My itinerary visit to Veeranapalya

Kamal Baruah *

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling" the sound of a tinkler came from behind the forlorn road. It was the bell of an ox cart. And God finally sent a lift towards the end point, an inhabitant hamlet. Imagine having this incredible waterfall at the end of the road. I was mesmerized the scene of breathtaking beauty. This is incredible India.

I was lazy resting over stomach on charpoy in the weekend morning. Raghavendra hurriedly entered our billet from Hyderabad and asked if I could join him for his native halli (means village in Karnataka).

I had spontaneously agreed into his proposal. This was not the most popular destinations around my travel itineraries. We moved by the highly dedicated bus service KSRTC heading to Tumkur (Tehsil) from Majestic Bangalore.

The red bus was fast and simple. After an hour, it stopped at a bus stand. The favours of traditional salty-crispy Murukku and sweet Milk Tea have recalled my memorable journey even today. I saw the surrounding area infertile without any vegetation. People were isolated and living in abject poverty. After two hours, we boarded another bus for Devalapura (Gram Panchayat).

We felt extreme heat of the day. My friend advised me to drink traditional drinks to help one survive the summer and it helps to withstand with heat. The coconut water made us refreshing to beat the tropical summer thirst at the entire journey. We had to change buses one after the other for linking routes. Finally a Tempo dropped us at a lonely tinali (3-way intersection).

The daylight was very thin outside the barren land with no life visible. There was virtually no road and I saw a meadow was leading towards a plateau. Another five km left.

My friend pointed me to be ready for a pedal walk and promised me on an odyssey of unique experience. I kept my head to the sky. We kept moving over dusty and sandy road. We were tired and hungry after a plethora of adventures.

Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling… The sound of a tinkler came from behind the forlorn road. It was the bell of an Ox Cart. And God finally sent a lift towards the end point, an inhabitant hamlet. Imagine having this incredible waterfall at the end of the street.

I was mesmerized the scene of breathtaking beauty. This is incredible India. We slopped down the valley. I saw a fertile land in a desert at a distance. It covered the ball of oasis with leaves and moss. There were greenery surrounded the tiny settlement. It was the native village 'Veeranapalya' of my friend. We had been extended a warm welcome like a hero after won a battle.

It was dark in the evening. I thought the power supply was bad so there were dark. But power supply had not reached in that village just three hours away to the outskirts of Bangalore city. Only one fourth of the population was literate then. The village is administrated by Sarpanch (Head of village).

Veeranapalya is a small area of 53 hectares with a total population of only 76 people. Tumkur is approximately 21 km away. The village is dotted with only 21 houses. They were built of big rock foundation. His elderly parents were living there.

We were sitting on a cot at the hermitage. There was no sofa or any kind of bed there. We had to rest on floor with a welcome drink of a hot glass of milk. Since his humble parents talk only Kannad, my friend had to interpret in-between in that beautiful evening.

Despite facing language barrier I was able to enjoy myself because they were friendly and offered generous reception. I was expecting some spicy delicious food at the dinner. But they were pure vegetarian.

My treasure hunt did not end there. We tiptoed upstairs and took rest in the night on the open terrace. It was amazing view of open sky which I had not seen years. There were celestial stars, planets and the moon on my head that illuminates the night sky.

I could not sleep seeing the sparkling beauty of the starry night. Despite being heat of the day, the night was cold and windy. We were shrouded by quilt.

I got out of bed after the bright morning sun hovered overhead. Like a million people, drinking tea is a universal phenomenon. And I expected a bed tea from there also. Back at the village, I inquired if there is a tea shop. I found nothing available.

The entire community were busy at the Dhasharateshwara temple for morning worshipping. And I realised that there was no way to treat myself a cup of refreshing tea. Unlike eastern India, where tea is produced and consumed by most of the people, the southern India is different.

But I had to go to the bathroom for pee and poop. Interestingly there were no sanitary toilets in that village. Probably 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' the most significant cleanliness campaign by Government of India had not reached in 90s.

I had to run towards a field outside a kilometre distance. I only realized in the morning that the village perched on the valley and has wide expanses of grassland in the plateaus. Nearby Pakan Mallappa cave is engaged for religious activities.

The localities are strong believer of their God. Theertham, the "holy" water used during the pooja to wash the idol followed by pouring milk. The devotees came back after High Temple ritual and we had breakfast cum lunch at noon.

Dosa Chambar and Coconut Chutney with Idli-Bada was the delicious recipe. I recalled eating almost a king-size of a plate by my starving stomach. A jeep was honking outside which was sent by the Serpanch. It was time to leave.

The fond memories of that night still haunted me today. The dark was the night and the cold was the ground. This is one of my unmissable destinations. An itinerary to Veeranapalya made memories that always last for a lifetime.