Usually
in the month of August the monsoons would have already finished their 1st part and would have taken an intermission.
By
this time all the Cachement Areas of the river Cauvery would be drenched and as a result the KRS dam would be almost full.
Needless
to say, a full dam means that the gates would be open and more water would be released to the river. Hence the water level
of the Cauvery River will be almost maximum.
Wait!! Wait!! . Do not think this a documentary on the Cauvery River.
This
is a preface to one of our bike rides to the Magical Hogenekal Falls.
Now
you may understand why I have mentioned about the Cauvery River at the beginning. Let me just elaborate a bit for the lesser
known.
It
is the same water from the KRS dam, which flows thru Karnataka and reach the Mettur dam in Tamilnadu, creating a magical panoramic
waterfalls enroute.
So
as I have said before, this was just the right time that we both decided to head to Hogenekal on one Bright Sunny Morning.
I
started from my palace near Yeshwanthpur and reached Suhas’s place in Banashankari around 5am in the morning. Hopped
on to his bike
(The
same old Suzuki Fiero) and thus our journey started in the wee hours of the morning.
We
took the Bangalore – Hosur – Krishnagiri – Dharmapuri – Hogenekal route. (Approximately 180Kms one-way)
We
reached Electronic City in no time and soon we made it to the border of Karnataka – Tamilnadu at Hosur. The ride from
Hosur to Krishnagiri was just excellent with the Super Express Highway being nearly empty.
Suhas
just cruised along this stretch and he was on cloud nine and could not believe that we could encounter such quality roads!!
We
stopped in the middle and took some snaps as usual and rode along.
But
as they say ‘ All good things come to an end ‘, this Dream ride also came to an end after we reached Krishnagiri
.The Expressway did not continue further as it just deviated to the left towards Chennai.
The
road from Krishnagiri to Dharmapuri was a State Highway and moreover the road widening work was underway.
So
the speed dropped and so did our enthusiasm as we expected the Expressway would be there till Dharmapuri at least.
Needless
to say we just rode along and soon reached Dharmapuri and had a good Breakfast at one hotel called ‘ Saravana Bhavan
‘ (I have a doubt if this the same one as in Chennai).
After
the Breakfast, we headed towards Hogenekal, the road even though being a District highway was in pretty good condition and
we were happy that it remained so for the next 45 kms till we reached Hogenekal.
We
parked the bike in the parking lot and found that there were many many tourists, mainly local, and the place looked too crowded.
I
had visited this place when I was a schoolboy and had fond memories of it.
We
headed directly to the river and started to bargain to a “ THEPPA “.
In
Hogenekal, one has to hire a THEPPA (a round boat made from bamboo and animal skin) and travel thru the river in order to
have a view of the main hogenekal falls from close quarters. This is the only method by which one can go anywhere near the
falls.
Of
course the Tourism Dept here has made a bridge from where one can get a distant look of the falls.
The
Theppa option is open for the Brave at Heart and the Bridge option for the faint hearted!!
So
we booked a theppa for about Rs350/-. At first we thought it was a bit expensive but later found out that it was peanuts compared
to the efforts put by the person who maneuvers the theppa.
So
on a bright sunny day we set sail in the Theppa towards the hogenekal falls. The initial journey was easy and we kept on moving
forward. The water level kept on increasing as we moved along and the theppa person i.e., our guide for the day, pointed towards
the right.
We
could see water gushing out of a place, which was lined by huge rock formations on either side. At this point our guide told
us that this was the place where one famous scene from Manirathnam’s pic “ROJA” was shot. (The shot, which
shows a man in a theppa with a lantern riding thru the river in-between the rock formation).
At
this time of the year one could not dare go thru this formation, as the water current was extremely high.
We
passed this section and reached the other side of the land. This part was Karnataka!
Yes
this is the place where Nature herself has drawn the boundaries instead of selfish humans.
One
side of the river Cauvery is Tamilnadu and to the other side is Karnataka.
Our
Guide said that we have to walk for about 1km from here and he lifted the Theppa on top of his head and marched forward. We
were amazed by his strength and stamina as he walked so effortlessly inside the Shrub forest and it was an uphill climb as
well.
We
reached he river again and were on the theppa again. Our guide pointed towards the middle to the river where we could see
the water spraying in the air and of course not to mention the defining noise.
He
slowly took us to the center of the river and there it was right in front of out eyes the Magical Hogenekal falls!!!
Our
guide parked the theppa on an edge of a stone and tried to make to stay in one place. The water current was so much that one
small mistake and we all would just have a ride of our lives!!! to hell that is !!.
Somehow
he held the theppa as me and suhas got down on to a rock and sat down on it admiring the Nature’s beauty. The rock,
which we were on, was also vibrating due to the force of the water. The sound was so high that we were not able to communicate
to each other.
I
had a long photo session there . Tried to capture the falls from different angles . Needless to say my heart was in my mouth
all the time as one wrong step and it would be my last photo session !!!
Finally
we decided to head back , not before Suhas had a oil message on his head , at a place one could only imagine , right on the
verge of the Hogenekal falls.
Hogenekal
is famous for its Oil Massage and it is a paradise for Non-Vegetarians . Some catch fish right in front of your eyes and fry
it and serve it instantly there itself.
As
we both were strict veggies , we gave it a miss !!!!
I took about 1hr for us to get back to the other side ( Tamilnadu side ) from the middle
. The theppa had to take a U turn on top of the falls and head back in a much longer way , which infact was a shortcut.
Reached
firm ground , paid the guide his fees happily and we both headed back to Bangalore .
We
gave a stop at Dharmapuri , finished lunch and drove back to Banglaore just in time to catch up a India – South Africa
Onedayer on TV !!!
For pics visit http://anilsuhas.fotopic.net
