Bannerghatta National Park – Bangalore’s Wild Side

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Oindrila Soni under Bangalore, Tips, Travel

Last Sunday, I decided to take on the sweltering Bangalorean heat by making a neat trip out of it. While most of the city dwellers sheltered themselves in the air conditioned shopping malls and restaurants, I badgered my friends (who also happened to be my kind hosts) to accompany me to a national park.

On the wild trail

The Bannerghatta National Park is less than 2 hours from the south Indian city of Bengaluru.

Hot Tip: If you don’t have your own vehicle, it’s advisable to pre-book a cab for a comfortable ride to your destination.

We reached Bannerghatta at 11 AM and rushed to a roadside dhaba for a quick breakfast. The fare served here is mostly south Indian (idlis, dosas & uttapams). The food is brought to your table almost instantly, is filling, and very light on the pocket. The taste, unfortunately, isn’t much to boast about.

This national park is open from 10 AM to 5 PM, but the tickets are always in short supply as Bannerghatta happens to be one of the most visited tourist attractions of Bangalore.

Hot Tips:

Book your tickets in advance if you can. (Their website lets you do that but insists that you register first).

If you can’t do point-1, ensure you reach early as the wait-time for the AC-volvo-bus tour is 2 hours on an average, and the queues to the ticket counters are long.

The lions watches the “caged humans”

We missed doing both point-1 and point-2, but that ensured we took the non-AC grand tour in a bus with caged windows. This was the cheapest option and also allowed us to take decent pictures as the “cages” had circular holes to click pics through. The AC buses, by comparison, are comfortable, but pictures through glass can only be half as good. The best (and also the most expensive) option is to hire a jeep that accommodates 4. There are very few jeeps and you rarely stand a chance to book one unless you’ve pre-booked.

After you have your ticket in hand, you are made to stand in a single file (school-picnics, anyone? 😛 ) as the park-assistants do a headcount and direct you to a waiting area which has several brick-roofed hut-like structures. After a 15 minute wait, you finally have your turn!

Bison with a loud growl

The 3 of us were extremely lucky to get the best seats in the bus… right behind the driver and the bus conductor! So, we had a dashboard-view & the window-view, without any passenger blocking our shots. To add to that, the conductor would confirm the animals that we spotted and tell us in advance of the ones to expect.

We spotted our first wild animal within minutes of entering the forest-area. The bus screeched to a halt as a huge bison growled and crossed the road, and then it passed by my window! I fumbled with my camera as I was overwhelmed by its size and the power in its growl.

A calf runs to her mother as the other elephants keep bathing

We next saw a few deer for some fleeting seconds before they hid out of our sight. After 5 more minutes, our bus reached a lake and we were mesmerized by the beautiful sight of a baby-elephant splashing about in the water. The calf then ran to its mother who waited on the land. The elephants looked stunning with their black thick skin glistening in the afternoon sun.

A Bengal Tiger in Bengaluru

We spotted a couple of bears too, one of which was busy eating inside a ditch. The black fur looked soft and dense, and the bears could easily fool us into thinking they were soft-toys had they not moved. In the next enclosure, we saw an adult Bengal tiger prowl about and raise its long tail skywards. Let me tell you now that I looked into the eyes of the tiger as it stopped by my window, and felt a little like Pi (Patel) from Life of Pi. We saw a few more tigers – some sleeping, some wandering about the deciduous trees, and one pooping (those poor creatures have no privacy, I tell you)! We also spotted a handsome white tiger before our grand-tour ended (quite grandly, I must say).

A white tiger in the green jungle

Summer is the best time for wildlife tourism as the high temperature forces the animals to hang around near water bodies as they drink and bathe. This makes it easier to spot them.

Let me know if you’ve been to a national park or a wildlife sanctuary. If yes, how many animals did you spot? 🙂

An Afternoon in Auroville

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Oindrila Soni under Pondicherry, Tips, Travel

The morning I checked out of my hotel in Pondicherry, I chatted with the French manager for her opinion on Auroville. I wasn’t too keen on visiting a township-under-construction, especially on a hot July afternoon when I had a bus to catch back home in the eve. But she changed my mind when she said, “Oh! You can stay there for as long as you wish… a day, a week, or even months.” I was curious to know the mystery behind the “The City of Dawn“, and what made people stay that long… in some cases, forever!

Miniature model of the Auroville City Centre

Auroville is about 30 minutes from Pondicherry by road. Founded by Mirra Alfassa, it is a self-sustaining township of harmonious and progressive minds from 50 nationalities. Entry to this ‘universal town’ is free, but one has to register at the Visitors Centre. The entrance is adorned with brick-arches and landscaped greens. It is easy to see the harmony this place shares with nature.

The Auroville Visitors Centre

The Visitors Centre serves as a museum of sorts. It showcases the city-plan and the vision of the founder. Auroville also hosts volunteers and interns who wish to study and help build this town. With my pass in hand, I decided to walk through the roads (and skipped the buggies that are available on rent for walk-wary visitors).

Under the roof made of dried leaves and stems

Under the thatched roof

It is easy to feel the charm of the place growing on you as you pass through various stone-signboards with the painting a herb or a flower and its medicinal and spiritual value listed beside it. The entire place is like a forest with some areas cleared to assist walking. There are tarred roads too, but it’s always more exciting to take the road less travelled by.

Wooden model of the ‘Peace Area’

My goal was to reach the centre of Auroville, where there lies a giant sphere made of gold. The area that surrounds it is the ‘Peace Area’. There are signboards everywhere to guide visitors in this maze-like forest. This town has a field full of humongous solar-panels that fuel this sustainable-concept-lifestyle. The air is cool and clean and there are nurseries and a botanical garden to harness the goodness of nature.

I was looking for a tree to rest under (as I had quite some distance to cover before I’d reach the “golden ball”), and then I came across this spectacle that stopped me in my tracks…

The revered Banyan Tree

The forest heard my voice and showed me a 100-year old Banyan Tree. This sacred tree has aerial roots that have grown out of its branches and gravitated towards the earth to form tree-like structures of their own. It looks as though there are multiple trees entwined with each other, like young children in a warm embrace with their mother.

The tenacity of the ageless banyan tree inspired me and charged me up for the last mile of my walk towards the centre of this unique world. And I stood mesmerised by what I beheld…

The Matrimandir

The ball-shaped building is the Matrimandir– an awe-inspiring blend of art and architecture! This is where the seeker comes to realise inner consciousness and peace. I gazed dreamily at the sprawling greens and blessed that French lady for convincing me to give Auroville a chance.

A Day in Mysore

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Oindrila Soni under Food, Mysore, Travel

I never thought I could cover a beautiful place like Mysore in a single day. But I packed a rucksack, boarded a night-bus with a friend, and set out to prove myself wrong.

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I opened my eyes in the morning to a neatly planned city with dirtless streets that cut each other at right angles. I took a deep breath as I alighted the bus – I smelled the cleanest air I had inhaled in a long, long time. We stayed at Parklane Hotel, a quaint, forest-themed hotel which was centrally located and in the vicinity of many tourist-spots. After a square meal (pun intended) of rava dosa and accompaniments, we headed to St. Philomena’s Church.

Square rava (semolina)-dosa with sambar & coconut chutney

St. Philomena’s Church

The Neo Gothic-styled St. Philomena’s Church draws its inspiration from the Kölner Dom in Germany. One has to crane one’s neck to see the the elaborate twin spires of the church. We got back into the auto-rickshaw we had hired for the day-trip as it started drizzling. Mysore receives very light showers in the month of February, and this is the best month to witness spring, summer & autumn – all in a day!

Entrance to the Mysore Palace

Amba Vilas

Mysore Palace

Our rickshaw driver took us to a silk weaving factory and we later walked into the adjoining saree-boutique. Mysore is famous for its silk which is light and rich at the same time. We couldn’t help but buy some fine silk sarees from the store. We next rode to Mysore Palace. The Amba Vilas (Palace of Mysore) is a picturesque royal abode that now serves as a museum. Visitors need to remove their footwear before they can walk into the palace. Photography is prohibited inside the museum-area but I let my eyes capture the skilfully preserved artefacts and paintings.

Chamundeshwari Temple

The complete Kannada meal: puris, papad, beetroot palya, puttu (ground rice+grated coconut), rasam, sambar, curd, whey and payasam (dessert)

After a quick lunch, we started for Chamundi Hills. The ride up the hills affords travellers breathtaking views of the entire city. At the top of the hill, we admired the Chamundeshwari Temple. We snacked on Mysore Pak on our way to the Mysore Zoo and later had a Kannada thali for dinner at a small eatery. We walked back to our hotel to be greeted with classical Carnatic music and a live tabla performance which we enjoyed over a drink. My day in the City of Palaces was well spent. I would definitely return some other day to see the sights that still remained to be seen.