತಿಂದು ಕೆಳಗಿಳಿದು ಬರೋಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಟಾಟಾ ಮ್ಯಾಜಿಕ್ ಎಂಬ ದೈತ್ಯ ವಾಹನ ನಾವು ನಮ್ಮ ವಾಹನಗಳನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ್ದ ಜಾಗದವರೆಗೂ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತೊಯ್ಯಲು ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಯಾರೋ ಚವ್ಕಾಸಿ ಮಾಡಿ 270ರೂ. ಗಳಿಗೆ ಕುದುರಿಸಿದ್ರು. ಡಾಕ್ರು ನೆಂಟ್ರು ಮನೆ ತಲುಪಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಪುದೀನ, ಬೀಟ್ ರೂಟ್( ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ಪಡೆದು) ಕಿತ್ತುಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಟಾಗ ಸುಮಾರು ೧೦ ಗಂಟೆ. ಮಹಾನಗರಿ ತಲುಪುವಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ 11 ಗಂಟೆ.

ನಮ್ ಕಡೆಯಿಂದ ವಿಶೇಷ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು:

ಡಾ. ಹರೀಶ್ ಬಾಬು - ಈ ಭಾರಿಯೂ ಉದಾರತೆಯಿಂದ ತಮ್ಮ ಕಾರನ್ನು ತಂದು ಎಲ್ರನ್ನು ಲಗ್ಗೇಜ್ ಆಟೋ ಥರ ತುಂಬ್ಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದು, ಅವರ ನೆಂಟರ ಮನೇಲಿ ಗಾಡಿಗಳನ್ನ ನಿಲ್ಸೋಕೆ ಜಾಗ ಕೊಡ್ಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ.

ವಿನಯ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ - ಚಾರಣದ ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊತ್ತದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ

 

A writeup from Vinuthna,

Hi Vinay,
This is my First night trek So I liked it a lot,
To find out a way to reach the hill in the night time is very difficult,We walked through many trials to sort a way,
Some how we reached to Top of the hill,here started our trouble,Extreme winds are blowing through us,
We enjoyed a lot with Camp Fire in that winds and the interaction the team members,
Bit scared about pallavi ragging,when it comes to my turn she asked a simple question to tell five Novels of Famous Novelist "Yandamuri Veerendrenath" :).
I was not able to stand as the wind is pushing me back,Setting up tents is one more challenge for us,
Hardly I slept for 20 mins and saw the Sunrise from the top of the hill,Its an beautiful experience for me,
Even though its a small hill the view of the villages,farms,flower garden below the hill are awesome,
Team members are also very friendly and had a good time with all of them,
Thanks to Vinay for organizing the Night trek.

 

Visit our Group @ Click here
Event organized by: Vinay
Image Galleries: Vinaykgs, Chaithanya, Varun.

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One day trek to Brahama Giri

Brahmagiri is a hill adjacent to Nandi hills near a place called Nandigrama. This was my second trek with BASC after the Ghati Subramanya night trek for beginners and I was all excited about it.

  We boarded 8.45Am train at majestic and reached Nandi railway station in about 2 hours. From there we travelled around 20 mins in an auto to reach the base of the hill. We got our lunch packed from a nearby restaurant and started the trek at 11.45 Am.

The climb was a mixture of open wide areas and narrow paths passing in between thorny shrubs. On the way up in between some of us thought of trying a shorter route, so we got split up and explored a new route, but we ended up reaching at almost the same time as the new route was relatively tougher with more narrower and thornier paths. After taking several breaks in between for photo shoots and snacks.. it was almost 2 when we reached the peak. The view from the top was awesome. We had our packed lunch there viewing the scenic beauty around.

 We started back by around 2.45.. The descend was very fast as we had to catch a train at 4.15 ( as we had spent lot of time clicking photos while climbing :) ) .  Luckily we all made to the base within 4.. the autos were waiting for us at the base to take us back to station. We reached just in time for the train.
Thanks to Mudassar who had reached the station ahead of us in a bike and had taken tickets, we were able to board the train :)  .. and were back at majestic by 6.15.

 It was great fun trekking and also got to make new friends.
Thanks BASC for organizing such treks for beginners like me. These 2 treks I went have surely made me more confident and prepared for tougher ones :)
Looking forward to many more treks with BASC.

Testimonials:- By Sunil Kumar,It was an Amazing first time experience for me to be a part of the trekking event with your group to Brahmagiri Betta  (opposite to Nandi Hills ). Unbelievable experience ,Hats off to  the Organizers & especially for the  patience MUDASSAR has, Its not a joke to maintain like minded people with a  little bit of difference in frequency. He makes every one feel at home. If some one says Trekking is expensive , try it once with Bangalore Ascenders  & you will not believe. This trekking was for Rs 100.00 including transport & lunch. forget the money nobody cares as much they do.I am eager to be a part of more events in your group & Wish you all the very best for your group. YOU GUYS ROCK !

Visit our Group @ CLICK HERE
Written by: Chandana Mahuli 
Event organized by: Mudassar 
Image Gallery:Miten,Preetham, Sunil Kumar, Mudassar

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Forest Regeneration Program (FRP)

      FRP Mission accomplished on Sept 2nd when we planted 1140 saplings and watered all of them.

     FRP was a really big event involving lots planning, preparation, hard work at field etc etc. To make this event success many have contributed like Forest Detpartment officials (RFO, Forester, Guard, Watchers etc), local people etc. And the hard work of 11 member team from BASC in planting and watering have made this event possible. Thanks to Anitha MS, Chirag Dedhia, Durga Shankar, Karthik HK, Rudra Aradya, Santhi Sree, Vasanth, Venkat, Vinay MP and Vinuthna Y.

FRP completed in two phases;
Phase 1: On 19th & 20th May 2012 --> Completed
Task: Identifying, preparing land. Which includes taking permission from Forest Department, digging pits using JCB/manual, etc

Phase 2: On 1st & 2nd Sept 2012 --> Completed
Task: Planting young plants (saplings) in pits and watering them.
Success stories by participants;

Experience from Vinuthna Yandamuri:

     "Gift your future generations with abundant natural resources and non polluted environment rather than money/property/assets because money can not create all these."

   I strongly believe in this and in my journey towards this I joined the Bangalore ASCENDers (BASC) group for great event “FOREST REGENERATION PROGRAM” (FRP) since I’m very much interested in it.
     One Man Thought+ Hundreds of members Contribution+Fourty people Hardwork+16 hours work=1140 saplings plantation in a Forest.
     Ambareesh Karanath is a core member of BASC, he had initiated the Forest Regeneration Program(FRP). Many members of the BASC had contributed for this event. Fourty people are the Forest Department officials (RFO, Forester, Guard, Watchers etc)+ local people +11 members from BASC.

 

     Second phase of FRP event is done on September 1st and 2nd. This Forest is a scenic place with hills all around, the top of the hills are covered with clouds and a reservoir in the down of the hills but unfortunately rainfall is very less here :( Second phase of FRP involves the following targets 1) Planting 1140 saplings in the pits which were dug out in the phase 1 (on 19th & 20th May) 2) Watering the 1140 saplings by getting water from the near by reservoir!

 

     To complete the First target asap we had taken the help of local people, We formed as a team of 2-2 members and started planting the saplings. We a team of eleven members had planted around 100-120 saplings by afternoon. The local people have planted the remaining by that time, Later we collected all the plastic covers of saplings place and burnt them.

 

     Then coming to the second target which is a real challenge for all of us. There are 1140 saplings and the water is 500-600 meters away from us!!! We need to carry the water with pots from the river and the land is with ups and downs. When Ambareesh was talking about this I'm thinking in my mind that "Is he joking :), for sure we can’t water even only half". Now when it comes to the action we eleven has taken it very seriously and started with a great energy. We eleven has divided the 600 meters distance from the river to the saplings and started carrying 2 pots at a time by passing them. After carrying 120 pots we have taken our first break (had some snacks). Then again started and had carried around 60-70 pots. First day we had carried around 200 pots and watered 400 saplings. Every one in the team is fully tired and having body pains, cramps etc... because almost every one are new to this kind of work.

 

     Second day we started the work early with out having break-fast. Now I got a chance to experience the beauty of nature at my best because I stood inside the river where I need to fill the pots and give them. It’s any easy job now so I'm listening songs and singing songs by seeing the beauty of nature, mean while the small fishes around my feet are playing by tickling me. After carrying 82 pots we have taken our break-fast. Back to the work again, this time most of them got exhausted and had 2 short breaks. We started carrying only one pot at a time now. We are praying to Rain GOD a lot, even though there are clouds its not raining at all. We are loosing our energy levels but still had a strong determination to do watering for all the plants. Santhi and Karthik had watered the last fifteen plants. It’s a big achievement for me I have carried more than 350 pots. I can say it’s just the hard work, Strong determination; dedication and commitment of the whole team had made us to accomplish the task. I have worked with one of the best team which is very co-operating and coordinating with each other :). This is called a true Team work.

 

     It has rained when we are leaving the Forest. We are back to Bangalore with overwhelmed joy and heavy body pains too. This is the best event I had done till to date which brought out the inner strength of me. I did this with my heart so I was successful. I’m thankful to Ambareesh Karanth for giving me a chance to participate in such a great event. “A natural disaster doesn’t know that you are billionare, great scientist or a common man, It may kill any one, so please do your part to protect our nature as day by day the environment is getting polluted by mankind in many ways” “Live and Let live”.

Experience from Anitha MS:

     "ಹಸಿರು ನಮ್ಮ ಉಸಿರು"
     ಬಿಹಾರದ "ಧರ್ ಹರಾ" ಗ್ರಾಮದ ವಿಶ್ವಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾದರಿಯಾದ ಅಪರೂಪದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನುಯನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ಸ೦ಸ್ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಸೋದಿಕ್ಕೆ ನಮಗೆ ಆಗದೆ ಇದ್ರು........ಅನುಕರಣೀಯವಾದ್ರು...... ನಾವು (BASC) ನೆಟ್ಟ೦ತಹ 1140 ಗಿಡಗಳು ಇಡೀ ಭೂಮ೦ಡಲವನ್ನೇ ತ೦ಪು ಮಾಡಿ ನೆರಳನ್ನು ಕೊಡುತ್ತವೆನೊ ಅನ್ನೊ ಸ೦ತೋಷ ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ತು೦ಬಿತ್ತು.

     ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನಿ೦ತು ಗಿಡ ನೆಟ್ಟು ನೀರು ಹಾಕಿದವರು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪನೇ ಜನವಾಗಿದ್ದರು, ಅದರ ಹಿ೦ದೆ ಬೆನ್ನೆಲುಬಾಗಿ ನಿ೦ತವರು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಜನ. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು, ಗಾರ್ಡ್ಸ್,ಪಕ್ಕದ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ಜನಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ನೀವು(The Whole BASC).

     ಜುಲೈ ಹಸಿರಿನ ತಿ೦ಗಳು, ಮಳೆ ಪ್ರಾರ೦ಭ ಆಗೋ ಈ ತಿ೦ಗಳೇ ವನಮಹೋತ್ಸವ,ಆದರೆ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಎಕೊ ಮುನಿಸಿಕೊ೦ಡ೦ತಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲು ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆಗನುಸಾರವಾಗಿ ಮಳೆ ಇಲ್ಲ. ನಾವು ಕೂಡ ಆ ತು೦ತುರು ಹನಿಗಾಗೆ ಇಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ಕಾಯಬೇಕಾಯ್ತು. ಈಗ ಕನಸು ಪ್ರಾರ೦ಭವಾಗಿದೆ............. ಬದುಕುಳಿವ ಹೋರಾಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆದರಿಕೆ ಎನೆ೦ದರೆ ನಾವಿ೦ದು ನೆಟ್ಟ ಅದೇ ಪಾತಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಗಿಡ ನೆಡುವ೦ತಾಗಬಾರದು ಇದು ಬಹುಶಃ ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಆಶಯ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾದರೆ ಗಿಡಗಳ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ ಅನ೦ದ ಅನುಭವಿಸಲು ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಬರಬೇಕೆನ್ನುವುದು ನನ್ನಾಸೆ ಶ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಪಾಲು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇದ್ರು ಸ೦ತೋಷದಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಪಾಲು ಜಾಸ್ತಿ, ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಗು೦ಪಿನ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗು ನನ್ನ ತು೦ಬು ಹೃದಯದ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು (Thanks To All Team Members). ನಮ್ಮ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಯಾವ Trekking ಗು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ, ಗಿಡ ನೆಡುವುದರ ಜೊತೆ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ತಿ೦ಡಿ ತಿನಿಸುಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಕಿತ್ತಾಟ, ಓಬ್ಬರನೊಬ್ಬರು ರೇಗಿಸ್ತಿದ್ದದ್ದು, ಕೆಲಸದ ನಡುವೆ ಹಸಿವು ಮರೆಸಿದ ಯಾವದನ್ನು ಮರೆಯೊ ಹಾಗಿಲ್ಲ..

      BASC ಇನ್ನು ಇತ೦ಹ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯುಳ್ಳ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಹಮ್ಮಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ನಮ್ಮಗಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರು ನಮ್ಮ ಮು೦ದಿನ ಪೀಳಿಗೆಗಾದ್ರು ಎನಾದ್ರು ಉಳಿಸಿ ಬೆಳಿಸಿ ಹೋಗೋಣ

     "ನಾನು ಹಡೆದವ್ವ, ಹೆಸರು ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಮಾತೆ ಅನುಗಾಲ ಬಾಳಿದವಳು ಅರಸಿಯ೦ತೆ" ಅನ್ನೊ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಮಾತೆ ಹಾಡನ್ನ ಮತ್ತೆ ನಿಜ ಮಡೋಣ, ಮತ್ತೆ ಅವಳನ್ನ ಅರಸಿಯನ್ನಾಗಿಸೋಣ

     We planted Avenue tree saplings, Few links & photos about the plant;
http://www.isibang.ac.in/~bhat/honge.html
http://giftingtrees.blogspot.in/2011/05/future-of-biofuel.html

Link to photo albums:
1. From Vinay MP:
2. From Venkat, Ambareesh;
3. From Anitha;

Visit our Group @ CLICK HERE
Written by: Ambareesh Karanth, Vinuthna, Anitha
Event organized by: Ambareesh Karanth 
Image Galleries: Ambareesh Karanth, Vinay, Venkat & Anitha

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