Cauvery theeradhalli

Different outing this one. It was not the usual office gang, but with my new team for the successful (until we get feedback from the customer!) release of our beta product. San was a little apprehensive about joining as she had other engagements, but she finally made it! :-) The remarkable thing was A joined too!!!

I organized an outing for the first time.. thanks to Sudks for that! (being the constant organizer of our previous trips helped in thinking like him :-) and the TT booking) The plan was to go to Jungle Lodges in Bheemeshwari, (also called the Cauvery Fishing Camp) around 100 odd kms from Bangalore, for a day outing. We decided that it should fall on a weekday, and we chose Wednesday! Escaping into the wilderness in the middle of the week is truly fun.

After initial hiccups, things started to look bright - the dumb-charades and antakshari (but of course!) in the TT was good fun. We reached the place around 11 am (a good 1 1/2 hrs behind schedule). After some refreshments, we were frisked off for a 'trek' by the local guide. So we started walking on the forest path for around 15 min and then climbed a small steep mountain for another 15 min. This was a lil tricky. We were not able to get a good grip because of a lot of loose stones lying around.


At the top of the peak, there is a watch tower, which gives a very good view of the surrounding green canopy and the flowing river.





We spent around 30-45 min in that tower and then off we went down for lunch. After that, we just hung around the banks of the river Cauvery (am I the only one who remembers the kannada movie 'Belli moDagaLu' whenever I hear/utter the word Cauvery???). There were swings and hammocks and we had a delightful time swinging and well.. lazing around. A lot of photography sessions happened too.



Around 3.30 pm, the guide asked us if we were ready for a coracle ride - a short 3-4 kms one. The group had no qualified swimmer and even the assurance of a life jacket did not appeal to us. Add to this, a big crocodile resting on a rock in the river! Few of them decided to try it and the enthusiasm gradually spread to the others and we decided to go for it. San and Raji were the motivators, I must say! The ride was nice, but as the coracle made its way through the rapids, it did feel scary.


A refreshing Tea break later, a quick cricket session followed. Then, very reluctantly, we started off towards the city and its madness! A totally fun-filled, much needed refreshing break.
Its a different story that we all needed a day or two to recover from the fatigue!

More pics below.

Khilte hai gul yahaan



Shooting out



Serene?!