We entered with our heads bent low and then we look up only to find ourselves out in the open again :)! With sunlight pouring in from the open roof and pouring in enriching the green moss carpeting the 'Anganam' (pond like portion which the central part of the house, this to receive rains - Now, at Agumbe this could well be a pond during the rainy season ! Indoor swimming pool, how cool !). The whole house was only dimly lit by the natural sunlight - the meager that could manage its way out of the thick clouds. Not for once you get the feeling that you are entering an enclosure, but for the warmer air within. We went around to the dining hall [my head for some reason was still slightly lowered !]. The dining hall was big and spacious with light seeping in through the glass tiles above placed in between the 'mangalore roof tiles'. This house was for sure designed keeping in mind the large family that would sit around and have food at leisure., just that at Kasturi Akka's place the family keeps changing, only a different face. The house itself will put you at ease and ofcourse people of the house are so accustomed to having strangers around that they dont treat you any different from their own.
The highlight of the house is definitely the bathroom, there were two of them. The bigger one where all could do the brushing and squatting. The other one where you have your bath, i entered the bath and stood a while staring at the tub like excavation right in the middle, until the steps leading down gave me the clue that i was supposed to get down and have bath standing in the tub, it was too big to lie down and ofcourse not filled with water. There were two huge copper 'handas' cemented against the wall. There was a small fireplace to heat the water in one of the 'handa', the fireplace was fed with wood outside the bathroom. The smoke swivelling out of the cracks in the cement wall around the 'handa' gave it the very mystical experience and i took so much pleasure as i was surrounded by smoke and water and the smell of smoke. Wow! for the second time bathing was an experience commended by the first times that were at 'Hassan' thota which had a similar arrangement.
All fresh and smoky, we chatted with Akka and others as we waited for breakfast and ofcourse the 'kashaayam' which was to become our daily health drink while at Akka's place. After breakfast and really quick directions from one of the men of the house we headed towards 'Jogi Gundi'. No farther than a 100 yards, Pradeep comes to his consciousness and asks "Where am i ?" worse he needs me to translate this and ask exactly 3 people and then follows a complicated, hopeless mathematics ! We decided that he should learn Kannada. Finally we found the right path and we walked, it was only the two of us and rains (not heavy at all) now and then. The path was breathtaking and din't change all the way. Very few people - locals dressed in their local attire (a rugged jute and crude woolen sheets simply placed over their heads in full length) passed us, they almost looked like mobile huts :)! It was nearly three kilometers before we had to take a deviation right into the forest. The entire path was just so perfect for cycling, so was the weather and all. As we moved deeper in, the alarm in Pradeep's head rings again...are we going the right way ?! And no 3 people, useless formula and confused and jittery Pradeep ! But the brave man did not give up, until we knew for sure we should be going back before we get lost. Just as we turned around, i hear some voices ! Sadly, no wild encounters this....they were a few confused desis who looked so 'out of place' in their very Bollywood attires. We simply followed the noisy people, Pradeep and me quietly exchanged a 'we never asked for more than 3, God !!' pleading look. We reached the spot 'Jogi Gundi', small yet powerful falls. We sat for a while taking in the music of the falls and the pitch greenery around us while this filled our minds and our heart, 'kalle bombs' went down to quieten our stomachs. Just as the people around started eating (i was really in no mood to get into a altercation about "how" they should not throw any plastics around. Somehow people tend to think it is their birth right to dirty a place...i would ask how is it different from my birth right to kick them ?) we left the place.
The walk back was interrupted by a green rick-truck wanting to drop us, in return for smiling at the woman sitting in the front seat. It was an edgy, bumpy ride.
We were fresh and up early after a relaxed yesterday evening, poha for breakfast and we set out with Manjappa who called on us at the exact time we requested him to, that was just the beginning of how professional he was. He like me wore only hawai chappals and carried a blue plastic with him (hand made rubber rain coat to remain dry), i noticed that he had thick hair which seemed like they had just begun to grey...for a man of 75 ?!! well, we dint believe that he was infact 75 that he claimed to be and was willing to support it with legal documents. The three of us marched together until Manjappa disappeared for quite a while
Exactly on time for lunch at Akka's place - time now converted to food, it was measured by 'hot bajjis' (jackfruit and 'baalekai'), veggie sambhar, amti ('amtekai'and tamarind sauce), rice and curd. Time measured in terms of good home food is equivalent to 'happiness'., the ultimate indulgence. We now went out to get some fresh air (you get this free here and is not sold in Bangalore yet), sitting in the portico ('Thinnai') outside we had nothing to say, we were so much at peace ! ;)
After some heavy planning for the remaining part of the day, we get back to our room only to forget all about the plan in no time that we hit the bed, we dozed off. Up and very sheepishly wanting to avoid the 'plan' topic, i went down again to the portico. Pradeep appeared with an equally corny smile on his face for slipping on the plan to go to 'Kundadri'. So, not having anyone to blame we quickly moved on - we thought it was more important that we picked up some extra baggage for me (i had left behind a few clothes at ARRS).
The highlight of the house is definitely the bathroom, there were two of them. The bigger one where all could do the brushing and squatting. The other one where you have your bath, i entered the bath and stood a while staring at the tub like excavation right in the middle, until the steps leading down gave me the clue that i was supposed to get down and have bath standing in the tub, it was too big to lie down and ofcourse not filled with water. There were two huge copper 'handas' cemented against the wall. There was a small fireplace to heat the water in one of the 'handa', the fireplace was fed with wood outside the bathroom. The smoke swivelling out of the cracks in the cement wall around the 'handa' gave it the very mystical experience and i took so much pleasure as i was surrounded by smoke and water and the smell of smoke. Wow! for the second time bathing was an experience commended by the first times that were at 'Hassan' thota which had a similar arrangement.
All fresh and smoky, we chatted with Akka and others as we waited for breakfast and ofcourse the 'kashaayam' which was to become our daily health drink while at Akka's place. After breakfast and really quick directions from one of the men of the house we headed towards 'Jogi Gundi'. No farther than a 100 yards, Pradeep comes to his consciousness and asks "Where am i ?" worse he needs me to translate this and ask exactly 3 people and then follows a complicated, hopeless mathematics ! We decided that he should learn Kannada. Finally we found the right path and we walked, it was only the two of us and rains (not heavy at all) now and then. The path was breathtaking and din't change all the way. Very few people - locals dressed in their local attire (a rugged jute and crude woolen sheets simply placed over their heads in full length) passed us, they almost looked like mobile huts :)! It was nearly three kilometers before we had to take a deviation right into the forest. The entire path was just so perfect for cycling, so was the weather and all. As we moved deeper in, the alarm in Pradeep's head rings again...are we going the right way ?! And no 3 people, useless formula and confused and jittery Pradeep ! But the brave man did not give up, until we knew for sure we should be going back before we get lost. Just as we turned around, i hear some voices ! Sadly, no wild encounters this....they were a few confused desis who looked so 'out of place' in their very Bollywood attires. We simply followed the noisy people, Pradeep and me quietly exchanged a 'we never asked for more than 3, God !!' pleading look. We reached the spot 'Jogi Gundi', small yet powerful falls. We sat for a while taking in the music of the falls and the pitch greenery around us while this filled our minds and our heart, 'kalle bombs' went down to quieten our stomachs. Just as the people around started eating (i was really in no mood to get into a altercation about "how" they should not throw any plastics around. Somehow people tend to think it is their birth right to dirty a place...i would ask how is it different from my birth right to kick them ?) we left the place.
The walk back was interrupted by a green rick-truck wanting to drop us, in return for smiling at the woman sitting in the front seat. It was an edgy, bumpy ride.
We were fresh and up early after a relaxed yesterday evening, poha for breakfast and we set out with Manjappa who called on us at the exact time we requested him to, that was just the beginning of how professional he was. He like me wore only hawai chappals and carried a blue plastic with him (hand made rubber rain coat to remain dry), i noticed that he had thick hair which seemed like they had just begun to grey...for a man of 75 ?!! well, we dint believe that he was infact 75 that he claimed to be and was willing to support it with legal documents. The three of us marched together until Manjappa disappeared for quite a while
Exactly on time for lunch at Akka's place - time now converted to food, it was measured by 'hot bajjis' (jackfruit and 'baalekai'), veggie sambhar, amti ('amtekai'and tamarind sauce), rice and curd. Time measured in terms of good home food is equivalent to 'happiness'., the ultimate indulgence. We now went out to get some fresh air (you get this free here and is not sold in Bangalore yet), sitting in the portico ('Thinnai') outside we had nothing to say, we were so much at peace ! ;)
After some heavy planning for the remaining part of the day, we get back to our room only to forget all about the plan in no time that we hit the bed, we dozed off. Up and very sheepishly wanting to avoid the 'plan' topic, i went down again to the portico. Pradeep appeared with an equally corny smile on his face for slipping on the plan to go to 'Kundadri'. So, not having anyone to blame we quickly moved on - we thought it was more important that we picked up some extra baggage for me (i had left behind a few clothes at ARRS).
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