One look at the ‘Taste of India’ cafe and my sleepy mood was shaken away and made me head that way. The Khara Bath, Idli Vada and the like on their menu are something that I really needed after waking up at an unearthly hour and dragging myself up to the airport to catch my 6am flight. Finally someone understood that people who get into airports are normal human beings eating normal food, and don’t relish living on re-heated and overpriced stale sandwich and machine coffee.
Though the new Bangalore airport was never in news for good things, it does have many good things to go with it. The Taste of India cafe is just one of them. I was sick and tired of having to live on inedible trash served in small kiosks at the old airport. Could not they serve Idli, Vada and Dosa instead of acting like they live somewhere in Europe or North America? You could ask for an espresso but filter coffee was a no no. Things still haven’t changed when it comes to filter coffee, but the Barista outlet at the airport lounge is good enough to make me happy.
The biggest problem with the airport is something that people have been whining all the time – it’s the distance. Having to board a flight at 6am meant lot of curses to people who booked my ticket, getting up at 2.30am, get ready and run to the bus stop to catch the 3.30am bus. Lucky that I am, one of the airport buses of BMTC starts from a bus stop just 5 minutes away from home. Otherwise it had to be an expensive cab ride all the way, or starting much earlier to get to a bus stop. Thankfully we have frequent services from BMTC without which it would be a difficult affair to get to airport.
Once on the bus, the conductor sat next to me and started a casual conversation, not realizing that 3.30am is not exactly a great time for some chatter.
“yelli hogthaa ideera?” he asked. “where are you going?”
He laughed when I said Delhi, and responded with a joke that is now time tested – “two hours to the airport and two more hours of flying!”
I guess you have to make some sacrifices if you want a new airport. Globetrotting Bangaloreans thought it is ‘cool’ to complain about the old HAL airport even when it functioned smoothly, and kept asking for a new swanky airport. Though, in its last days, the old airport was getting too crowded and a new one was becoming a necessity. There were frequent delays in take off and landing as the planes waited for their share of the runway.
Bad things about the airport stop with the distance and time taken to reach there. Its structure is simple and functional – there isn’t anything convoluted and arty in the building that hinders normal functioning at any point of time. Queues are short and move quickly for check ins and security clearances. The self check in koisks make life easier. There is some sensible food available once you get into the lounge, and there is enough space and seating for all. Free WiFi comes handy if you have a long wait for boarding your flight. It’s full of conveniences and free of hassles.
To conclude, the distance is a big put off. But once you get there, everything is as good as it should be. Filter coffee would be a definite bonus, if the Barista at the lounge is willing to sell it.
‘I can’t believe there is such an amazing place so close to Bangalore,’ said a friend when I showed the photographs. It was getting predictable – show pictures of Skandagiri to anyone, tell them it is just 60km from Bangalore and wait for them to gasp and react with those words – ‘I can’t believe…’
A year ago I had uttered these words myself on a morning after finding pictures of Skandagiri in my mailbox. Skandagiri is a small hill that is just two hours drive from Bangalore. Earlier unknown, it came into light when a few people trekked up there and came back with amazing pictures of the hill ranges peeking through the early morning fog. In the time of internet and group emails, Skandagiri instantly became famous. People have since been going there and camping overnight to see the dramatic mornings with waves of clouds kissing the hills, and to watch the sun come up slowly amidst them. Skandagiri also has a place in history with a small fort on its top built by Tipu Sultan.
I was longing to visit the place, and when a local photography group planned for a trip, jumped in without much thinking. On the next night of full moon, we packed our camping gear and drove towards Skandagiri. We had all the night at our disposal to climb up, which means we started pretty late in the night. When we assembled outside the city, had our dinner and finally reached the base of the hill, it was already midnight. Hiring a guide and starting the trek took some more time and we started only around 12.45am.
Skandagiri looked deceptively small and easy to conquer from its base. ‘Two hours,’ we were told, but we brashly estimated for 45 minutes of easy walk. Our guide took us through the route that first lead to the lateral part of the mountain and then up on an easy slope. But it got steeper as we walked and we slowly started increasing the expected time to reach up. It was hardly 15 minutes of climbing when a few wanted to halt and rest. The mountain was getting the respect it deserved from us, playing the hard way. Not even five minutes of rest and our guides was herding us up threatening, saying that we will never make it in this pace before sunrise. We moved on grumblingly.
But you can’t keep a bunch of photographers on their tows for too long. It was not much time before we found a nice rocky place with wide vistas of the planes below. Full moon shone brightly in the sky with a few stars flickering here and there, and dots of light from Chikballapur town a couple of kilometers away sparkled below. A gentle breeze blew continuously and rejuvenated us from the tiresome climb. Tripods came out from the bags and cameras mounted on them, we started clicking the endless vistas below. It was nearly half an hour before the guide overpowered us and forced us to move on.
The bridle path to the peak took us through patches of boulder strewn shrub jungle with a few big trees here and there. It got steeper as we moved up. We were deceived each time when we looked up and presumed it is going to take only a few more minutes to the top. We finally made it in little more than two and a half hours, tired and hungry.
On the top of the hill is a small rocky plateau with a short wall assembled with rocks, covering the perimeter of the plateau and making up the Tipu’s fort. In the middle stands a small ancient temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Once at the top, strong westward wind blew relentlessly and brought the temperature down by many degrees from the place where we started. Getting into the temple was the only way to escape the wind but the temptation of the bright moonlight and views of the barely visible plains below kept us outdoors. Around 4 am we were suddenly encompassed in thick fog with hardly any visibility, when we decided to pitch our tents and make an attempt to sleep.
The chill of the wind hardly allowed us to get any shuteye, and unwillingness to miss the sunrise meant we were up in no time. We woke up in the bitter cold, to see the entire world below us covered in clouds even when the altitude where we stood had a clear weather. A few summits in the distance came into view on and off as the clouds played with the wind. It was like a large pile of cotton candy spread on the earth as we looked from a height, and I wished we could float among them. When the sun came, he came up from the layer of clouds below like a small orange ball far away in the horizon. Once again cameras came out from the bags and tripods were laid out to capture those beautiful moments forever. The magic lasted for nearly thirty minutes when eventually the fog cleared to make way for a bright day. We then made our way down, still finding it hard to believe that we have a place so beautiful, so close to the city.
Information
Skandagiri is 60km from Bangalore and is located along the same range as Nandi Hills. To reach Skandagiri, drive from Bangalore to Chikballapur(55km) on NH7 where you have to turn left and drive for another 5km. The trek begins from a small temple called Papagni Matha located at Kalwarahalli village. Once you are in Chikballapur ask for directions to Papagni Matha to make sure you are not lost.
The trek to the peak is steep at sections and one needs to be reasonably fit. It takes two to three hours to get to the top depending on your fitness. You can hire guides from Kalwarahalli village at the base of Skandagiri. Forest department charges an entry fee of Rs.15 on weekends.
Reading this brought some old memories when we had stumbled into an army of butterflies outside Bangalore. Amateurs, with a new found interest, we were gallivanting with camera in the arm searching for lakes, birds and the like. Walking aimlessly, we entered into a wooded area with tall casuarinas and were surprised to see butterflies hugging every inch of trees. Here is an image from the days when I had just bought my first and only film camera.
There was another time I had stumbled upon loads and loads of butterflies. Driving through the forests of Bandipur, we encountered and endless stream of Blue Tigers. Now that I recall it, I am craving to see the spectacle again.